Merry Christmas!

I am happy to say that we have a white Christmas, the first in our small little town in over 40 years! The last time a white Christmas happened here, both my parents were kids! I have always wanted a white Christmas, and this year it finally happened! The southeast is seeing a pretty nasty storm right now. We are expecting up to three inches of snow overnight, and maybe some more throughout the day tomorrow. It is beautiful! I am having trouble with the photo uploader on here right now, so I will try again tomorrow to post the pictures that I have taken of the snow! Church services throughout the area have been cancelled for tomorrow, and from the weather forecast, it looks like we will be stuck in the house for a few days because of freezing and dangerous roads and such. Fine by me! More hot chocolate, gas logs, another book, and the company of my family will make for a great time.

Well, another Christmas has come and (almost) gone, and Santa was good to me this year. Again, the pictures would make this part of the post much more interesting, but for now I will include a short list, and hopefully I will be able to put some pictures up tomorrow:

• new clothes and jeans
• new boots
• new books
• now programmable coffee maker
• mini crock-pot
• new perfume

These are a few things that Santa brought to me, and I am thankful for all that he did bring to me and my family.

Over the last few years, I have learned that Christmas isn't so much about getting and giving presents as it is the time with the people who mean so much to me. This really hit me hard last year.

Last fall, I studied abroad for the entire semester in Costa Rica and was unable to spend Thanksgiving at home with my family. I arrived home just 2 weeks before Christmas, and after being away from my family and friends for several months, I was ecstatic to just see them and spend time with them. I realized in a way I never had before the importance of love and family and being together. That experience taught me to never take the time with those you love for granted, a lesson I wish I had learned much sooner in life. That has truly become my favorite part of Christmas - seeing friends and family and being with them and laughing with them and making memories together.

Of course, the importance of loving relationships is shown to us through Jesus, the foundation for the Christmas season:

Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 

God sent Jesus to earth to save us all and to give us all hope. And that really is what Christmas is all about. Sure, the traditions of Christmas make this time of year memorable, but it is the Lord and his example of love that allows us to experience all of the joys of Christmas that make it so memorable to each one of us.

1 John 3:16-18
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

My prayer is that we all realize fully the love that Jesus Christ has shown to us, and that we let that consume our hearts and allow us to love others in the way that he loved us.

Isaiah 9:6

For to us a child is born,
   to us a son is given,
   and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
   Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
   Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.