Christmas time!

December is zooming by, isn't it?  Christmas is in 12 DAYS!  I heard someone say that today, and I could hardly believe it!  We have been busy--well, I should say I have been busy.  My poor boys have been pretty bored, since we have had a lot of cold, but hardly any snow, which makes for long days in the house.  Sarah and I have been spending lots of time together, though...in the hospital, at the clinic, and at the surgery center where she gets her eye exams.  She had one today..........Still not a trace of a tumor anywhere!! 

Anyway, we have been trying our best to focus on Jesus and not this old world and all of its glittery trappings.  And in the midst of all the appointments, school, Christmas shopping and life in general, I have been doing it. Focusing on Jesus.  Just being quiet in the center of my soul, and thankful for what He did for us.  Really, isn't it amazing?  We are so wicked.  Really, we are.  The message at church on Sunday was about our sin, and how we truly are guilty.  Let's not sugar coat it, because our sin problem is at the heart of it all.  God made us for Himself, to glorify Him, and we are so saturated in sin.  We run from Him every chance we get.  I am so appalled at how my mouth is so quick to complain.  To talk about someone in not so nice of a way.  To be negative and bitter.  And, unfortunately, that is just a reflection of what is too often in my heart.  It's so ugly.  I am so sorry about it all! 

And yet, God in His mercy did not give up on us. On the contrary, He ran TO us.  Just think.  What if you were able to make a person.  You painstakingly created him, and your plan was to have a loving relationship with him.  You never once did anything to let him down, and gave him everything he ever needed.  But instead of loving you in return, he turned his back on you, broke your rules, and wanted nothing to do with you.  Wouldn't you give up on that ungrateful brat?  But God...He is so full of mercy.  He knows we are lost in sin.  He knows we are really made of dust.  He knows we can't do anything on our own to make that relationship right again.  So, instead of giving up, He continued to give.  He gave us a long letter, His very Word, to help us and teach us.  It spells out every little thing we need to know.  And He gave us His Son--part of Himself--to come here and be one of us.  A baby with a gassy tummy.  An awkward teenager.  One of us with all of our aches and pains and pimples and wrinkles.  He allowed Himself to be tempted, and put up with it so that we would know we could relate to Him.  That He would understand.  And finally He gave up His very life in one of the worst possible ways because it was the only thing that could be done to pay our sin debt.   He wanted us to see how very, very much He loves us, in spite of our wicked hearts.  What else could He possibly do to show us?  Nothing.  He did it all.  He sacrificed His life to take the punishment for our sins.  So that we could be FREE!  Free from sin, and free from guilt.  So that we could be righteous in His eyes, and have that perfect fellowship with Him, even forever and ever! 

It's just so amazing.

Christmas.  It's time to celebrate that amazing love.  Have a wonderful Christmas season, remembering how truly loved and blessed we are!

(And that was completely NOT what this post was going to be about, but it's what came out of my fingers when I started typing. Hope you enjoyed it!)  : )