It's just STUFF!!!!!

  I LOVE Christmas . . . Like TOTALLY love it!!!!!! Yes, it's busy, and yes, I feel like a headless chicken running around this time of year but hey, I love every minute of it!!! There's so many AWESOME reminders this time of year about Jesus coming to die for us...

     Last week, at our church's Christmas program practice, I was really reminded of the hope we have in Jesus. AMAZING hope!!! It's so easy to get down, to get focused on ourselves, on the problems around us, on the many things that don't go as we want, but when we stop, and remember the hope we have in Christ, it REALLY puts things into perspective.

     Speaking of perspective . . . I was looking under the tree at all the presents that are accumulating, and talking with my dad about the many blessings in our lives, and how the biggest blessings, are not the things, but the people. The grandkids, the siblings, the parents, the love, family, and joy that God has blessed us with. I looked around my beautiful living room. A fire crackled in the stove, the Christmas lights twinkled, Christmas music was playing in the other room, and the stockings were getting full. I love my home, but as I looked around at the furniture . . . the couch that I write on most the time . . . the piano that I learned to play on . . . the toy box that the nieces and nephews love . . . the bookshelf . . . the coffee table that Dad made . . . and all the fun decorations. Yes, I love my home, but I realized in that moment, it's all just stuff.

      Presents? They're AWESOME, but they're just stuff, someday, they'll rust, mold, decay, and be gone. It's all going to be gone someday. If you walk through a junk yard, and see a rusted, and badly mangled car, it looks like junk, but at one time, that car was new. Someone probably saved for it, took care of it, sat inside of it admiring it, babied it in his garage, and may have even been afraid of letting people touch it. Now? It's just another piece of junk.

     Remember this Christmas season, that the fun things you're getting and giving, are just stuff. If a sibling breaks your new makeup mirror on the first day you get it, or you lose a diamond earring, it's okay, keep your focus on what matters. Eternity.

      The stuff here, is temporal. We can't take it with us when we go, and even in our lifetime, it will probably lose it's value, get old, rust, get bent up, torn, or lose it's shine. This stuff is nice! Enjoy the blessings God gives you. If you have stuff to enjoy, then ENJOY it!!! But don't let it rob you from seeing the important blessings. The family, the friends, the love, joy, and peace. The Baby in the manger. Don't let the things around you keep you from seeing the people hurting around you, the people who need your encouragement. And if you're the one that is hurting, and you feel hopeless, and in need of encouragement, seek the Baby in the manger. We have hope through HIM!!! He feels our pain, but He also knows how to give joy. He can take ashes and turn them into beauty.

       Don't lose hope. The darker the night, the more brilliant the sunrise. The more violent the storm, the more beautiful the rainbow. The harder the fight, the more refreshing the victory in Jesus. Trust Him, rest in Him, give ALL of your worries to Him, and be thankful for the many blessings.

Among the blessings of Christmas, is family. Take time to be there for your family. If you need to put your phone down and stop texting, do it. If you need to pick up a book and read to the kids, or hold a baby, do it! We don't know how much time we have, so cherish the moments.

I'm SO thankful for another niece!

Something else that we've done off and on for a few years, is to wrap up a DVD that shares the gospel, with an invitation to the church's Christmas Eve program, and go around town giving them out.

This year, we wrapped them at the church, and had a lot of people pitching in to help!

Praise God for church family! And for opportunities like this! For the opportunity of sharing HIS story! So, whether you love Christmas or hate it, don't forget to share the Baby in the manger, and don't forget that the stuff around you  . . . well, it's just stuff. It's not worth getting wrapped up in, or bent out of shape over it. Christmas is about HIM, not about the stuff.