What is Christmas?

It's Christmas! Everything is at a fevered pitch. People blow like the wind through, store after store, searching for that perfect gift for that special person on their list. Lines are long, tempers are short, and the time left till Christmas is even shorter. We have spent hours scouring the countryside in search for the perfect tree, or we have dragged the tree out of the closet. We have decorated the house in anticipation of the long-awaited day. We have planned parties and went caroling all in hopes of capturing the Christmas spirit. For some, they listen to the weather forecast in hoping that there will be snow in abundance. We hope that, somehow, the snow the parties, the lights and tinsel, the cards or the brightly adorned tree will bring some holiday cheer to our lonely hearts. There is one thing that most of us loose sight of around this time of year. Christmas is not about how many gifts you give or get; nor is it about having the best-decorated house in the neighborhood, or a tree that is the epitome of perfection. It's not about singing one more rendition of "Away In a Manger" while standing knee deep in snow in sub-zero weather. Believe-it-or-not, it's not even about having your family gathered all around. All of these things are good and wonderful, but you can have none of these things and still have an amazing Christmas. Christmas is about the single gift that God gave us, his son. God came to us, to rescue us from the clutches of death. If we have everything else, the tree, the carols, the gifts, the parties without Christ, it will still be a miserable Christmas; but if we have Christ and nothing else, we can still have the merriest Christmas.

What Is Christmas?

Do you find it hard to sleep til' night,
Resting by the Christmas lights?
Could there be something you forgot?
Beyond the bows, and mistletoes,
The tree with presents wrapped below,
There's more to this than you had ever thought?
Have we lost the reason that we celebrate each year?

[Chorus:]
What is Christmas?
If there never was a Savior wrapped in a manger.
What is Christmas without Christ?

Remember how the story goes,
God's gift was wrapped in swaddling clothes,
Beneath the star, one great and holy night.
The shepherds heard the angels sing,
The wise man brought an offering,
Peace on Earth began in Bethelethm
Have we lost the reason that we celebrate each year?

[Chorus:]
What is Christmas?
If there never was a Savior wrapped in a manger.
What is Christmas?
If the angels never sang 'Glory to the new born king?'
What is Christmas without Christ?

There'd be no gloria
In excelsis deo
Gloria
In excelsis deo

What is Christmas?
If there never was a Savior wrapped in a manger.
What is Christmas without Christ?
This is Christmas,
It’s all about the Savior wrapped in a manger.
This is Christmas,
Because of Jesus Christ!
This is Christmas,
Because of Christ!
Because of Christ!

Thank You God For Turning Our Ashes into Beauty

There are tragedy and sadness in everyone's life, No one is exempt. Yet, in the midst of the hurt and pain, God is there. He takes the things that hurt us and make us sad and turns them into things are beautiful. The death of my mother was a tragedy to my dad. However, because of that tragedy, my dad began to see his need for God. In his brokenness, he found a God that could make him whole. God turned his ashes into beauty. My dad, in turn, taught me to love God. I am blessed to know God as my savior because of my dad. God also blessed me with a lovely step-mom Life is harsh at times, and many things are sad, Yet, if we let him, he will take our ashes and make them into a work of art. He delights in making the ash heaps of our life beautiful. When we are broken, God is near, and where there is sorrow, he will turn it into dancing. Thank you, God, F...

Doctors and Taxes

Tonight, I’m doing something I absolutely hate. My husband and I are working on a budget. I imagine that most of you feel the same way. It’ kind of like taxes and doctors, we dislike them and breathe a sigh of relief when they are done. Truth be told; we really don’t enjoy working on a budget at all. Yet it is one of the necessary components in knowing exactly how much you have and what you can spend. If indeed we are responsible to God for how we handle the resources that God has given us, then we need a clear picture. One piece of the puzzle that can bring the whole puzzle into focus is a budget. It allows you to see and compare what you spend with what you have. Sometimes as I’ve done a budget and looked at what I saw, I could see that the problem was little things that add up. I realized that the problem was that I forgot the advice I had been given long ago, little things add up. As we do a budget, we often see little things th...

Rest For Your Soul

Tonight was such a beautiful sunny night that I decided to go for a walk and enjoy the warm summer sun before another wave of rain hits. As I cranked up my music and headed out. I could not help but praise God for the area in which I live. I, quite literally, live 5 minutes from a small town. If I want to walk, I can walk down deserted country roads without driving at all. Yes, I am incredibly blessed. I saw baby bunnies eating grass by the edge of the road and talked with the most friendly Jersey cows. They always walk over to the edge of the fence as I walk by nodding their heads in greeting. There was a deer, in a hurry to catch up with his “deer” friends I suppose. There were daisies and buttercups, apple trees by the edge of the road and a creek that floods at least once during the spring. I also occasionally see a very friendly donkey and a few horses who always come to the edge of the fence hoping I have sugar for...

Inspirations

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