Sunday Reflections

Wow - so much to blog about. I will have to blog the next couple of days straight to get caught up! But I first want to reflect on the sermon and the advent season that we are in. We all know that Jesus is the center of Christmas, right? I mean - how awesome is it that God sent his son as a baby, a little tiny human into the world, only to know that he was going to be betrayed and die a brutal, horrific death? Not only have I been reflecting on Jesus, and thinking of him as a little infant every time I look at my babe, but I cannot help but really relate to Mary this year. I mean - think about her - in labor, about to give birth, traveling from inn to inn to try and deliver her child in a clean, safe environment, only to do so in a barn with really nothing to protect her infant from the elements but some blankets. Wow - what a woman!! I mean, I thought my labor was hard, but can you imagine what Mary went through? I thought that it was an amazing feeling to hold my own child in my arms for the first time, but what was Mary thinking as she held THE SON OF GOD in her arms for the very first time?! Let's talk about the feeling of overwhelming responsibility for this child! The Lord knew what he was doing when he choose Mary and Joseph to raise His son. Mary and Joseph listened to God's direction for their life and without question, they followed Him. I have been reflecting on my influence on my own child, and some traditions that I want to start to uphold for the many Christmas' to come. How can our traditions help bring us closer and more become more intimate with our God? How can our family make sure that Jesus is the center of our Christmas?

This Christmas was a little different than other Christmas' and I cannot tell you how wonderful it was. My family was a little more spread out than they usually are - one of my cousins is getting married in Vegas on New Years Day, so he and his new wife were not able to come out, my brother ended up having to be on-call for his work, so my mom went up to Sac-town to be with him, and my dad ended up enjoying the day by himself! So, MS, and the baby and I were able to spend Christmas morning with just the three of us. We agreed not get each other big presents, and not to give anything to Kaitlin because she doesn't really need anything, and she is too young to remember anyway. So, we did stockings for each other and had a great breakfast. During breakfast, MS and I discussed what new traditions we want to start with our new family. We both agreed that we want to read the Christmas story out of the Bible to Kaitlin Christmas Eve as a bedtime story. I then suggested that we get a new Bible study we will do together as a family in our stockings every year. I have seen, and like the idea of getting a birthday cake for Jesus and celebrating his birthday. I think that it is a simple way of helping children understand what the day really means. Next year, I am really hoping to not do gifts for everyone in my family, but instead give a little money to a charity that reflects the person. Christmas in the past has not been very fun for me because of all the stress and running around. This year was much less stressful and was a lot more enjoyable than it has been in the past - this is the way it was meant to be!

So I am encouraged to draw closer to Jesus in this new year and drawing closer to Him with our new family!