The Best Presents

After a summer with no job, not working a full-time job now, school loans coming up due, and on and on and on, my (Aimee's) Christmas budget is tight.  Actually, tight is still putting it lightly.  It makes for a crushingly-tight Christmas budget.  I have 6 little ones to shop for this Christmas, and while their moms and dads will make sure that they get plenty for Christmas, their Auntie or Nina (depending on which child it is) wants to give them something special, too.  And then there's my brother and his wife and my mom and my grandma and ...

Oh yeah!  There's Jesus!

There really isn't any gift that I can give to Jesus that can ever compare with the gift that He gave us.  But I'll tell you one thing, having less money to spend on gifts makes the gifts that you do purchase more thoughtful and moves your whole Christmas focus from the presents to where it's supposed to be.

The focus belongs on Jesus.  It's not about the presents or the decorations—although those are fun!  The presents and the decorations are symbols to point us in the right direction.  When your focus is in the right place, then having less presents to open on Christmas morning doesn't mean that it will be a less special Christmas.  In fact, it gives my family the chance to make things a little bit more special by filling the time with conversations and songs and stories. 

The best gifts that we can give back to Jesus is to focus on Him and His love.  When we do that then we remember to love our neighbors.  We can donate food or presents to needy families or individuals.  We can teach our children that Christmas isn't about how much you get but about how much you can give.  After all, tomorrow morning there will be hundreds of thousands of families in America alone that will wake up and open tons of presents and then go on to eat a huge meal with their families.  Meanwhile, at the same time tomorrow morning, there will be thousands of families that will wake up and their children will have only one present each or maybe even no presents and they will be happy to have any kind of meal that evening, whether it's with family or not. 

We need to remember the blessings that we have and thank God for them.  We need to review what we have to give and then give generously to those who make it by everyday with little, so that they can have enough.  When this Christmas has passed, I pray that we can keep that generous spirit and continue to remember those who do without out the little luxuries or even simply do without, period.

That's the best gift that we can give to Jesus.  And since it's His birthday we're celebrating, He does deserve a special gift.


Merry Christmas everyone!  We can't wait to hear all about your special Christmas gifts that you were able to give away.

one of those days...

My (Sherann) life right now is in chaos.  And the only thing that I have on my mind is Tsunami.  Not an actual tsunami, but our Tsunami Student Conference.  Our preparations for this conference start in January and we keep going until the actual conference.  It's 9 days away and I feel a bit anxious and excited at the same time. 
We have an excellent line up this year, but more importantly, I expect God to do great things.  For the last two weeks, God has really convicted me of the same thing... He's reminded me that He is God and I am not.
There have been many times where I got discouraged about a certain project that didn't "make it" per se or no one is participating in a particular activity. Basically, I was complaining.  Then it just happened to be through conversations where God truly began to convict me and remind me that regardless of a project that didn't make the cut or even when my expectations were not met, God is still sitting on His throne.  He will take the sessions, projects, events, students, etc. and change the lives of students and student leaders that will be there.  He does not need me to accomplish His will.  He does not need my approval.  He does not work according to my agenda.  No.  That is not the the God who I worship.  The God of the Bible says that He is full of grace (hence, He uses sinners such as myself), He is love, He is the everlasting God, and He is God Almighty who will do His will as He sees fit.
And all I can do is... seek Him.

The Cross and Christmas

So my (Aimee's) Grandma walked up to me the other morning and asked me about the cross that hangs in our living room near the front door.  I had draped a red cloth on it (which we've done at Christmas time for many years) and she wanted to know why.  I explained that I did it because red is the color of Advent and that I thought it looked pretty.  She responded (I may not quote her exactly, but this is essentially what she said), "Yeah, but what does the cross have to do with Christmas anyway?"

She didn't really finish her thought beyond that.  At the time I was wondering if she was about to suggest that the cross be taken down during Advent.  I asked her if that was what she wanted, and before I really gave her a chance to answer, I told her that I would not take it down because the cross is very relevant to Christmas time!

Christmas is special.  There is no question of that.  But we have to remember that Christmas wouldn't matter if it weren't for Easter!

"The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us."  John 1:14

Praise God that He loves us so much that He sent His Son to us!  The important part of all that, of course, isn't that He came, but why He came.

Jesus came to redeem us from our sins.  As one Christmas carol puts it, He was born to die.  Jesus came to earth and became a man so that He could die on a cross for our sins and so that God could raise Him from the dead so that we can have eternal life with Him in paradise!  If Easter hadn't happened, Christianity wouldn't have happened, because it would have meant that all of the bad things that people were saying about Jesus was true: that He wasn't sent from God and that He wasn't performing miracles through the power of the Holy Spirit, that He was a blasphemer, etc.  If there had been no Easter, if He had not died, and if God had not raised Him from the dead, it wouldn't matter that He came at all, because it all would have been a lie and His death would have been the end of it.  But praise God!  His death was not the end.  And because of that, we know that our deaths are not the end.  Hallelujah!

Christmas matters because of Easter!

We may not dwell on it.  And that's ok.  We tend to spend this time of year focusing on the joy of His arrival.  On the mystery of His birth.  And there is nothing wrong with that.  But somewhere in our minds, maybe in the back there, we need to remember that all of that joy and excitement and hope that came along with the birth of Jesus was actually all because of the reason that He came.

If you ever have trouble remembering, even somewhere in the back of your mind, then I suggest singing more that just the first verse of most major/popular Christmas carols.  The third verse of "Joy to the World" says:

          No more let sin and sorrow grow,
          Nor thorns infest the ground.
          He comes to make His blessings flow
          Far as the curse is found,
          Far as the curse is found,
          Far as, far as, the curse is found.

The third verse of "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" says:
          Hail the heaven born Prince of Peace!
          Hail the Son of Righteousness!
          Light and life to all He brings,
          Risen with healing in His wings.
          Mild He lays His glory by,
          Born that man no more may die;
          Born to raise the sons of earth,
          Born to give them second birth.

The second verse of "What Child is This" says:
          Why lies He in such mean estate,
               where ox and ass are feeding?
          Good Christian, fear; for sinners here
               the silent Word is pleading.
          Nails, spear, shall pierce Him through,
               the cross be borne, for me for you.
          Hail, hail the Word made flesh,
               the Babe, the Son of Mary.

Need I continue?

Christmas is special.  Jesus Christ came down in the form of a little baby.  He took on flesh ... and He took on our sins.  We just need to make sure we don't forget that.  We don't forget why He came.  Afterall, that's the thing that makes Christmas, and that special gift we all recieved on that first Christmas, so special.

What's it All About Anyway?

Shopping, shopping, shopping and more shopping.  Or as the Grinch (in the form of Jim Carrey) put it, "gifts, gifts, gifts, gifts, gifts, gifts, that's what it's always been about."  Right?

Technically he's right.  Christmas is all about a special gift that we all recieved thousands of years ago, a gift unlike any other gift any of us have ever recieved or will ever recieve again.  Can we ever compete with that?!  We shouldn't even try!  And that's probably the key.

We get so consumed with making Christmas bigger and better—more decorations, more lights, more presents (because in America we all know that bigger is better)—we forget that God made it the biggest and best that it will ever be!

And all we have to do is slow down enough and open our eyes to enjoy it!

Can you slow down?


Are your eyes open?

God wants to give you a gift again.  It's a chance to remember and re-enjoy that first and best gift.  What can you do to open yourself up to accepting His gift this Christmas?

Merry Christmas?

For those of you who may not know, I (Aimee) have been reading my Bible everyday working through a Bible-in-one-year program.  Every day (often first thing in the morning, though not always) I read a few chapters and then at some point in the day I take a few minutes to sit down are write my reflections on my Facebook page.

Saturday morning I read Deuteronomy 21 – 23, and just like over and over again throughout Exodus and Leviticus and Numbers and elsewhere in Deuteronomy, you see phrases like “for you were once slaves in Egypt.”  The fact that this phrase and variations on it appear over and over again in the Old Testament was not new information.  But I had always thought of it in only one way, and it occurred to me for the very first time that there is a likely second reasoning behind the repetition of the phrase.

Repetition (which I know I’ve said before, so I’m repeating also) in the Bible happens for a reason.  Things are repeated because they’re important.  They are repeated for emphasis and usually to aid in memorizing.  So what are the two points that come out of this phrase?

Well, I think that the first one is pretty obvious when you remember that the first part of the phrase is usually, “the Lord, your God, Who brought you out of Egypt.”  The power of God is being stressed.  This usually comes up when the people have messed up and are being reminded of all of the miraculous things that God did to set them free from bondage in Egypt.  We serve a mighty and powerful God!

The second point was what was new to me.  The phrase “for you were once slaves in Egypt” often comes with along with a discussion of how to treat others.  God allowed Israel to go into bondage in Egypt so that they would have more compassion and mercy on others when it was time for them to go out into their own land.  The truth of it hit me with such force it’s still resonating!

Some of you may have realized this already.  But it was all new to me!  And, as God usually does in my life, He is showing me how relevant this information is right now.

Did you know that more people are depressed at Christmas time than at any other time of year?!  The season of peace and joy is the exact opposite for many people all across the country.  Beyond that, I know several people who are dealing with the most stressful and emotionally difficult Christmas seasons of their lives, and for some it might be the most stressful and difficult season—holiday or not—ever. 

Why does God allow us to go through these difficult seasons?  Why did He allow the Israelites to go through a season of slavery (400 years of it)?!

We learn a lot in these difficult times.  And one of the most important things we can learn is how to get through it in a spiritually, emotionally/mentally, and physically healthy way so that we can help others through similar situations in the future, just as others who have been through it in the past can help us now.

Our own hardships create compassion and mercy for others when they’re dealing with their hardships.  You can’t honestly say that you understand how someone else feels unless you’ve been through the same thing.

What hardships have you been through that you learned from and can now help others through?  Or maybe you've had a difficult Christmas in the past?  What was God teaching you along the way?  How did you get through it?  What’s your story?

Hope

 

The first Sunday of Advent has come and gone.  It arrived so fast.  We still have Fall decorations from Thanksgiving out which somehow manage to clash wonderfully with the large Christmas tree that we just put up in the living room a couple of days ago.  I can hardly believe that it's already December 1st!  And I still haven't found my VeggieTales Advent calendar in the boxes of Christmas stuff...

Christmas is such a wonderful time of year!  I think that there are few people who would disagree with that.  Just the simple act of listening to Christmas music as I sit here typing, or of walking into the living room and seeing the partially decorated Christmas tree shining brightly brings joy!  But why?

Christmas is all about the joy of hope.  The joy of anticipation. 

I’m not going to lie and say that I’m not looking forward to the gifts I’ll receive.  Of course I am!  But that is probably the last thing on the long, long list of things that make me happy this time of year. 

I look forward to singing Christmas carols at church, in the car, by myself, with my family, with my friends.  I look forward to watching Christmas movies with family and friends.  I look forward to baking cookies and pies and breads with my mother.  I look forward to spending time sitting around and just talking or playing games with my family.  I look forward to reading Christmas books to my little niece who is almost a year old and will be celebrating her first Christmas.  All typical things that many of you are likely looking forward to also.  Your traditions may be different than those of my family, but we all have Christmas traditions.  And we look forward to them with joy.  We have hope that this year our Christmas traditions will not fail to bring us joy, because they haven't failed us yet.

There’s nothing wrong with any of that, but the most important thing to remember in the midst of all of that is what we are celebrating.  Why do we gather?  Why do we decorate?  Why do we prepare special meals?  Why do we give gifts?  What are we celebrating?  You know the answer.  I don’t even have to say it.  But how often does the reason for the celebration get lost in the celebrating?

In reading the Old Testament for the last few months, I’ve seen example after example of the fact that God’s gift of His Son is something that He was planning from the very beginning.  The hope of the coming Messiah was born immediately after humanity's darkest moment.  Right after Adam and Eve committed the first sin, God pronounced His judgment on them.  But at the same time, He also promised redemption.

The birth of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, is something that has been looked forward to with hope throughout all the generations of the earth.  Some generations may have longed for it more than others, but all those who loved God looked forward to the day when He would redeem humanity and all of creation.  We no longer hold on to the hope that one day the Messiah will come, because we know that He already came, born modestly in a manger in the small town of Bethlehem (side note: the Bread of Life came to us as He was born in a town called “house of bread,” kinda funny, huh).  We remember the hope of God’s people as they waited in anticipation and we look forward with hope to the day when He comes again and we will join Him in His Father’s house for eternity.

We also need to remember those who have no hope; those who do not know that their Messiah has already come and has already redeemed them.  Those without hope have nothing to look forward to this season except what gifts, if any, they may receive.  But true joy doesn’t come from stuff, so that joy only goes so far.  Pray for those in your life, or those you may not know around you, who do not have the hope that we carry in our hearts.  Remember them and that God sent His Son to die for their sins as well.  Show them what the Christmas season is really about through your actions of love and mercy.  And when they ask you why you do what you do, you can tell them that it is because God did it for us first.