'Tis the Season to be Jolly

It's the time of year that every Christian looks upon with joy or with sorrow.  It's bittersweet because we know what the implication is for us.  Christ was born.  It is a chosen day that we celebrate HIS birthday, Christmas.  It's a sorrow because so many have looked upon this day only as a Federal holiday, another day off, or the largest shopping spree of the year.

It's hard to be JOLLY!  Especially when YOUR spirit is healing.  Yet it is especially important to find the things that give us JOY.  I want to share with YOU my JOYS in the hope that YOU can find YOUR own JOY and if YOU can't, YOU can borrow mine.

What brings me the most JOY:

My Children. 

They are so inquisitive, innocent and brutally honest.  I love this about them.  They love me for who I am, their mom.  They are forgiving when I don't have a vehicle to get them on my scheduled weekend.  They are gitty with laughter when I talk to them on the phone each night so I can give them my nightly blessing.  I love how they give me little drawings or crafts that they made in school and it's just for me.  I love the little surprises that they give me or do for me...because I know they planned it for a very long time before they can express it for me.

My Music.

I enjoy music that moves me on an emotional and spiritual level.  I love to listen to music according to my mood or how I feel.  I often listen to music by Josh Turner, Rascal Flatts then change to Michael W. Smith, Wayne Watson, Steven Curtis Chapman, then to Bach and Mozart, then to tranquil compositions of the ocean's surf with guitar or flutes playing in the background.

My Nature.

I am awed and inspired of nature.  God created it and I enjoy it.  I love snow and how white it is outside.  It evokes tranquility when I look outside at night before I go to bed.  I love watching animals.  Even watching the breeze blow through the trees, flowers, and the grasses in the pastures.

My Creativity.

I have my artwork and photographs surround around me so I can continue to gain inspiration and admiration for the talent that the LORD gave me.

These are few of the things that I am thankful for!  Reminds me of the song from "The Sound of Music."  There is something that does bring YOU JOY.  Let the LORD open YOUR Heart to find out what that is!

CHALLENGE:

1.  What are YOUR JOYS?  What makes YOU feel JOLLY?  Focus on what will give you JOY.  Focus on the simple things.

2. Read the passage below from Luke 2:1-20.  What does Christmas mean to YOU?  Write this down in YOUR journal.  Write a simple prayer to CHRIST thanking HIM for HIS birth so that YOU can celebrate HIS birthday.

The Birth of Jesus

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)  And everyone went to his own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.  While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ[a] the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

In Christ's Enduring Love,

~ Lynn