How to keep Christmas in perspective.

With Christmas now behind us what have we learned this year? First, that this years gifts were a bit thinner than in previous years. Second, that this years gifts were a bit more personal and thirdly, that this years Christmas vacation was not as extravagant as before.

It seems that each year we find oursleves asking the same question "What is the real meaning of Christmas?" Well what we do know is that Christmas is never about us but about Jesus Christ. That Christmas is about sharing the love of Christ with one another. That all the fuss of finding the right gift really isn't as important as being with those you love.

Each year we tell our kids that Christmas is all about God giving each of us a gift and that gift is the forgiveness of our sins and life everlasting with Him through Jesus Christ. When we keep Christmas in its real place then it makes Christmas so much more pleasing and with very little stress.

This year our family kept it simple for reasons we didn't see come our way. But today in church I was reminded that Christmas isn't about what I get from people but more about what I am willing to give to God. First, I need to give Him my life. Second, I need to give Him my living and thirdly, I need to let others know of what God has done for them to make Christmas so special. Its Jesus Christ.

I hope that this years Christmas was all about Jesus for you. Because when it is then life gets put in proper order. Thank you God for thinking of me and may I find myself always thinking of You.

How great it is to have a spirital family.

My wife, daughter and I were able to visit with one of our Life Connection groups from church. We had a great time with them. We first ate some spiritual food from the Bible. We were reminded how special the birth of Jesus Christ was for all of us.

Jesus came not just to be born but to bring us life. Thats because within our own lives we as human beings have found a way to mess things up before God. In the Bible that is called sin. As a result of our sin we have separated ourselves from God to an eternal death.

But because God loved us so much He sent His One and Only Son to be born of a virgin to bring us back to Himself. Though sin made us enemies of God, God saw passed that to help us in our need to be rescued from sin and from its penalty.

The birth of Jesus Christ did that for all of us. It doesn't matter whether we are young or old, married or single, English speaking or not. Jesus came for all of us to be rescued back to God the Father.

Then we ate from some delicious Salvadorian food that filled our stomachs. The food and fellowship with the church family and with those visitors who were with us last night was neat. Sitting around the table talking and sharing with one another made the evening awesome.

The wonderful thing about being a Christian is that there is plenty of joy throughout your life that you can share with everyone, especially your spiritual family. Thank you for the great evening we enjoyed with you.

How wonderful is the Christmas season?

Have you ever thought about the Christmas season as being a wonderful time of the year? I know that many of us do but not for the right reasons. We enjoy Christmas because of the gifts we receive and for the time we take off from work. Yes, I know that many people also take time to see family and friends during the Christmas season.

What makes the Christmas season so wonderful is not what we get from each other but what we have received from God. Your life and my life have been so blessed by God for so long that I believe we have missed out on the wonder of the season.

If we were honest with ourselves we would have to admit that without God in our lives we would be wallering in the sadness of our lives and in the sickness of our sins. But with Jesus Christ being born we have the opportunity to have our lives full of wonder over the pain and punishment of sin.

As the saying goes "Jesus is the reason for the Season". If we would only take a hold of that saying and make it real in our lives then we would have to admit that the Christmas season is wonderful. Not because of what we have done but because of what God has done for us.

I hope that as you go through this Christmas season that you will give God the glory for all that has come into your life and the praise for helping you get through life and all that is involved in it. May you join me in saying to God "Thank you for making my life such a blessing!"