December 24, 2011 Greetings My Friend, Today is Christmas Eve. The year is winding down and a new one is upon us. Today we celebrate Christ’s birth. Many people just like the present giving and family gathering that Christmas brings. I know I did for years. The gathering of family and celebrating meant a whole lot to me. I believe as I look back though that even though I went to church I did not have the right spirit about Christmas. I was more focused on family and on presents. As I left my former marriage I found myself celebrating holidays alone with Junior. That was hard. Still I think I now have a better perspective of Christmas and to be honest I feel the gift we have been given down deep in my soul. The true gift of Christmas is Jesus. The Wise men brought gifts to the baby Jesus and I think that is how we started having Christmas with gifts. In the pioneer days the gifts were simple gifts. They were often gifts that were made and the gifts were often things a person would need. If I think about the gifts the Wise Men brought then I realize that those gifts were what the family needed. After they came an angel told joseph that he needed to take his family and move to Egypt. The gifts the Wise men brought were used by the family to support them while they were in Egypt. Baby Jesus did not get any toys or clothes or even food. The Wise men brought expensive gifts and those gifts then could be used to purchase what the family needed. The gift of baby Jesus is astounding to me. We love the tiny baby in a manger part of Christmas. Jesus came to poor parents. His mother was a teenage mother. We see that despite all the odds our Savior was a wanted child. Even if his first bed was a manger which is a place where the animals were fed and he was nestled in hay to support his tiny body. When I break down the poverty our Savior was born into I am astounded. For me these stories and I believe these stories show me the reality of God, of his Son and the gift we are given in him. I also have to remember that our Savior eventually grew up. He then taught us who God is and God’s great love for us. Jesus then died an awful death to redeem us. That is pretty amazing stuff to me. That is why I believe the Bible is true. It is not sugar coated and we all live happily ever after. We see real people in the Bible. We see nice people and we see cruel people. We see awful behavior. When Moses went up on the mountain to talk with God the people resorted to drunkenness and to orgies. Even if you aren’t a Christian, that type of behavior is still repulsive to most people. So to me this means the Bible is true. God condemns this bad behavior. I often hear people say “it is in the Bible’ and then make it sound like it is ok. No, there is a whole lot of junk, bad behavior and God condemns it. So reading the Bible is important if you want to live a life pleasing to God. For me before I read my Bible I ask God to open my heart to Him. I want to hear God and his ways not what I want. Many people talk about the wrath of God in the Old Testament. God was constantly telling the people to stop, to return to him. They chose to go on their merry way using God when it was convenient. Many people believe they need only the New Testament. I believe we need both. Jesus taught from the Old Testament so I believe we need to read both. To me the Old Testament teaches us so much about going about life in our way. We need to center our lives on God. Junior told me when we first married that he wants me to put God before him. I attempt to do that. On my own I would put Junior on a pedestal and then he would do something that would disappoint me and then I would fall out of love. God teaches me how to love Junior. So I read both the Old and New Testament. In reading all the way through the Bible for each year I constantly feel God’s love. Some people read it through once and then they read different books. For me I read it through and do lessons alongside of my reading. I need this type of studying. It helps me grow better. As you open up gifts, visit with friends and family try to remember the true gift of a Savior born in a stable. To me it is humbling. God could have sent his Son as a king in our world. No he sent his son as a child born to poor parents and a teenage mother. At some point in your holiday also remember that Jesus grew up and died for you. Are you willing to admit that Jesus is your Savior? We all will come to an end of our life. If we don’t accept this gift then we will have an entire eternity of pain and suffering. Accepting Jesus and allowing God to change you means an eternity of joy. One decision can make a huge impact on eternity. Merry Christmas. May God bless you and keep you, make his face to shine upon you. Love Janet