Isaiah 9:6-7 (NLT) 6 For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!
I sometimes think we truly forget the real reason for the season…sure we will say “Jesus is the reason for the season”…but, how often are we truly living it...myself included? How much of the Christmas season is spent shopping verses spreading God’s love or how much of it is spent decorating verses Praising God for His most precious gift to the world? Don’t get me wrong…I love a good deal as much as the next person and I love for my house to look and smell like Christmas too, but more and more I’m realizing that is truly not what it’s about.
Yesterday I started a new idea and tradition at my house that God blessed me with about a week or so ago; I call it the 25 days of Christmas. I bought each of my children and my husband a small box and placed them above the fireplace on the mantel. I called them all into the living room to explain to them what they were all about. I told them that each morning until Christmas day they will find a note inside the box. This note will consist of reasons why they are so loved by God and how important and special they really are and also how important it is to spread God’s love to those they encounter.
My prayer is that through this they will not only learn their truth worth in God, but most importantly that this time of year is about Jesus and His wonderful birth. That because of Him we can be saved and adopted into His Royal family as children of God! Some notes will be simple little things about what they do well and how they make others smile and others will include scripture to teach them about God and His plans for their lives. I am also hoping they learn from this how important it is to be God’s hands and feet here on earth and to lift people up with loving words, kind gestures and scripture. They were all very excited about this as smiles crossed all their faces, which brought a huge smile to my heart.
After we came home from church, my oldest, Sade’ retreated to her room for a bit and later reappeared with a small box in her hands and gave it to me. I looked at her and asked what was this…she told me to open it. I did and inside was a neatly folded note for me. I almost started crying…then once I read the note I did start to cry. Part of my prayer had already been answered. My baby girl realized how special and important this is and she didn’t want me to miss out; she wanted me to experience this too. She is being God’s messenger for me and I truly can’t express how this makes me feel…as I sit here now and type this I’m ready to cry again.
I am so very thankful that God gives me these ideas and shows me how to carry them out, I am thankful for how much my children and husband appreciate them and I’m even more thankful that they are making an impact on our lives as well as others. It brings the greatest joy and peace to my heart to know that my family is wrapped in His arms and that we willingly and happily want to know more about Him. We are blessed more than mere words could ever express and He deserves our time, attention and Praise just simply for loving us the way that He does.
My prayer for you and your family is that you too will remember the true reason behind Christmas and try to bring that wonderful joy to someone else. Through a kind word, a loving hug or even a much needed prayer, those are the gifts that truly mean something.
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