Our Advent Scripture for Day 18 is Luke 1:57-66.

Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she had a son. Then her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her His great mercy, and they rejoiced with her.

When they came to circumcise the child on the eighth day,they were going to name him Zechariah, after his father. But his mother responded, “No! He will be called John.”

Then they said to her, “None of your relatives has that name.”So they motioned to his father to find out what he wanted him to be called. He asked for a writing tablet and wrote:

HIS NAME IS JOHN.

And they were all amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God.Fear came on all those who lived around them, and all these things were being talked about throughout the hill country of Judea. All who heard about him took it to heart, saying, “What then will this child become?” For, indeed, the Lord’s hand was with him.

Monday night, we jumped in the car after dinner, cranked the heat, and set off for adventure. Our mission was to discover the best outdoor Christmas light displays in our town. When we found ones the kids thought were amazing, I would hop out and take a photo, and then we voted at the end of the night for the best.

We weaved through streets hunting for lights. Some neighborhoods were illuminated from the abundance of Christmas lights on this dark night. Others sat dark and cold. The kids gravitated toward the displays with blow-ups on the front lawns. Matt and I really liked the homes outlined in lights. We saw many manger scenes, and each were special.

At the end of the night, we drove out to see a particularly large Nativity scene we knew about outside of town, but after going further than we intended, we realized the lights weren’t on. In fact, we couldn’t hardly even see the house from the highway. What a difference light can make in the darkness!

Jackson fell asleep on the way home. Lauren was close when we pulled in the driveway.

Here is the kids’ first place winner of our first annual Christmas Lights Adventure:

This was second place:

If you live in our area, check out the Southern Hills subdivision and Ash Street right off of James. Some of the best light displays can be found there.

Get out and enjoy the lights of the season! And, be a light to those around you proclaiming the birth of the Savior!