Faithful Christmas

Quiet times in my home during the holidays is very rare, but God blessed me with such this cold, dreary morning.  What an awesome way to start off my Christmas Eve day!

This Christmas has been so different for me.  God keeps opening my eyes to so many different things about this holiday, Jesus' birthday.  This morning I was reading John 14:1-4 and I like the way The Message Bible puts it:

"Don't let this throw you. You trust God, don't you? Trust me. There is plenty of room for you in my Father's home. If that weren't so, would I have told you that I'm on my way to get a room ready for you? And if I'm on my way to get your room ready, I'll come back and get you so you can live where I live. And you already know the road I'm taking."

"There is plenty of room for you in my Father's home." What a wonderful realization, that we, as Christians, have the ultimate Christmas party to go to one day, when we go Home!  And we know this promise to be true, because above all else, God is faithful! He can't not be. Its who He is.

I've been on my knees a lot over the past few weeks for those folks who can't be "home" for the holidays.  Its just something we take for granted, whether its just down the street, across the pasture, the next state over or a short plane ride, we always seem to be able to make it home for Christmas.  What about the soldier fighting for that very freedom we enjoy? What about the missionary telling others of the freedom they can have in Christ?  What about the single mom who has to leave her kids Christmas morning because she has to work?  What about that homeless man that I passed on the highway yesterday? Does he have anyplace he can go to and call "home"?

I don't know about you, but I do tend to live in my own little world, in my bubble of belief that everyone has a nice warm home to go to and a comfortable bed to sleep in and a warm meal on their table (or at least a restaurant to go out to eat). The hard truth is, the majority of the world's population doesn't have those things.  And believe me when I say, I'm not condemning us for having those things, I really enjoy those things!  Its just God is making me so much more aware of the fact how grateful I need to be.

A couple of our college girls and I went around town the other day looking for ways God smiles on us during this time of year, it was nothing big. It was the little things.  Christmas trees for sale. A cup of coffee. A sign that read "Jesus loves me, this I know". A stack of Christmas cards. A child's Christmas craft. An amazing sunset over a small lake. Those little things that we sometimes just overlook or take for granted, but oh when we really look, its those little things that make our hearts really smile!

And even last night, as I was in my car looking at a gorgeous moon and thanking God for the blessings of my life and praying for a few certain folks, God chose to smile at me through the radio!  On a station that had been playing Christmas music for nearly two weeks straight, suddenly they played two songs that mean so very much to me in my life!  Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas music, but I think God just wanted to give me an exclamation mark of His faithfulness!

I read from a blog the other day that "Christmas is not about going home, but about leaving home."  How true that is and honestly, it was the first time I've ever really thought about that fact.  It was that first Christmas morning that Jesus woke up and was not in His home anymore, but in ours.  He left all the glory of Heaven to come here, to a world that would, and still does, reject Him, mock Him, and make fun of Him.  Would you want to be somewhere like that for Christmas?  Yet, He did because of John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

He came and endured living in the dysfunctional world of ours we call "home" so that, if we believe in Him, we could one day really go Home for the Holidays!  And oh my! What a glorious Christmas that first Christmas in Heaven will be when we are all around the throne of God!  Eating at His table! Bestowing our gifts of praise to the Ultimate Christmas Gift!!

Faithful Christmas 2010, that is how I will remember these few weeks.  He has been, is, and always will be! Faithful!

Band-aids, the cure all

Do you remember falling down as a child and scraping your elbow or your knee?  Then you would run to mommy because you knew she would have a band-aid and that would make it all better.  Some days, don't you wish a band-aid would still stop the hurts of this world?
This may be a strange post for the Christmas season, but I see so many hurting people around me and that hurts my heart.  I would love to give them a band-aid and know that it would help them feel better, but we know now, as grown-ups, that sometimes hurts have to be cleaned to heal and and lets face it, healing hurts.
Sometimes to heal, we need that friend to just kind of slap us back into reality and let us know we need to get over ourselves....I think this would be the alcohol approach to the cleaning/healing process.  Its, at times, very necessary, but it always stings a bit!
Then we have those friends who might just encourage us and walk with us until our hurts begin to heal...this I look at as the hydrogen peroxide process....slowly it "bubbles" the hurt away, and in a way...having that friend beside us, its enjoyable to watch. 
Oh, but the best thing I remember about "boo boo's" was that cool lotion that would go on the hurt.  The healing balm.  We still have a healing balm today, for much bigger wounds.  God's Holy Word.  In Jeremiah the people are asked: 
"Is there no Balm in Gilead?
Is no physician there?
Why then is there no recovery
For the health of the daughter of my people? (Jer 8:21-22)

I think He may still ask us that question today.  Why don't we go to Him for the healing of our souls?  Perhaps we have hurt for so long, we just try to handle it ourselves, but infection of bitterness will eventually set in. Perhaps we just don't know what to do?  Hurts ignored, can still turn to infection for the soul.  If this is the case, let me urge you to seek the Great Physician, Jesus Christ.  In Him lies the answers to ALL of life's hurts.

This Christmas, enjoy the blessings of family and friends, the amazing privilege of giving, and of course enjoy all the goodies to eat!!  In the midst of it all, look at your hurts, give them to the Great Physician and let Him apply healing balm to your soul.  Also, be aware of the hurts of those around you. Care for them. Encourage them. Pray for them. Above all, point them to Jesus, that baby in the manger who grew to be the Savior for the world and the Healer of all hurts!

Dear most gracious Heavenly Father,  open my eyes to the hurts of those around me.  Break my heart for what breaks Yours.  Help me to always shine my light on You and for You.  Thank you for the promise found in Psalm 147:3, that You  "heal the brokenhearted and bind up their wounds."  Thank You for always being faithful to Your Word. Thank You for the hurts You have allowed in my life that have brought growth in my relationship with You. Thank You for that precious Gift You sent us long ago that is still celebrated today...the Child of Christmas who can fill us all with hope and joy if we open our hearts to Him.  Please hold those hurting souls right now in Your almighty arms and place someone in their path today to point them to You.  I ask this in the name of Jesus, the most precious name I know!  Amen. 

My Wish For You

As you blow out six candles on your birthday cake, here's MY wish for you:
*I wish for you joy in your life, not just happiness, but that true joy that can only come from the Father above.

*I wish for you innocence for as long as you can keep it in this world.  The world has a way of robbing us of innocence, so baby, I want you to keep that for as long as possible. I'll do my best to guard that for you!

*I wish for you a walk with the Lord that grows sweeter every day.  That He will be your "bff" always!  He will never leave you. Never let you down. And He is always there for you.  Walk with Him. Grow in Him. Trust Him.

*I wish for you friends that will be there to encourage you and to love you and that you can trust with all your girly secrets of parents, boys, and life, but above all that they'll be friends that always point you back to God and hold you accountable when you stray from Him.

*I wish for you a life that shines!  Your tender heart is a treasure.  I love watching you with the elderly or the ill, you are absolutely precious! Even with your autistic cousin, your love and compassion just shines through! Don't lose that, baby girl! Always be willing to love. Above all.

*I wish for you a life lived in humble service and love to God and to others.  Those are the two greatest commandments to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and to love others as yourself.

*I wish for you to have a love of self.  Its easy to get down on self, allow God to heal hurts, restore joy, and strengthen your faith every day. 

*I wish for you to enjoy life. Laugh a lot. Dance a lot. Sing to the top of your lungs a lot. Play in the mud a lot. Bake cookies and make a mess a lot. Just enjoy the blessings God has given you...a lot! 

*I wish for you to seek Him in a daily quiet time every day.  Take the time in this crazy, busy, fast-paced world to sit with Him, soak up His word and listen to His quiet voice to lead you.

*I wish for you a husband one day like your daddy.  A husband that will treat you like the princess you are and will love you second only to God.  A husband that will be loyal, faithful and true and lead you and your home in righteousness.

*I wish for you to always follow after God's heart.  Thats a big wish, because sometimes God's heart and mommy's hearts don't agree if that means taking their babies far away, but honey, I'll always wish for you to be in the center of God's will wherever that takes you.  Because in His will He will always give you just what you need when you need it.  He will be faithful. He will be enough.

These are life wishes, actually, they're so much more...they're my prayers for you, my hearts cry for the precious bundle of pink I received 6 years ago today. And though these are for your life...for today I just wish for you the simple joy of being a happy, healthy six year old little girl who knows without a doubt that she is loved!!  Because, baby girl, you. are!