Christmas Gifts Unraveled

Okay, so fitting this blogging thing into my schedule is turning out to be a lot harder than I thought it would be.

It's almost 6 a.m. here and after about an hour of no electricity I finally decided I was not going to get anymore sleep today. A storm just blew threw and knocked out the power. See I am one of those people who can't sleep in silence. I need the noise to quiet my brain. For me no fan + no air condition
= no sleep.

As I lay in bed for the last hour I thought about the message God has been speaking to me the last couple of days and decided I needed to share it. See every year I struggle with how to separate commercialized Christmas from CHRISTmas. I think that as a society we spend way too much money and time on traditions that have absolutely nothing to do with the birth of our savior, often without even realizing it. I mean we make a conscience effort in our home to make sure we celebrate Christ at Christmas. For example: we don't do Santa, we attend like three Happy Birthday Jesus parties every year, we also read the Christmas story over and over (each time told in a slightly different manner to keep the kids interested), and we watch several CHRISTmas movies over and over and over again (you parents with preschoolers know what I mean). Yet every year I find myself spending way more money in December than any other month of the year. Even without all the presents! Think about it... we buy; lights, trees, ornaments, decorations upon decorations, cards, candy, tons of food, and tickets to like everything Christmas.

Every year I ask myself why our society does these things, and this year it was like God finally just slapped me in the back of the head and said, "because you think you can buy happiness with money."

You might be thinking, "That is not it! Now come on, we know better than that." But do we? I mean really think about it. All the lights and decorations are designed to put us in the Christmas spirit. You know, fill us with joy and good cheer. It's kind of ironic if you think about it. As Christians we should celebrate Christ all year long. And as for the Christmas spirit well God has a more specific name for it, oh wait what was that again?... Oh yeah the Holy Spirit, duh Melissa.

Because the Holy Spirit indwells us we shouldn't need lights and decorations to put us in a good mood. Because the Holy Spirit indwells us we should be filled with joy, and love. Happiness cannot be bought with money. The only way to find true happiness is through God. After all he sent his only Son to buy happiness with his blood. Our sins are washed away and we are white as snow and one day we will celebrate with Him in his glorious kingdom. Now that is happiness! Let's not forget that this CHRISTmas.

Now, if that message isn't enough to put you in the CHRISTmas Spirit God gave me one more. See I've been fighting a bit of depression this Christmas and the stress of the season has not helped. So, as a result I have been spending a lot more time with my Savior trying to find comfort and joy, and a little hope too.

See almost a year ago my husband and I moved into my mothers with our two kids. Our hope was that we would save some money, pay off some debt (mostly student loans), and be able to buy a house in a year or so and then have another baby. Now here we are a year later and those last two seem nowhere in sight. It is depressing! So Monday after another night of crying before my Savior feeling as though my requests were falling on deaf ears God sent me Matthew 7:11. "If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"

Wow, what a perfect time of year to pull that one out! Isn't his timing grand? See I never doubt Gods ability to do something. Instead, I doubt His desire to do it. I always feel like I do not deserve to be blessed. But right here Jesus says, "you are evil...but your Father in heaven will still give you the good gifts you ask for!" See if God were to make his Christmas list without the blood we would all be on the naughty list. But he still loves us! He still wants to bless us with gifts! It's like salvation; all we have to do is ask him.

I hope these messages bless you like they have blessed me this Christmas. And I hope you find your Christmas joy and hope in Him. I certainly did!

Thank you God for the gift of hope this CHRISTmas!

I love you and may you be glorified in everything we do this season.