Christmas is upon us, and I wonder what happened to fall.
Work trips to Utah and California, colder than usual weather at home, and lots
of activities to keep the family busy. As Christmas approaches I always feel a
little sad. We celebrate God sending Jesus to this earth to be our savior, but
when I think of this precious baby who is going to die a terrible death, how
can I not feel sad? I’ve always wondered if others feel this way at all. Am I
weird? Am I not putting enough focus on the glory of the cross? Then, this past
Sunday at church, we sang A Communion
Hymn for Christmas and it was so beautiful:
Gathered ‘round
Your table on this holy eve
Viewing Bethlehem’s
stable we rejoice and grieve
Joy to see you
lying in your manger bed
Weep to see You
dying in our sinful stead
Yes! That song just nailed it for me. Don’t get me wrong, I
do love Christmas. I hate decorating for it, because home decorating is just
extra work when I could be reading or sleeping or watching HGTV or catching up
on Survivor or doing anything else.
But, I am one of those people who will gladly listen to Christmas music
year-round. Secular Christmas music is just the absolute worst (unless it is
Mariah Carey, and she gets a pass because, well, it is Mariah). But if I want
to celebrate the birth of Christ in July I am going to sign out loud.
In other things church… I had the pleasure of working with a
fabulous group of ladies to host a lovely women’s Christmas brunch last
weekend. I meet with a small group of women every other Thursday night to dig
into the upcoming Sunday’s scripture passage. This is has proven to be a
fabulous time of fellowship, and we have fun seeing if our applications will
match what is discussed in the sermon. I continue to serve as a scripture
reader every few months, and I am no longer nervous when I step on stage. I am
currently reading Pontius Pilate by
Paul Maier and it is a fascinating read. Last week I memorized Psalm 100 which
was certainly not easy for me but I absolutely love what verse three says:
Know that the Lord,
he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the
sheep of his pasture.
My family will be working through an Advent book that our
church put together, and my ultimate hope for this season is to keep our focus
on Christ. I’m looking forward to our Christmas Eve service, and would love to
have any local friends join me (LH, I’m talking about you!). And, finally, I
hope everyone has a happy Christmas season!
