Jumbled thoughts/

I'm sitting here looking forward to next week, looking forward to Christmas. That one time of year that you have looked forward to since you were a child, and I couldn't help thinking that Christmas just isn't what it used to be. I remember going to bed on Christmas eve and having trouble sleeping because I was so excited to see what I was going to get, Waking up mom and dad at the crack of dawn so we could get started. The crazyness of ripping open presents and yes the disappointment of mom wrapping socks and underwear. I remember sitting in the living room with my Mom,Dad, and Brother just enjoying time together as a family. Im 28 now and I find myself wondering where did those feelings go? I feel guilty when I do get that rush because I know now it is for all the wrong reasons. Not to long ago My friend Paul and his wonderful wife Amy told me a story about how Amy would steal baby Jesus from the nativity scene because Jesus hadn't come yet (read the whole story here

That Story has set with me ever since. So many times at Christmas we here the saying Jesus is the reason for the season and I think back to what it must have been like in Bethlehem on that day. I mean life was normal people were going on about there daily lives, working wondering what was for dinner, and in all of that there were two people who's lives were about to change. The reason for the season was born that night in Bethlehem. There was no fanfare, there was no hallelujah chorus, there was just Mom and Joseph, and baby Jesus. At that moment God's plan was in full force. God knew why the reason was sent.

It's so easy to just focus on Jesus' birth this time of year but really we need to look at the whole picture. Yes God's plan was put into motion that night and a most blessed gift was given to us. But Jesus' birth would mean nothing without the death,Burial, and Resurrection.

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. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

HOW AWESOME IS THAT! So as you move about the next week going from one celebration to the next remember the full aspect of what Christ's birth entails.

(sorry for how sporadic this was)