Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!  I hope you have a great Christmas day celebrating with your family and friends.  Don't forget the sacrifice that Jesus made for us so that we could be forgiven.  Keep your eyes fixed on the one who forgives and saved us from our sins.

Tis the Season!

Something about the time of year gets everyone in the spirit of giving and loving one another.  What is it that does that?  The music?  The lights?  The decorated trees?  Hot chocolate?  Peppermint?  Whatever it is, it gets everyone in the festive spirit.  But with all the preparation for one of the biggest days of the year, we can't lose sight of why we celebrate it in the first place.  It's not to get things.  It's not to give your parents a long list of things that you want and expect to open them when Christmas day comes.  It's about celebrating the day that Christ was born.  The day that he came to earth as a humble baby, born in a stable, to grow up and save his chosen ones by dying for them.  That's what Christmas is about.  It's a time of giving, just like Jesus came and gave of himself because he loved us.
It's not a time of selfishness and greed.  It's the time of thankfulness and sharing.  Seeing others happy with the gifts that people have given them is a great blessing.  But try to look past the gift as you open it this year.  Remember that God gave the giver the means to purchase that gift to give to you.  And that ultimately, God gave us a most precious gift when he sent his only son to die for us so that we could be with him forever in heaven!