Quote from Forum Archives on December 27, 2000, 9:15 am

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Dear friends,

As I reflect back on the Christmas Holiday this year, and to my
time with my family, this message came to me this morning, and I
connected with it. First of all, it has a familiar scripture
passage in it - the one the leader of Israel made to the people
when they finally reached the "Promised Land": "Choose this day
whom you will serve... but as for me and my house, we will serve
the Lord..." Then I thought about all of the excitement in my
house, the first Christmas my young baby and our "instant family"
have had together.

For us, it was not at al like this couple, who had many years
together, and a chance to reflect back. Well, for me, having had
past Christmases with the family of my childhood and also with my
previous household, I was able to remember the events and the
excitement. But for our young children, all they could think of
was opening and playing with the gifts. So it was especially
wondrous to remember the words our two year old had uttered the
previous day: "Go worship Jesus!" Katelyn loves to go to church
nursery every week and "worship Jesus". I'm not sure at this
point what those words really mean to her, but I want to continue
to plant and water those seeds of faith!

It was a treasure, watching the children enjoy themselves. Hey,
I had a good time, too! But for me, Christmas is so much more
than gifts. I enjoy gifts, and I enjoy watching others enjoy
theirs. The gift of love, though, is so much more important to
me than either giving or receiving physical gifts. I'd throw
every one of them out in an instant if they ever threatened to
get in the way of our relationship with the Lord, and the love
given by Him for each other.

Some day, some year, I would like to experience the joy of
Christmas with my family, not through mountains of boxes and
paper, but through quiet reflection, appreciating all of these
things. (Actually, I HAVE had such quiet Christmases before,
they ARE wonderful. Now I have a wonderful family, and value
them greatly. Just the same, when I see that an appreciation for
my gracious and loving Savior has been fully instilled into my
family, then I will know my main job has finally been done.
Guess I'll be pretty busy these next 20-30 years, huh?) 😉

Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by
Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard
for You. You show lovingkindness to thousands... O Great and
Mighty God, whose name is the Lord of hosts. You are great in
counsel and mighty in work (Based on Jeremiah 32:17-19).

Precious Lord, I continue to celebrate Your love and Your
wondrous gift to us this morning, in the quietness of a devotion
- my devotion to You. Please keep my heart steadfast and true to
You today as I work. May my efforts, my attitude, everything
about my day and the things I do be a testimony of my gratitude
for Your Spirit at work in me.

Please strengthen me, so that I may love and encourage others in
all that I think, say and do today. Purify my efforts by the
cleansing blood of Christ. Remind me to seek You first in
everything today. Amen.

Brother Brian

Devotionals from Crosswalk.com >

The Intersection of Faith and Life
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Daily Guideposts

Joshua 24:15 (RSV)
"Choose this day whom you will serve..."

The alarm buzzed loudly. I sleepily opened one eye and glanced at
the clock. It was 5 a.m. I nudged my husband. "Roy," I said
softly, "Merry Christmas."

We quietly walked downstairs, the scent of evergreen in the air.
We lit candles and plugged in the Christmas tree lights. The room
had a pristine look, like the first peek outside after an
overnight snowfall. The stockings hung on the fireplace, still
holding their surprises. The gifts under the tree were untouched,
ribbon and tissue still intact. We stood for a moment and
listened to the stillness.

In years past, Christmas had been different. The children had
raced down the stairs, rushed to their stockings and torn into
their presents. This year, we had promised to focus more on the
birth of Jesus, the true gift of Christmas, and less on buying
expensive presents for one another.

When the kids woke up they joined us in front of the fireplace
for a breakfast of muffins and orange juice. Thirteen-year-old
Kevin read the story of the birth of Jesus from Luke's Gospel.
Then we exchanged gifts, taking time to watch as each of us
opened our presents. We had stuck to a budget this year, and when
our oldest daughter Misty opened her gift from her sister
Kristen--two small tins of loose tea, a tea ball and a ceramic
mug--she said, "Shopping with a smaller budget required a lot
more thought. These gifts mean so much more."

I looked around at my family, thankful that despite those hectic
Christmas mornings when they thought only of gifts, my children
value the true gift of Christmas.

Prayer:

Thank You, Lord, for Your most precious gift, the gift of Your
Son. Thank You for our most precious gift we can give each other,
the gift of ourselves.

--Melody Bonnette

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=====
--
Brian Masinick, "The Mas", mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/
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