Merry Christmas!

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was where we stayed last weekend…snowed in at my uncle’s mountain getaway without cell phone coverage or internet for five days!  It was awesome!  The kids got to sled…first time ever on a real sled!

Now, back at home on this Christmas morning before the family awakes, I am reflecting on the blessings God has bestowed upon our family this year.  Like the opening lyrics to the classic carol, Oh Come All Ye Faithful, I am choosing  to be named among the faithful who are joyful and triumphant!

Faithful – Full of faith! Faith is the evidence of things not seen. God has been so real to me through the years, that I don’t need “proof” that athiests are looking for…I am proof! Yes, it is nice when I read a report that science has found another “proof” that goes along with what we already know from the Bible, but that is definitely not what I base my worship on.

Joyful – Full of joy! Unlike happiness, joy is not dependant on what “happens” in our circumstances. This “joy unspeakable and full of glory” that the Bible talks about can be attained in the midst of the harshest of trials. In fact, that makes the joy all the more joyful when it’s tested by fire and comes out without even the smell of smoke! This joy can only be mine because God sent His Son that first Christmas day so that mankind could be reconciled to their Creator! Wow! No wonder we celebrate this season by proclaiming, “Joy to the world! The LORD has come!”

Triumphant – According to dictionary.com, this means “having achieved victory or success.”  Now, I know I haven’t “arrived” yet, and I make mistakes daily, but the neat thing is that my “position” of triumph has already been sealed because of what Jesus did on the cross and in His resurrection!  Colossians 2:13-15 (NIV) says, “¹³When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, ¹⁴having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. ¹⁵And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”

YES!!! Let the celebration continue!  Merry Christmas, friends!!