My First Blog-Christmas Thoughts

Here I go....Mid-December 2009, I can't believe that this year is already come and gone. Praise God for His faithfulness! I have said those words my whole life, but I don't know that I have ever meant it from my heart like I do now. God has used multiple circumstances in my life, mostly over the last year to bring me into a new love realationship with Himself. Praise God!!!!!! I have never felt the peace and joy before that I can honestly say with all my heart that I feel right now. "Feel" is the wrong word, it is so much more than a feeling. It is a complete freedom to do what ever He asks, because for the first time in my life I know that He loves me more than anything, He has an incredible plan for this world and is letting me be a part of it. Christmas this year has taken on an incredible new meaning for me and I know it can only be a God thing to have opened my eyes like He has. After studying the book of Ephesians with the girls in my sunday school class, i began to see that God has a wealth, eternity really, of knowledge and wisdom that He wants to give to me and I began to ferverntly pray for that widsom, because I felt that I was lacking it. My word does He answer. "Knock and the door will be opened, ask and you will be given." He wasn't kidding. I pray that he continues to bestow on me a deeper knowledge and love for Him. My new thoughts on Christmas.......Lets take a heavenly look at it. Start with creation. God created the heavens and the earth, with Him, the angels and heavenly hosts watched it all. Then He creates man, Adam and for a very short period of time, God has this intimate relationship with His creation. All of heaven watches, all the while continuing to praise and worship God. Enter Satan and sin. God's heart breaks as he watches His creation turn their back on him. He continues to extend grace after grace after grace to them. The angels are intimately involved in our lives in ways that would probably freak us out if we could really see what is beyond our limited eyes. God watches his people Isreal continue to turn away from Him. I can only imagine the heart break of watching the ones you love and created turn away time after time, His patience is beyond amazing, isn't it??? Again, the heavenly hosts are watching it all. Then, God himself decides to enter this fallen world. Imagine Mary, a young girl who God chose to be his mother, what an incredible honor. I don't believe in praying to her, but my goodness, you have to give a great amount of respect to the woman. Another angel enters to give Mary the news and for 9 month she walks around with Jesus (JESUS!!!) growing inside of her, can you imagine??? Again, the angel and Joseph... God used a secular ruler, Cesar Agustus, to get Mary to Bethlehem to fulfill part of Christ's prophesy. The time has come....Can you even begin to imagine what is going on in heaven (and in hell) at the moment of Jesus's birth??? They have been watching God and us for how many rebellious years? And the moment is finally here, HE CAME TO US!!! God came down here because He loved us so much, to save us, to redeem us, He came with a mission. I think having Austin has helped put in small perspective what he did coming and choosing to be born a baby boy. helpless......When the bible describes the shepards in the field when the angel appeared to them to tell the of Christ's birth, it talks about the multitude of heavenly hosts praising God. He did it! He made it here! It all makes so much sense now! Praise God for Christmas!!! That's all I'll spill about for now, but there is so much more that I am just so stinking excited about!