It's been fun recalling some of my favorite Christmas memories and thoughts. Today will be my last blog in this series because I plan on unplugging from the online world tomorrow to spend a quiet day with my family.
I truly have some amazing memories from Christmas. Some are just one time instances, but some are traditions that have been carried on through generations as I have found out. The one true thing that remains, no matter where we are celebrating, with whom we are spending the time, or how economics have impacted our Christmas shopping. That thing, is the person and reason why we celebrate this special day.
In Kidzblast this month, we started our Christmas series by learning how grace impacted the coming of Christ as a baby. As I prepared for that service, the single most impacting thought was how it was God's Grace that allowed Jesus to leave the perfection of heaven to be born into the filth of this world. There are many compelling thoughts regarding the Christmas story...the virgin birth, the shepherds in the field, the angel appearing several times, the stable, the manger. But the truth that started it all was the overwhelming grace that God had, that allowed His only Son to come to our sinful, rotten, filthy earth.
It's hard sometimes in the hustle and bustle of everything during the month of December to really keep our focus on Jesus. I even found myself getting caught up in the festivities this year, trying to create a wonderful Christmas for my kids, and sometimes let it eclipse the true meaning. This morning as I drank my coffee, and the kids were snuggled on the couch watching cartoons, I took some time to look back at all that has transpired this year since our last Christmas. One word kept flooding my hear and mind...grace. Grace to trust in the hard times, grace to trust in the lean times, grace to rejoice in the good times. And then my mind traveled back to that most wonderful first gift of grace - the gift of a father, of his only son to a broken world.
Because I know many of you well, I know that during the next day or two, you will take time to focus your attention on the Savior. As you do, thank Him for the miraculous gift of grace. Thank you for reading my blog this month. Merry Christmas....I pray that it is full of the love of family, friends and Jesus.
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