This Christmas, many of you will be spending time with family and friends. There will be gifts to open, food to eat, company to enjoy, sparkling lights, and the fun of seeing the little children’s eyes light up when they open the present they have been longing for.
But what do you do after the mountain of giftwrap is hauled out, your loved ones go home, the noise dies down, and you find yourself in the darkness of your room feeling cold, empty and alone once again? What do you do when that quiet voice deep inside keeps telling you that there has got to be more to Christmas than this?
2,000 years ago the God of the universe sent His only son Jesus to earth in the form of a little, helpless baby. There were no global celebrations or national fireworks at the time of His birth, just a small night light of hope placed high in the sky to indicate that God’s great plan of redemption was in motion. This baby was the purest light and righteousness of God. This baby was born to display the perfect Holiness of God and expose the depth of wickedness and darkness within the hearts of all men. This baby’s light would awaken the hearts of many to the vast chasm of sin that divides the children of men from their creator, and illuminate their immense need for a savior. This baby of light would one day faithfully go to the cross, take upon Himself the wrath of God that was intended to be poured out on you and I, die, and through the shedding of His blood purchased eternal life for all who would believe in Him.
Today, this baby’s holy light is still searching for those who would humble themselves, repent of their sins and rest in Him as their only hope for salvation and righteousness before God. This Christmas, when the noise dies down and the darkness closes in, may the light of Jesus Christ penetrate your heart and awaken you to the realities of God and the hope of salvation that is found in His holy child of light – Jesus.
Merry Christmas!
One of my favorite things to do at Christmas is create our own family Christmas card.
There are a few requirements:
1.) It must display the glory of the Gospel.
2.) It must go out the week of Christmas, not before. One reason being that it takes us that long to get it together, the other being that even if we got it done sooner I like it to arive as close to Christmas as possible in the hope that it will add to the readers Christmas joy.
3.) Although I love getting to read cards that tell of how friends and family have been doing through out the year, I try to make it as little about us as possible. We always add a photo and I even wonder if that takes away from the message. I love getting photo’s of other’s so I’d like to keep with that tradition for now. I just don’t want our card to sing about us. I want it to sing our Great Redeemer’s Praise. I want it to sing, Behold, the Lamb of God!
4.) It usually requires a great deal of my husband’s expertese in design. He is very gracious to accomplish what I’ve envisioned and it usually turns out far better than I anticipate because he is gifted that way.
5.) Almost every year I have to cut back on much of what I’d like to add to the card because there just is not enough room. That is where the joy of having a blog comes in. I can spill over onto our blog what didn’t fit on the card! Joy! Joy! Joy
O may the gift of candle three be this: the light by which we see
That every promise from the Lord
Is true, and nothing-neither sword
Nor famine, nakedness or death-
Will seperate us from the breath
of life that Jesus breaths into
our soul. That if we die, it’s true
we are not dead; Christ Jesus rose,
Himself, up from the dead, and
those who follow Him will never die.
And that this news will multiply
And all the nations taste and see
How full God’s house was meant to be,
with every race and every tongue
in love embraced both old and young
then we will see when this has spread,
why God raised Jesus from the dead.
(Taken from Pastor John’s advent poem Paul, Malach & Talitha)
Mike and I were born and raised in Minnesota. So one would think that we would be ready and well acustomed to the cold, blustery winters. Though we complain about it our fair share I know that we would miss the season if we lived where there was no snow at all. Well okay at least that rings true for me, my husband could probably live without it.
Last year we finally decided, since it’s not likely that we’ll be moving anytime soon, we should at least get some adequate outerwear so that we could be more comfortable for those 5 months out of the year that winter is upon us. We propbably invested several hundred dollars by the time it was all said and done and it was worth every penny. One of the wisest investments we’ve ever made. We already had gear for the kids so this made it much easier to get out of the house with them and sled,skate, go for walks or just play in the snow. What was miserable to us before is now much more pleasant and actually enjoyable. I know and can relate with many of you thinking, that’s the last thing I’d want to spend extra money on. But, if you live here take it from us, it is much easier to endure the long winters when you’ve got the gear.
Yesterday morning we woke up to several inches of fresh snow and it was below zero. Our snow blower is not yet working so Mike went out to shovel and I decided I had enough time before getting the kids ready for school, so I got all my gear on and went out to join him. It wasn’t miserable at all, it was quite pleasant and I love opportunities to work by my husband’s side. I know that pleasant and below zero temperatures sounds ridiculous but it really was.
So, when the weather outside is frightful, which it often can be in Minnesota, get the gear, it will be much more delighful! There is even cute gear ladies. It may take a little effort in finding it but it’s out there. You may even find me at the mall or the grocery store or Target with all my gear on. I will probably be smiling and walking from the car to the store just skipping along or walking at a much slower pace, you know how they do in the south. I find that I grumble less and hurry less when my body is not shivering! You would think it would have taken me less than 35 years to figure this out.
Five Talents More 