Christmas Is Going to Be Great!

It's hard to believe I haven't written here since last Easter.

Truth is, I tried to write a book instead. Crazy, I know. And so I've neglected this electronic medium for a while. But here I am, inspired to put pen to paper... ???

It's Christmas time again. And once again I am concerned that I will be disappointing my children. One of Catharine's classmates just received her dream car. And Anna's best friend has talked about going to the city to go shopping no fewer than three times. So this Christmas will be much like the last one...just a few presents under the tree. And yet, there will be a big difference. You see, Christmas falls on a Sunday this year. And so we will be spending Christmas with the Hybels family at Willow Creek. It was Anna who said it first. The fourteen year-old. She wanted to go to church on Christmas morning. I asked her about presents. She said we would take care of that when we got back.

It was so matter-of-fact that I thought maybe she would change her mind. Or maybe someone else in the family would baulk at the idea and she would jump at the chance to join them. Shame on me. She truly wants to go to church on Christmas day!

And so this will be a Christmas like no other. We'll get up in time to leave by nine...and with a few minutes before that to have our traditional monkey bread. We're debating whether we'll get dressed up or go in fun pajamas. But we will be there. Singing songs to Jesus. Celebrating his birth...the majesty coming to the mundane. It will be awesome...and all the while we will be thinking about the little baby...who grew up into a man...who lived a perfectly unblemished and sin free life...and died on a cross for me...and then rose from His grave to show the world the power of God and His amazing ability to raise all of us from the dead!

I can't wait to celebrate Christmas this year. I can't wait to think about the little baby and all that His birth means for my life. And even though it's no fun, I can't wait to think about what would come later in His life because of me. And be reminded once again that God loves me so much that He made a sacrifice I don't think I could make, and pray He never asks me to.

So Christmas is going to be great this year! And it won't have anything to do with the presents under the tree. Or the parties we go to (or don't go to since we weren't invited to any this year). Or the fancy meal we make that day. It's going to be all about Jesus...and that's great!