Podcasts about although mary

Although Mary, the mother of Jesus, seems like such an unrelatable figure in the Bible, she actually has much to teach us about motherhood and her journey of faith. Preaching from John 19, Pastor Jared Saavedra describes a singular event which shows us a lot regarding God's honor toward mothers. Notes Mary Found Favor with God Mary was Completely Devoted to God Mary Experienced Great Suffering Jesus honored Mary Mary was Given a New Role Mary Became Part of the Early Church “[Mary] finds her glory and her consummation not in the exceptional circumstance which raises her above the plane of all women (the motherhood of Jesus), but . . . that which she has in common with all believing women (her being a member of the church).” --Klass Schilder Sermon from May 9, 2021. --- To learn more about Renaissance Christian Church and our service times, visit http://ren.church/ (https://ren.church/). Support this podcast

Nowadays it’s common for people to have more than one job or income stream. Having a side-hustle allows you to have more freedom and control in your career as it’s not your only source of income - but how do you go about choosing one? And how do you get started? Today’s guest has a popular Etsy store selling stationery as well as a successful career in motion design. In fact, having a side-hustle allows her to be pickier over the kinds of clients she works with. Find out how you too can start your own side-hustle to complement your motion design career. About Mary Hawkins Mary Hawkins is a freelance motion designer, animator and art director. She joined our Mograph Mastermind last year to help her to get clarity on the kinds of clients she wanted to work with and because she was suffering from a massive case of burnout. As a result, she has gone from being an in-house freelancer to an independent freelancer and she now gets to work with clients such as charities as well as broadcast designer clients. How to start a side-hustle as a motion designer Mary has built up an extremely successful Etsy shop selling voting-themed stationery - she’s made 12,000 sales in the past 4 years. She credits her success to having such a niche store. Mary makes products for volunteers to write postcards to voters. Writing postcards to voters was a new idea back in 2017 that has become increasingly popular, which is how Mary Likes Postcards was born. She paid $300 to get lots of printing done back in 2017 and has been running the business ever since. She’s never had to take out a business loan, or invest more money into it and even during a bad year like 2020, it still manages to pay for her family’s health insurance. How to choose a side-hustle if you don't know where to begin Although Mary was happy in her career, the really interesting jobs would often get sent to a big agency in NYC rather than be kept in-house. As a result, she wasn’t spending much of her time at work actually designing, but she’d always find herself doodling designs at her desk. Therefore it came as no surprise to Mary that her side-hustle incorporated something that was a pain-point in her career. However she’s a designer, not an artist, and she knew she needed to create something with direction that people wanted. When she designs for her store, she is always thinking “who’s going to like/buy this?” “What is the emotional response going to be?” As a motion designer, you have a very specific set of skills so when choosing a side-hustle you should stick to things that you’ll enjoy doing and one that makes use of your skillset.  Some of the best ways to make money through a side-hustle as a motion designer would be teaching based content - 1:1 coaching for other designers or teaching YouTube tutorials. You could also make money digitally, such as creating and selling an online course or make and sell templates, printables or fonts. You could also create a print on demand business, where you print designs on tote bags, cards, pins or other physical products but you only create the product once the order comes in.  The key benefit of this is that you don’t want to have an inventory of stock. However, Mary’s business requires an inventory of stock, which of course takes up space and costs money to buy upfront but she says allows her business to be more profitable. The difference between a hobby and a side-hustle Mary sees her side-hustle as a micro-business. A side-hustle is not something that you do full-time, or for anyone but yourself.  It’s also a business that doesn’t require your attention on a full-time basis. There’s also a difference between a side-hustle and a hobby. For example, if you are a designer who is making a short film, you’re an artist rather than someone with a side-hustle - as your primary goal is not to make money. Having a side-hustle will make you a better motion designer Mary says that having a side-hustle has allowed her to be a better organiser, a better planner, and a better marketer Each of these skills, in turn, has allowed her to be a much better motion designer.  The pitfalls of having a side-hustle  One of the key downsides of having a side-hustle is the pressure it puts on you when it comes to time-keeping and organisation. Having a side-hustle, even a small one, will undoubtedly take up a lot of your time. When you’re a “yes person” like Mary, who loves to say yes to many projects at once, you can find yourself stressed and overwhelmed with a never-ending to-do list. There are also copyright issues when it comes to designing and selling work online. Running two different kinds of businesses also means that tax and accounting can become more complicated. Should you sell products on Etsy, Amazon or Faire? Amazon requires sellers to jump through a lot more hoops than other platforms. They also take a large chunk out of your earnings, however, everyone is on Amazon as it’s such a well-used company. Etsy is a smaller marketplace but people seem to respond to the handmade element of businesses better due to the nature of the product.  Faire is a similar platform to Etsy but for wholesale buyers.  It might be better for you to have your own website rather than sell with a platform - it depends on the product you are selling. There are all sorts of marketplaces out there, you just have to search for them. But ultimately, your side-hustle has to be something you’ll genuinely enjoy doing and something that people want and will pay for.

In this solo episode Mary shares life lessons she learned from her eating disorder recovery journey. Although Mary's life lessons are a byproduct of recovery, you'll love this episode even if you don't relate to having an eating disorder. You will learn... Mary's mantra for getting through difficult times Why "being happy" is not a good goal (and what to strive for instead) How to stop beating yourself up and practice self-compassion Things Mentioned: Episode #2: How To Fall in Love with Yourself Episode # 52: The F*ck It Diet with Caroline Dooner PRE-ORDER MARY'S BOOK, The Gift of Self-Love: maryscuptea.com/book If you enjoy the Mary's Cup of Tea Podcast, could you please leave a review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It helps support the show so much!

Isn’t it incredible to think God had a plan to save the world, and that plan would show up as an unwed pregnancy to a very ordinary girl? Although Mary knew something miraculous had happened, no one else could see what God was doing within her. And he left it that way. God could have […]

Half a year doesn’t seem like much time to take a marketing department from idling to racing ahead, but Mary Ford moves fast. Mary recently became the Chief Marketing Officer of CENTEGIX, an internet of things (IoT) company making emergency alert software. Its main clients are K-12 schools and hotels. School safety is a potentially heavy subject, but Mary focuses on the positives of what CENTEGIX’s product can do. “My job as a marketer is to help people understand the day-to-day value the solution brings to those who feel more protected because they're empowered to get help when they need it,” she says. Although Mary only joined this year, she’s been busy improving CENTEGIX’s brand awareness and profile. When she first came onboard, the company had a website — and not much else. “We needed to build some basic marketing competencies and fundamentals,” Mary says. Under her watch, the CENTEGIX marketing team launched a social media program and started producing white papers and email campaigns, improving internal communications (especially with sales) and hosting webinars. Fortunately, working at four startups in the past has given Mary a taste for juggling lots of projects at once. “I like to build things, and it's fun to see how our marketing function has evolved over the past six months.”

Mary was young and engaged to Joseph when the angel appeared to tell her that she had found favor in God's eyes. Although Mary was shocked at the angel's presence, she accepted whatever God asked of her. This week we shall look at this important part of the Christmas story.

The lessons continue as we're back at Calypso's school for Early Baby - a chance to relive our own more marathon-like labour ward experiences (wish we'd gone to Dr Bluey!), and revel in the fact that even Steiner school kids fight sometimes (phew!) Also, is #bravery trending right now? Mary's seeing it on tshirts everywhere, but wants it distributed equally between the boys and the girls - just like this episode does! (Also, a bonus DIY for guerrilla parenting for equality a la Clementine Ford.) And what does Brene Brown have to do with it? Kate can make it all fit together! Then, how exactly do you get kids to listen long enough to understand different viewpoints? And can storytelling help? (Although Mary wants to hear the sausage dog/dragon's point of view - like this Sesame Street clip that extends to dragon feelings!)  Finally, we can't work out from re-watching the episode if Indi's "for real life" early baby is her little sister or her little niece - so if Joe Brumm could clarify that in his next public letter, much appreciated! ++ Gotta Be Done is ex-journos and Melbourne mums Kate McMahon and Mary Bolling, as we deep-dive on every Bluey episode, with plenty of detours into mama life, childhood memories, and everything else we're bingeing, too! Follow us on Insta at @blueypod @marytbolling @katejmcmahon or on Twitter at @blueypodcast - and use #blueypod to join in.

In the first week of the "Advent" series, Pastor Nate speaks from the book of Luke 1, in which the Angel comes to Mary to explain the event that would change hers & all of our lives forever. Although Mary has a difficult time believing at first what the angle means, due to the fact that it should be impossible, she allows her faith to be stronger than her fear & begins preparing for the coming of Jesus. If Mary had not been faithful, we may all have lost our hope for eternity. So throughout this season, let us strive to remember the true story behind the traditions.

This episode is a double interview of an aunt and her niece. I interview Nancy Shohet West, a Memoir Consultant, and Journalist from Connecticut. Nancy tells us all about how she interacts with people to record their stories. Typically her clients are elderly, and will speak to them over Skype or by phone weekly to record their stories. Often times it is the adult children of the storyteller who hires Nancy to write down their parent’s stories. Nancy explains how she got interested in memoir writing, and gives great advice on how to start your memoir. You can find the books she has written with her clients on Amazon.  Catch up with Nancy on twitter @nancyswest, and at her website www.nancyshohetwest.com Mary Dominick-Comer tells us what it was like for her speaking her memoir. Now at 81 years old, she started just 3 years ago although she initially hired Nancy Shohet West as a personal historian to record her husband’s life story. Mary did not think her life was that interesting, but was surprised that her life was more varied and more interesting than she thought . Although Mary had thought of writing her own memoir, it was easier to speak what she had to say, rather than discipline herself to write. Her diaries helped bring back memories and the hard part is choosing photographs for the book. Mary hopes her grandchildren find her memoir meaningful, and helpful.  Mary articulated like she had never before, and firmly believes that if she had not done what she had done in her life, then she would not be who she is today. Mary leaves us with advice on getting started on your memoir.

Welcome to our Hallmark movie podcast where a friend and I watch one of these ridiculous movies, get together and proceed to dismantle them trope by trope and stereotype upon stereotype...until there is nothing left. Oh, while we drink. This time, we bring you Frozen in Love to close out our Hallmark Winterfest recaps. Rachel Leigh Cook – remember She’s All That? Heck yeah you do! – is the owner of a failing bookstore who’s oddly attached to the classics and has never left her parents’ dinner table. Niall Matter is Adam Claiborne, a pro hockey player who can’t control his well-intended temper tantrums on the ice. Thanks to old college connections, a smokin’ hot, but she’s ethnic so we ignore it, PR lady comes up with a genius idea to pair these two up in an effort to rehab professional images and save bookstores. Brace yourself for the gratuitous Tom and Huck references and sled along with us to the politics and murder-free sleepy town of DENVER, COLORADO where these antics apparently qualify as front page news. Although Mary and Adam’s first encounter starts off pretty rocky (shocker), they grow and mature just enough to set aside their differences about whether bookstores really are just coffee shops with books and what hockey actually is. And by the end of roughly four weeks, Anna and Kristoff…err, Mary and Adam, fall Frozen in Love. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Mary Kennedy is a stand up comedian, actor, writer from Marblehead, Massachusetts. Although Mary is smart enough to be a lawyer or doctor she found her calling in performance arts. She's been a touring stand up comic for 20 years and you've also seen her on shows like 'ER'(as Officer Lang) and Showtimes 'Shameless' (as New Fiona). After graduating a college of misfits called Emerson College, she moved to New York City and started working at The Juilliard school. The rest was history but her wisdom and advice should not be. Mary say's to be successful in whatever you want to do you need to find out who YOU are first and foremost. In a todays age where everyone is so worried about whatever one else is doing, this advice should be listened to by most of our country. Listen in to her incredible story and be sure to follow her and check her show dates out at @Mkennedycomedy (facebook, instagram) and fan her page Mary E. Kennedy!   Today's musical guest is Mia boostrom, who is a musician truly on the rise. Listen to her single "Armor", and be sure to check her out on instagram or facbook at @miaboostrom!

In this week's episode of the ZimmCast I talk with Mary Hagan, Vice President of Communications, National Corn Growers Association (NCGA). Although Mary didn't imagine a career working in agricultural communications she has become a farm lover after the opportunity to work for NCGA came about. Mary's background has suited her well to work on some of the challenges facing corn growers as you will hear her discuss in the program. A topic that came up which is very near and dear to my heart right involves the word, measurement. This important concept should be pretty easy when you consider how many statistics are created by the digital data involved in today's communications channels. However, making sense of it, especially to measure return on investment, success, or even to figure out what your audience is thinking and what is really important to them is a big challenge. Mary talks about some ways NCGA is dealing with this issue. I also like a few anecdotes Mary brings up about the work of some of the state affiliate organizations to NCGA. They are doing very valuable work on their own and Mary sees trying to foster good internal communications with them as a very important element of the work she does. I hope you enjoy the program and thank you for listening!

Mary was 28 when she had her first baby. Although Mary had no history of any psychiatric illness prior to this, two days after giving birth she was separated from her baby, sent to a psychiatric hospital and given electroconvulsive therapy, also known as ECT. Now 67, Mary tells her story.

Birth and Infancy of Jesus (1344.1) 122:0.1 IT WILL hardly be possible fully to explain the many reasons which led to the selection of Palestine as the land for Michael’s bestowal, and especially as to just why the family of Joseph and Mary should have been chosen as the immediate setting for the appearance of this Son of God on Urantia. (1344.2) 122:0.2 After a study of the special report on the status of segregated worlds prepared by the Melchizedeks, in counsel with Gabriel, Michael finally chose Urantia as the planet whereon to enact his final bestowal. Subsequent to this decision Gabriel made a personal visit to Urantia, and, as a result of his study of human groups and his survey of the spiritual, intellectual, racial, and geographic features of the world and its peoples, he decided that the Hebrews possessed those relative advantages which warranted their selection as the bestowal race. Upon Michael’s approval of this decision, Gabriel appointed and dispatched to Urantia the Family Commission of Twelve — selected from among the higher orders of universe personalities — which was intrusted with the task of making an investigation of Jewish family life. When this commission ended its labors, Gabriel was present on Urantia and received the report nominating three prospective unions as being, in the opinion of the commission, equally favorable as bestowal families for Michael’s projected incarnation. (1344.3) 122:0.3 From the three couples nominated, Gabriel made the personal choice of Joseph and Mary, subsequently making his personal appearance to Mary, at which time he imparted to her the glad tidings that she had been selected to become the earth mother of the bestowal child. 1. Joseph and Mary (1344.4) 122:1.1 Joseph, the human father of Jesus (Joshua ben Joseph), was a Hebrew of the Hebrews, albeit he carried many non-Jewish racial strains which had been added to his ancestral tree from time to time by the female lines of his progenitors. The ancestry of the father of Jesus went back to the days of Abraham and through this venerable patriarch to the earlier lines of inheritance leading to the Sumerians and Nodites and, through the southern tribes of the ancient blue man, to Andon and Fonta. David and Solomon were not in the direct line of Joseph’s ancestry, neither did Joseph’s lineage go directly back to Adam. Joseph’s immediate ancestors were mechanics — builders, carpenters, masons, and smiths. Joseph himself was a carpenter and later a contractor. His family belonged to a long and illustrious line of the nobility of the common people, accentuated ever and anon by the appearance of unusual individuals who had distinguished themselves in connection with the evolution of religion on Urantia. (1345.1) 122:1.2 Mary, the earth mother of Jesus, was a descendant of a long line of unique ancestors embracing many of the most remarkable women in the racial history of Urantia. Although Mary was an average woman of her day and generation, possessing a fairly normal temperament, she reckoned among her ancestors such well-known women as Annon, Tamar, Ruth, Bathsheba, Ansie, Cloa, Eve, Enta, and Ratta. No Jewish woman of that day had a more illustrious lineage of common progenitors or one extending back to more auspicious beginnings. Mary’s ancestry, like Joseph’s, was characterized by the predominance of strong but average individuals, relieved now and then by numerous outstanding personalities in the march of civilization and the progressive evolution of religion. Racially considered, it is hardly proper to regard Mary as a Jewess. In culture and belief she was a Jew, but in hereditary endowment she was more a composite of Syrian, Hittite, Phoenician, Greek, and Egyptian stocks, her racial inheritance being more general than that of Joseph. (1345.2) 122:1.3 Of all couples living in Palestine at about the time of Michael’s projected bestowal, Joseph and Mary possessed the most ideal combination of widespread racial connections and superior average of personality endowments. It was the plan of Michael to appear on earth as an average man, that the common people might understand him and receive him; wherefore Gabriel selected just such persons as Joseph and Mary to become the bestowal parents. 2. Gabriel Appears to Elizabeth (1345.3) 122:2.1 Jesus’ lifework on Urantia was really begun by John the Baptist. Zacharias, John’s father, belonged to the Jewish priesthood, while his mother, Elizabeth, was a member of the more prosperous branch of the same large family group to which Mary the mother of Jesus also belonged. Zacharias and Elizabeth, though they had been married many years, were childless. (1345.4) 122:2.2 It was late in the month of June, 8 B.C., about three months after the marriage of Joseph and Mary, that Gabriel appeared to Elizabeth at noontide one day, just as he later made his presence known to Mary. Said Gabriel: (1345.5) 122:2.3 “While your husband, Zacharias, stands before the altar in Jerusalem, and while the assembled people pray for the coming of a deliverer, I, Gabriel, have come to announce that you will shortly bear a son who shall be the forerunner of this divine teacher, and you shall call your son John. He will grow up dedicated to the Lord your God, and when he has come to full years, he will gladden your heart because he will turn many souls to God, and he will also proclaim the coming of the soul-healer of your people and the spirit-liberator of all mankind. Your kinswoman Mary shall be the mother of this child of promise, and I will also appear to her.” (1345.6) 122:2.4 This vision greatly frightened Elizabeth. After Gabriel’s departure she turned this experience over in her mind, long pondering the sayings of the majestic visitor, but did not speak of the revelation to anyone save her husband until her subsequent visit with Mary in early February of the following year. (1345.7) 122:2.5 For five months, however, Elizabeth withheld her secret even from her husband. Upon her disclosure of the story of Gabriel’s visit, Zacharias was very skeptical and for weeks doubted the entire experience, only consenting halfheartedly to believe in Gabriel’s visit to his wife when he could no longer question that she was expectant with child. Zacharias was very much perplexed regarding the prospective motherhood of Elizabeth, but he did not doubt the integrity of his wife, notwithstanding his own advanced age. It was not until about six weeks before John’s birth that Zacharias, as the result of an impressive dream, became fully convinced that Elizabeth was to become the mother of a son of destiny, one who was to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. (1346.1) 122:2.6 Gabriel appeared to Mary about the middle of November, 8 B.C., while she was at work in her Nazareth home. Later on, after Mary knew without doubt that she was to become a mother, she persuaded Joseph to let her journey to the City of Judah, four miles west of Jerusalem, in the hills, to visit Elizabeth. Gabriel had informed each of these mothers-to-be of his appearance to the other. Naturally they were anxious to get together, compare experiences, and talk over the probable futures of their sons. Mary remained with her distant cousin for three weeks. Elizabeth did much to strengthen Mary’s faith in the vision of Gabriel, so that she returned home more fully dedicated to the call to mother the child of destiny whom she was so soon to present to the world as a helpless babe, an average and normal infant of the realm. (1346.2) 122:2.7 John was born in the City of Judah, March 25, 7 B.C. Zacharias and Elizabeth rejoiced greatly in the realization that a son had come to them as Gabriel had promised, and when on the eighth day they presented the child for circumcision, they formally christened him John, as they had been directed aforetime. Already had a nephew of Zacharias departed for Nazareth, carrying the message of Elizabeth to Mary proclaiming that a son had been born to her and that his name was to be John. (1346.3) 122:2.8 From his earliest infancy John was judiciously impressed by his parents with the idea that he was to grow up to become a spiritual leader and religious teacher. And the soil of John’s heart was ever responsive to the sowing of such suggestive seeds. Even as a child he was found frequently at the temple during the seasons of his father’s service, and he was tremendously impressed with the significance of all that he saw. 3. Gabriel’s Announcement to Mary (1346.4) 122:3.1 One evening about sundown, before Joseph had returned home, Gabriel appeared to Mary by the side of a low stone table and, after she had recovered her composure, said: “I come at the bidding of one who is my Master and whom you shall love and nurture. To you, Mary, I bring glad tidings when I announce that the conception within you is ordained by heaven, and that in due time you will become the mother of a son; you shall call him Joshua, and he shall inaugurate the kingdom of heaven on earth and among men. Speak not of this matter save to Joseph and to Elizabeth, your kinswoman, to whom I have also appeared, and who shall presently also bear a son, whose name shall be John, and who will prepare the way for the message of deliverance which your son shall proclaim to men with great power and deep conviction. And doubt not my word, Mary, for this home has been chosen as the mortal habitat of the child of destiny. My benediction rests upon you, the power of the Most Highs will strengthen you, and the Lord of all the earth shall overshadow you.” (1346.5) 122:3.2 Mary pondered this visitation secretly in her heart for many weeks until of a certainty she knew she was with child, before she dared to disclose these unusual events to her husband. When Joseph heard all about this, although he had great confidence in Mary, he was much troubled and could not sleep for many nights. At first Joseph had doubts about the Gabriel visitation. Then when he became well-nigh persuaded that Mary had really heard the voice and beheld the form of the divine messenger, he was torn in mind as he pondered how such things could be. How could the offspring of human beings be a child of divine destiny? Never could Joseph reconcile these conflicting ideas until, after several weeks of thought, both he and Mary reached the conclusion that they had been chosen to become the parents of the Messiah, though it had hardly been the Jewish concept that the expected deliverer was to be of divine nature. Upon arriving at this momentous conclusion, Mary hastened to depart for a visit with Elizabeth. (1347.1) 122:3.3 Upon her return, Mary went to visit her parents, Joachim and Hannah. Her two brothers and two sisters, as well as her parents, were always very skeptical about the divine mission of Jesus, though, of course, at this time they knew nothing of the Gabriel visitation. But Mary did confide to her sister Salome that she thought her son was destined to become a great teacher. (1347.2) 122:3.4 Gabriel’s announcement to Mary was made the day following the conception of Jesus and was the only event of supernatural occurrence connected with her entire experience of carrying and bearing the child of promise. 4. Joseph’s Dream (1347.3) 122:4.1 Joseph did not become reconciled to the idea that Mary was to become the mother of an extraordinary child until after he had experienced a very impressive dream. In this dream a brilliant celestial messenger appeared to him and, among other things, said: “Joseph, I appear by command of Him who now reigns on high, and I am directed to instruct you concerning the son whom Mary shall bear, and who shall become a great light in the world. In him will be life, and his life shall become the light of mankind. He shall first come to his own people, but they will hardly receive him; but to as many as shall receive him to them will he reveal that they are the children of God.” After this experience Joseph never again wholly doubted Mary’s story of Gabriel’s visit and of the promise that the unborn child was to become a divine messenger to the world. (1347.4) 122:4.2 In all these visitations nothing was said about the house of David. Nothing was ever intimated about Jesus’ becoming a “deliverer of the Jews,” not even that he was to be the long-expected Messiah. Jesus was not such a Messiah as the Jews had anticipated, but he was the world’s deliverer. His mission was to all races and peoples, not to any one group. (1347.5) 122:4.3 Joseph was not of the line of King David. Mary had more of the Davidic ancestry than Joseph. True, Joseph did go to the City of David, Bethlehem, to be registered for the Roman census, but that was because, six generations previously, Joseph’s paternal ancestor of that generation, being an orphan, was adopted by one Zadoc, who was a direct descendant of David; hence was Joseph also accounted as of the “house of David.” (1347.6) 122:4.4 Most of the so-called Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament were made to apply to Jesus long after his life had been lived on earth. For centuries the Hebrew prophets had proclaimed the coming of a deliverer, and these promises had been construed by successive generations as referring to a new Jewish ruler who would sit upon the throne of David and, by the reputed miraculous methods of Moses, proceed to establish the Jews in Palestine as a powerful nation, free from all foreign domination. Again, many figurative passages found throughout the Hebrew scriptures were subsequently misapplied to the life mission of Jesus. Many Old Testament sayings were so distorted as to appear to fit some episode of the Master’s earth life. Jesus himself onetime publicly denied any connection with the royal house of David. Even the passage, “a maiden shall bear a son,” was made to read, “a virgin shall bear a son.” This was also true of the many genealogies of both Joseph and Mary which were constructed subsequent to Michael’s career on earth. Many of these lineages contain much of the Master’s ancestry, but on the whole they are not genuine and may not be depended upon as factual. The early followers of Jesus all too often succumbed to the temptation to make all the olden prophetic utterances appear to find fulfillment in the life of their Lord and Master. 5. Jesus’ Earth Parents (1348.1) 122:5.1 Joseph was a mild-mannered man, extremely conscientious, and in every way faithful to the religious conventions and practices of his people. He talked little but thought much. The sorry plight of the Jewish people caused Joseph much sadness. As a youth, among his eight brothers and sisters, he had been more cheerful, but in the earlier years of married life (during Jesus’ childhood) he was subject to periods of mild spiritual discouragement. These temperamental manifestations were greatly improved just before his untimely death and after the economic condition of his family had been enhanced by his advancement from the rank of carpenter to the role of a prosperous contractor. (1348.2) 122:5.2 Mary’s temperament was quite opposite to that of her husband. She was usually cheerful, was very rarely downcast, and possessed an ever-sunny disposition. Mary indulged in free and frequent expression of her emotional feelings and was never observed to be sorrowful until after the sudden death of Joseph. And she had hardly recovered from this shock when she had thrust upon her the anxieties and questionings aroused by the extraordinary career of her eldest son, which was so rapidly unfolding before her astonished gaze. But throughout all this unusual experience Mary was composed, courageous, and fairly wise in her relationship with her strange and little-understood first-born son and his surviving brothers and sisters. (1348.3) 122:5.3 Jesus derived much of his unusual gentleness and marvelous sympathetic understanding of human nature from his father; he inherited his gift as a great teacher and his tremendous capacity for righteous indignation from his mother. In emotional reactions to his adult-life environment, Jesus was at one time like his father, meditative and worshipful, sometimes characterized by apparent sadness; but more often he drove forward in the manner of his mother’s optimistic and determined disposition. All in all, Mary’s temperament tended to dominate the career of the divine Son as he grew up and swung into the momentous strides of his adult life. In some particulars Jesus was a blending of his parents’ traits; in other respects he exhibited the traits of one in contrast with those of the other. (1348.4) 122:5.4 From Joseph Jesus secured his strict training in the usages of the Jewish ceremonials and his unusual acquaintance with the Hebrew scriptures; from Mary he derived a broader viewpoint of religious life and a more liberal concept of personal spiritual freedom. (1349.1) 122:5.5 The families of both Joseph and Mary were well educated for their time. Joseph and Mary were educated far above the average for their day and station in life. He was a thinker; she was a planner, expert in adaptation and practical in immediate execution. Joseph was a black-eyed brunet; Mary, a brown-eyed well-nigh blond type. (1349.2) 122:5.6 Had Joseph lived, he undoubtedly would have become a firm believer in the divine mission of his eldest son. Mary alternated between believing and doubting, being greatly influenced by the position taken by her other children and by her friends and relatives, but always was she steadied in her final attitude by the memory of Gabriel’s appearance to her immediately after the child was conceived. (1349.3) 122:5.7 Mary was an expert weaver and more than averagely skilled in most of the household arts of that day; she was a good housekeeper and a superior homemaker. Both Joseph and Mary were good teachers, and they saw to it that their children were well versed in the learning of that day. (1349.4) 122:5.8 When Joseph was a young man, he was employed by Mary’s father in the work of building an addition to his house, and it was when Mary brought Joseph a cup of water, during a noontime meal, that the courtship of the pair who were destined to become the parents of Jesus really began. (1349.5) 122:5.9 Joseph and Mary were married, in accordance with Jewish custom, at Mary’s home in the environs of Nazareth when Joseph was twenty-one years old. This marriage concluded a normal courtship of almost two years’ duration. Shortly thereafter they moved into their new home in Nazareth, which had been built by Joseph with the assistance of two of his brothers. The house was located near the foot of the near-by elevated land which so charmingly overlooked the surrounding countryside. In this home, especially prepared, these young and expectant parents had thought to welcome the child of promise, little realizing that this momentous event of a universe was to transpire while they would be absent from home in Bethlehem of Judea. (1349.6) 122:5.10 The larger part of Joseph’s family became believers in the teachings of Jesus, but very few of Mary’s people ever believed in him until after he departed from this world. Joseph leaned more toward the spiritual concept of the expected Messiah, but Mary and her family, especially her father, held to the idea of the Messiah as a temporal deliverer and political ruler. Mary’s ancestors had been prominently identified with the Maccabean activities of the then but recent times. (1349.7) 122:5.11 Joseph held vigorously to the Eastern, or Babylonian, views of the Jewish religion; Mary leaned strongly toward the more liberal and broader Western, or Hellenistic, interpretation of the law and the prophets. 6. The Home at Nazareth (1349.8) 122:6.1 The home of Jesus was not far from the high hill in the northerly part of Nazareth, some distance from the village spring, which was in the eastern section of the town. Jesus’ family dwelt in the outskirts of the city, and this made it all the easier for him subsequently to enjoy frequent strolls in the country and to make trips up to the top of this near-by highland, the highest of all the hills of southern Galilee save the Mount Tabor range to the east and the hill of Nain, which was about the same height. Their home was located a little to the south and east of the southern promontory of this hill and about midway between the base of this elevation and the road leading out of Nazareth toward Cana. Aside from climbing the hill, Jesus’ favorite stroll was to follow a narrow trail winding about the base of the hill in a northeasterly direction to a point where it joined the road to Sepphoris. (1350.1) 122:6.2 The home of Joseph and Mary was a one-room stone structure with a flat roof and an adjoining building for housing the animals. The furniture consisted of a low stone table, earthenware and stone dishes and pots, a loom, a lampstand, several small stools, and mats for sleeping on the stone floor. In the back yard, near the animal annex, was the shelter which covered the oven and the mill for grinding grain. It required two persons to operate this type of mill, one to grind and another to feed the grain. As a small boy Jesus often fed grain to this mill while his mother turned the grinder. (1350.2) 122:6.3 In later years, as the family grew in size, they would all squat about the enlarged stone table to enjoy their meals, helping themselves from a common dish, or pot, of food. During the winter, at the evening meal the table would be lighted by a small, flat clay lamp, which was filled with olive oil. After the birth of Martha, Joseph built an addition to this house, a large room, which was used as a carpenter shop during the day and as a sleeping room at night. 7. The Trip to Bethlehem (1350.3) 122:7.1 In the month of March, 8 B.C. (the month Joseph and Mary were married), Caesar Augustus decreed that all inhabitants of the Roman Empire should be numbered, that a census should be made which could be used for effecting better taxation. The Jews had always been greatly prejudiced against any attempt to “number the people,” and this, in connection with the serious domestic difficulties of Herod, King of Judea, had conspired to cause the postponement of the taking of this census in the Jewish kingdom for one year. Throughout all the Roman Empire this census was registered in the year 8 B.C., except in the Palestinian kingdom of Herod, where it was taken in 7 B.C., one year later. (1350.4) 122:7.2 It was not necessary that Mary should go to Bethlehem for enrollment — Joseph was authorized to register for his family — but Mary, being an adventurous and aggressive person, insisted on accompanying him. She feared being left alone lest the child be born while Joseph was away, and again, Bethlehem being not far from the City of Judah, Mary foresaw a possible pleasurable visit with her kinswoman Elizabeth. (1350.5) 122:7.3 Joseph virtually forbade Mary to accompany him, but it was of no avail; when the food was packed for the trip of three or four days, she prepared double rations and made ready for the journey. But before they actually set forth, Joseph was reconciled to Mary’s going along, and they cheerfully departed from Nazareth at the break of day. (1350.6) 122:7.4 Joseph and Mary were poor, and since they had only one beast of burden, Mary, being large with child, rode on the animal with the provisions while Joseph walked, leading the beast. The building and furnishing of a home had been a great drain on Joseph since he had also to contribute to the support of his parents, as his father had been recently disabled. And so this Jewish couple went forth from their humble home early on the morning of August 18, 7 B.C., on their journey to Bethlehem. (1351.1) 122:7.5 Their first day of travel carried them around the foothills of Mount Gilboa, where they camped for the night by the river Jordan and engaged in many speculations as to what sort of a son would be born to them, Joseph adhering to the concept of a spiritual teacher and Mary holding to the idea of a Jewish Messiah, a deliverer of the Hebrew nation. (1351.2) 122:7.6 Bright and early the morning of August 19, Joseph and Mary were again on their way. They partook of their noontide meal at the foot of Mount Sartaba, overlooking the Jordan valley, and journeyed on, making Jericho for the night, where they stopped at an inn on the highway in the outskirts of the city. Following the evening meal and after much discussion concerning the oppressiveness of Roman rule, Herod, the census enrollment, and the comparative influence of Jerusalem and Alexandria as centers of Jewish learning and culture, the Nazareth travelers retired for the night’s rest. Early in the morning of August 20 they resumed their journey, reaching Jerusalem before noon, visiting the temple, and going on to their destination, arriving at Bethlehem in midafternoon. (1351.3) 122:7.7 The inn was overcrowded, and Joseph accordingly sought lodgings with distant relatives, but every room in Bethlehem was filled to overflowing. On returning to the courtyard of the inn, he was informed that the caravan stables, hewn out of the side of the rock and situated just below the inn, had been cleared of animals and cleaned up for the reception of lodgers. Leaving the donkey in the courtyard, Joseph shouldered their bags of clothing and provisions and with Mary descended the stone steps to their lodgings below. They found themselves located in what had been a grain storage room to the front of the stalls and mangers. Tent curtains had been hung, and they counted themselves fortunate to have such comfortable quarters. (1351.4) 122:7.8 Joseph had thought to go out at once and enroll, but Mary was weary; she was considerably distressed and besought him to remain by her side, which he did. 8. The Birth of Jesus (1351.5) 122:8.1 All that night Mary was restless so that neither of them slept much. By the break of day the pangs of childbirth were well in evidence, and at noon, August 21, 7 B.C., with the help and kind ministrations of women fellow travelers, Mary was delivered of a male child. Jesus of Nazareth was born into the world, was wrapped in the clothes which Mary had brought along for such a possible contingency, and laid in a near-by manger. (1351.6) 122:8.2 In just the same manner as all babies before that day and since have come into the world, the promised child was born; and on the eighth day, according to the Jewish practice, he was circumcised and formally named Joshua (Jesus). (1351.7) 122:8.3 The next day after the birth of Jesus, Joseph made his enrollment. Meeting a man they had talked with two nights previously at Jericho, Joseph was taken by him to a well-to-do friend who had a room at the inn, and who said he would gladly exchange quarters with the Nazareth couple. That afternoon they moved up to the inn, where they lived for almost three weeks until they found lodgings in the home of a distant relative of Joseph. (1351.8) 122:8.4 The second day after the birth of Jesus, Mary sent word to Elizabeth that her child had come and received word in return inviting Joseph up to Jerusalem to talk over all their affairs with Zacharias. The following week Joseph went to Jerusalem to confer with Zacharias. Both Zacharias and Elizabeth had become possessed with the sincere conviction that Jesus was indeed to become the Jewish deliverer, the Messiah, and that their son John was to be his chief of aides, his right-hand man of destiny. And since Mary held these same ideas, it was not difficult to prevail upon Joseph to remain in Bethlehem, the City of David, so that Jesus might grow up to become the successor of David on the throne of all Israel. Accordingly, they remained in Bethlehem more than a year, Joseph meantime working some at his carpenter’s trade. (1352.1) 122:8.5 At the noontide birth of Jesus the seraphim of Urantia, assembled under their directors, did sing anthems of glory over the Bethlehem manger, but these utterances of praise were not heard by human ears. No shepherds nor any other mortal creatures came to pay homage to the babe of Bethlehem until the day of the arrival of certain priests from Ur, who were sent down from Jerusalem by Zacharias. (1352.2) 122:8.6 These priests from Mesopotamia had been told sometime before by a strange religious teacher of their country that he had had a dream in which he was informed that “the light of life” was about to appear on earth as a babe and among the Jews. And thither went these three teachers looking for this “light of life.” After many weeks of futile search in Jerusalem, they were about to return to Ur when Zacharias met them and disclosed his belief that Jesus was the object of their quest and sent them on to Bethlehem, where they found the babe and left their gifts with Mary, his earth mother. The babe was almost three weeks old at the time of their visit. (1352.3) 122:8.7 These wise men saw no star to guide them to Bethlehem. The beautiful legend of the star of Bethlehem originated in this way: Jesus was born August 21 at noon, 7 B.C. On May 29, 7 B.C., there occurred an extraordinary conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in the constellation of Pisces. And it is a remarkable astronomic fact that similar conjunctions occurred on September 29 and December 5 of the same year. Upon the basis of these extraordinary but wholly natural events the well-meaning zealots of the succeeding generation constructed the appealing legend of the star of Bethlehem and the adoring Magi led thereby to the manger, where they beheld and worshiped the newborn babe. Oriental and near-Oriental minds delight in fairy stories, and they are continually spinning such beautiful myths about the lives of their religious leaders and political heroes. In the absence of printing, when most human knowledge was passed by word of mouth from one generation to another, it was very easy for myths to become traditions and for traditions eventually to become accepted as facts. 9. The Presentation in the Temple (1352.4) 122:9.1 Moses had taught the Jews that every first-born son belonged to the Lord, and that, in lieu of his sacrifice as was the custom among the heathen nations, such a son might live provided his parents would redeem him by the payment of five shekels to any authorized priest. There was also a Mosaic ordinance which directed that a mother, after the passing of a certain period of time, should present herself (or have someone make the proper sacrifice for her) at the temple for purification. It was customary to perform both of these ceremonies at the same time. Accordingly, Joseph and Mary went up to the temple at Jerusalem in person to present Jesus to the priests and effect his redemption and also to make the proper sacrifice to insure Mary’s ceremonial purification from the alleged uncleanness of childbirth. (1353.1) 122:9.2 There lingered constantly about the courts of the temple two remarkable characters, Simeon a singer and Anna a poetess. Simeon was a Judean, but Anna was a Galilean. This couple were frequently in each other’s company, and both were intimates of the priest Zacharias, who had confided the secret of John and Jesus to them. Both Simeon and Anna longed for the coming of the Messiah, and their confidence in Zacharias led them to believe that Jesus was the expected deliverer of the Jewish people. (1353.2) 122:9.3 Zacharias knew the day Joseph and Mary were expected to appear at the temple with Jesus, and he had prearranged with Simeon and Anna to indicate, by the salute of his upraised hand, which one in the procession of first-born children was Jesus. (1353.3) 122:9.4 For this occasion Anna had written a poem which Simeon proceeded to sing, much to the astonishment of Joseph, Mary, and all who were assembled in the temple courts. And this was their hymn of the redemption of the first-born son: (1353.4) 122:9.5 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, (1353.5) 122:9.6 For he has visited us and wrought redemption for his people; (1353.6) 122:9.7 He has raised up a horn of salvation for all of us (1353.7) 122:9.8 In the house of his servant David. (1353.8) 122:9.9 Even as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets — (1353.9) 122:9.10 Salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; (1353.10) 122:9.11 To show mercy to our fathers, and remember his holy covenant — (1353.11) 122:9.12 The oath which he swore to Abraham our father, (1353.12) 122:9.13 To grant us that we, being delivered