Everyone wants a piece

Just a few minutes ago I opened my email to a whole list of promotions all begging me to use up the last of my money on their products, promising that they had that perfect item that would complete my list of Christmas gifts.

They all want a piece of me this Christmas. In our materialistic, consumer-based society, it seems like everyone wants a piece! The stores want our money, our jobs want as much work as they can get - giving the least amount of holiday time possible, our friends and family want our time, the charities want our donations and volunteer hours, the special shows and concerts want our attendance, and the cameras want our smiles. 

Sometimes it feels like we aren't just doing the consuming, we ourselves are, in fact, being consumed by this holiday season. Piece by piece by piece. 

And yet, it's "the most wonderful time of the year"! The time of Hope, Peace, Joy and Love. Funny that, our greatest desires during this season are usually never realized. Our hopes for a peaceful, joyful celebration surrounded by those we love, celebrating the greatest gift of all, usually go unmet. We have spent so much time consuming and being consumed, that when it all comes down to it, we have nothing left. 

Everyone around us wants a piece, but really... what we all want more is peace. Something we can't get from each other or even ourselves. We ache for that great hope of Christ's return and we pray that we will be filled with joy and love from above. 

At least I hope we do. I hope we stop and let go a little bit this season. Don't be consumed by the holiday, but rather, be filled.

For "every good thing and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation of shifting shadow" (James 1:17). 

Strong

With cap and gown you are robed
The picture of beauty and success
Eyes bright and radiant with joy
And that sparkle only you possess

It’s surreal for me to watch
As you take to the stage
It feels like you’ve barely started
But here you are turning the high school page

I hope you are proud to be here today
For you have done so well, more than I can say

I rarely fail for words
But today it’s not easy
To form feelings and thoughts
And not come out just plain cheesy

But how am I supposed to tell
How proud and amazed
And happy and blessed
I am to be raised
With a sister so gracious
And honest and kind
And, I’ve said it before,
The best friend I could find

I am blessed beyond words Sis, to have you around
And I dread the coming year as you head out of town

But my dear, you are blessed
For God is your guide
He has plucked you up in His hand
And you are along for the ride
Look where He has brought you
For truly it was Him
Who gave you your passion, perseverance,
And that joy none can dim

I am excited to be here
To watch you and pray
That you follow His leading
And find peace in His way
Danae, you are strong
Because your peace is in Him
You know your true purpose
You can face both easy times and grim

And so as you pass on from high school
Don’t ever have fear
Just make God’s glory your center
And keep Him always near

graduation brings out the best in all of us :)

so many amazing girls! So proud of them all!

!

kinda love everyone's expressions

love these girls soooooo much!!

Oh generation...

Jeremiah. A book of calamity, disaster, great sorrow and distress. A book of judgement. A rebellious, wicked nation that "had it all" and a just, perfect God that, though spurned again and again, still yearns for His people. What would it be like to be Jeremiah, a prophet of God, commanded to speak His truth to a perverse, unyielding generation? To put aside fear and believe God's word: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you..." (Jer. 1: 5). Would I have the courage to trust God's promise: "Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you...behold, I have put My words in your mouth...and they will fight against you but they will not overcome you, for I am with you to deliver you..." (Jer. 1:8-9, 19).

But it was more than just the command to preach and speak for God. The words Jeremiah was commanded to say, were hard words. How did it feel to tell others of their impending doom? To give a message of despair and judgement to your own people? For there is very little hope in Jeremiah's words. There wasn't much hope left for Judah at this time, a treacherous, evil nation full of people who were "walking according to the stubbornness of [their] own evil heart[s]" (Jer. 16:12).

As I read through Jeremiah, feeling his despair and gloom, I am struck by how much this nation reminds me of my own generation, of the people who live in our world today.

"They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, to hew for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water" - Jer. 2:13

We have indeed turned to our own ways. We have relied on our own strength, built our own "cisterns" so to speak: profitable careers, life insurance, social status. Material things which can profit us nothing. They offer only a superficial safety while we turn our backs on the One who can truly save us. And we don't even see it. This generation is blind to the truth of their situation. Everyone feels assured in their own strength.

"Yet you said, 'I am innocent; surely His anger is turned away from me.'" (Jer. 2:35)

People don't see their sin. They don't believe in a just God who must mete out judgement. They believe only in a loving God of forgiveness, if they believe in one at all. And God is loving, more than that, God is love! But I think we do not truly understand love, and for sure, we don't comprehend true justice and even more, we cannot fathom how justice and love and mercy can all coexist in perfection in God. And so we try to clean ourselves up as best we can and hope it is good enough.

"'Although you wash yourself with lye and use much soap, the stain of your iniquity is before me,' declares the Lord God" (Jer. 2:22)

But it's not. Yet there is still hope. For God, in His justice, is also merciful and welcomes us to return. If Israel was given this hope, surely we have it too. In Christ, we can be made new and nothing is too big for Him to forgive.

 "Return, faithless Israel...I will not look upon you in anger. For I am gracious...I will not be angry forever...Return, O faithless sons, I will heal your faithlessness..." (Jer. 3:12, 22)

God can heal it. And just as Israel was surely judged, so was she brought back. God did restore His people and He can restore us as well.

"Oh generation, heed the Word of the Lord..." (Jer. 2:31)

Sudden yet Sovereign

A melancholy heaviness has beset me. It's a sadness, not despairing, but troubled. It comes after the shocking news of Dr. Dave's sudden death. I mean, I didn't really know him well, and yet he had a deep impact on my life, helping to grow my faith in the short week that he taught at JHBC last year. I remember his characteristic laugh and his joy in the Lord, excited to share his knowledge and wisdom with students of all ages. It's just so weird to hear that he is gone, gone to be with our Saviour.

It just seems so random, so out of nowhere. It was just Monday I was hearing about his recent visit to the college to teach...and now he's gone. It's interesting that he taught about God's will and I know, obviously this is all in God's will and yet we, left behind here, just really can't understand it all. And so, I know God is in control and Dr. Dave is with Jesus, yet it's still confusing piecing together the grief of being left of behind, the moving on, the next step. I guess I could totally let it not effect me. I mean, it's likely I'd never see him again on this earth anyways and yet, we have a connection; we're family through Christ and so maybe that's why it affects me more than some newscast announcement. I think of his family and those close to him and I grieve for them and the changes they are facing. And yet I know that they have comfort in the knowledge of the truth, just as I do.

How blessed we are to leave the questions with God; to trust His sovereign control in all things.

Prepare to Believe

It's impossible to really describe a walk through the creation museum. All the emotions you feel as you take step after step through it...it's hard to describe. It's like walking through our world and yet not - more like standing helplessly watching it revolve around you. It's like being a part of our history but not - more just watching from the outside. The exhibits come alive and it feels like it's you that is frozen in one state. I don't know how I appeared on the outside but my heart was in turmoil as the minutes turned to hours and I was drawn through the different scenes. Slowly I began to see. Slowly I began to understand. Slowly I saw our world, our history, through different eyes.

This is one of the very first exhibits you see and when I looked up at it and read the two quotes, it really hit me hard how pathetic we are. Descartes' famous line looks so weak next to God. With all our knowledge, our stacks of books, our years of searching, mankind is still so far from understanding. We are helpless to explain our purpose, our very existence. And yet we have such a high opinion of ourselves. We think we have accomplished so much. "Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away" (James 4:14 emphasis added). In contrast God says"...I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God besides Me" (Isaiah 44:6); "...I, the Lord, am the maker of all things, stretching out the heavens by Myself, and spreading out the earth all alone" (Isaiah 44:24); I am the Lord, and there is no other; besides Me there is no God...that men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun that there is no one besides Me. I am the Lord, there is no other, the One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the Lord who does all these" (Isaiah 45: 5-7)

The questions resonate deep inside because we've all asked at least on of them at some point in our lives. Taking the time to stand and take in the devastation that follows from the wrong starting point really helps you to appreciate the hope presented by the truth.

This exhibit displays some of the ways God brought His Word together

Satan has been attacking God's Word since the beginning, since the garden. He questions God's truthfulness, God's authority; he tries to get us to doubt and many times he succeeds. Just read through a few of the attacks on Scripture throughout history and you will be astounded at how the evil one has made this such a priority. After all, if we doubt God's Word, how can we trust the God who wrote it?

Reject God and our world falls apart. Walking through the hopelessness and destruction caused by a life in rebellion against God was depressing and humbling. We are truly, wandering in purposelessness without Christ.

After this dark room of sad reality, you leave our present world, walking through a dark tunnel filled with blinking stars and start right at the beginning...

Adam naming the animals in Eden

Pure innocent bliss. The garden is beautiful, the music is soothing. Everything is perfect, unique and good. I love this exhibit because it just shows the two amazing created beings, living in pure joy and yet above them the snake is watching, planning, waiting. Satan is never absent. He is ever ready to make a move and destroy.

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:12)

The contrast from this quiet place of happiness and peace into the dark, bleak rooms following is an amazing portrayal of the devastation caused by sin. You begin to walk in a subtle descent as the perfect world dissolves into one of terror and violence. I shuddered inside as I walked past angry animals, Abel's murder, a room accosting me with images and sounds of fighting,and  bombs,and  floods, sickness, anger, jealousy...black black sin. My heart ached and I felt tears welling up.

And then the ark. The beautiful yet tragic story floods my heart with sadness but also hope. Righteous judgement is placed alongside unwarranted grace. The contrast in this miniature display is clear. I stood studying the tiny desperate people, startled at the detail added to each one. They were real human beings who rejected God and faced His wrath. And I can't help but think how it is really no different today. Are you on the ark, safe from destruction? Or clinging to the rocks, facing impending doom? 

And then...the new start. A new, clean world. The jagged mountains, a testimony of the past destruction, all around them, Noah and his family praise God among the flowers. What a devastating truth must have hit them as they walked out of the ark. The only human beings alive on the whole earth, nothing familiar, starting over by themselves.

Yet, it's sad to think that it wasn't long before mankind again rebelled collectively at Babel. And then imagine the grief of separation; the fear in all the confusion, the anger, the resentment, as man is scattered around the globe.

Will we ever get it?

The walk-thru exhibits end with a short but convicting film of the life of Christ, the Lamb of God, the Last Adam. And I walked out quiet. Contemplating all I had seen and read and felt. It was overwhelming. Not only amazingly well put together and detailed and beautiful, but if you let it, a walk through the museum will touch your heart and teach you truths in a way you've never known them before.

I really can't tell you any thing more. I mean, I could go on and on but really, you must visit this place yourself to understand. Even if you've grown up in a Christian home and think you know all the answers, all stories, all the true history...go. You will be glad you did. You will be encouraged in your faith, strengthened in the truth, and emboldened to share.

And even if you have never touched Bible, never stepped inside a church...go. Just check it out. What can it hurt? I must warn you though, if you go, prepare...to believe.

They believed what????

So I have been researching a lot lately for the Ancient Man book and come across everything from the fascinating to the disturbing to the creepy-McCreeps! From diabolical religious practices to uncanny resemblances to the Bible these ancient religions and myths I've been studying are constantly throwing me for a loop.

Check out this excerpt from an ancient Hindi manuscript:

Let us meditate on God, His glorious attributes, who is the basis of everything in this universes as its Creator, who is fit to be worshiped as Omnipresent, Omnipotent, Omniscient and self existent conscious being, who removes all ignorance and impurities from the mind and purifies and sharpens the intellect

I cannot help but be astounded by this description of a god so similar to the One true God! Hinduism does not currently recognize a single concept of god but more the supreme god manifests himself in many ways. Seeing this knowledge of the true attributes of God in ancient religions really gets you thinking.

Or this ancient Egyptian hymn to Amen-Ra:

Adoration be to Thee, O Maker of the gods, who hast stretched out the heavens and founded the earth!...Lord of eternity, maker of the everlastingness...creator of light...He heareth the prayer  of the oppressed one, he is kind of heart to him that calleth upon him, he delivereth the timid man from the oppressor

I am reminded of the Psalms:

Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me of my distress; be gracious to me and hear my prayer - Psalm 4:1

Even the gruesome human sacrifices of the Aztec people have the roots in the misinterpretation of some interesting spiritual allegories:

My well loved and tender son...know and understand that thy house is not here...This house wherein thou art born is but a nest, an inn at which thou has arrived, thy entry into this world; here dost thou bud and flower...thy true home is another

I am reminded that God calls us to live in this world but our true home is with Him:

If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. - John 15:19

For our citizenship is in heaven... - Philippians 3:20 

Another tradition from Teotihuacan (ancient Aztec city) states:

When we die, truly we die not because we will live, we will rise, we will continue living, we will awaken...

 This seems to come back to the concept of eternal life after death which we are promised through the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain - Philippians 1:21

For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord - Romans 6:23 

Somehow these ancient religions knew something of the truth. Of course, this study of ancient man gives a lot of evidence as to this fact. The book we are writing clearly outlines how Noah would have handed down the truths of God to his children and their children and so on but as the generations go on, things are bound to become distorted. Especially with the rebellion at Babel and the subsequent dispersion of peoples around the globe. It would be impossible for the truth to remain intact without divine intervention as God did with the nation of Israel. Even then, that chosen nation fell into sin and rebellion of God. However it is still awe-inspiring that the most obscure religion, the most diabolical, the most bizarre, has some concept of the truth. For truly, there is nothing new under the sun and as Pastor Don teaches at the Bible College, "Satan can't create, he can only pervert". Indeed Satan has avidly perverted God's message to the nations but there is still some truth left. It brings to mind the verse in Acts when Barnabas and Paul spoke to the people at Lystra:

"In the generations gone by He permitted all the nations to go their own ways; and yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness." (14:16-17)

Truly mankind is without excuse yet we continually "suppress the truth in unrighteousness" (Romans 1:18). How great and terrible will be the day God judges the earth for our rebellion.

Reflections: the Bride, the Groom, the Purpose

You're my beloved
Lover I'm yours
Death shall not part us
It's you I died for
For better or worse
Forever we'll be
Our Love it unites us
And it binds you to me
It's a mystery 

(Beloved, Tenth Avenue North)

I recently attended my cousin's wedding, actually I was given the honour of standing up with her as a bridesmaid on that perfectly beautiful day. As I marveled at God's blessing in given us such amazing weather, reveling in the warmth of the sun on my face and shoulders after so many days of clouds and rain; 

as I looked out at all the smiling audience gathered to celebrate the uniting of two people; as I glanced over at the nervous groom awaiting his bride; as I joined everyone in turning to see our first glimpse of my stunning cousin walk down the staircase, eyes following her slowly up the aisle, her face fairly glowing with joy; as I listened to the teaching from Scripture, the vows of promise, the declaration of a new couple become one...I was impressed with the truths of God symbolized in the marriage of a man and woman. 

Though these things were not spoken of explicitly, after learning the depth of meaning there is in marriage at JHBC, I could think of little else. God has blessed me with a great memory and a joy of learning which allowed me to really soak up Pastor Don's message on marriage back in September. This being my first wedding since then, it all came rushing back and I was struck again at the wonder of God's plan. Back in Genesis 1 when God created man, it was in His image - both male and female. I find it fascinating how this image of God is not complete without BOTH man and woman. A man has certain characteristics of God (protection, leadership, wisdom, guidance etc.) and a woman has certain characteristics (nurturing, compassion, mercy etc.) and only together do they portray the complete image of God. Both are equal, both are valuable and because the woman came from a man, they have the potential to be united. It is interesting to note that the woman was obviously in the plan since God didn't have to remake Adam when He created Eve. Eve was created for Adam, God gave her to Adam, just as the father gives away the bride today in our wedding ceremonies. 

The roles of husband and wife in marriage are also so amazing to think about because of the truths they display to the world about Jesus and the church. Wives are called to submit to their husbands, not all men, but to their own husbands (Eph. 5: 22) as they submit to Christ. As a symbol of the church, which is in submission to Christ, "wives ought to be to their husbands in everything" (Eph. 5:24). And husbands, in turn, as a picture of Christ are to love their wives as Christ loved the church. It is a such a beautiful picture, the husband, the head of the marriage, but giving up everything for his wife as Christ gave up Himself for the church; and the wife, willingly and joyfully living in submission to her husband (so long as this submission matches submission to Christ). 

Now, I'm not married so I don't really know what that kind of relationship is like, but I am a child of God, part of His church and in submission to Christ. I have been blessed to receive His love for me, His life for mine and am learning each day to subject myself to Him.  I praise God for giving us the picture of marriage, for blessing me with so many wonderful married couples as examples in my life and for being my Beloved, my Saviour, and the One who sanctifies me. 

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her; that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she should be holy and blameless. 

            Ephesians 5:25-27

And so as the wedding went on, this is what was in my mind and I was blessed by these reflections on how God has purpose and meaning for everything, every aspect of our lives. I was also a little saddened because, as we all know, for the most part, these beautiful truths are not displayed or lived out in our world today. Women do not like to be submissive to anybody and men are often not an example of any kind of love, nevermind a self-sacrificing Christ-like love. Marriage has been attacked so much and perverted into something that it is not. It is easy to be cynical about it, but God created marriage and it is a beautiful thing when lived out the way He planned it.

This is what we live for

So I was watching the game last night (what else would any respectable Canadian being doing!?!?! hehe) and the banners hanging from the ceiling caught my eye. They boldly proclaimed:

 

THIS WHAT WE LIVE FOR

It really got me thinking. Of course, the stereotypical Canadian life revolves around hockey, snow and saying "eh" but has it gotten so far that we would willingly claim that hockey is our purpose? Our life IS hockey? It seems rather a sad thing to live for and seeing these proud banners hanging in the Canucks home arena seemed rather ironic as they have never won the Cup, but I suppose you can live for something even if you don't always win at it. However, I have to ask what the consequences are? It seems to me that you are only setting yourself up for disappointment if your life revolves around something so inconsequential as a sport. 

Yet, we all have these useless idols don't we. We all proudly wave our banner declaring that we live for something fantastic. Whether that be wealth or family, a job or a holiday, our country or ourselves, world peace or world domination. We all have a passion that consumes us. We were built to live for something and we strain to find something worthy of our lives. The sad thing is, nothing is worthy of such devotion save One. How dare we worship the creation when the Creator has revealed Himself to us, a personal God who has made Himself accessible to mankind; a Saviour who gave everything according to His plan and His glory, that we might be redeemed. 

"For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth...all things have been created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together" Colossians 1: 16-17

So THIS is what we should be living for! He is the only thing worthy and the only reason we even have for living. Yet it is easy to forget and get distracted by the things of this world. And so I pray that you and I "may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God" Colossians 1:10.

What do you live for?

He said, she said, they said...whatever

The age of the earth - a hotly debated subject, perhaps so much so that the main issue has been overlooked and forgotten. Did you know that many Christians believe the earth is millions of years old?It is no wonder since the church has neglected to speak about this issue, leaving indoctrination open to the secular world of educators. Even many Christian institutions teach millions of years and even evolution. They do not understand (or perhaps they do) that this directly contradicts Scripture. What do you believe? Have you ever thought about the issue? Do you realize the significance of your view of the origin of the planet?

The secular world of uniformitarian thinkers has so influenced Christians and the church today that most don't even think about the conflicts of Scripture. But as Answers in Genesis and Ken Ham so strongly emphasize, the Bible is clear as to the age of the earth and creation not evolution was the process by which everything came into being. A literal reading of Genesis describes creation in six, 24-hour days, not separated or stretched out by millions of years. Further, the account of the Biblical flood is clearly global and destroyed the planet, reforming into what we see today. By reinterpreting these accounts to mean something different, we are undermining the authority, inerrancy and infallibility of God's word. Doing this to the first book of the inspired work of God destroys the rest of His words as well including those of the hope of salvation.

Without a literal Adam, created perfect, and the original sin, bringing with it the effects of death, suffering and degradation of the universe, the redemptive story of the rest of Scripture doesn't make sense. By incorporating millions of years of death and decay into the Bible, we are redefining God and rejecting His very words. What are you believing? You can't ignore this issue. You must take a stand. Will you believe the fallible ideas of man simply because the majority says it is "science"? Or will you believe the perfect word of the God who created it all, was there from before time and will one day provide all the answers? Don't try to make excuses. There are only two starting points: God's word or man's word. Which will you choose?

A Wholly Holy Equipping

For class we had an assignment to write a devotion from Hebrews, something that we had learned or just really struck us this week. So I thought I'd share mine with you. 

Hebrews 13:20-21:

Now may the God of peace who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen

A more fitting benediction to Hebrews could not be stated. A book full of fearsome warnings, confusing controversies and strong exhortations, Hebrews can leave a believer floundering in despair. There is such an emphasis throughout the book on faith, endurance and spiritual maturity, I feel completely inadequate to the task set before me; the responsibilities of being a child of God. Do I have the ability to pay close enough attention to what I have heard, enough to keep from drifting away (2:1)? Can I be diligent enough to enter God's rest (4:11)? Do I have enough confidence to draw near to the “throne of grace, that [I] may receive mercy” (4:16)? Am I mature enough to discern good and evil (5:14)? Am I able to hold fast without wavering (10:23)? Do I have “faith to the preserving of the soul (10:39)? Do I have the endurance to run the race (12:1)? To most of these questions I cannot answer yes with certainty but for the knowledge that “it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God” (Galatians 2:20).

Yet of even more assurance, this benediction convinces me that God gives me the equipment to make it happen. It brings such encouragement to know that we have a powerful God who does not leave us out there alone for if so, no one could be saved. As Hebrews states: “without faith it is impossible to please Him” (11:6) and faith itself is a gift from God, nothing of my own efforts. To know that I can pray, ask and receive from Him, the ability to live rightly is a miracle. My God, who created the world, bestows us with blessings, loves us even as sinners, provides a way of salvation through the blood covenant and raising His Son from the dead is surely capable of providing me with the means to live a life pleasing to Him.

Not only is this God powerful enough to raise the dead, He even provided us with such a Shepherd as His Son. A Shepherd who is also our “high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens” (Hebrews 7:26). Indeed, I will gladly, whole-heartedly, thankfully be a sheep guided by this Shepherd and equipped by God. For in this position I have full assurance that through Jesus, I have “every good thing to do His will...that which is pleasing in His sight” (Hebrews 13:21). God working in me makes it possible for me to please Him and bring Him glory. How grateful I am that this is possible for I would surely fail on my own.

“To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Christmas Eve

What a blessed day this was. Started off a little unorthodox with my mother jumping on my bed waking me up. (Apparently since we do it to her every Christmas morning, it was only fair that she get to do it to us! lol) The morning was filled with preparation as we were having our big dinner today and had other things to do to prepare for Christmas tomorrow.

Christmas Eve service was amazing; Jeff as blunt as usual, whipping us all into line and into the right frame of mind. It will never cease to amaze me how many people show up for these services! We went to the earliest one, apparently the least attended and their were people there over half and hour early (before us who were 25 minutes early), we barely got a front parking spot, and the sanctuary filled to overflowing. Like seriously, did everyone just decide to come to that service or were these those, once-a-year Christians filling the pews. They sure didn't get a nice, easy, fluffy Christmas message that's for sure! I hope it really made people think about their reasons for even coming into a church at all. What do they hope to prove? What is our purpose for meeting together?

After the service we prepared dinner and had it on the table around 5. It was so cool to have all these people in our house, grandparents, cousins, little baby Jayden. It was a beautiful moment. Everyone was totally absorbed by everything Jayden did. It just seems like every time I see that little boy, I love him more. The evening was filled with cheer and joy as we exchanged gifts with Jordan and Vanessa.

I loved hearing all the oohs and ahhs over Jayden, the laughter of playful teasing, the joy of shared memories and just having so many happy voices in the house was so amazing. Watching Jayden open his first gifts was such a precious, adorable moment that I know we will all treasure forever. It's little moments like these that make Christmas such a fun time to look back on and reminisce.

Pie and coffee came later followed by a hilarious game of "Things" that brought out laughter, wrestling and wore us all out. The evening was so great. Dad of course topped it all off when he looked out the window and exclaimed, "Look, it's snowing!...somewhere in the world."

I look back on the evening, in these wee hours of Christmas morning 2010 and I realize that we could not have done any of this with out Christ. I mean, the whole purpose of Christmas is to remember his birth, it's a celebration of Emmanuel. But it is also a celebration of what He did for us and how that is reflected in our lives. It is a hard time right now for our family. A very different, difficult Christmas but God's work in our lives shines brilliantly in our fellowship and joy together. The fact that any of this is even possible is proof of the hope and grace that Christ has given us. How I pray I will learn that humility that He embodied. I can never thank Him enough.