4:13 Podcast: Audio Christmas Card With Jennifer and KC's Christmas Memories [Episode 329]

Jennifer Rothschild: Heaven. Who goes there? Where is it? And what will we do when we get there? Questions like these come up when we think about an eternal future beyond this physical life. How can we know the truth about what comes next?

Well, in my latest Bible study, "Heaven: When Faith Becomes Sight," you will get seven sessions that are video based that will explore the subject of heaven from a biblical perspective. I will separate what's true about heaven from what's based on legend and media and hopeful guesses. As you walk through this Heaven Bible study with me, you will not only get a deeper understanding of what God has prepared for you, his child, but also you will learn how to live today with confidence as you look forward to the glorious unending that awaits.

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All right, now here's the podcast.

Group of Women: Merry Christmas, 4:13ers.

Jennifer Rothschild: Merry Christmas.

KC Wright: Merry Christmas.

Jennifer Rothschild: We are so glad you are with us for this audio Christmas card. We are a 4:13 family and so we wanted to spend Christmas together. I don't know who's sitting next to me, whether it's KC or Buddy the Elf.

KC Wright: Listen, I'm not a hoarder --

Jennifer Rothschild: No.

KC Wright: -- except when it comes to Christmas.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yes.

KC Wright: I was laughing because, you know, my birthday was back in September, and the people that know me well -- I received several Christmas decor birthday gifts. Listen, I pitch everything. I like things clean and organized. But when it comes to Christmas, we got issues. I mean, one year at my house, we had nine Christmas trees up.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah, that's --

KC Wright: It's too much.

Jennifer Rothschild: That's --

KC Wright: It's too much.

Jennifer Rothschild: It's too much.

KC Wright: But I just love -- I love Christmas. And it's rubbed off on Ellianna.

Jennifer Rothschild: Well, that's good. It's a good thing. I won't tell Marie Kondo. I will not tell her. But way to go, you.

And, yes, he loves Buddy the Elf. And it's funny, because I was at a Cracker Barrel one time and I saw a Buddy the Elf something, I was like, oh, my gosh, I should get this for KC. And then I thought, no, he does not need one more thing like this.

KC Wright: No, I don't.

Jennifer Rothschild: This is nonsense.

KC Wright: Yeah.

Jennifer Rothschild: But we just thought we would jump in to whatever you're doing. You might be wrapping gifts, you might be in the car driving hours to see family. So thanks for letting us pop in. We just thought we'd talk a little Christmas. Because if you were sitting right here with me and KC, next to a roaring fire, with the fragrance of coffee and cinnamon candles, this is what we'd be talking about.

So I got to tell you and KC one of my funnest Christmas memories. Okay, KC?

KC Wright: I love this so much.

Jennifer Rothschild: So I was eight years old, and I loved Barbie. I loved Barbie so much. And by the way, may I just say, those of you who don't know this, I happen to blind. And did you know that Barbie has come out with a blind Barbie?

KC Wright: I did not.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yes. And she is very hot, just like me. Anyway...

Anyway, we've got a blind Barbie now. But she doesn't have really short hair with red streaks in it. She's got long flowy hair. And I think her shirt's a little tight. I want to get her an oversize sweatshirt and then I'll be more pleased. But anyway.

So I loved Barbies as a kid. Well, my little brother, Lawson, he loved G.I. Joe. Remember the old G.I. Joe's, KC --

KC Wright: Yeah.

Jennifer Rothschild: -- with the fuzzy hair, and he had this scar down his cheek?

KC Wright: Yeah.

Jennifer Rothschild: Okay. Well, Aunt Patty was at our house for Christmas. And so it was just me and Lawson; my baby brother had not been born yet. And on Christmas Eve we had the tradition, we were allowed to open one gift. And so Lawson was the youngest, he got to go first. Well, his gift that he chose was from Aunt Patty, and it was this long rectangular box. Well, mine happened to be the same shape. So Lawson opens his gift, and wouldn't you know, it was a G.I. Joe.

KC Wright: Ooh.

Jennifer Rothschild: Well, he was so pumped up.

KC Wright: Yeah.

Jennifer Rothschild: I was excited. Because those of you who played with Barbies will understand this. G.I. Joe was the perfect bad guy for Ken to fight. Right? Poor Ken, he never won. But anyway. Like, that was the perfect bad guy when you played Barbies.

So I get my gift out from under the tree, and it's a rectangular box also. And I'm like, you go, Aunt Patty. Because, you know, G.I. Joe, Barbie, same aisle in Kmart, whatever. I just knew I had a Barbie. I was so excited. So I, unlike Lawson -- I do not rip my paper off. I pull it back very carefully. And when I did, it exposed a box that was not a Barbie box. It was just a plain white box. And I was surprised, but I thought, oh, Aunt Patty is being sneaky, you know. She bought me -- she just put it in a different box.

So I open the lid and there's tissue paper. So I pull back the tissue paper, because I'm ready to pull out my Barbie, and, no lie, there were seven pairs of neatly rolled-up daily underwear.

KC Wright: No.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yes. Yes.

KC Wright: No.

Jennifer Rothschild: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Fri- -- listen, I was eight years old, I didn't even care if I wore underwear, much less wanted underwear for Christmas.

Well, here's the funny part of the story. So evidently, I made it very clear that I disapproved --

KC Wright: Wow.

Jennifer Rothschild: -- of this gift. My face, you know. So my mother -- within seconds, I hear her sing-songy voice from the couch where she's sitting next to Aunt Patty, who is observing all of this. My mom says, "Jennifer, what do you say to Aunt Patty?" And I said, "Thank you." Because I knew my mother would not be happy if I did not say thank you.

But also, here's the thing I've learned. Bottom line. We say thank you because of the giver, not because of the gift, right? Gratefulness is not based on the gift; it's based on honoring the one who gives.

KC Wright: Yes.

Jennifer Rothschild: And so my mother was teaching me, you honor the giver. Well, dude, what a great life lesson for just how we treat the Lord and the things. Because we got some stuff in our lives that's like, ooh, this is not the gift I wanted.

KC Wright: We did not want underwear.

Jennifer Rothschild: Huh-uh. But what God allows, we are grateful for.

KC Wright: Yes.

Jennifer Rothschild: So, yeah, that was a funny Christmas memory with a good takeaway.

All right. So what about you? Give me a fun or a good Christmas memory.

KC Wright: You know, when I think of Christmas, I'm ushered into this one memory into my mind that -- I grew up very poor, and we lived in a broken-down little trailer. It gets even worse. I remember my mom and dad -- when I was first born, we lived in a garage.

Jennifer Rothschild: Wow.

KC Wright: Yeah, with a mattress on the floor. I mean --

Jennifer Rothschild: Wow.

KC Wright: When I say poverty, I'm saying poverty.

Jennifer Rothschild: Right, right.

KC Wright: That's why I love so much -- our little church, we have a food pantry where we hand out free groceries every Saturday from 10:00 to noon, free groceries. And the only qualification is you have a beating heart and you're in our parking lot.

Jennifer Rothschild: I love it.

KC Wright: But if I close my eyes, I can remember my mom and I being in a line to receive food.

But anyway, I remember as a little boy in this broken-down trailer wanting to buy my mama a Christmas gift. And I had -- I got no job.

Jennifer Rothschild: You're a little boy.

KC Wright: Right, right. I have no money. And I remember getting on my knees -- and we had green carpet with orange drapes. Yes. I tell you the truth. And I remember calling on to God going, "Father, send me -- I need money. I need money to buy Mama a Christmas gift." Because right next door to our little broken-down trailer was Blue Door Antique Shop. And I knew if I had some money, I could go to that antique shop when I got off the school bus and buy Mom a gift. And I prayed that prayer, and maybe the next day or the day after, a very rich relative from St. Louis mailed me a Christmas card with a crisp $50 bill inside that.

Jennifer Rothschild: No.

KC Wright: Yes. It was the first time in my life where I used my faith. That I believed and received by faith and that money came. It was such a spiritual lesson, and I got to buy my mom something for Christmas.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah. Well, see, isn't that sweet --

KC Wright: Yeah.

Jennifer Rothschild: -- how -- I mean, God -- every opportunity we have, he redeems it. And that becomes a gift that keeps on giving, because then your faith was ignited and continued to grow.

KC Wright: Oh, yeah. But I just remember being in this old blue coat, walking in this deep snow to the antique store. And I remember walking up in the deep snow to the trailer, and the lights were coming through the living room window, and I had that gift wrapped. I don't remember what it was. But I was able to wrap it and put it underneath the tree so Mama could have a gift.

Jennifer Rothschild: Oh, my gosh. KC, this is the stuff of Hallmark movies. I mean, that's amazing.

KC Wright: Yeah, yeah.

Jennifer Rothschild: That's precious.

KC Wright: Yeah.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah, that's the kind of stuff of a Hallmark movie. I'm going to call Candace Bure and let her know -- Candace Cameron Bure -- she needs to do that. That needs to be her next Christmas movie.

KC Wright: But then I have kind of a morbid Christmas memory.

Jennifer Rothschild: Ooh. Okay, let's go for it.

KC Wright: But I want to hear another one from you.

Jennifer Rothschild: Okay. I want you to do morbid and then I'll do mine.

KC Wright: Okay.

Jennifer Rothschild: Because morbid -- I'm too excited to know. Yeah, what?

KC Wright: It's Christmas morning --

Jennifer Rothschild: Okay.

KC Wright: -- I'm a little boy.

Jennifer Rothschild: Okay.

KC Wright: Picture me, I'm in -- remember the pajamas. It was a one suit. Okay. These pj's had feet. Okay?

Jennifer Rothschild: Yes, got you, got you.

KC Wright: And we are opening up gifts. And I remember that year, my dad had done something and got him a Sears card, and so we actually had legit presents.

Jennifer Rothschild: Wow. That's so funny.

KC Wright: Like, you know, I remember I got a keyboard and a boom box and all that.

Jennifer Rothschild: Oh, my gosh.

KC Wright: So it was the best Christmas ever. We broke through the poverty line and dad got a credit card. But here's the deal. While we're unwrapping gifts, I hear something from my hamster's cage in the living room. I had a hamster as a pet. And my mama hamster is popping out baby hamsters like a machine gun.

Jennifer Rothschild: On Christmas.

KC Wright: And so as a little boy, I start screaming, "Baby Jesus hamsters. Baby Jesus hamsters."

Jennifer Rothschild: Because they were born on Christmas.

KC Wright: And so we were so happy. And those shrieks of joy turned to shrieks of terror.

Jennifer Rothschild: Why?

KC Wright: Because we didn't know that when a mama hamster starts kicking out babies, you need to separate her from her hamsters or she will devour them.

Jennifer Rothschild: No, she did not eat Baby Jesus.

KC Wright: She grabbed Baby Jesus and snapped his head off in her mouth. Snatched that little baby and just -- I can see it right now.

Jennifer Rothschild: That's terrible.

KC Wright: And I screamed, and Mom tried to get in the cage and she's separating the hamsters. And there was a little dead Baby Jesus headless hamster.

Anyway, I didn't eat that candy out of the stocking that afternoon.

Jennifer Rothschild: No. That is kind of troubling.

KC Wright: So anyway, that's...

Jennifer Rothschild: Okay. Well, you know what --

KC Wright: That's not so --

Jennifer Rothschild: But that's hilarious.

KC Wright: Not the best memory.

Jennifer Rothschild: No. But looking back, looking back it's hilarious. At the time, terrorizing. Oh, my gosh.

I remember it was a Christmas and -- I guess I learned my lesson well from Aunt Patty, you know, saying, "Thank you." So, like, I was trying to use all my gifts at once. Like, I got a sleeping bag that year, so I was laying in the sleeping bag on the living room floor. And I had my stocking in front of me, I was eating all the stuff from my stocking. I think I had gotten some kind of little hat for my Girl Scout uniform. I was wearing that. Like, I had everything on at once.

KC Wright: Right.

Jennifer Rothschild: Why I thought I had to do this, but I got a full Three Musketeer bar in my stocking. I was probably nine years old. I ate, probably at 8 a.m., that entire Three Musketeers, and I proceeded to throw up in my sleeping bag on Christmas. It was not good. It was not good at all. And you know what? I've never had a Three Musketeers since, because I am so disturbed by that memory. It was awful. I clearly just over-sugared and -- anyway. There you go.

Okay, I'll give you one more story, and then I want you to end us with something sweet. Okay?

KC Wright: Okay.

Jennifer Rothschild: All right. So this is just funny --

KC Wright: I love this.

Jennifer Rothschild: -- and a little bit poignant. All right. So I used to -- I haven't done it in the last couple of years just because I have been so anti-clutter. And not that the nativity scene is clutter, but I've just tried to simplify some things.

But back in the day, I had the entire nativity scene. We had the wiseman, we had the camels, we had the shepherds. Even though they all weren't there at the same time in the Bible, they were all there at the same time in the mantle. And what I did is I would keep the manger empty and then put Baby Jesus in it on Christmas Day, like, to show the kids, look, it's empty, you know, he's born.

Well, in front of the nativity scene, I had these brass candle -- not candle -- stocking holders, and they spelled the word Noel, N-O-E-L, and at the bottom of each letter hung a stocking. Okay. So I would set up Christmas at the beginning of December. Well, this particular Christmas, it was probably, you know, three weeks -- they had been sitting there for three weeks, and I was just kind of going to make sure everything was dusted and clean because it was about to be the big holiday and we were having family come. And so I go to just kind of check everything, and I'm dusting it, and when I realize -- I touched the first stocking holder and I realized, wait a minute, that's not an N. And then I touched the second one, I'm like, that's not an O. And I realized somebody had messed with my candle holder -- I mean -- why am I calling them candle? My stocking holders.

And so then when I feel it, KC, it's L-E-O-N, Leon. I had Leon sitting on my mantle for probably two to three weeks. And I don't know how many people came in my house and saw "Leon" on the mantle, instead of "Noel," and wondered, why do they have Leon on the mantle? So I just think that is so funny. I think it was one of my boys. I have never figured out which one. But, yeah, we had Leon on the mantle.

But here's the point of that, too, seriously. If I had been paying more attention to the mantle, to where the focus of my Christmas should have been, that picture of the nativity where Jesus was coming, then I would have noticed Leon a lot sooner. But clearly, I hadn't had my eye on the mantle. And I think spiritually we do that. Like, we get so busy with all the things that we don't notice that something's just not right, things are out of order. You know what I mean?

KC Wright: Yeah.

Jennifer Rothschild: But if we keep our eye on the main thing, on the Christ child, on that advent that Jesus came, then we notice when things are out of order. So that has always been a very poignant reminder to me.

KC Wright: That is so good, JR.

Jennifer Rothschild: I know. Well, there you go. The Lord gives me lots of teaching moments.

KC Wright: Oh, my goodness. Okay, are you still with us? Are you having your hot chocolate?

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah.

KC Wright: Are you maybe drinking some wassail?

Jennifer Rothschild: Oh, I hope so. I wish I was there drinking it with you.

KC Wright: I know. I wish we could give each one of our 4:13 listeners a gift. But just feel the Christmas podcast hug.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah.

KC Wright: So my last story --

Jennifer Rothschild: All right, give us one more story.

KC Wright: Yeah, my last story. So we know this, that there's so many Scriptures in the Bible that talk about how we are the victorious ones. We were born to reign in this life.

Jennifer Rothschild: Amen.

KC Wright: Greater is he that's in us. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us, right?

Jennifer Rothschild: Yep, yep.

KC Wright: However, Jesus I also said in this world you will have --

Jennifer Rothschild: Trouble.

KC Wright: -- trouble and tribulation. So anyway, back in 2016 I went through one of the worst storms in my life. And I'm not going to go there. But I'm just telling you, it was --

Jennifer Rothschild: It was bad.

KC Wright: -- it was a bad deal. Okay? And we've done a podcast on that. But anyway...

Jennifer Rothschild: Yes, we have.

KC Wright: I remember specifically driving through my hometown, and I was calling on God and I needed miracles. Miracles. Several miracles. And I'm not going to list them here. But we needed miracles, more than one. And I'll never forget driving past this Catholic church. And every year tradition holds that they put out this beautiful, massive manger scene. We're talking a life-size Mary and a life-size Joseph. It's beautiful. It's gorgeous. And it sits underneath a golden cross. And it's just one of my favorite places to go and see the Nativity every year in my hometown. And I'll never forget crying out to God driving, and I drove past that manger scene and out of my heart the Holy Spirit spoke. And I heard the Holy Spirit say, "Miracles still come from the manger."

Now, here's how I know that was the Holy Spirit: because KC doesn't think of something that cool. It just fluttered out. And it was that -- you know, one word from God can change your life forever.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah, it can.

KC Wright: And that one word from the Holy Spirit gave me hope that day. And I pressed in even more and I found more Scriptures that I could stand on to believe God for the miracle in my life.

That same afternoon, I went to my P.O. box, and my dear friends -- who now live in Missouri, but at the time lived in Washington -- they mailed me a Christmas card. And they said, "Hey, every year we pray about who we should bless. Several weeks ago, the Lord laid you on my heart." And I had just heard, "Miracles still come from the manger," and I opened the Christmas card and there was a check meeting my every need. Meeting my every need.

Jennifer Rothschild: Oh, KC, I love that.

KC Wright: But then something happened on that Christmas morning where I learned that it's not about what's under the tree, it's who's next to you. And I'll never forget in that morning looking at the manger scene that I had under our tree and hearing that same whisper of the Holy Spirit again say, "Miracles still come from the manger."

So be encouraged. Miracles still come from the manger. Amen? And I pray also that you see Christmas in the eyes of a child. Because as a parent now, Christmas is always found in Elly's eyes. When Elly received her first violin, that was like the best morning ever.

And then -- I don't know if you know this about me -- but for ten years, over a decade, Bass Pro Shops hired me to be a storyteller --

Jennifer Rothschild: Oh, that's right.

KC Wright: -- for a Christmas presentation where we actually gave the Gospel. But anyway, every show that we would do, I would see Christmas in the eyes of a child. And you got to lean in and look for it. It's almost like Christmas magic. Christians don't like the word "magic," and I understand that.

Jennifer Rothschild: There's a wonder.

KC Wright: There is a -- it's a spark, man.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah.

KC Wright: You're like, Oh, there's Christmas.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yes.

KC Wright: So that's my prayer for you today, that you find that Christmas miracle. That -- listen, it is in front of you. You just have to see it, maybe not with your physical eye, but with the eyes of the Spirit.

Jennifer Rothschild: Oh, that is our prayer for you, our 4:13 family. We do hope this is just a blessed and beautiful holiday for you. Set aside where you can really see that miracles come from the manger.

You know our friend Michael O'Brien, he has sung on our Christmas cards before, and he's going to sing us out and give you a greeting from all of us. We do hope that you have a blessed little Christmas. Love you.

Michael O'Brien: (Singing) Have yourself a blessed little Christmas, Christ the King is born. Let your voices ring upon this happy morning.

Have yourself a blessed little Christmas, serenade the earth. Tell the world we celebrate the Savior's birth.

Let us gather to sing to him and to bring to him our praise. Christ the Lord is a Gift for all, to the end of all our days.

Sing hosanas, hymns, and hallelujahs, as to him we bow. Make the music mighty as the heavn's allow. And have yourself a blessed little Christmas now.