Happy Birthday!

In the Spring of 1970, I was 10 years old. My uncle would drive a church bus around town and pick up children for church and he always came to my house first. One night he picked me up to attend a revival service. When I got to church, I went into the sanctuary and sat on the third row from the back and three seats in from the outside aisle. When the preaching began, I did not participate in the normal activity of writing notes and passing it to my friends, I listened intently through the entire message. When the invitational song was in process something started stirring inside of me. For the first time, I realized that even at 10 years old, I needed to commit to live my life as a follower of Christ, or I was going to live an eternity separated from God. I felt the Holy Spirit pick me up and walk me down the aisle. I visited with the preacher and surrendered my life to Jesus Christ as the words, ‘I come, I come’ were being sung. Though at 10 years old my life did not take a huge change in direction, it determined the direction I was going to walk for the remainder of my life. I might not have had to turn from drugs or alcohol but it kept me from it. I might not have had to leave a life of wild parties and self indulgence but it kept me from it. Oh, I still sinned but the grace of God kept me close and forgiven.
The salvation I experienced and hopefully you have experienced, would not have been possible without the most important person of the Christmas story which was Jesus. His love for us drove Him to leave His throne in Heaven where He was in His Father’s presence every moment, where angels were surrounding Him singing praises with every breath, and where sin wasn’t present. He was willing to leave all of this and be born a helpless baby, in a lowly manger. His needs would now be met by a mother and an earthly father. He had surrendered His heavenly position. He grew into a man and then offered His life, through physical abuse and crucifixion, to pay the sacrificial price for our sins and redeem us from the grip of evil. Because of this sacrifice we now can have hope, love, peace, endurance, and joy. We can have the assurance that we will live out our eternal life in the presence of God. All we have to do is accept Jesus as our Savior and be spiritually born again.
Today is the birthday of our Savior. Because of His birthday we can each have a spiritual birthday. Do you have a spiritual birthday? If not, there is no better time to get one!

Giving What You Have!

When we were moving from Montana to Oklahoma, Dwayne and I had to split up to cover different needs. I had a two day drive home with the kids. I decided that if we left as soon as I got home around 3:00 p.m., we could get about 5 hours of driving in which would help us out greatly the rest of the trip. There are three main routes I could choose from. I hated one, liked the other but my favorite route was always through South Dakota. According to my plan, I would arrive in Rapid City, SD around 9:00 p.m. When I had made the turn on my chosen route and traveled far to the point of no return, I realized that my choice was not good. I had forgotten that the annual national biker rally was being held. This is an event where over 750,000 bikers come together in the small town of Sturgis, SD. We are talking bikers of all kinds, from the hard core Hell’s Angels to the 'Wild Hogs'! When I stopped at the hotel in Rapid City (the first large city past Sturgis), I went in with my two children to ask for a room. I do not know how the front desk assistant kept from laughing at me. They must have felt sorry for this stupid mother, traveling through with her kids. I was informed there was no room available (reminds me of a Bible story!). She looked in their computer data base and informed me there was one room available, 500 miles away! I was already tired from lack of sleep the night before and working an 8 hour day. Five hundred miles meant over 7 hours of driving down a long, dark, secluded highway. Definitely something I didn’t want to do but I had no choice but to do. Bryce was 16 so I would let him drive a few times, long enough to get a little rest. I couldn’t sleep with my 16 year old driving but I could close my eyes for a little rest. We pulled into the hotel with the one room available at 5:00 a.m. I do not believe I have ever been so tired. I could not have driven another mile. I had determined that if the hotel had given the room away, I was going to ask them if I could rent three pillows and 3 blankets. I was going to take them and go to the police station and tell them we were going to sleep in the car for a few hours. It was not safe to sleep in parking lots at the hotel or a rest stop because we were still too close to Sturgis. I was so thankful and relieved that they had saved the room for us. I didn’t care what kind of room it was, I just needed a place to sleep.
There are many people in the Bible that I feel we do not treat fairly. One of these people is the innkeeper in Bethlehem. Many times we envision him slamming a door in the faces of Joseph and Mary, saying, “There is no room!” I don’t see him like that. They had obviously been to several Inn’s trying to find a place to stay. Mary was getting closer to delivery and it was becoming more and more critical to find a room. There were no phones to call ahead a have a room held, it was first come, first serve. However, when this innkeeper saw Mary and Joseph, I believe he had compassion on them. He didn't have a room for them, but maybe it was he who offered the stable. Many times they would use caves to keep the animals. Joseph and Mary was in such need, I think they were appreciative to have any place to get warm, lay down and deliver their precious child. Sure, it wasn’t what they thought they would have when they began their trip, but it is amazing how we are willing to give up some of our expectations when we are tired and in need.
Sometimes we think we know what God wants from us. We prepare to give him exactly that and nothing else. Whatever we are not as prepared to offer, we feel is not good enough for Him. It has not been cleaned up yet. The problem is, God wants access to all areas in our life. The nice, pretty, public parts as well as the dirty, crappy places we do not let others go. Are you willing to give Jesus access to every part of you? Do you offer Him all you have, even if you do not think it is good enough for Him? Or do you say, ‘no room’ to Him and send Him on His way?

And she brought forth her firstborn son; and she wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Luke 2:7

What is Your Heritage?

Families are interesting! Mine is no exception. There is a wide variety of people. In my extended family, I have rich, poor and everything in between. There are athletics and coaches, teachers and drop outs, blue collar workers and businessmen. I have family on wall-street, and in the back hills of Arkansas. I have famous people and no names. I have those that have been married for many years and those that have been married many times. I have those that stayed pure until marriage and those that were free prostitutes. I have homosexuals and heterosexuals. I have Christians and non Christians. I have those that get along with everyone and those that get along with nobody. I have those that have been victims of crime and those that have committed the crime. I have felons and murderers. I have those who have Cancer, Alzheimer’s, Aids, Heart Disease, Diabetes, Emphysema, and MS. The oldest is 88, the youngest is still in the womb. My blood is part Cherokee Indian, Dutch, and German. What is interesting is that I do not know anything about any ancestor older than my great grandparents. I know very little about them. I know many stories on my grandparents and their siblings and I know a lot about my parents and everything about my immediate family (Well, probably not everything but all I want to know). However, if you ask me my heritage, not my nationality, but my heritage, it would be hard for me to know how to answer. I know which people proclaimed to be Christian but I do not know one person’s spiritual journey through life. I do not know their core beliefs, their life passions, and their purpose. That is real heritage and that is what we are missing in our families today. I am hoping that these devotions will provide a way for my children to learn about their spiritual heritage. I want them to know the God of their parents, so they can pass it on to their children along with their stories of faith, and so on and so on.
I think it is interesting that Matthew begins his version of the Christmas story by sharing the genealogy of Jesus. His lineage wasn’t much different than my family. He has Kings and servants; He has great men and great women. He has prostitutes and great mothers. He had the rich and the poor. The one thing which was in Jesus' family was heritage. So many stories of great, faithful, God followers fill the generations of Jesus. Some of my favorites are: David (A man after God’s own heart), Abraham (The Father of Nations), Boaz (The great Kinsman Redeemer), Solomon (The king who built the temple), Joseph (Who saved God’s remnant), Rehab (Who hid God’s spies), Ruth (The widower who was faithful to her mother-in-law but was redeemed by Boaz), etc. His lineage doesn’t just go back four generation, it goes back over 42 generations. Every generation in the lineage of the Messiah is accounted for from Adam to Jesus. That in itself is amazing. His lineage shows us that though He had an overwhelming spiritual heritage, He truly is the Savior of all people and a wide variety of people had a place of honor in the lineage of Jesus!
Do you know your family’s spiritual heritage? If you have those who have walked with God for many years in your family, find out their stories. Pass them on to your children. If your family doesn’t have any spiritual heritage or you do not know it, then start building it now. Talk about the works of God to your family. Share the story of your salvation. Tell them what Jesus has done for you. Share how the baby in the manger whose birthday we celebrate is the Savior of all humanity, no matter where they fall in society or in our families. In the end, it doesn't matter what earthly family we belong to as long as we belong to His heavenly family.

Record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ

Luke 1

Ever Doubted God?

Have you ever laughed at God? I don’t mean the 'haha' kind of laugh, I mean the kind of laugh from thinking, “You have got to be kidding. There is no way that can happen. I must have heard you wrong”! I would like to say I have never had those thoughts, but there have been several times I have felt overwhelmed by what God was saying. Dwayne and I have had many times in our life where God called us to take steps of faith (usually felt like leaps to me) . Some of those steps of faith were:

• Walking away from the life we knew and being willing to follow God’s plan for us by serving Him in the ministry. (FYI- it has been a journey and a blessing beyond words)
• Selling our first home, packing up two children and moving to married housing for Dwayne to attend seminary. (FYI – The best of times, the worst of times, but what a preparation for the ministry and some amazing forever friends)
• Moving our family to a place we had never been, where we knew nobody, we had no place to live, and we were to create and grow a new church we later named South Hills, and built in Montana City, Montana. (FYI- It was seven years and was home to us for all seven years. It served as the core of our children’s childhood, the core of our ministry’s childhood, and a place that gave us a core of friends who walked with us down some amazing paths of God growing our faith that has bonded our hearts for eternity. South Hills is standing strong and is now over 15 years old and debt free)
• Standing beside my husband when he is faithful to be obedient to God and lead a church body to do what doesn’t make sense in the eyes of men. Like building a church when God says begin now, in the onset of a Montana winter, without the full balance of the projected cost in the bank, and no building groups scheduled which is supposed to be done a year in advance. (FYI- building was done by February, with help from plenty of building groups, and money and funding miraculously provided)
• Moving our family back to Oklahoma, to a hurting church which meant; leaving the church we loved and nurtured in Montana and watched grow into their first beautiful building, moving our children during their high school years, and not being able to sell our home in Montana (We grew in our new church and I saw God work in my women's Sunday School in a way that will never be able to be duplicated, He sold our home in His perfect timing, and both Bryce and Brittne has confirmed that looking back, it was a needed move for them, plus Bryce’s wife was waiting for him in Fort Gibson)
• Trusting that we and our children would survive their teenage years and they would claim for themselves their roots of faith. (FYI- we did and they have)
• Following God calling us to leave a church which had been good to us to plant another church and to do so in a new way to reach unchurched, young adults. God had us commit to His calling before we had a plan, a location, financial help, or people willing to come along side to work towards God's given vision. (FYI – Have a growing church that is a place where all feel welcomed, and lives are touched and changed)

Each time, it seemed God was telling us something beyond our comprehension. Yet each time God worked beyond my fear and doubt and blessed me when my faith didn’t merit it. Yesterday, I told you how Zachariah and Elizabeth had wanted a child their whole life and when they were old and pass childbearing years, God answered their prayers and they gave birth to a child God named John. We know him as John the Baptist. I did skip a part in the middle of the story though. When Zachariah entered the Holy of Holies, and the angel appeared to him, he froze in fear. The angel told him not to fear and that God had heard their prayers and Elizabeth would have a child, a son. The angel said they were to name him John and he would achieve great stature with God. The angel said John would turn many Israelites back to God! Zachariah questions the angel and said, “Do you expect me to believe this? We are too old to have a baby!" The angel was Gabriel and he proceeded to tell Zachariah that because he wouldn’t believe God, he would not be able to speak until the baby was born. Zachariah did not speak from then until the birth of John. Yet God worked beyond his fear and doubt and blessed Zachariah even when his faith didn’t merit it. He became the father of the greatest born among men. The Holy Spirit filled Zachariah and he prophesied of God and his newly born son.
I am so thankful that God pours grace on us and He blesses us even when it is not merited due to our fear, our doubt, and lack of faith. God is sovereign and His plan and character cannot be changed by what we do or not do. God is not diminished by our weaknesses. We are the ones that experience the consequences. We rob our self of the blessing of peace which comes from complete trust and faith in the words and plans of God. We can experience peace throughout the fulfillment of His plan by standing firm with unwavering trust. Or, we can live with fear, worry, and doubt. But when God fulfills His plan and we see the blessing of that fulfillment, we will regret all the time we wasted and the lack of peace we experienced because we didn’t trust Him! The next time God tells you to do something that seems beyond your comprehension, remember the God you proclaim to trust is in the business of doing the incomprehensible. The birth of Jesus is incomprehensible yet God did the incomprehensible and He still does the incomprehensible in the lives of His children.

And the angel replied to him. I am Gabriel, I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to talk to you and to bring you this good news. Now behold, you will be silent and will continue to be silent and not able to speak until the day when these things take place, because you have not believed what I told you; but my words are of a kind which will be fulfilled in the appointed and proper time.
Luke 1: 20 and 21

Taking the Love of Jesus Around the World

When my children were in Junior High and High School, I wasn't for sure what choices they would make when they left home. What role would God play in their life? Would they serve Him or ignore Him? I have to be honest and say that my daughter Brittne worried me the most. It was probably because she was more vocal. Every Sunday morning I would hear her standard speech about how when she is on her own she is not going to church every Sunday. It was always followed by, "And I am not going to make my kids go to church either!" I was pleasantly surprised when she found a church to attend her freshman year in college and helped to start a campus ministry. By her junior year she had decided that she wanted to go to a Christian university and enrolled at Southwest Baptist University in Boliver, Missouri. She declared missions as her minor and went on three mission trips to Mexico and one to Egypt before she graduated. Then she surrendered to missions her senior year and she felt God was calling her to the journeyman program with the Southern Baptist Convention. The following September God confirmed to her that she was to serve Him in Lima, Peru. She has been away from home for 15 months now. She has become fluent in Spanish and has traveled by bus, chicken bus, and foot to the uttermost parts of the Andres mountains and to minister to the villages and share the love of Jesus. She has gone 10 days without a shower and has been too cold to sleep. I am so proud of her. I am blessed that God has called her to serve Him in such a special way and that she is willing to be obedient no matter what the cost. However, there is another thing I am amazingly proud of her for. During her senior year in college, she adopted a little 10 year old boy, in Bolivia. She has faithfully sent $38 a month for his care. No matter what her income has been she has never complained about sending that money for him. She writes him and he writes her. She is making a difference in his life. For me, $38 is a casual meal out, or a new sweater. To her friend Omar, it gives him a school to attend and clothes to wear, and a friend to show him the love of Jesus. Since Brittne has been in Peru, I have had to type out the letters she receives from him and send it to her by email. He writes it in Spanish and draws her a picture, and the Compassion organization translates it to English for her. Now she would rather read it in Spanish but I do not type Spanish very well so she gets it in English. His letters have moved me on more than one occassion. In one letter, Omar writes:

Dear Brittne Thompson,
Hello! I send you greetings. First I thank you for the letter you sent me, Congratulations!! You are talented to learn spanish. In answer to your questions, I am fine. Bolivia is doing regular and it is turning cold, sometimes it rains and others we got up and down with ice. My family is fine. I like to cook rice with meat. It makes me happy to know your brother’s wedding was nice. What is the name of the town where you work? It is sad to know you left your friends in Guatemala but you can make new friends in your job, I will keep being your friend. My favorite biblical story is Noah’s. How do you cook “Enrollado de canela” I don’t know it. I want to tell you something. Please come to Bolivia, maybe it is too hard. I’d like to meet you. Thanks because I have a friend who is always thinking of me, who always works as to the Lord, I love you so much and I hope to have your news soon with love.
Omar

What a blessing she is to him and what a blessing he is to her. Brittne has plans to see him before she leaves South America. One of Brittne's gifts from me this Christmas is something she has asked me for more than once over the last two years. I am adopting a child to honor her and to do my part in taking the love of Jesus to the ends of the world.
We might not be able or be called to move around the world and serve God in the foreign mission field, but we can reach out to one child. What are you doing to take the love of Jesus to your community, to your state, to your country, and to your world?

You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Acts 1:8

If you would be interested in sponsoring a child, visit http:www.compassion.com/sponsor_a_child.

Celebrating through the Hurt

Christmas is a special time and often it is referred to as a magical time. It generates warm feelings of goodwill and generosity to others. It stirs up hallmark moments and events. If ever there is a time we try to live a picturesque life, it is during Christmas. It is as if we try to build a wall around the Holidays and believe it should keep out all the tribulations of life. The problem is that life still happens even during the Christmas Season. We still have family conflicts, divorces, diseases, illness, death, accidents, financial disasters, theifs, fires, loneliness and job losses. We pay extra attention to the hurts of life when it happens during these days and we always add the phrase, “how horrible, and during Christmas time too!”. Many people have a hard time balancing the celebration and honoring of Christ and the emotional pain from a hurt or a loss. It is hard to be sad when everything and everyone around you seem to radiate happiness. How do we do it?
Horatio Spafford was a man who had to figure out the answer to that question. Life brought Horatio many traumatic events. The first was the death of his only son in 1871.Then after being a successful lawyer, he experienced financial ruin following the great Chicago fire. In 1873, he had planned to travel to Europe with his family on a what we call a cruise ship. He ended up being delayede on business so he sent his family ahead. While crossing the Atlantic, the ship sank rapidly after a collision with a sailing ship and all four of Horatio’s daughters died. His wife Anna survived and sent him the now famous telegram, "Saved alone." The Spaffords later had three more children, one of whom (a son) died in infancy. If anyone had to learn how to worship God in the midst of extraordinary hurt, he did. How did he do it? He focused on Jesus and the sovereignty of God. How do we know that? Because shortly after the ship sank, as Horatio traveled to meet his grieving wife, he was inspired to write some words as his ship passed near where his daughters had died. Those words were set to music and we know it as the song, ‘It is Well With My Soul.’ Those words, though not in modern language, are:
When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life,
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.
But Lord, 'tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul.
And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
Refrain:
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul

I do not mean to devalue the hurt you may be dealing with this Christmas. However, I do know that Christ is the only one that can comfort and give you peace. He is bigger than your hurt. Isn’t that reason enough to celebrate His birth? Take a break from focusing on your trials and hurts and instead focus on Jesus and the season of love and joy. It is healing!

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds (curing their pains and their sorrows).

Psalm 147:3

Does Santa Claus have a Place in a Christian's Christmas?

I was raised watching my parents give to people in need. Not just at Christmas, but especially at Christmas. They would always adopt children from a local children's home for Christmas. One year stands out because a friend, who had just signed withthe Pittsburg Steelers took the football we purchased for our adopted boy and had his teammates sign it. There are some amazing signatures on that football, including Terry Bradshaw. Dwayne and I have carried on that Christmas tradition and we make sure to buy for a family or children who are in need. However, I have to confess, that giving money or buying gifts, though it can be difficult financially, is not the most sacrificial giving. Giving what you have and use is much harder than giving from your abundance. Let me explain. When I was a child my mother decided I had too many toys and my cousin had none. She made me go through my toys and give away a third. All of a sudden every toy was my favorite. It was a very hard thing to do and one that I still remember. Then as an adult, I had a friend who needed some work clothes. I had recently cleaned out my closet of unwanted items and had given them away. God convicted me to give my friends some of my favorite clothes, you know everything hanging in my closet. I went to my closet and pulled out some favorite outfits and gave them to her. That was the most sacrificial giving I have ever done.
Christmas is a time for giving. We hear that every year. Christ gave everything to us and in honor of Him, we give to others. There is another symbol of giving we include in our Christmases, it is Santa Clause. Every Christian battles the question of how much Santa Claus do we allow in our Christmas. It can be a real dilemma. However, when you know the real story of Santa Claus, it can become a meaningful part of your Christmas celebration. I was blessed to know the real story of Santa when the kids were young and we incorporated it into our festivities. Last year, a local radio station put the following story of Santa Claus on their web site and I want to pass it on to you.

The Real Story of St. Nicholas
Maybe we give old St. Nick too much static for the over-commercialization of Christmas. This thought comes to me after reading what Bruce Thielman, Chaplain at Grove City College in Pennsylvania had to say on the subject."At Christmas, when calling us to be manger people, perhaps Jesus might say: Consider, if you will my servant, Nicholas. He lost his parents early in his life in an epidemic, but not before he was old enough for them to help him discover the gift of faith. After that, little Nicholas went to Myra and lived a life full of self offering and giving of himself. His life was full of sacrifice and love in the spirit of Jesus. Nicholas lived such a Christ-like life, that when the town needed a bishop, he was immediately elected. Later he was imprisoned for his Christian faith, but was later released by the Emperor Constantine. Thereafter, many stories of his generosity were collected and spread like wildfire from mouth to mouth. It was told how he begged food for the poor, and how he would somehow get money for girls to use as a dowry so that they could have husbands. The story most often repeated was about how he would put on a disguise and go out and give gifts to poor children. In fact, Nicholas gave away everything he had, plus everything he could get from others. Good Nicholas died in 314 A.D. Later his body was moved to Italy, where his remains are reported to be today. The story of Nicholas has spread around the world. Today, there are more European churches named after St. Nicholas than any other person in the history of the church... aside from Biblical characters. People have done many things to St. Nick. Clement More, the poet, gave him a red nose and eight tiny reindeer. Artist Thomas Nast gave Nicholas a round belly and a red, fur trimmed suit. But, that is not important! What is vital, is that he lived in the mind-set and lifestyle of Christ. Because he lived that way, the life of Nicholas touched the whole world. Now, here is the kicker: that same Christ-like mind-set and lifestyle is supposed to be in and lived by us all."
That is a story we can tell our children. That is an example we can follow. If we made giving a part of our life, how would that touch the lives of others? The thing we need to not do is make St. Nicholas the focus. I don't think he would want that. We can't make ourselves the focus when we give either. We must make Jesus the focus of all giving, for everything comes from Him.

We all live off His generous bounty, gift after gift..

John 1:16 (Message)

P.S. There is a children's book I used with my children called, "Santa, Are You Real". There are also a variety of books that teach about the real St. Nicholas at Barnes and Noble.

Christmas Is What You Make It

One of the best, most unique Christmas presents I ever received as a child was from my grandparents. They owned an old fashion store in a small town in Arkansas. For Christmas, they walked the ailes with a box and threw everything they thought I would like into it. I got candy, toothbrushes, toys, gum, Cracker Jacks, and enough other stuff (my mother said, junk) to fill a large box. I loved it! It was also the last Christmas present I received from them. For religious reasons they stopped celebrating Christmas. After all, they claimed, it really wasn't Christ birthday, it was just a date that man picked.
They were right, it isn't the actual date that Christ was born. Scholars have said that Jesus would have been born in the Spring. It is also true that man has made Christmas very commercial with trees, lights, gifts, parties, food, etc. However, I believe wholeheartedly that Christmas is what you make it. Satan is really good about taking spiritual things and making it into something worldly. So, let's take all the commercialism and turn it into something that teaches our children about Jesus. Let all the 'gifts mania' be a reminder to us of the greatest gift of Jesus, Who was willing to leave all His glory and come to earth to be born a mere man and sacrifice His life in order to offer us eternal life with Him. It may not be his actual birthday but what is wrong with sitting aside a time to remember God's gift of His only Son to us. Scripture is constantly telling us to remember the acts of God. God established many feast and festivals with the Jewish people to help them remember those very things. We should let Christmas, that we set aside to remember an act of God, remind us of God's greatest gift to humanity and also who Jesus is. For example:

• We put up an evergreen in our home and call it our Christmas tree - Jesus is the everlasting Savior who wants to make his home with us.
• We put up lights - Jesus is the Light of the world, a Light in the darkness.
• We hang ornaments on the tree - Jesus gives us His Spirit and gifts and talents that takes our ordinary lives and makes us special, and beautiful.
• We give gifts- Jesus was God's Gift to the world.
• We spend time with family and friends- Because of the sacrifice of Jesus we belong to the family of God.
• We celebrate the birth of Jesus - The angels celebrated the birth of Jesus and proclaimed His glory!
• Santa Clause brings gifts - Teach the story of St. Nicolas (if you do not know it, I will share it tomorrow)

Christmas can be what you make it. If we let everything we do point to Jesus, then we are glorifying Him. Look for ways to teach others about Jesus. Hearts are open this time of year to the Good News. Don't just go through the motions of Christmas which doesn't set us apart from the world. Let the joy of Jesus radiate from you and bless all those around you. Look for every opportunity to focus on and celebrate Jesus. Let it be a season of remembrance. Teach your children and your grandchildren the wonder of Christmas. If Christians don't celebrate the birth of Jesus, who will? The angels sure celebrated the birth of Jesus!

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

Luke 2:11-14

Live Like It Is Your Last Christmas!

During the long Thanksgiving Holiday, we hooked up the old VCR player and my sister and I watched old home movies. We watched previous Christmas mornings when my children were babies. We watched the Christmas when Bryce got his Nintendo and first games; Mario and Duck Hunt. It was amazing to see and hear my little children. I had forgotten what they sounded like. However, it seems like only yesterday my grown adult children, were running to mama to fix whatever was wrong. It has always amazed me how time feels like it is crawling as you are living it but when you look back, it goes in a flash. I can not believe it has been 25 years since I held my first baby! My sister and brother are the same age as my children. Their mother died when they were 14 and 16 years old. Our father died when they were 18 and 20 years old. When we were watching the tapes, it dawned on me that their mother was filming the tapes to record their childhood. Yet, in reality, we were watching the tapes to remember and see their parents. At one point, in the tape viewing, we realized their mother had only 10 more years with her children. She didn't see her children drive, graduate, go off to college, start their careers, She won't see them get married or have children. She was a great mother, but what would she had done differently if she knew she would only have 16 years as a mother.
Today, I have several friends that could be experiencing their last Christmas. It makes me ponder how I would look at this Christmas if it was my last. Actually, it could be! I do not know what tomorrow holds for me or any of those I love and care about. The only thing I know for sure is that one day I will live for eternity with my God and my Savior.
Why then do we live like we are guaranteed to live to be a hundred? How would we live this Christmas if we knew it would be our last? Would we stress less? Would we enjoy our family and friends more? Would we talk more about Jesus? Would we truly focus on the true meaning of Christmas? What gift would we give as our last gift to someone? What kind of impact would we have on people if we lived like there was not tomorrow?

Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

James 4 :13-14