Merry Christmas

Christmas is my favorite time of year. Its a time to rejoice, a time with family, a time of year where the world pauses, if only for a moment, to celebrate the birth of Christ.

this year, as I removed myself from the chaos and distractions of all that goes on this holiday season, I realized that today really isn't completely about Jesus at all. Its about us. It is about you and I. Jesus was and continues to be our gift, our promise from God. We are His children, and as John 3:16 states, He gave us His son, so that we could have eternal life. How the familiarity of that verse becomes amazingly mundane, but still rings true with excitement.

Think of it this way. Although I don't have any children in my family at the moment, I did have an opportunity to see it through my work...just a glimpse... but.. Think about when you celebrate Christmas with young children. If you were to ask any young child what they're excited about, what would their response be? They look forward to the presents. They get excited about the packaging, tearing it off with anticipation just to see what hides beneath. And you can just see the excitement exuded from them. Its infectious... and it gives us, the giver, joy to see that. God is our giver, and we are the young children receiving the gift. He delights in giving to His children... He gets the ultimate reward in giving, and we get everlasting life through the sacrifice of His son.

Today, as I celebrate the birth of our Savior, I lift up a praise of thanks for this wonderful gift I've been given.

Merry Christmas!