And Unto Us a Child is Born -- Happy Birthday, Jesus!

The birthday celebration is on – as children everywhere are running to see what Santa brought them last night. For them, it’s all about the presents and for those of us who know better -- it’s about God’s greatest present EVER – His beloved Son. That’s how He celebrates His Son’s birth-day – giving us His perfect gift! Oh, Happy Day!

If you follow my blogs at all, you’ve heard that this Christmas is very different for our family this year. We aren’t making our trek to Austin to celebrate together with my son and family because the press is on to get this Frisco family moved from their home that sold – right here at Christmas – and into their new place by December 27th.

We are missing some Christmas traditions because we’re not all together, but one tradition wasn’t missed -- our Christmas Eve tradition of reading the REAL Christmas story together. Thank God we live in this technology era. This year, I bequeathed to my son our beloved “The First Christmas Story” book that Papa always read from on Christmas Eve. He stepped up to be our family’s patriarch to take over where Papa left off. So at 9 pm we gathered together in my home here in Frisco and the other side gathered together in Austin and we heard this greatest story ever told again. We all still savor this tradition of making the Reason for the Season the principal thing. It’s a story we should never get tired of hearing. A King in heaven coming down to be our humble King on earth to be familiar with us earthlings as one of us and Who gave us treasures of faith, hope, love, peace, joy and most of all, His life, so that we can live forever with Him.

Earlier yesterday afternoon, my Frisco family and a couple of friends joined me at my church’s Christmas Eve Mass. It was beautiful. Children were singing, families were joined together in honor of this magnificent night when Christ was born. How honored I was to serve communion – the Body and Blood of this Savior Who came to us as a newborn and Who, in a matter of just three years of ministry, turned our world upside down with His rock-the-world teachings. “Love your enemies! Bless them that curse you! Do good to them that hate you! Pray for them who spitefully use you, and persecute you!” (Matthew 5:44)

Maybe, this Christmas morning you're having your traditional family breakfast and opening Santa's presents and seeing what he left everyone in their stockings.....no longer hung with care. Now they're on the floor, stuffed full of goodies and treasures. Santa's cookie plate only has a few crumbs left.

Oh, the joy of hearing children's laughter and the thrill of Christmas in their eyes. If your children are grown, enjoy the sweet memories of past Christmases. If you are missing children and loved ones today, spend Christmas with God's Son praising and thanking Him for coming to be one of us. And if your loved one is in heaven, like mine is, we can know with certainty that he or she is having the most joyful Christmas possible and a day will come when we’ll forever celebrate Christmas together -- forever!

Christmas and the tangible gifts we receive from friends and loved ones are temporary. But the gifts that heaven brings us are eternal. I hope you will receive all that Jesus was born to give. May your Christmas be blessed with God's greatest gift of love: "For God so loved you and me that He gave us His one and only son." (John 3:16)

Merry Christmas! God Showed Up!

“He was here! He was here!” Kids all over the world are waking up their families with shrills and abounding excitement! The “jolly old soul” made it to their homes last night. They are sure he was here because the cookie plate only has crumbs on it. Most importantly, stockings that were hung by the chimney with care are now bulging with gifts on the floor and around the tree. I can visualize all the celebrations going on. I remember those Christmas mornings with my young children and grandchildren.

My excitement is no less exuberate in my heart as I am nestled in my sweet, little, “alone” and quiet spot by my fireplace this morning. I woke up with overwhelming joy and started singing “Joy to the world. The Lord has come!” And exclaiming “He showed up! He showed up!” What proof do I have? After all, there were no presents from Him under the tree. I know, because His PRESENCE is in my heart today. I feel Him. I sense Emmanuel – GOD WITH US. God is with ME!

Shortly, I’ll be heading over to my children’s home for Christmas breakfast and lunch while continuing our Christmas celebrations of family joy and laughter. Last night we worshipped Christ at my church's Christmas Eve service and prepared Him a room in our hearts for this beautiful Christmas Day. We will celebrate the greatest gift conceivable. Actually, inconceivable that He Who sat on heaven’s throne showed up here on Planet Earth – all because His Dad came up with a grand idea of taking heaven to earth by sending His Son to show us the way! Before His Mama's "Yes", He said "Yes" -- I'll go and SHOW UP for them! It ALL happened in a moment, a most remarkable moment. God became a man! Heaven opened herself and placed her most precious ONE in a human womb that brought Him to this side of heaven. How marvelous! How wonderful! EVERYTHING we would ever need or want, wrapped in one package.

It seems almost irreverent to think of the Son of God coming to earth. There’s something about keeping Him divine that keeps Him distant and predictable. BUT DON"T DO IT! For Heaven’s sake, DON'T! It was a Master Plan for Him to be human so that you and I have someone who gets us -- who gets our needs -- who understands our pains -- who SHOWS UP for us when we need Him most. Let Him be as human as He intended to be. Let His human example of loving the unlovely, forgiving in spite of rejection, understanding everything about us because He was one of us -- be our example to others, too. Let Him into the mire and muck of our world. That's how He showed up and that's how He "finished up". Only if we let Him in -- can He pull us out! Let Him be God with us for in letting Him be God with us -- we are never alone and never without a Savior. Let Him SHOW UP in you and your world today! Merry Christmas!

Does Santa Reflect How You Feel Today?

This Norman Rockwell painting shows a worn-out Santa on December 26th -- and, like Santa, if all that’s left of Christmas for us -- frazzled, exhausted, a bulging credit card balance, an over-full, bulging tummy, then we missed the true meaning of Christmas. I'll admit that after all the activities that surround this beautiful season, along with Christmas Eve with my Wallace Family and then just a few hours of sleep before our drive to Austin, I was feeling a bit like this Santa.

I quickly revived when my sweetest spot on earth came when my entire family (my son, Ryan, and his family and my daughter and her family from Frisco) were altogether on the Wuerch's ranch in Austin. After an enormous Texas-style Christmas dinner, it was Nana's time for my annual request -- family pictures taken.

Our precious Denise Gerrich has been our photographer of choice for years. I'm so thankful she was a part of the family celebrations. After the usual antics of photo taking -- I was able to savor the moments of simply watching my grandchildren interact, all of us playing games, visiting about each other's lives, catching up on "what's new?" and reminisce about so many past times together. I pulled out my computer to type this post when Staci asked "What are you doing, Mom?" I was the only one with technology out. I said, "You know me, I'm working on my post for tomorrow morning!" She understood. She knows that's my daily mode of operation -- technology and all.

And, I'm breathing in having my family around me -- hearing Shawntel puttering around in the kitchen, seeing each one going back to the dinner remains for seconds, hearing Larry and Staci talking to Braden about his new e-commerce business that is going gangbusters, hearing the laughter of the kids playing pool and playing with Alexia's Christmas gift from Payton (a hedgehog), watching them all play the game of spoons, seeing Ryan pairing his lights with his Echo, -- just heaven on earth -- my earth -- my space -- my greatest blessings that call me Nana and Mom!

Back to my opening paragraph about Santa, and all of us being worn out after a very busy time leading up to Christmas Day. The good news is Christmas isn't just about that ONE MAIN EVENT. And neither is all the waiting, planning, organizing and preparing for OUR babies to be born, being just about their ONE day of birth. It's about that day and every day after that. Jesus' birthday was just the beginning of His incomparable life. We need to recall how we looked at our babies and how Mary, Jesus' mother, looked at her baby boy, her Son -- a Son like no other Son - the very Son of God - and she saw in his sweet, soft, precious face -- the Redeemer of all mankind. I like to think that I am a lot like Mary was. I can imagine that she breathed in His presence. She was there for his first steps playing games with other children, his puttering around in the carpentry shop with his dad, and she savored His antics and laughter and knowing God had such big plans for His future then she heard the stories of His many exploits.

In you and me is our own Christmas story being written of how God pursued us, loved us unconditionally and how His grace and unmerited favor kept us, gave us the courage to face tomorrow……and caused the peace, joy and love we experience at Christmas -- to stay alive in us each and every day and embrace it, because it's the life God planned us to live and enjoy.

As we continue to frolic and play for a few more days, and even when we return to our day-to-day walk with God, let's remember all that Christmas was AND IS because "JOY to the World" came for our taking and experiencing EVERYDAY!