MY reason for the season...

As Christmas draws closer, I have really been thinking about what CHRISTmas really means. This Christmas will be different for my family as some have been laid off their jobs and others are just trying to make their dollars stretch as far a possible. That's okay with me. There will be less gifts but for some reason I feel that this is going to be a very memorable Christmas. The reason is that we have all been forced to ponder the REAL reason for the season...our Savior's birth. That is the real reason we celebrate. It's not Santa, gifts, cookies and sweets, big meals, or anything else that is "typical" for others. Our reason is JESUS.

Our family has started a tradition since grandkids have arrived...my dad always makes a birthday cake on Christmas Eve and we decorate it just like a birthday cake. The kids LOVE to see the cake all decorated because they KNOW what it means...JESUS' BIRTHDAY IS HERE! They LOVE singing Happy Birthday to Jesus! It is so cute. I can't wait until Caleb can join in the fun and actually SING! What a great thing to teach your kids.....Christmas is NOT the gifts but the birthday of Jesus our Savior. I hope Caleb learns that well and knows at a very young age that Jesus is the reason we celebrate the Christmas season.

As I think now where my family is in preperation to all be home...my dad is in Detroit waiting for a plane to arrive from Arizona, my mom is in Arizona helping my sis-in-law pack up her home of 2 years to move back to MI with an unsure future, my two oldest brothers are DRIVING a moving truck back from Arizona all the way to MI (yes, all the way across the country!), my other brother and his wife are at home job hunting from a lay off just before Christmas, and we are here my Mt. Pleasant awaiting the arrival of all of them!

Lord keep them safe! Bring us all together soon to celebrate Christmas as a family. Help us to focus on the real reason of Christmas! Help us to feel your presence and know your love. Heal any hurt from lost jobs, goodbyes, and pains from this past year. Help us all to be "healing balm" for each other as we come together this Christmas. Thank you for sending your Son, Jesus, to come to earth as a baby and die on the cross to ransom us from our sin! We will serve you forever God as you continue to move and work through our family! We love you!

Amen and Amen!

Merry Christmas! I pray your know and celebrate the TRUE meaning of Christmas this year and in the New Year to come!

Some random thoughts on Christmas etc.

In these very unceratin times, it is so comforting to know that God has our very best interests in mind. At times it seems all we know is slipping out from under us, but knowing that God is MY rock and my salvation calms the "storms" around me.

As Christmas time approaches and I think of what this Christmas in particular is going to bring, it kinda gets me down. I think of all the people whose families are out of jobs (including some of my family), whose kids will not get gifts under their tree, whose families will not have a "Christmas dinner" on their table, whose kids might not have a HOME to celebrate Christmas morning in. Our country and economy right now are in rough shape! It makes me sad that this is what some will experience this Christmas.

Christmas should be a time filled with laughs, hugs, joy, peace, colors, lights, trees, food, smiles, warm fires, and most of all FAMILY! I can say that I am MOST OF ALL looking forward to being with my family this Christmas! I could care less about the gifts (although I LOVE to give them). I could care less about all the food I am going to eat (and I probably will eat way too much). I just want to be HOME with FAMILY around me!

I consider myself blessed just to have that!

Anyway, back to where I started this blog....I hope that Christmas this year means more to you then gifts under the tree. I hope this year, you find the room in your heart for the VERY BEST GIFT EVER....Jesus. He is the reason I celebrate Christmas and my only TRUE hope for this very uncertain future!

Thank you God for sending your Son as a baby! Peace on earth and good will toward men! AMEN!