We were 'Home alone.'

My last post was on the depressing side. Sorry about that but Easter isn't the only time to cry.

My question was "Why would Jesus do something like this? Why would he come and dwell with yucky humans?" Dan says that the fact that he DOES want to be with us is undeniable. And what does that mean for us? That there is far more to celebrate than we thought!

It is truly gorgeous that He came here as a man. He could have freaked everyone out like He did many times in the Old Testament. Although then what He did was perfect despite most couldn't even stand up in His presence. But when he came through Mary...it was different. He truly was a man and he truly was God! Nothing excites me or boggles me more.

Quote from 'In Search of... The Real Spirit of Christmas.' Written by Dan Schaeffer.

"This truth should fill our hearts with a real lasting joy. It is good news--good news for all people. This makes a Christmas truly "Merry." Rejoice! We're no longer home alone!"

Ah! There it is. What we eat, or what we get in the package or who we see will ALL eventually pass away. The 'feeling' will eventually dissipate. NOT however the truth of God. Not His sacrifice for us. That will always be apart of our lives!


Here is the Christmas story I promised.

Matthew 1:18-25-2

18.
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
19.
Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20.
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
21.
She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
22.
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
23.
"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"--which means, "God with us."
24.
When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.
25.
But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Chap. 2


18.
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
19.
Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20.
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
21.
She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
22.
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
23.
"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"--which means, "God with us."
24.
When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.
25.
But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
The Escape to Egypt
13.
When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him."
14.
So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt,
15.
where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son."
16.
When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.
17.
Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
18.
"A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more."
0.
The Return to Nazareth
19.
After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt
20.
and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child's life are dead."
The Return to Nazareth
19.
After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt
20.
and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child's life are dead."
21.
So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel.
22.
But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee,
23.
and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: "He will be called a Nazarene."

(; Faith Mae

It isn't what we thought.

We are far more precious to God than we could ever imagine!

For me Christmas has been going downhill the last couple years. I kept thinking that it was because of my age. Growing older can make it much less magical! I blamed it on age but I believe now that my 'Just another year" mentality is ruining the true 'Spirit' of Christmas in myself. It isn't about ME. It is about Jesus coming to earth to be with us. Not only did he lower himself below every king but he was born in a MANGER! His humility should be what gives us that spark during the Holidays. Unfortunately it doesn't all the time.

Can you believe that Jesus came down here without trumpets and ceremony? Not to mention a virgin mother giving birth in what was probably a nasty stall. The picture above doesn't make me warm inside anymore. It shows me a lie. It wasn't clean, it wasn't beautiful and polished. BUT it was glorious! Pictures of the nativity portray what we want to believe. Not what was actually true. Sadly I would like to look at it as the picture above. I really would. I want to push away the honest side and welcome the side that gives me the impression that it 'wasn't so bad.'

Mostly because it makes me look better. Thinking that Jesus wasn't as full of humility as I painfully thought. So wrong!! He was...more than we will ever realize!

This season let us meditate on what Christ went through for us instead of presents, people and life in general.

(; Faith Mae

Is it really what we think?

Pure curiosity has brought me to this point. My wise mother gave me this book to read around the holidays and I was well….curious. I have yet to read but two chapters so far. And yet I have witnessed insight brimming from the pages. The best place to begin I believe is to read the original Christmas story found in-

Matthew 1:18-2:23

And Luke 1:26-2:40

If you have a Bible I encourage you to pick it up and read it even if you read it yesterday and even if you have read it a thousand times. No Bible? You can find any passage online. However I will post it next for everyone to refer to including myself.

Amusing as it may seem I cannot even answer my own question.

What is this Spirit of Christmas thing?

We’ll see…

Quote from ‘In Search of… The Real Spirit of Christmas’ Written by Dan Schaeffer

“This becomes even more remarkable when we understand that shepherds in the first century weren’t the pastoral, gentle-eyed, soft-spoken fellows portrayed by Hallmark. They were considered unreliable, untrustworthy, and not a little larcenous.”

“Picture a room full of men drinking beer, making disgusting male noises, and cheering on their favorite football teams with gusto and excitement. Add lots of yelling and words that aren’t heard in polite society and you come close to describing the crude demeanor of first-century shepherds. So when it says that the shepherds were glorifying and praising God, it does not mean that they were offering artistic praise in highly cultured terms or quiet, reflective praise in articulate phrases. It was more like the last second of a playoff game in overtime, when the home team wins and the whooping and hollering begins.”

This struck me hard. It made me second guess even the Manger scene in my own living room.

Dan brought along another thought that whacked me harder than the first. What about Mary and Joseph? Their sweet baby was born in a yucky manger right in front of them. I don’t know if they second guessed themselves or Gods plan but I assume that seeing those shepherds rejoice and hearing their testimony must have lit their hearts up! It was all going just the way God wanted it. How amazing. Dan also gave some good ideas including picturing yourself as each of the people in the Christmas story. To read and re-read slowly and imagine how you would have reacted if you were Mary, Joseph, or even the shepherds.

I’m off to do just that.

(; Faith Mae

Spirit of Christmas

The Spirit of Christmas. Full of beauty, love and cheer. Or...so I thought. In truth? This 'Spirit' happens to be a warm filling kind of feeling we get when we set up decorations, invite friends over, watch Holiday movies and even the food. Is that Christmas?

Today I begin my search of what Christmas is.
What do you think it is?