Peanut and I went walking in the woods yesterday. We saw a little pine tree that looked just like a little Christmas Tree.

Peanut slipped his leash off and brought it to me. He said, "You could put this rope around the tree and make it pretty for Christmas!"

I told him that it was a cute idea. This is Peanut's first Christmas and he wanted to know all about Baby Jesus being born in a manger. I told him about the first Christmas.

"Why did God make himself a Baby Person?" he asked.

I said, "So that He could save us and give us everlasting life..."

Peanut asked, "Couldn't he just use his 'outdoor voice' and tell us how?"

And this is the story that I told him:

An old man lived alone in a cabin in the hills of Tennessee. He believed in God but didn't understand why God became Human.

It was Christmas Eve when he heard some puppies barking in the woods nearby. The weather was bad: Snow was falling; It was cold; and the wind was blowing. "I'd better find those puppies and bring them inside or they might not make it through the night..." So he went out and found the puppies. There were five bulldog puppies about 6 weeks old but everytime the old man got close, they ran away! He tried to give them food but they still wouldn't come close! They were afraid of such a big, strange creature! Then he thought, "If I were a bulldog, I could save them and lead them into my home where it's safe and warm."

And then he said, "That's why God became a Man! -- to be like us! -- so He could save us!"

The old man looked down and sitting by his feet was the mother bulldog. He led the mother bulldog back into his cabin and the puppies followed her. He fed the puppies warm oatmeal and gave the mother a bowl of milk and a bone to chew. Now they were safe and warm! And they stayed with the old man and that made him happy.

Peanut said, "That was a great story! Now I understand."