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Christmas memories

He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree. (Roy L. Smith)

And we know that the Son of God came so we could recognize and understand the truth of God—what a gift!—and we are living in the Truth itself, in God’s Son, Jesus Christ. This Jesus is both True God and Real Life. (I John 5:21)

We might forget this truth, but Christmas is the very best of times to celebrate the love of God. It is also the best of times to celebrate each other - family and friends coming together to celebrate the joy of the season, but also to celebrate each other! It is a time to create memories. I don't know about you, but the gathering together seems to be less and less as the family grows up and we all seem to have our own 'direction' to travel in life. Memories are made in the moments - so take the moments this holiday season to make them. 

Jesus is our greatest gift - the one we receive ourselves and the one we can give to others. It is unlike every other gift - we don't give it away - we give it while still retaining that great gift for ourselves! This 'gift' of Christ actually is an unending gift - able to help us live in truth. Recognizing truth amidst all the lies around us - what a gift! To understand truth - what a gift when all around us seems so confusing and confounding. Don't hold back with this gift - share it!

If this last two years has no opened our eyes to the shortness of life and the ability of things way outside of our control to create tremendous chaos, then I don't think we had our eyes open! There is hardly a neighborhood that hasn't been affected by great loss as a result of an ugly and devastating virus. Moments may have been lost forever for some. Regrets abound. What memories will you make this Christmas season? Will they be memories that bring you great joy over the years, or will they be memories of regret for lost opportunities? 
Rather than regretting the missed ones, let us make them in ways that will last forever. Let's share the hope of Jesus and then let him begin to open the doors of his blessing in the lives of those we touch this season. Just sayin!
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