Sacrifice

Yesterday, at church, our sermon was about sacrifice. God sacrificed His ONLY Son for us. He let His son be born to die for us. Can you even wrap your head around that? God knows all -- He knew how His son was going to have to die. Yet, He sent Him to us anyway. Can you understand that? He knew in advance that His son would have to die a horrible death, yet he counted us as worth that sacrifice. Wow. I am without words to say to express my appreciation of His sacrifice. I am amazed that He thought I was worthy of such a sacrifice. I am amazed by the depths of His love for us. That He wants a relationship with us. That all He wants of us is for us to love Him.

My mother's heart is in awe of this fact. I have been saved for many years, yet I am sure that I wasn't aware until I held my first child how it must have felt for God to decide to sacrifice His son for us. Can you even imagine such a thing? Can you even fathom having a child just to watch them die a gruesome death? I love my little girl with a love I didn't know existed until I looked into her tiny face. It still amazes me that someone you hadn't even met before can captivate you so inexplicably in the instant you make eye contact. I loved her before she was born, but to see her face -- to look into those eyes. She had me in the palm of her hand.

When I almost lost my second daughter when she was an adult, I was feeling pain akin to no other I had ever felt before. Here I was, expecting a grandchild, expecting a normal delivery, expecting joy and happiness. For over a month, I was in a mother's hell. I didn't know from one day to the next if my baby girl was going to go home to Jesus. Glory be to God, I did not have to lose her. For that and for so many things, I praise my Creator for all He has done for me.

My point is, I didn't have to sacrifice my child. God did sacrifice His. He did it for me. He did it for you. God knows the pain of losing a child. God lives with the pain of rejection every single minute of every single day. Every single time He beckons one of His children to Him and they reject Him, He must feel this.

Do something for Him. Accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. You'll never be sorry.

It's a Wonderful Life...

Merry Christmas.

As I ponder what is important this holiday season, besides Jesus being the obvious choice, I seem to keep going back to my family. I know, I harp on how great a family I have, but it is true. We have some characters in our family, and they know who they are (I am one of them). The fact that you can choose your friends, but not your family is certainly true. Honestly, I love spending holidays with my family members. Some of those family members are my friends, too. I love the holidays when we just spend the day together. Sitting around talking and sharing time together. Sounds trite, but it isn't really. I just love it.

I think I would enjoy living on a commune with my girls and their families. They are a fun lot of people. I am thankful to God for giving my oldest child a man who actually loves her and puts her first in his life. I don't have to worry about whether or not he loves her children -- you can see how much he does. She is happy, and that makes me happy. My youngest has a man who cherishes her and their kids. He is the perfect man for her. I doubt if my children would like to live on a commune with me, so I will settle for them living in the same proximity that I live. I love that I can see them whenever I need to.

I love my grandchildren with a love that is totally different from my children. Very strong and protective, very gentle and sweet. I don't have to raise them into people, so I can just love them. And I do. So very much. None of them are perfect, but they are perfect enough for me.

I just watched It's a Wonderful Life the other night on TV. It is a holiday favorite of mine. (I also like Christmas Vacation and the Grinch as well.) Anyway, I was thinking what would change if I had never been born, and it blows me away to realize what wouldn't have happened if I hadn't been born. I didn't have the greatest of childhoods, and am by no means as important as George Bailey was to his community, but I have value. I have worth. If it weren't for me, my children wouldn't have been born, nor would I have my grandchildren. We all impact each other, whether we are aware of it or not. I pray that my impact would be a positive one. I have so many people who love me, and I am very blessed.

All in all, I have a wonderful life.

Scrooges

What is it about Christmas that brings out the worst in people? The sour pusses that complain about all things Christmas. I am talking about the Scrooges of the world. I am talking to the ones who hate spending money on presents, who hate to decorate their homes, who hate Christmas music, who secretly or not so secretly hate those of us that love Christmas. The ones who say they don't even want any presents so that they don't have to buy any for anyone else. The ones that bah humbug so much that they ruin the holidays for the ones that love it. They say that Christmas has gone all commercial and it is all about the presents. I beg to differ.

Christmas is all about remembering the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Sure, we all get presents, and most of us like that, but it isn't the focus of our Christmas. Christmas Eve service at Waters Edge is my focus. I am so excited to be there again this year. I love my church. I love my church for many reasons, and one of them is the Christmas Eve service. My family plans their festivities around this service. It is always mind blowing. It is always Christ focused. It is always worth attending. Those involved in the Christmas Eve service give up much of their holiday time planning, practicing, and investing in the service. Those people sacrifice their time, their family time, their talents, and sometimes their money to be sure that the Christmas Eve service at Waters Edge is unforgettable for those that attend. You would know what I am talking about if you ever went to one of our Christmas Eve services. I don't plan on missing out on an amazing extravaganza of talent, a beautiful heartfelt message, and some of the best music in town. If you don't have a church home, you are welcome to join our church. It is a place that will change the way you feel about church. We do things differently, but we do it good!

One thing to the scrooges of the world - Don't spread your negativity to those of us who love all the things about Christmas. Just let us go about loving the holiday and all that goes with it. Don't rain on our parade. It is okay to not like it, it is not okay to be such a grump that you make others miserable. Give it a try. Do it differently this year. Go with the flow. Enjoy yourself. You might just change your mind if you let the spirit of the holiday get inside you.

I love the Christmas message, I love the presents, I love the shopping, I love the faces of the children when they get "just what they wanted." I love the baking, the celebrating, the parties, the clothes, I love all of this holiday, and I especially love Jesus Christ, and am forever humbled by what he did to make this possible. I celebrate the birth of our Lord because he came willingly to lay down His life for me. I never have to be separated from Him - NOT EVER.

Eternity with Jesus Christ. Don't leave this world without it. Merry Christmas everyone!