(soaring orchestral music)

- [Announcer] The following program is sponsored by CBN.

- [Gordon] Get ready for Christmas with the "700 Club."

- [Allen] For me, Christmas is a year round thing.

- [Gordon] So gather the family together,

- They were everything everyone wanted in a parent.

- [Gordon] enjoy a few treats,

- Something is drawn with the green.

- [Gordon] witness a Christmas miracle,

- And she'll claim that till the day she dies.

- [Gordon] and celebrate the real reason for the season.

- Don't leave me. - On today's "700 Club."

(lively festive music)

(soft dramatic Christmas music)

Well, Merry Christmas,

and welcome to this Christmas Eve edition of the "700 Club."

"The Chosen" has been viewed by more than 300 million people

in more than 190 countries on all seven continents.

"The Chosen" has become a global phenomenon.

- Well, "The Chosen"'s Christmas special

broke multiple records at the box office for fathom events.

Efrem Graham was on the set during production

and brings us this exclusive look

at "Christmas with the Chosen: The Messengers."

- [Efrem] The Christmas storyyy

* Tell it on the mountain

- Joseph, we can't keep looking. He's coming.

- [Efrem] is, in many ways,

* Everywhere (shovel clatters)

(Mary whimpers)

- Mary, are you seeing this?

- It's time.

- [Efrem] return to the roots of "The Chosen" series.

- My soul magnifies the Lord.

- And my spirit rejoices in God my savior.

- Remember what your messenger said, the first thing.

(dramatic music)

- Don't be afraid.

* T Thasus Christ is

- People must know.

- That little short film I did

for my church's Christmas EvEve ice

in my friend's farm in Illinois

is ultimately what launched this entire thing.

It's what generated the crowdfund record,

and it really took us into the stratosphere,

and it started with such humble beginnings.

And what's so great about that is

that that's the story of Jesus.

I'm not comparing "The Chosen" to Jesus, of course,

but it is a show about Jesus,

and Jesus's story started with such humble beginnings.

I love the story so much. It's my favorite time of year.

I know that's a cliche, but it's true.

- [Efrem] Dallas Jenkins is the creator, director,

and writer of the most successful crowdfunded series.

I know you had no clue making that

for your church that this would happen,

but what have these last few years been like?

- Honestly, I haven't even had a chance

to stop and think about it, really.

I know that at each stage of "The Chosen,"

I have tried desperately to remain surrendered

because that short film came from brokenness

and surrender because my previous film

had completely bombed at the box office.

I didn't know if I even had a future in this business.

So when I had the opportunity to do that short film,

it felt like a big step down from what I'd been doing,

and yet I loved doing it.

I was like, "This is not at all what I planned for.

I'm on my friend's farm here doing a thing for my church,

and yet I feel like I'm in my wheelhouse.

I feel like this is bringing me more joy

than I've had before, and I don't wanna lose that."

So watching the show grow,

one of the cool things about it is it'd be

like if the boy who providededed tves and fish

at the feeding of the 5,000 went home to his parents

and said, "I fed 5,000 people today, Mom."

That would be ludicrous.

You'd be like, "I provided five loaves and two fish,

and oh my gosh, Jesus did something crazy

and multiplied them," and that's what I feel like.

The Christmas short film was my loaves and fish,

and now I'm going, "Oh my gosh,

look what Jesus did with this."

This is extraordinary,

and it's been as fun for me as it has been for the viewers.

- [Efrem] And he invited us to the set in Utah

as they wrapped production of the Christmas movie.

* I said go tell it on the mountain *

* Over the hills and everywhere *

* Go tell it on the mountain

* That Jesus Christ is born

- Which includes performances

from the biggest names in the music industry

like Zach Williams, Jordan Feliz,

Phil Wickham, and Maverick City Music.

What is it like singing Christmas music

at a place that likely looks like

what it looked like when Jesus was born?

- It's surreal watching the Bible really come to life

and the things that you see.

It's like you hear about it and you imagine it,

but actually like laying your eyes

on something is a different thing.

It's like watching it really come alive.

It's really different, really different,

in the best ways though.

- Do you approach singing Christmas music any different

than you approach singing your worship?

- I'm gonna say a little bit yes,

but I think it's the same about the resurrection.

I think there's like a different joy,

I think, that comes from that,

but singing Christmas music and remembering

that God made this choice to send a savior

into the world in such a humble way,

to me, it's just heartwarming.

It's something that's a little more precious and delicate,

and I think approaching the music,

I approach it a little differently,

if I'm completely honest.

It's just like, "Man, why would you do this for us?"

But it's remembering that God loves us so much.

- It actually made me think for just one moment.

Is this really the son of God?

(soft dramatic music) (flames crackle)

And Joseph later told me he briefly thought the same thing.

But we know he was. - A humble story.

* And heaven and heaven and angels sing *

- That delivers an overwhelming joy to the world.

What has the series meant to you personally?

- Sometimes even for myself,

these stories and these verses you say over and over again

or you go to church and hear,

and you hear about the e pral son.

You hear about the cross. You hear about Easter.

You see the nativity set up on your grandma's counter

at Christmas, and sometimes in our minds,

if we don't let it happen,

these sacred things can become akin to Aslan and Frodo.

Like they're just these stories that are about something,

but theieir ors.

I almost think sometimes we categorize these stories

in the wrong place,

and this TV series helps me categorize it in a place

from just allegory and metaphor and make it not

that I want to be there or I've ever thought that,

but sometimes, I think sometimes I put it there on accident

of Jesus took on humanity and was really Emmanuel,

God with us, and to real people.

* Hearts unfold like flowers before thee *

- [Efrem] Efrem Graham, CBN News, Goshen, Utah.

* To the sun above

- It's one of the great things about "The Chosen"

that it makes Jesus real, that he's not some myth.

He's not some allegory.

He's not something make believe, but he really lived,

and he really walked this earth,

and he can walk those dusty streets today,

and he can walk with you.

That's the appeal of this, and it's absolutely wonderful.

If you want more information or where you

can see the movie, Christmas with "The Chosen,"

all you have to do is go to cbnnews.com.

Terry.

- Up next, this couple was lookokinrward

to becoming empty nesters.

So how did they wind up adopting nine children just

in time for Christmas?

You have to see it to believe it, so stay tuned.

Plus it's Christmas Eve.

So do you have your cookies ready for Santa?

If you don't, it's not too late.

Ashley Key will share her quick and easy recipe

for Christmas sugar cookies.

That's coming up.

(bright festive music)

- Spur of the moment traveling, spontaneous living,

going and doing whatever they want

whenever they want to do it.

Well, that's what Michael and Terry Hawthorn

were looking forward to as empty nesters.

So how did the couple (laughs) end up with a full house

of nine children right before the holidays?

Take a look.

- I'd already told Terry when we started keeping foster kids

that we were not gonna adopt any.

Our kids are almost grown.

We're at a point that if we wanna travel

or take some trips, whatever we wanna do, we can do it,

and I ate my words right there.

- [Woman] Michael and Terri Hawthorn had four grown children

of their own and were thinking about retirement.

Throughout their marriage,

they had fostered several children.

- We got a little boy that is six now.

He came to us at threeee wksold and weigh ing five pounds,

and we almost lost him a couple times.

He had some respiratory issues and things

like that that we were not aware of.

And I can remember being up in ICU with him,

and I think God really dealt with me then,

and I knew then that it was gonna be a battle

for anyone to try to take him from us.

- [Woman] To the doctors' amazement,

his health began improving rapidly.

Soon, the Hawthorns were also fosterining sister Haizlee.

The Hawthorns then found out about a sibling group

of seven that also needed foster care.

Michael and Terri said God began changing their hearts.

- The children came from a very rough upbring.

They were also physically abused and neglected.

Their education level was so low,

they were not at the grade level that they were in.

I think that's when God started working on us,

and He had definitely different plans

for our lives than we thought.

- When you hear the stories of what some

of these kids have already been through,

you think just maybe we can make a difference

in their lives.

- [Woman] The Hawthorns fell in love with them

and initiated plans to adopt them all.

- When we opened our foster home,

we were only opened as a foster home,

and you have to either be opened

as a foster to adopt or an adoptive home.

And so we had to do a little bit of changes with that,

and then we have to meet all the criteria,

the square footage for the rooms,

and it seemed like it was constantly a battle.

- [Woman] After a long wait,

the Hawthorns finally adopted the children.

- That process, it took us till December 3rd

of 2018 in order to adopt 'em right before Christmas time,

and that was such a rewarding thing for us and a blessing

for the children to be able to be placed

in a home permanently through the holidays.

It's just been trying to make all those Christmas traditions

and memories for the children.

It was special. It was very special.

- These kids had never had presents wrapped.

All their presents that they ever got

were in Walmart bags or trash bags.

The look on their faces whenever they got to get their gifts

and their eyes were lighting up and then to open 'em.

- [Women] The couple is also trying

to teach their new family the true meaning of Christmas.

- o sit down and read the birth of Jesus

and what the real meaning of Christmas is.

- [Women] After their adoption,

many of the children began expressing the desire

to commemorate their new life by taking on new names.

- The judge had mentioned to us that one

of the very first decisions that they would be able to make

is to choose their new name if they wanted to.

So we left it open to them,

and my oldest daughter helped them choose their first

and middle names.

- [Women] Although the process

has been incredibly rewarding,

it has not been without challenges.

- We had to learn a lot of patience.

It takes a lot of prayer (laughs) when you go

from a house that is almost empty of kids

to a house that's overflowing.

It's a big, big challenge.

- I didn't have people who were in my life

that actually loved me,

and it was tough until I met my parents now.

They have done so much for me.

They were always there for me when I needed them.

They were caring, understanding, nice, thoughtful.

They were everything everyone wanted in a parent.

They may not have given birth to me,

but they are who I see as a parent.

- They're still learning and we're still learning,

but every day, it's something new.

We love each other, and it's as if we're their own.

No one would have known that we were adopted.

- [Woman] The Hawthorn children have adapted well

to their new home and school and are all busy

with extracurricular activities.

- Dawson is in high school cheer,

and then the three eighth graders are in cheer,

volleyball, and two of them are in basketball,

and so that's five nights a week

that they have practices they need to be at.

Then we allowed Addi and Aria, our two sixth graders,

they decided they wanted to play pee-wee basketball.

- [Woman] Michael and Terri say they can't imagine life

without their nine new children.

- And the kids' grades have all gone up.

Their reading levels have got to where they're supposed

to be or if not above.

This could not have happened if it

wouldn't have been the Lord's help in all of this,

his hand and his direction and our that we made.

People say they can't do it,

but I think God opens your heart and your mind

and your ability to be able to take care of 'em.

God works in mysterious ways.

And so if they have the heart and thability

or the space to offer that,

I would definitely highly encourage people to give it a try

because just that little bit of difference

that they can make in one of these children's lives

will live with them forever.

(soft pleasant music)

- Michael and Terri are making an incredible difference

in the lives of their children.

What an amazing couple willing to take this on

at a time in their lives when they

could've done the easy thing and just kicked back

and enjoyed, but like it when I see somebody who's-

- Why is that, Terryry?

Why do you like that

when you see people take on that challenge?

- Well, not just that challenge.

Any challenge for the kingdom, I think,

is what we're here for till it's time to go there, so.

(laughs) Get your boots on. - Adoption is really close

to your heart 'cause

- Well, it is very close to my heart.

- you are the mother to the world.

- (laughs) Not really.

These people are the mothers and fathers of the world.

I just think it's-

- They're not in over 60 countries.

- No, well, true.

But - And you are.

- you just do what God sets before you,

And it's such a picture of how he loves us

and who we are to Him that it really blesses me

when I see it, whether it's in my house or somebody else's.

So hooray, Hawthorns. - It's a great thought.

It's a great thought on Christmas Eve.

- Yes. - Who created family?

- Yeah, yeah, our Father. - And who created generations?

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

When we gathered together, he works through the generations.

- Yeah, and I've been reading Old Testament

and how important that is that they recorded it.

- And the genealogy. - This person

begat this person begAt this person begat this person,

and now the hawthorns have begat nine new people

in their family; it's awesome.

- Yeah, when I went off to the Philippines,

my father gave me this cryptic word.

He said, "Gordon, some people get

into the Bible just by begetting somebody."

(Terry laughs)

Two more children were on the way,

but there was a deeper meaning

that how do you reproduce CBN?

How do you beget a CBN?

And CBN Asia came out of that trip, and then from that,

CBN Philippines, CBN Indonesia, CBN India, CBN China, CBN.

A lot of CBNs got birth from that one trip,

that one idea, and it's wonderful.

- God ideas have a way of doing that. (laughs)

- And it was obviously taking a risk,

but absolutely well worth it. - Well worth it.

- Well, up next, we'll join Ashley at home

with her famous dog, Cody, for a little holiday fun.

She'll share a quick and easy cookie.

I can't really call it a recipe 'cause she bought 'em

at the store,

but it's perfect for children. - And that works.

Stay tuned for that.

- [Gordon] So stay tuned. That's coming up.

Also ahead, Christmas Eve turns deadly.

An ATV plows into a barbed wire fence,

and the driver suffers an internal decapitation.

See how this leads to a miracle on Christmas morning,

later on today's show.

(lively festive big band music)

- Well, nothing says Christmas Eve quite

like leaving cookies for Santa,

and so it's not tooo te to bake a few.

Here's Ashley Key with a quick and easy,

I can't call it recipe, but it's a device,

(Gordon and Terry laugh)

for the whole family can enjoy.

(bright festive music)

- Good boy. You're so good.

("Jingle Bells")

It's Cody's first Christmas ever.

My friends call me Snow White

because I love all the animals, all of the creatures.

(birds chirp)

So we are

gonna make these delicious Christmas sugar cookies.

First things first for these Christmas cookies,

they're very simple.

I don't do a lot of things from scratch. That's just me.

I know a lot of people out there will agree.

So literally all you have to do is go get this cookie dough.

It's a Pillsbury sugar cookie dough.

You just need one roll of this or I guess however many rolls

because of however many cookies you wanna make.

I'm just making a small batch.

So I just got one roll. I think it'll be enough.

And then you're gonna need 1/4 a cup of flour

to mix in with the cookie doug

Here's the cookie dough.

The directions say to really just do it in divide it,

so this is like half of this.

Put the other half in the fridge,

and just once you're done making cookies with this,

go and get the other half from the fridge,

add some more flour, 1/4 a cup, you're good to go.

I also have some extra flour just as I continue to work.

I think I'll need it for whenever I cut the cookies

to place the cookie cutter in here

and then cut the cookie dough.

So again, you'll need one roll of this,

1/a cup of flour, and some extra flour.

You'll need one of these thingamabobs.

Don't really know what it's called,

but it's the rolly, rolly thing, roll pin.

I think that's what it's called.

(bright rhythmic festive music)

You will also need just basically a flat surface,

and then, of course you need cookie cutters, okay?

We have these cute ones.

Make sure you have your arrangement of sprinkles.

(sprinkles clatter)

Some red sprinkles and green sprinkles because,

hello, it's Christmas, and then of course, red icing,

white icing, a andthen green icing.

So I'm actually gonna break this up

and just smash it together.

So my niece and nephew love sugar cookies.

They really like the ones from Panera a lot.

Who doesn't like a sugar cookie?

It's just simple and good, and honestly,

I don't have kids, but obviously, I have a niece and nephew.

They're a young age, and I feel like my sister has done this

with them before, especially around the holidays,

and it's just a cute little family activity,

and it's easy for them to get involved with.

They can roll out the dough, put some flour on the dough.

But then also, it's just something really simple you

can just bring to a cookie swap party or something.

I feel like baking is actually very relaxing.

I don't know about you, but I'm not much of a cook.

I can cook, but I would prefer to bake.

And what I've found is you don't

wanna get the dough too thin or else the cookies

will, it won't really cut well.

And then what I'm gonna do is take one

of the cookie cutters, dip it in this flour,

(bright rhythmic festive music)

and then I'm just gonna go in for it.

And that helps when you press down, divides it really well.

Pull it out.

Pull it back from the cut pieces,

and then this dough is not gonna go to waste.

We're just going

to basically do the same exact thing we did,

which is roll it together and do the same thing over again

until we have enough.

All right, guys. Well, we've got a casualty. (laughs)

A little bit of his arm came off, but that's okay.

It doesn't have to be perfect.

Make sure you preheat the oven at 350,

and then you're literally just gonna put 'em

in the oven between eight and 11 minutes.

("Jingle Bells") (Ashley snaps)

* Christmas

Okay. All right.

This is hilarious. Look at them. (laughs)

They are quite fluffy and plump.

Yeah, those didn't go as planned with that, but that's okay.

(oven beeps)

Wow. (laughs) Those are going to cool.

You wanna make sure that before you ice these bad boys,

they have to cool because if not,

the icing is just going to melt,

and it's not gonna look cute, so you don't want that.

All right, so it iss corating time. That's right.

You just take artistic liberty. You know what I'm saying?

It's okay.

Even if it doesn't look cute, you know what?

It's the act, right? It's the act.

Go like this. Anyone?

Anyone know what that's from? (laughs)

And voila. All right, there's my first one.

Ginger.

Something is wrong with the green.

Woo hoo! Little artistic snowflake.

You get the hang of it. So it doesn't have to be perfect.

The whole point is to just have fun.

This is a fun family activity.

You can do it with your friends.

You can do with your spouse,

and this is the finished product.

Oh yeah. Look how pretty they are.

(beep) (muffled chatter)

- [Woman] Yeah, there it is.

- Do you like it? It's a good cookie.

(Ashley laughs) (beep)

Thanks for making a cameo, guys.

(up-tempo bright music) (beep)

But I hope you guys enjoyed this super simple

sugar cookie Christmas cookie recipe,

and I hope you guys just have an amazing Christmas

with your family and friends, and God bless you.

(beep)

- It's clear that Ashley knows how to make reseservns,

and that's about it, but anyway.

(Terry laughs)

We wanna celebrate Christmas with you this year,

so we put together a collection of free videos

and features from our CBN family to yours.

You can watch devotionals, over a dozen holiday movies,

Christmas music, recipes that are really recipes

and not like that, gift giving tips, and a lot more.

All you have to do is join us on cbnamily.com,

or you can download the CBN family app

on your smart device to start watching today.

- I only have one question, Ashley.

What time is our table available?

(both laugh)

That was hilarious.

Okay, well coming up, I think you'd agree with me.

It can be the most stressful time of the year.

For this couple, business dropped drastically

around the holidays along with their income,

and that went on for years, but not anymore.

See why they now have more money than month all year long.

Plus meet a family

who lights up their whole block literally.

A snow machine, dozens of inflatable characters,

and 70,000 LED lights.

What keeps them going year after year?

(soft upbeat music)

- For Jamie and Jenny, November through February,

money was always tight.

There was never extra cash for Christmas.

In fact, they were living on less income year after year,

but not anymore, and you're a aboo see why.

(gentle pleasant music)

- [Man] Jamie and Jenny Uselding have a full household.

With four children, they know a thing or two about juggling.

- We run around with the kids a lot

with baseball, basketball, some football.

- [Man] Jenny works part time as an occupational therapist,

and Jamie owns a painting business.

The Wisconsin winters often made it necessary

for Jenny to juggle their bills.

- The bills come in regularly,

but the money didn't always come in real regularly,

and I just remember feeling terribly stressed

about paying the bills.

- Around November when it started getting cold,

I would drop down to maybe two or three days a week

of work through at least February.

- I can remember just lying in bed one night,

and I knew I had a $700 credit card bill,

and it was, I think, due the next day.

I can remember not being able to sleep for hours.

I knew I would be able to pay it eventually.

It's just, I didn't have the money at that moment.

I was always looking for a way to bridge that gap

until the money did come in.

I hated seeing bills in the mail.

- [Man] Then Jenny started watching the "700 Club"

and learned about tithing.

- This isn't some heavenly slot machine

where you put it in a quarter and hope for the payoff.

No, it is not that way.

It's that consistent life of saying,

"I'm going to live it God's way."

- I do like the telethon, and I know that one of the things

that stuck in my head was if you give regularly,

then God gives back to you.

So maybe if I give regularly on a monthly basis,

maybe our money will come in a little bit more regularly.

- [Man] The couple began tithing 10% of their income

and increased their giving to CBN.

Today, they're chairman circle members.

- I feel like I have the easy part.

All I have to do is give the money,

and then they know what to do with it.

They know where the need is.

They combine everyone's money to be able to dig the wells,

to be able to fix the cleft palates.

It's a great feeling being able

to know that you are a part of that.

- [Man] Soon after, Jenny transitioned to a new job

in the same field but with more pay and better hours,

and by the next year,

Jamie had all the business he could handle.

- I'm pretty busy, and I keep my guys busy all winter.

- There's always money in the checkbook.

We never have trouble with people paying.

- [Man] Jamie and Jenny say that

if you're in a financial bind,

tithing is the key to a peaceful life.

- If you want financial stability or financial freedom,

tithing is the way to go.

Just give it a try and keep your eyes open

for what God will do for you, and it'll come back to you.

Life is so m m muc comfortable. (laughs)

- Jenny found the secret and she found the secret

that God wants to bless his children.

He wants to do that. You don't have to convince him.

You don't have to create bargains

with him or anything like that.

You have to rely on him and know

that his way is the best way.

What is he looking for?

To open the windows of heaven

and pour out a blessing on you.

He's looking for your obedience.

It's a plea throughout the Bible.

You find it in the first chapter of Isaiah.

"If you will only obey me and let me help you,

then you will have plenty."

When you live life in accordance with his way,

his rules, wonderful things will happen.

He will guard over you.

He will rebuke the devourer for your sake.

He will open windows in heaven

and pour out a blessing for you.

You saw it.

u w the transformation in that wonderful family.

It can happen to you.

And why am I so confident it can happen to you?

Because God watches over his word to perform it.

What he's done for others, he will do for you.

So if you want to say for the end of this year

and the beginning of next year,

"I'm going to do it God's way.

It's not an on again, off again thing.

I'm going to be consistent with it,

and I'm going to go through life with a secure knowledge

that God is with me and he is blessing me."

You wanna start doing that, give us a call, 1-800-700-7000.

Just say, "I wanna be a member of the '700 Club.'"

That's just $20 a month, 65 cents a day.

We've got other levels at $40 a month.

We have another one, 1000 Club, $1,000 dollars a year.

That's $84 a month.

When you call and pledge, I've got something for you.

It's called "The Nearness of Heaven."

It's a wonderful DVD teaching.

You can also get instant streaming access to it in 4K.

It's yours for your pledge to say, "I want to start giving."

Stories of people that have gone to heaven, come back,

and then a teaching about how you

can have heaven here on earth.

It's God's pmise the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

It's all yours. I want you to have it.

It's yours when you join.

Now, when you call, make sure you ask for Pledge Express.

That's electronic monthly giving, bank doing all the work,

so there's nothing to worry about.

You know your gift

will come in regularly every single month.

So when you have Pledge Express, we send,

as our gift to you, monthly teaching CD.

So if you'd like those, ask for Pledge Express

when you call or you can go to cbn.com.

When you pledge monthly on the internet,

you automatically sign up Pledge Express.

Do it now, 1-800-700-7000. Terry?

- Well, up next, the Christmas display

that's an entire year in the making.

See why this whole family gets involved in the fun,

and it's not because they enjoy the spotlight.

See how they're blessing others. That's coming up.

Plus, when did Americans start decorating

with Christmas lights,

and what's meaning of the various colors?

You're about to find out.

("Twelve Days of Christmas")

("O Holy Night")

- [Gordon] In 1847,

the French song "Cantique de Noel" was co-written

by a Jewish composer named Adolphe Adam.

A decade later, the American minister, John Sullivan Dwight,

translated the lyrics into English.

As an abolitionist, Dwight was struck

by the lyrics of the second verse.

"Chains shall he break for the slave is our brother,

and in his name, all oppression shall cease."

the Canadian inventor Reginald Fessenden

created the world's first radio broadcast mostly heard

by radio operators and cargo ships in the Atlantic.

Fessenden read the story of the nativity from the gospel

of Luke and played "O Holy Night" on his violin,

making it the first Christmas song ever broadcast

on the radio.

- Fascinating stories.

The history behind the classic carol "O Holy Night"

is just one of many features

that you're gonna find on this DVD,

"Christmas: The Story Behind the Traditions."

You'll learn why December 25th

is the historical birth date of Jesus,

what the symbolism is behind Christmas trees and stockings,

how the tradition of gift giving began, and so much more.

For your gift of any dollar amount,

we'll send you a DVD copy

of "Christmas: The Story Behind the Traditions,"

along with instant 4K streaming access.

Just call 1-800-700-7000,

or you can visit cbn.com/traditionsofchristmas

to order a copy for yourself.

It also makes a great gift.

It's fascinating, many things in here that I didn't know.

- It was fun.

- And I didn't know until we put it together.

It's incredible.

If you ever wondnder do we celebrate December 25th,

how did that become the date,

if you wanna know the traditions behind the songs we sing.

Why do we have stockings?

What's up with the live tree in the house?

All of those things. So it's yours.

All you have to do is say, "I want to give."

It's a gift of any dollar amount,

and your gift will go into the production

of our current films.

We're doing one right t t noon how did we get the Bible.

So if you wanna help with that,

say, "Yes, you can count on me."

1-800-700-7000.

Well, the Holt family goes over the top every year

with Christmas decorations,

and it takes them all year long to do the prep.

The reason they go all out on their holiday display,

this family wants to spread the real meaning of Christmas.

(gentle pleasant music)

- [Woman] Tucked away in the outskirts of Chesapeake,

Virginia is a show you can't miss, the Holt Family Lights.

- We literally will have people that come

down the street every night with their kids,

and they do not miss a night,

and they'll tell us, "Hey, you make our season.

You are a stop that we have to come to."

- [Woman] It's a tradition that started

with his father, Preston.

- Christmas has always been big in our family.

From the time I was (laughs) knee high,

everybody used to put lights out.

When Allen was about 12

is when we really started the inflatables.

- Hey, I need to finish decorating mine. (laughs)

- [Woman] When Allen moved into his first home at 18,

he carried on the tradition

by starting his own holiday display.

- That first year, I'd probably bought 10,

15 strands of lights, and I thought, "Okay."

I did the bushes, and then after Christmas, I went.

I think I got close to three or 400 boxes of lights,

and the next year, I started lining in the house.

It grew from the little tiny 10 boxes

of lights to what you see now.

- [Woman] These days, Allen doesn't just decorate.

He produces a light show with a snow machine,

dozens of inflatable characters, and 70,000 LED lights.

It's a process that takes two weeks

to set up and months to plan.

- [Allen] For me, Christmas is a year-round thing.

You're creating a lot of your props and a lot

of your other stuff, doing your arches and everything else.

We do that throughout the year.

I'm sitting there in June and July,

programming Christmas songs.

- [Woman] And right by his side, eager to help,

is his daughter Cali.

- Yeah!

- We get to climb ladders, and it's fun,

and I get to put up the inflatables.

Daddy, how do I get this one done?

Daddy, the husky needs help.

Daddy, this guy's falling over on me.

- [Woman] On weekend nights,

she also manages her own snack

and cocoa stand her grandfather

has dubbed Cali's Concessions,

and every cent she makes goes directly to charity.

- To teach her the meaning is not

about always receiving but also giving.

It makes me very proud to have her out there.

- It makes me happy because a lot of people need money

to buy s stuor their children.

- Say, "Hi, Santa!" - Hi, Santa!

- [Woman] The Holts have attracted thousands

of admirers over the years,

and they say it's those smiles that keep them going.

- [Preston] Just to see all the people,

the crowd, the kids, the joy.

(kids scream and laugh) (soft upbeat music)

- We actually had a guy that he would come

by every single night,

and he would take a selfie in front of my display.

And so I got to talking to him one night,

and his wife was battling cancer,

and she couldn't get out of bed.

And so every night he would come down to the display,

take a picture, and some nighthts ke video

and take it back to her because it

was something that she looked forward to.

And it's those kinds of stories that makes it worthwhile.

- [Woman] For the Holt family,

this season is all about joy,

anand than't think of a better way

to celebrate the real meaning of Christmas.

- Christmas is a time not just for gifts

but a time to remember why we're celebrating Christmas.

- The birth for Jesus. That's what it's all about.

- That is a tricked out house, and that is going all in.

You just look at that and shake your head and go, "Wow."

I'd like to visit that house.

- Yes, yes. Beautifully done.

Almost every community has something like that

where the whole neighborhood is lined up with cars going by,

and it's usually for good cause, so yay.

So when did Americans begin decking their homes

with Christmas lights?

Did you ever wonder about that?

And what's the symbolism behind the tradition,

and what do the various colors represent?

Wendy Griffith asked best-selling author Ace Collins

to find out.

(soft pleasant festive music)

- Ace, nothing gets me more in the spirit of Christmas

than seeing all of these homes lit up for the holidays,

and I think this home takes the cake.

It's probably the brightest in the neighborhood.

Let me ask you, when did this tradition

of lighting up our homes begin?

- Really, the 1940s, 50s, was when it really started

because that's when lights like these came down

to the prices that normal people could afford.

And they started putting them out,

and we were really an automotive age back then.

So we'd pile in cars, station wagons in particular

in the 50s and 60s and 70s,

and go look at lights and neighborhoods.

But it really started with Martin Luther

because Martin Luther tied a candle on a tree.

And when Martin Luther ed a candle in his tree,

I dododoube envisioned all of this taking place

because that candle in that tree

to him represented the light of Christ,

and that light has been illuminating the world ever since,

and these Christmas lights, to a large degree,

represent that illumination.

- Now I know white lights had been en vogue

for the past few years,

but I really like the colorful lights.

Is there a meaning behind the different colors

of the lights? - There is.

The white light represents the purity of Christ,

the white candle that Martin Luther

first lit all those years ago, but there's also blue lights.

My grandmother always had blue lights on her tree,

like some of the blue lights we see around here,

and those blue lights represent love.

Then you've got the red lights that represent,

like these down here, that represent the blood of Christ

that was shed on the cross,

and we have the green lights that represent,

like the evergreen tree, - The evergreen tree.

- everlasting life, things that don't even die

in the bleakest times, like the bleakest days of winter.

So the lights have a great meaning

and impact during the holidays.

- And of course, the most important meaning

is that they remind us of the light of the world,

Jesus Christ, and the real meaning for the season.

- Think of that.

One little light illuminating in a manger

that has come now glow all around the globe,

even brighter than the lights we're seeing tonight.

(bright upbeat music)

- Reminder to every one of us

to let our little light shine, right?

Well, up next, a horrific accident on Christmas Eve.

This woman was cut across her neck from ear to ear

when she crashed into a barb wire fence on an ATV.

If she survived,

she might never be able to breathe on her own.

Find out what happened on Christmas morning

when we come back.

(dramatic music)

("O Christmas Tree")

- Diane Eubank never imagined she'd be in the hospital

on Christmas Eve fighting for her life.

That's exactly what happened after an accident left her

with an internal decapitation.

That day, Diane was never alone.

Family and friends flooded the hospital,

drowned social media with prayer and prayer requests.

The result, a miracle at 3:00 AM on Christmas morning.

("Good King Wenceslas")

- [Man] Early afternoon, Christmas Eve, 2018.

A woman is airlifted to the University of Alabama

at Birmingham Trauma Center with multiple injuries,

the worst being.

- She had a very significant cut across her neck,

basically ear to ear.

- [Man] 52-year-old Diane Eubank

had been giving a friend a ride on her ATV

when she lost control and plowed into a barbed wire fence.

Her neck, while not broken,

had taken the brunt of the crash.

- It's in lay terms called an internal decapitation

where the base of the skululland the top of the spine,

those connections are not stable and can loosely move.

- [Man] The friend, a foreign exchange student from Germany,

was uninjured and had called 911.

Thanks to the quick action of first responders,

Diane was alive, at least for now.

- The big concern was what

is her neurologic function going to be?

That injury pattern is associated

with often having a very poor prognosis

in terms of being able to have a normal life

or even survive to get out of the hospital.

- [Man] Meananwh Diane's daughter, Heather,

who was with her stepdad, had gotten a call.

It was Diane's friend.

- He sounded frantic, but he was just like,

"You need to get here now.

You need to get here now. Your mom's been in an accident."

And I was like, "Please let her be okay.

Let her be okay."

- [Man] Heather's cries to God

would be echoed throughout the community.

Family and friends gathered in the hospital

as word spread through social media.

Diane's close friend, Cheryl, remembers.

- It was hard to know what to believe at that moment.

Just wanted to know I can see her again.

(tense somber music)

- [Man] About 5:00 PM, Diane went into surgery,

where orthopedic Dr. Steven Theiss

and his team worked to realign Diane's spinal cord.

The outlook was not promising.

- Will she move her arms and legs again?

Will she be e ab t breathe on her own?

If the spinal cord is injured in that area

at the very top of the neck,

people's breathing muscles don't work

because they're paralyzed, too.

So yeah, she really coulda had a devastating,

essentially non-survivable spinal cord injury.

- [Man] Dr. Theiss and his team operated

throughout the evening.

Even as people attended Christmas Eve services

and spent time with loved ones, they set aside time to pray.

(soft dramatic music)

After 10 hours in surgery, Diane emerged from the OR.

It was about 3:00 AM Christmas morning.

- I felt like everything was just gonna fall apart,

and I did not want that.

I wanted my mom to be here,

still wanted her to see me get married,

have kids, just be here for my life.

- [Man] Later on Christmas day,

the medical staff brought Diane out

of sedation and gave her a test.

- - Soalways have this question of how

is the brain function going to be

and what is the neurologic exam going to be?

- [Man] They asked her to wiggle her toes.

- And lo and behold, that was the first time we really knew

that she had good neurologic function.

- [Man] Not only did she wiggle her toes,

she kept wiggling them.

- Very encouraging after what was a very long

and busy night that night.

- Which was fantastic, right? It was a Christmas miracle.

Of course, the answer is by God's grace.

- I've witnessed a miracle. (laughs)

She is a walking miracle.

- He is real. He's real.

I know God.

- He truly does work miracles.

- [Man] After several weeks in ICU,

Diane spent months in rehab working to regain her strength

so she could get back on her feet.

- God always made me feel like I was at peace.

I had fight. I was like, "I'm gonna do this.

I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna get out.

I'm going home."

And that was my motivation.

But I always felt at peace,

just constant peace with this whole accident.

- [Man] Today as Diane enjoys another Christmas

with friends, family, and a new grandson,

she knows it was through the power of prayer

that she's alive and able to live life to the fullest.

- Grateful that we are here

to spend many more Christmases together

and build those memories.

- She's closer to God. She relies on him a lot more.

She tells everybody that he's the one who healed her,

and she gives him all the credit,

and she'll claim that till the day she dies.

- "This gift is a way for you to share with people

that I am here, I am real, and I'm there for everybody

if they just take me and want me."

- Well, we want to pray for you.

We've gotten some prayer requests

that people have written in.

Here's one that asking for neuropathy, prayer for that.

Here's another one, back pain and "AFib in my heart."

Another one, "I've been diagnosed with ALS,

and I've lost mobility and speech."

- Here's somebody saying, "Chronic pain from neck to feet."

Someone else has a daughter struggling with drugs

and alcohol, and then a request for healing of diabetes.

- Let's pray for these.

We've got a Christmas tree here filleded

with prayer requests that have come in.

We want to pray for all of them.

We want to pray for you, and let's just believe God.

Let's believe his promise.

This is Christmas Eve,

the promise of the coming Messiah fulfilled on this day,

and it can be fulfilled for you.

He can be Emmanuel, God with you.

What he's done for others he will do for you.

Let's believe that, let's hold onto that,

and let's pray that that healing, that deliverance,

that need will be answered by the Messiah.

Let's pray. Lord, we come to you.

We lift all of these prayer requests to you.

For anyone who has pain, neuropathy,

anyone with a horrible diagnosis of ALS,

anyone with any concern, any pain, and Lord,

especially for all those who are lonely today,

who are without family.

Lord, we come together in agreement that you are Emmanuel.

You are God with us.

So we ask that you would manifest your presence,

that you would fill us with your joy,

your righteousness, your peace, and your joy,

that joy that you came to bring to the entire world.

We ask for that now for everyone watching,

everyone who has written in a prayer request,

all of them now, we agree.

Heal them now, Lord God.

- Terry, God's giving you something.

- Now there are many of you who have chronic pain.

never ending.

You can't almost find a position to lay

or sit or stand that you don't hurt.

God is healing and your bodies right now in Jesus' name.

Begin to praise him. Begin to thank him.

Lift up your hands.

Receive the presence of the Lord into your body right now

in Jesus' name.

- There's someone, you're in a hospital.

You've had some kind of attack.

The symptom was a crushing weight on your chest.

God's healing your heart right now.

In Jesus' name, be healed and be made whole.

That's all the time we have,

but if you need prayer, we're here for you.

All you haveve t is pick up the phone and call.

1-800-700-7000.

Here's a word from Isaiah. "For unto us, , a d is born.

A son is given, and his name will be called wonderful."