Merry Christmas!! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas day, surrounded by those you love, basking in the love of God's gift that this holiday represents. In our house, we certainly did.
I know that I keep sharing pictures of snow-covered hills, trees, and churches. Typical Christmas pictures. However, here in Florida, it was anything BUT snowing. We enjoyed a very humid 80 degrees Fahrenheit, A/C on, shorts, and flip flops kind of Christmas.
Christmas Eve, of course, we went to the candlelight service at our church. It was extraordinarily lovely; even if we were sweating up in the choir loft (although, that might be because we rebelled against the weather and wore Christmas sweaters anyways).
Christmas Day was equally delightful, because we spent it with those we love: my family, our adopted family, and our church family. The only thing that could have made the day perfect would be having Josh's family there, too.
By the way, Christmas dinner at our house went really well. :)
Now, I know you all know the Christmas story, but let me just share my favorite parts, because I just love it so much and it is the reason we celebrate Christmas after all. I suggest you go read Luke 2:1-20. :)
God sent His Son, Jesus, to earth as a baby, not a conqueror. His parents weren't the most prestigious of people, Joseph was a carpenter married to a pregnant virgin. The scandal. The first people to hear of and celebrate His birth were shepherd's, forever unclean and unable to even go to the Temple due to their occupation; but they tended the Temple sheep (set apart for sacrifice), and saw the birth of the Lamb of God (set apart for ultimate sacrifice). A multitude of angels filled the sky to announce His birth. Can you even imagine that? Mary traveled across the country and had her first child in a manger. The wise men gave Him gifts of burial oils and gold, pointing to the reason He came - to live the perfect life that we cannot, due to our sin nature, to die on a cross, and to be raised from the dead three days later (hello, Easter!). And all of this, so that we could spend eternity in glory!
So, Merry Christmas!
P.S. Regular posting will continue sometime in the next week.
Labels: celebrations, christmas, faith
