I share that with you, not to brag, I promise. I share it with you because I realized something this morning. Sometimes it really is me simply passing on what I have learned. Originality is forgetting where you got it and I am an avid practicer of that as you have heard me say. Today I wanted to share this with you from www.followingthestar.com. It was worth it and I thought I'd pass it on! Enjoy! LGLO, Pastor Peter
"For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this." Isaiah 9:4-7
"The other day a friend of mine asked me to define “Christmas spirit.” Not wanting to appear Scrooge-like, I quickly began giving my two cents on the matter. After a few minutes of babbling, my friend stopped me with an unimpressed stare. He told me that I was missing the point of his question. He was right.
Many of us do lots of time-consuming things to create a spirit of Christmas in our lives. We decorate our homes, listen to our favorite Christmas songs, throw parties and prepare certain foods. We get and give special gifts, and many of us are on our best behavior. What connects all of these? These are things that we do to create the Christmas spirit.
My friend reminded me that, just like Isaiah tells us, the spirit of Christmas comes from the message of hope found in the story of Jesus’ birth. This is God’s gift to us."
Michael Harper
"For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this." Isaiah 9:4-7
"The other day a friend of mine asked me to define “Christmas spirit.” Not wanting to appear Scrooge-like, I quickly began giving my two cents on the matter. After a few minutes of babbling, my friend stopped me with an unimpressed stare. He told me that I was missing the point of his question. He was right.
Many of us do lots of time-consuming things to create a spirit of Christmas in our lives. We decorate our homes, listen to our favorite Christmas songs, throw parties and prepare certain foods. We get and give special gifts, and many of us are on our best behavior. What connects all of these? These are things that we do to create the Christmas spirit.
My friend reminded me that, just like Isaiah tells us, the spirit of Christmas comes from the message of hope found in the story of Jesus’ birth. This is God’s gift to us."
Michael Harper
Our family had a great moment of Christmas spirit yesterday. We put together our old Christmas tree and took it to a family in Sutart who has nothing. We stopped at Walmart first and bought lights and decorations. The look on the kids faces when we went in was just priceless. They were so excited and couldn't wait to start decorating. As we walked out the door, they were all squealing. What gives me pause is that the tree was very old and missing a few branches. In my mind, ready for the trash - and yet it brought such happiness to 4 kids and their mom.
ReplyDeleteFantastic stuff Marti! God is working and that is absolutely awesome! That He wants to work in and through us is even more amazing!
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