David Espinoza and his wife Toni lived on the southern border of Texas, in the city of McAllen, five hours south of Houston.

As Christmas approached, they received the worst news.

Doctors in Houston told David Espinoza that his heart was only working at 10% capacity.

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If he didn’t get a heart transplant quickly, he wouldn’t see his family at Christmas.

Worse, he was told it could take nine months or longer to find a perfect donor.

Just before Christmas, a woman wondered if she and many others were praying for someone to die so that her husband could live. (iStock)

Toni Espinoza, known as a prayer warrior, organized everyone she knew – and hundreds she didn’t know – to pray for her husband to find a heart donor.

But within days she felt conflicted.

She decided to change her strategy.

It seemed like they were praying for someone to die so that their husband could live.

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She decided to change her strategy.

She began to pray fervently that God would miraculously heal her husband completely.

For added comfort, the woman asked God to confirm her answered prayer by making it snow in McAllen, Texas, on Christmas Day. (iStock)

And for added comfort, she asked God to confirm her answered prayer by making it snow in McAllen, Texas, on Christmas Day.

She shared her private decision to pray for these miracles with a trusted childhood friend named Crawford.

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“Toni, have you ever seen snow?” her friend asked her.

“It hasn’t snowed here in 109 years! And never at Christmas.”

She shook her head.

She had lived in McAllen, Texas her entire life.

The average winter temperature on the border was about 75 degrees.

Her friend continued, “The reason you’ve never seen snow is because it hasn’t snowed here in 109 years!” And never at Christmas.”

“I knowledge God will answer my prayers. (Anastasia Krivenok via Getty Images)

Toni Espinoza shrugged, smiled and gave her friend a determined look.

“I knowledge God will answer my prayers.

It was almost midnight on Christmas Eve when one of the Espinoza daughters, home for the holidays, looked into the backyard — and screamed.

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“Mom, it’s snowing!”

Without a coat, Toni Espinoza stormed into the backyard, delighted to see the snow covering her fully bloomed rose bushes.

The best Christmas present of all came three weeks later.

She looked up at the night sky, white snowflakes dotting her dark hair, and whispered, “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

The next morning, children from all over McAllen ran outside bundled up, rolled in the snow, fanned angels and built snowmen for the first time in their lives.

The dramatic story of the Espinozas appears in the bestselling Godwink Christmas Stories by SQuire Rushnell and Louise DuArt. (Amazon)

A headline in the McAllen newspaper proclaimed the “First White Christmas Ever!”

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But the best Christmas present of all came three weeks later.

David Espinoza’s doctor in Houston looked at the medical records.

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He shook his head and said, “David, I don’t understand how this happened… but you’re going to live a long time. Your heart is completely healed.”

The couple tearfully hugged each other – and praised God for the best Christmas present ever.

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The couple’s story appears in the bestselling Godwink Christmas Stories by SQuire Rushnell and Louise DuArt, from which this article is excerpted. Copyright © SQuire Rushnell and Louise DuArt. For more information, see www.godwinks.com.

Luigi Mangione, the suspect accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan on Dec. 4, pleaded not guilty in Manhattan criminal court Monday morning.

Mangione, 26, was indicted on 11 state charges, including first-degree murder, second-degree murder as a crime of terrorism and several weapons charges. If convicted of the most serious charge, he could face life in prison without parole.

Luigi Mangione enters the courtroom of the New York Criminal Court on Monday, December 23, 2024. Magnione is facing federal charges for the alleged murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson earlier this month. (Rashid Umar Abassi for Fox News Digital)

The charges include one count of first-degree murder, a AI felony; two counts of second-degree murder, a felony of AI; two counts of second-degree possession of a firearm, a Class C felony; four counts of third-degree possession of a weapon, a Class D felony; one count of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Fourth Degree, a Class E felony; and one count of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, a Class D felony.

This is breaking news; Check back for updates.

More than 170 people were rescued from dangling gondolas at a Colorado ski resort after a malfunction left them trapped for hours.

According to media reports, one of the elevators at the Winter Park Resort outside Denver automatically shut down on Saturday afternoon for safety reasons due to a crack in a metal support structure. It then took rescuers five hours to bring 174 people to the ground, according to a resort spokesman KDVR said.

“We were going for our first run, my wife and I, and we stopped. We stopped for about 15 minutes and started thinking if maybe this was unusual,” skier Aleksey Dmitriyev told the station. “I called the line and the line told me if it’s less than 20 minutes, don’t worry, call us back… Then we waited a little longer and saw the ski patrol come down and with the people from the floor to the hut spoke. Like telling how many of you are in the locker room, all that.”

“Everyone was pretty calm, the ski patrol was calm and professional and reassured us,” he added. “It was kind of interesting because he kind of knew what he was doing, but we were a little worried.”

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A stranded gondola passenger is brought to safety at the Winter Park Resort in Colorado on Saturday, December 21st.

“After that we skied a few more runs, of course used a different lift and it was still a good day, but a unique experience,” Dmitriyev also told KDVR.

Dmitriyev recorded a video showing a rescuer lowering himself into the cabin of his stranded gondola.

“We’re going to send a seat up, we’re going to sit on a seat one at a time and slowly lower everyone down again,” the man says.

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It took five hours to rescue all passengers aboard the stuck gondolas Saturday at Colorado’s Winter Park Resort. (Aleksey Dmitriyev)

The footage then shows several people – including a child – being brought to safety.

Winter Park Resort said the lift remained closed Sunday for repairs and inspections and that the gondola manufacturer was on site, according to KDVR.

Skiers are seen at Winter Park Resort in Winter Park, Colorado in March 2017. (Andy Cross/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

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A new part was installed late Sunday and testing is underway to prepare for the elevator’s reopening, the station adds.

Everyone loves Christ in the cradle. The image of the baby Jesus in the barn of Bethlehem warms our hearts. Every December we relive this moment on our lawns and under our Christmas trees. Shops sell plastic donkeys and wooden mangers. People collect hand-carved images of Mary, Joseph and the newborn child.

We love Christ in the cradle.

We are well with Christ, the gentle Messiah. Children sit on his lap. Sheep gathered around him. The apostle John lies on his chest. Mary anoints his feet. No one has a problem with a nice rabbi who gives wise advice, feeds crowds, and pours wine at a wedding.

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Christ in the cradle? Wonderful. Christ, the good-hearted one? Adorable. But Christ, the coming King? On a stallion? Roaring from the sky? Crowned with the crowns of his enemies? On a mission to destroy those who destroy his children?

The world is less familiar with this view of Jesus. But this is the Jesus the world will soon see.

Did you know that the Second Coming is mentioned more than three hundred times in the Bible, on average once every twenty-five verses?

The Holy Scriptures gush like water with the news of Christ’s return. Jesus assured the depressed disciples, “I will come again” (John 14:3). When Jesus ascended, the angel said to the witnesses, “Jesus will return by the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). Paul referred to “the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Tim. 6:14). Peter affirmed, “The day of the Lord will come” (2 Peter 3:10). Jude proclaimed, “Behold, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of His saints” (Jude 14).

The image of the baby Jesus in the barn of Bethlehem warms our hearts. (2004 Getty Images)

We are in the season of Advent. Advent takes us to the beautiful climax of Christmas, where we celebrate the incarnation of God.

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Are we ready for the hope of what is to come when Jesus, the child born in Bethlehem, returns to reign for eternity?

We are waiting, but we must be ready.

Ready for the arrival of our coming King. Ready. Wait. Vigilant. Like the soldiers guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. The men and women who stand guard there show a level of unparalleled loyalty. They devote eight hours to preparing their uniforms. Gloves are worn wet to improve grip on the rifle. Shafts are attached to the inside of each shoe to allow the soldier to click on his heels.

Pastor Max Lucado and the cover of his latest book “What Happens Next” (MaxLucado.com)

The guard repeats the same walk over and over again: twenty-one steps, then a twenty-one second pause, the rifle is shifted to the other shoulder, then another twenty-one steps. He or she repeats this until he or she is relieved at the changing of the guard.

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In the summer months the soldier is on duty for thirty minutes. In winter 60 minutes. They do their job in the heat of August and the cold of January. The routine never changes, even at night when the cemetery is closed. When Hurricane Isabel passed through the area in 2003, the soldiers didn’t stop. Not once. Trees fell and the wind whipped, but they held their post.

They have maintained this vigilance every day of the year since 1921.

Remarkable.

A U.S. Army 3rd Infantry Regiment soldier, known as “The Old Guard,” walks during the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery November 5, 2023 in Arlington, Virginia. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

Question: If they can show such loyalty to unknown, dead soldiers that they rightly show, can’t we do the same for our living, coming, reigning King? If these guards are willing to patrol in honor of the victims, can’t we do more for our King who made the ultimate sacrifice? We are members of his battalion. We enlisted in his regiment. We’ll return with him one day. Can we not serve him on this day?

Let me be specific. What can you do today to honor your King? What kindness can you show? What offense can you forgive? What temptation can you resist? What gift can you offer? What discipline can you start with? What sacrifice can you make? What act of love can you show?

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Let us act like the people we were called to be, soldiers in the returning army of the King of Kings.

The Christ of the cradle is now the Christ with the crown. He’s coming soon.

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