Are you in need of a rest?

So often during the Christmas season I hear these words: "I am so tired, I need a vacation".
That always makes me wonder why that phrase is so common during the Christmas season.
I am sure many of us can make a list to what contributes to that feeling of exhaustion. Maybe things like: I have too much shopping left to do, I have so much baking to do, I have so much wrapping to do, it has been crazy at work, if I had a day off so I could catch up, and so on. Think about it,
all of those are just excuses. Trust me, I've used them myself at one time or another. And usually we are our own worst enemy.
I do not intend for this blog to be a condemning blog, or pointing out faults of one another. But what I do want to share is what I have learned over the years. What I have learned from my own mistakes.
When I worked full time I would try to come up with ideas to make the Christmas season more enjoyable instead of full of stress. If it was baking I usually did this with my Mom. We would take a weekend and plan to bake all we needed to get done. We would often start early on in November and freeze the items that could be frozen. Then for the other items we would do closer to Christmas. This way it didn't take so long.
For shopping, I would try to put a strategy together also. But I truly loved shopping with my Mom when she was still here with us, and see how the malls were all decorated for Christmas. I enjoyed that as much as actual shopping.
And the strategies would go on as I needed to have a tolerable schedule. This often helped immensely, keeping the season full of joy.
While all of those things are important, do we make sure we leave time set aside to spend with the Lord? Do we still do our devotions and study the Word?  Do we still set aside time to pray?
I think that is one of the first things to be put aside, sadly to say. Why is that? We make sure we have time to shop, time to do this and that, but we say we do not have time to study the Word or have a conversation with God. We hear the saying "Jesus is the reason for the season". If we truly believe that then why is our time with Him the first to go?
We go through the season rushing around, busy doing things but neglecting our time with Jesus, then we say "God, I need a vacation", or "God I am so tired, I need rest".
Hmm, do you think maybe we are the problem? I think so. We get too caught up with our busy schedules that we forget Who we are celebrating. What is the solution? My friends that is up to you.
But what I will say is that I have learned over the years we must keep the proper perspective. We must keep Christmas about Jesus. And I promise you, He will work out your schedule.
I truly believe the Lord gave me strategies to stay on track , keeping Him first, and getting everything else done that I needed to.
My friends I will tell you, you will find so much more joy in the holiday season. You will have plenty of rest as you feed your spirit with the Word of God. You won't be saying "I wish the holidays were over".
As you finish out our holiday season try to sit back and enjoy this season. Take a few moments to enjoy your tree, reflect on the blessings this Christmas brought to you, and most of all have thankfulness in your heart for God sending His Son to save us. I promise you, Jesus will meet you there and fill you with the rest you needed, and energize you for what is next.

“Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Matt. 11:28

It's Christmas Time

It is Christmas time all around the world. While it may be a little different on other parts of the world, the message is the same. Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Christ. It is the day the Savior of the world was born. The day our hope came in the way of flesh, a baby born to us, to save us and give us the promise of a new life, eternal life.
Every Christmas we are reminded of the gift God gave us, but why do we need reminding? It is easy to think about this during the year when we are celebrating summer or other holidays. But why do we need to remind ourselves of what Christmas really is? I can think of several reasons. First of all, why did Jesus come in the flesh? To save us! Plain and simple, to save us. There are many parts of the world that have never heard the Gospel preached, they have never heard of the story of Jesus' birth.
There are many living in our own country that have never heard the story of Jesus' birth. There are many that have heard, but they did not comprehend the greatness if this story. And then there is "us". We have heard the story, we understand the greatness, we know who Jesus is, but for some reason we have let the daily grind get in the way. We have busied ourselves with work, and more work.  The many things we are involved in such as the gym, social groups, parties, and even many Bible studies and prayer groups. There is nothing wrong with those things in our lives. However, if we have let those things "clutter" our lives, take up every spare moment we have, and even take away from our family time, then we have missed the boat. After all, if we are too busy for our own family then we certainly have no time left to spend with Jesus. Our lives have become too busy to reflect on what Christmas is all about, the birth of Jesus Christ. We have become too busy to enjoy the Christmas season.  So often I hear many say "I will be glad when Christmas is over and I can relax".
Oh my goodness, imagine how Jesus feels. We have rushed through His birthday so quickly we didn't even acknowledge Him. Just think if your birthday comes and goes and nobody acknowledges it, how you will feel. 
We are His children, He has given us His all, He deserves that special treatment on His birthday.
And not just on His birthday, but every day.
So if you find yourself stressed out so much that you are ready to "put Christmas away", you are tired of hearing about it, then try to remember what the true meaning of Christmas is. Remember what the most important gift is that we have ever received, Jesus.
Think back of when you were a child. Christmas time was "magical". It seemed to be so special, and many of us did not even understand why. But somehow we knew. I encourage you, save some time for Jesus. Sit down and give Him an amazing birthday talk. Oh how He loves when we talk with Him. Thank Him for giving us the most amazing gift ever, Himself.
My last thought for Christmas, let's spread that Christmas cheer, the hope, the story of Jesus that brings such joy and happiness to us. There are many in this world today that need that hope we have in Jesus. Let's share our Christmas gift with them.
Merry Christmas faithful readers. I pray you have a wonderful Christmas celebrating our Savior's birth.

Unexpected Emotions

Do you ever experience a time when you get very emotional over something, perhaps a memory? If we are truthful with ourselves I'd say we all experience that type of thing at some point in our lives.
The Monday after Thanksgiving my husband and I took a trip to Tennessee to visit our son and daughter in-law. This was the first time for us seeing their new home they just purchased. We were so excited to spend time with them. However, the trip is a very long car ride, about 17 hours. We planned for a night in a hotel to split the drive up. All of this was going as planned.
Our travels would take us down through Virginia and over to Tennessee. I have family in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, so we knew it would be a beautiful ride with gorgeous scenery. I was excited to see this since it had been several years since I've been there to visit. As we were getting closer I was getting more and more excited. I could not explain why because that is not where we planned to stop for the night. Then I saw the signs of the Shenandoah Valley and Luray.  That's when it all changed.
I could feel myself filling up with emotion. I had so many memories going through my mind. I found myself wanting to step back in time, sitting on my Grandma's porch on her glider, taking in the spectacular views of Skyline Drive. And I could hear my sweet Daddy's southern voice saying we are almost at Grandma's house. Then the emotions flowed down my cheeks in the form of tears. Wow!
I thought to myself where did that come from? Out of nowhere, these emotions came, and were very real. Oh my goodness, I was missing my Daddy, and my grandparents, and many other family members.
So here we were, traveling to Tennessee to see our son and daughter in-law, so excited to see them and have an early Christmas with them, and I was experiencing this emotional time. It wasn't a sad time at all, just a very reflective moment.
What do we do with times like this? Are they ridiculous? Should we try to avoid those type of things? Are they "negative"?  I will say with total confidence, absolutely not. I really believe our Lord Jesus has given us memories for a reason. He has given us emotions for a reason. It is what we do with those that matter. You may be thinking what does this have to do with anything.
One of the most precious memories we all have is the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons spending time with family. We have good memories and some not so good. But we have a choice. We can sit there and feel sorry for ourselves because we have lost our loved ones, or we can stand up tall and do something with those memories. Share those happy times with your children or your grandchildren.   If you don't have anyone to share with then find a lonely person and share some happy memories with them. During the holiday season many people struggle with depression. Use your happy memories, even if they are emotional, to lift someone else's spirits up. Have someone over for tea and cookies. If you can, drive someone around to see the Christmas decorations lit up at night time. There are many ways that we can show the light of Jesus Christ during this season. And don't forget about yourself, stay in the Word of God, worship our Lord, and keep yourself in a place where you can encourage others.
It doesn't matter if you have tears flowing down. They can very well be happy tears.
And to finish my story, we arrived safely in TN and had a beautiful time with our son and daughter in-law. Their town had their Christmas tree lighting in the town square. We had such a wonderful time, we hated to leave. Coming home when we reached the area in Virginia that holds a special place in my heart,  I had more happy memories to add to my collection.
My prayer for you all this Christmas is that you can experience the joy of recalling the memories you have with loved ones and that you can find someone to share those memories with, someone who needs to experience some joy.