December 24th - God Bless Us Everyone

     Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year as the song lyrics say. For us that has been the case, there are so many memories of Christmas's in the past. I harken back to the first one that Rebecca and I had together when I was living at home with my mom and dad and she was coming to visit over the Christmas holidays for a few days. The day that she drove proved to be a bad weather day along Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, not a prime day for traveling 9 1/2 hours which turned into much more as the snow blew hard and fast for much of the journey. The gift she had for me once on arrival was a plush teddy bear who was aptly named Snowball. That was the first one together back in '96, there have been many since. I look so fondly back to the toy guitar that had dollar bills wrapped around the fretboard, all for me to go to the music shop and choose the guitar that I desired which turned out to be my Breedlove AC/25 SR Plus. Aren't the best presents the ones that you had no clue about or you know that the giver had to go some lengths to pull off the surprise? Not all memories are of when it all went smooth though, who can forget the unfortunate event of backing into a garden wall while we lived in Oxford, and the crying shriek of Rebecca 'I've ruined Christmas' as it turns out we had a great time up north in a different car than planned, we even got stuck on an island without a way of getting off for a few hours. Ruining Christmas is not really an option is it, it's not about us, it is about the Giver of all good gifts.

     The Christmas holiday is all about gifts, gifts from loved ones to each other, but so often it is forgotten by the most precious gifts are the ones from God. This year our Christmas carol service in West was centrered around 'God's gift of grace' this is really an amazing gift that keeps on giving. We have so much to be thankful for, the many years of Christmas together, my mom and dad traveling many a year across the turnpike to Goshen, Rebecca's mom coming out to CR 21 to our little apartment to spend the day together. Now here in England we have many new traditions (It's a Wonderful Life on Christmas Eve, certain favorite holiday albums being played constantly, Muppet Christmas Carol on Christmas Day, etc) which we so adore.
      There has been one aspect our Christmas's that has been quite different than most families experience and that is the presence of a little one who tears through the wrapping paper with reckless abandon or maybe needs some help to get the paper off. There has not been a baby, toddler, or child around during these special days and of course we look forward to the day when that picture will have another smiling face. We don't have any brothers or sisters so there has not been a nephew, niece, cousin, but we look forward to the day when that changes. What a precious gift that will be from God, truly a gift of His grace to us, and that will be one Christmas that we won't soon forget. So for all of you reading this on either Christmas Eve, Christmas Day or after, look around and see the precious gifts that He has given to you, and treasure them with all your heart.
A few years ago I wrote a song called 'Gift of Grace' this year I did that our Carol service and added a Christmas verse so I thought I'd share the lyrics to the song with you.

Bounds of love, waves of mercy

Streams of joy, flow down from Your throne

Thank you for Your grace, I don’t deserve it

But You freely give, freely give

The precious cup of Your anointing

Poured out for me, washing over me Your gift of grace

The adoring Son, He arrived in a manger

The only begotten, He was the present of love

The angels foretold of a Messiah who was to come

Streams of joy, were proclaimed in the heavens above

Thank you for Your grace, I don’t deserve it

But You freely give, freely give

The precious cup of your anointing

Poured out for me, washing over me, poured out for me flowing around me

Poured out for me filling all of me