Merry Christmas!

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
   and they shall call his name Immanuel”  Matthew 1:23

What a wonderful time of year!  Streets and stores and homes filled with strings of lights reminding us of the Light of the World, our Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord!  What a blessing to have the God of the universe come to earth to live as a human, struggle as a human, endure pain as a human, and die as a human only to be raised from the sealed tomb and reign in our hearts and save us from our sins!

All too often we forget this precious gift...we move about our days filled with appointments and business- fuled by coffee and money, power and pride- only to find ourselves at the end of the day with nothing more than what we started with.  When Christmas comes to town, there is a change of heart, and change of pace (which really only means we move faster and become more stressed because naw we must add "Christmas shopping" to our "to-dos.")  Is this what Christmas is?  Less than a month of overstressing, overspending, overeating, and overanalyzing?...and then a month of "resolutions" to be "better" the next time around...and where do we find ourselves???  Right back where we were last year...  No.   This is NOT CHRISTmas!

Christ came to live among us so that we would have a savior who understands, who can take our hand and walk us through our days helping all the way.  A couple of weeks ago I wrot about keeping Christmas in our hearts all year...now more than ever I realize every day that I need to be reminded to keep CHRIST in my heart EVERY MOMENT of every day...to remember that whatever I am struggling with in that moment, Christ was tempted in the SAME WAY, and has the power and stregth to help me through.  This IS CHRISTmas!

Christ came to be born of a virgin as a human baby so that He could die as a man and be Immanuel (God with us) for erternity.  PRAISE God for the greatest gift ever given!  A gift that is available to ALL people...at no cost to anyone but Himself.  Best gift...best Love story ever told. 

As the year comes to a close, resolve to allow CHRIST to reign in your heart and be your HELPER through every moment of this coming year.

And the baby Jesus...

Do you have a favorite Christmas ornament or decoration?  I love putting up "all the trimmings" for Christmas!  I can never wait until after Thanksgiving...my tree is up the day after at the latest...and if it were solely up to me it would be up by my birthday (Nov. 5) alongside all the Thanksgiving decor...  The tree is by far my favorite...so many memories in one central location!  Always the first decoration...can't start the rest without it.  I love going through and studying each ornament before it goes up, remembering what it means and admiring its sparkle next to the lights...  I also love studying other people's trees...it's like a window into what really matters/means something to someone.  I can never pick just one ornament I like best...it varies from year to year and even day to day...I love them all because of the special meaning or thought that went into choosing it for the "collection."  An ornament is by far my favorite Christmas gift to give or receive.

As I was admiring my tree all lit up one evening, I had the though...what is God's favorite Christmas ornament?  I know it seems silly, and the answer seems obvious, it's Jesus Christ!  Which then led me to thinking about The Ultimate gift God sent us to "decorate" this season (and the whole of our lives)... Jesus!!! 

"And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:10-11

"For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily..." Colossians 2:9

God HIMSELF, in the person of Jesus, came to earth to dwell with man.  God spent nine months growing as a baby in the womb of a woman.  He put aside all his power and glory and might to be born as every other child is born. He spent 30 years learning and growing as every other child learns and grows.  And THE WHOLE TIME he never stopped being God...He CHOSE to become a lowly, poor human...and live sinlessly in order that each and every person He created could choose eternal life!  can you believe that???!???  It BAFFLES me!  God reduced Himself to the confinement of human skin, lay in a "manger" made out of wood from trees HE CREATED, just so YOU and I could be saved from the penalty of sin...  WOW  ...I guess that is my favorite Christmas "ornament"...  Jesus.  Not the ceramic figure of a baby, not a painting or any other manufactured "likeness"...  No...the LIVING, BREATHING, SON OF GOD who dwells in my heart and decorates my life!  And He can be the same for you!

Merry Christmas!

Just a small part of the greater whole!

Good morning friends!  I know it's been a while since our last Saturday, so I thought Monday would work nicely.  I've been "composing" this Saturdays edition for two weeks now...struggling to find the right words...in short, I am AMAZED at creation!

It started with a frosty morning.  The ground was covered in frost, the trees shimmered in the sunlight and each blade of grass was wrapped in icy crystals.  This reminded me that God created each blade of grass to be different, distinct...just as each ice crystal and snow flake, each grain of sand, each tree and leaf, each star, each raindrop, each person...no two are the same...similar...but not the same.  Then, I had an amazing conversation with a friend about how different things work for different people...what works for me in one situation, might totally mess you up...  Which then tied in with the sermon at church and how each individual relationship with Christ is different.  And, that, friends, is my favorite part!

Just like each relationship with each of your friends is different, so is the relationship you have with Christ.  This starts with the basis of your relationship...  What drew you to Christ?  What attribute of His character lead you to realize you needed Him?  Was it His love?  His forgiveness?  His grace?  His mercy?  His judgement? ...it's different for each person...no two relationships are the same... BECAUSE, Jesus calls each of us individually, specially, personally, in love.  Wow.  God created each of us differently, so our coming to relationship with Christ is different, so our PURPOSE in serving Christ is different, so we can all fit into the one body of Christ!  Think about it...

"Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ...Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body...The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it..." 1 Corinthians 12:12-31

God created each of His children to be different so that we could each work a different purpose in serving the Kingdom and bringing the fullness of Glory to God!  And, therefore, where would we be without each other to work with us?  And, all of this individual work is magnified when God brings our purposes together for a time, as friends, so we can work together, not as one, but as many to fulfill His purpose (including something even as simple as a coffee date, to be a picture, as Friends, of Christ's love to the world)!  What a gift!  NO other "religion" in the world can claim that promise!  I look forward to every moment when our purposes for the Kingdom might come together.

At the risk of sounding redundant...

Happy Thanksgiving!

What a precious holiday to cause us to look back on what God has blessed us with and truly be thankful!  I have so much to be thankful for!  Family, friends, job, food, clothing, home, ect...but the most important, biggest thanks I have is for the blood Christ shed for me!  If I had nothing else to be thankful for...this is all I would need, John 3:16.  My sustenance, my shelter, my friend, my family, my provider, my comfort and help...there is no other thing I need!  I hope you can say the same!

Thanksgiving

We are entering my favorite time of year!  This is the time of year we start thinking about families and gatherings, holidays and feasts, decorating and music (specially written for this season), shopping and giving, scarves and pepermint mochas, and everything in between!  I LOVE the Holiday Season...so don't be surprised if this is not the only "seasonal" edition of SWS you read *wink, wink*  I am always filled to overflowing with joy and song and cheer when Christmas comes around!

I went to the Raleigh Christmas Parade this morning, and who did I see?  Santa himself of course!  Announcing to the world, a few days early, that it's time to start Christmas...Well, Christmas "Santa-style." 

It seems our culture likes to spring it on us earlier and earlier each year...  Decorations up in stores in October...  "Christmas in July" type parties and family photos for the greeting cards...  Even those precious Operation Christmas Child boxes are processed before Thanksgiving...  As I sit here writing, my sweet dog, Bailey, is slumbering away (whimpering, sniffing, and twitching), I imagine she is chasing her Christmas goose (or maybe it's chasing her)!..  There's even a popular holiday song that tells us to keep Christmas in our hearts all year long...  And why not? 

This is the time of year we celebrate the greatest gift ever given...The gift of Jesus Christ!  It overwhelms me every time I think of it...How God the father decided, in His sovereignty and perfect wisdom and grace, to come and dwell among us in human form so that he could, 33 years later, die on a cross and rise again, 3 days later, to SAVE us from our sin!  What a gift!  What a treasure!!  What a reason to celebrate!!!

Thanksgiving is nearly upon us...just three short days of working then on with turkey and football on Thursday, and for many, Black Friday (which now begins at midnight on Thanksgiving)...and for those shopping, this is a day we truly need Christmas in our hearts...remembering that each gift purchased is purchased at a cost...  The cost of our everlasting salvation?  Christ's death.  A gift given, at no cost to us.  Christ does not require an exchange...there's nothing he expects in return...He just asks that we open our hearts to His gift, then waits for us to accept it.  PRAISE GOD!!!  Now that is something to be thankful for! 

*What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving week???

In the Clearness of God's Nearness

I was walking to work the other day in the early morning.  A dense fog was covering the area and it got me thinking...fog is like Satan and the world...surrounding us on all sides, attempting to hide our path. God, then, is the light (of course) filling the space closest to us, making the air clear so that we CAN see; assuring us that we stand on solid ground and all we need to do is put one foot in front of the other and trust Him...He will illuminate our path as we go.  It's such a basic and elementary concept, but I find it's very true.  The foggy areas of my life are often filled with the world's ideas and influences, and ultimately, Satan's desire for me to fail.  It's very easy for me to look past the clearness of God's nearness and focus on this thick dense unknown just beyond where I am.  It's natural to wonder what's beyond the fog...what will come next...what turn will life take...will I see it before I get there so I don't trip and fall...will I be the same...will my friends and family be the same?  The answer is...GOD knows!  We don't need to fret about what might be hidden in the fog, because God will illuminate it when we get there AND he will have equipped us along the way to handle whatever it is.  If we stay in the clearness of God's nearness, and allow God to equip us where we are, then when we get to the middle of that fog, it will no longer be fog...whatever is next will be revealed when we get there.

I don't know about you, but that is SO comforting to me.  God's got me right where he wants me and it doesn't matter what comes next or what just happened, all that matters is what I CAN see...right here, right now.

Birthdays

I am SO enjoying the cool weather, bundling up, scarves, boots, leggings and tights, pumpkin spice, and everything nice.  This (besides beach weather) is my favorite time of year!  Best of all, this time of year houses my birthday!  I'm not sure why it excites me so...I'm not really a "center-of-attention" sort of person, I don't really celebrate "big" or party much at all, I'm not overly excited to get older...whatever the reason, I am ALWAYS excited for my birthday!  I think we all are!  It's the one time of year when you (just you) get to be special in the eyes of everyone!  Even people in restaurants sing to you (if you let them)!  And, so far, I've had just the best celebrations, each one special and unique brightened by the people I shared them with!

It makes me wonder, How did Jesus celebrate His birthday?  He was fully man, and therefore had a day of birth...I have not studied Hebrew culture, so I'm not sure if it was natural for them to celebrate birthdays...I'd like to think it was.  And, even if His earthly parents didn't celebrate the day of birth, I'd like to think that maybe Jesus stole away and took some special time with THE Father on His birthday!  What might that conversation have been like?  {it's funny, I started writing this, and didn't even realize that Jesus' birthday IS celebrated every year as Christmas!}  Maybe there was a feast, or presents...a party, dancing, singing, or candles...  Whatever the celebration was...a celebration it was indeed...and THAT's the best part!

I believe that Jesus and the Father and the Holy Spirit have a party for EVERY birthday...saved beleiver or not...I like to think that there is music and dancing and feasting and singing filling the heavens for my birthday!  I like to think that God my Heavenly Father, Christ, and the Holy Spirit have shared their favorite stories from my life so far and are looking forward to sharing the rest of my life with me as I am looking forward to sharing the rest of eternity with HIM!  Because, the fact is, we belong to Jesus...He delights in us...He celebrates who we are because He died for us and there is nothing that can take us from the palm of his hand!  What a blessing!   What a celebration!  So, as my brithday comes to a close, I will celebrate in worshipful praise the One who made me today and saved my soul one sweet day in August granting me everlasting birthdays!