Looking Forward to Christmas

I guess I'm still a kid at heart especially when it comes to Christmas! I find my greatest joy at Christmas when I watch my children open their gifts and shriek with joy. Even as they have gotten older, they are still a blast to watch. But I think I want to look back a few years.

Sarah and her Barbie's and Barbie clothes - now that was a riot! Her excitement level was off the charts! I remember the doll house I built for her when she was 6 or 7. She played with it for a long time. I'm sure this year her joy will be in watching Micah tear wrapping paper as he is having his first Christmas. (Adam and Sarah, we wish we could be there!) Jonathan was addicted to Legos. I remember one Christmas when he got five major kits and we put them all together in one day! The last few years he's been getting tools and loves every one of them. He gets a gleam in his eye thinking how he might use each one. He still comes home for Christmas morning and wears a Santa hat just like when he was little (sorry Jon - I spilled the beans). Bekah has been into electronic gizmos - but she seems to get excited about anything in wrapping paper. She's been counting the days till Christmas for weeks now! And I've never seen her not be thankful for what she receives. Unfortunately she wants Ohio State "stuff" this year. :(

Of course, our greatest Christmas gift is the Lord Jesus Christ! Thank you Heavenly Father for giving us Your Heart both then and now. We don't deserve your gift. Thank you for loving us unconditionally and passionately. May we all be more excited about Your Gift than any other gift we may receive this Christmas.

Staying On Top

I'm sitting at home this afternoon, waiting for the furnace repair man to arrive. Our furnace went out this morning. I was at a meeting when Stevie called telling me that a burning smell was coming through the heating ducts and that the furnace was making loud noises. I'm guessing that it's seized bearing in the blower motor. The fact is that I've heard a minor noises from the blower the past few days. I had planned on calling the furnace guy this morning anyway, just to check things out.

I'm somewhat frustrated by this. We just had the furnace serviced three weeks ago. There apparently was no noticeable sounds at that time. So now we're going to have to deal with another service call and the costs associated with replacing the motor.

What's the point? It's important to stay on top of things. This is true when it comes to simple home maintenance. It is also true in our spiritual lives. We stay on top of things by staying in God's Word; prayer; fellowship; building accountability; focus on mission.

So many people today wait until a crisis to get things right with God. Once the crisis is over, they go right back to the same level of living that got them in trouble in the first place. Let's commit ourselves to staying on top of things in all areas of our lives.