Mentoring Minutes

In CHRISTmas Memories we recognized both the ups and downs that CHRISTmas can bring.  In CHRISTmas Stories we shared a unique perspective from the “least” of the CHRISTmas players, the Bethlehem shepherds, and the role they played as well as lessons we can learn from them. 

In this post, I want to turn our focus directly to the choice that Jesus made which makes CHRISTmas a reality and in doing so gave us the model for our lives and relationships…that of humility and sacrificial love.

A ten-year old, who was becoming quite knowledgeable about the Bible because of her grandmother’s teaching, asked her grandmother: “Which Virgin was the mother of Jesus? The Virgin Mary or the King James Virgin?”

A small boy was writing a letter to God about the Christmas presents he badly wanted. “I’ve been good for six months now,” he wrote. But after a moment’s reflection he crossed out “six months” and wrote “three months.” After a pause that was crossed out and he put “two weeks.” There was another pause and that was crossed out too. He got up from the table and went over to the nativity scene that had the figures of Mary and Joseph. He picked up the figure of Mary, wrapped it gently in a cloth, and put it in a drawer in his room. He then went back to his writing and started again: “Dear God, if ever you want to see your mother again!”

Before we unpack The Blessing of CHRISTmas I thought it would be worthwhile to point out some things that you may or may not have previously contemplated with regard to the gifts of the Magi (Wise Men) and Herod’s killing of the boys under 2 years old in Bethlehem found in Matthew 2… 

At about one to two years of age Jesus is visited by Magi or Wise Men (we assume there were three because three gifts are mentioned but The Bible does not indicate how many).  They are overwhelmed and worship Him, presenting Him with the familiar gifts that some scholars say signify His roles as King (Gold), Priest (Frankincense) and The Sacrificial Lamb (Myrrh)…certainly something to think about.  This is beautifully portrayed in the movie, The Nativity, albeit the Wise Men arrive while he’s still an infant in the cave, which is highly unlikely.

What God does next is incredible in protecting His Word that is now become flesh…The Magi are warned in a dream not to return to Jerusalem and Herod (God’s providential protection of this Baby)…Joseph is warned in a dream to go to Egypt and then to return with Mary and Joseph to Nazareth after Herod’s death.  Isn’t it amazing how God orchestrates things clearly and plainly and/or totally behind the scenes to fulfill His prophecies?  God has always protected His Word just as He did His Word in the Flesh!

The reality of CHRISTmas…nothing else matters if this didn’t happen!  John 1:1…In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  John 1:14…The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. 

The Rest of the CHRISTmas Story

This is what I call the “The Rest of the CHRISTmas story” in Scripture…Immanuel – God With Us found in John 1 and Philippians 2:3-8.  Follow me…

⁵ Have this attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. ⁸ Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

What does CHRISTmas really mean…for God to take on human flesh in Christ?  What is the lesson for us as His followers?  Philippians 2:3-8 describes Jesus love and humility and calls us to have the same attitude which parallels the life that He calls us to as His disciples in Luke 14:25-35.

Jesus Example for us (Philippians 2:3-8)

 – Humble Attitude (vv. 3-5)

 – Emptied Himself   (v. 6)

– Experienced all of humanity (v. 7)

– Gave His all for us (v. 8)

Jesus Calling of us (Luke 14:25-33)

– Christ before all (v. 26)

– Die to self (vv. 26)

– Count the Cost (vv. 27-32)

– Give up all for Him (v. 33)

Casting Crowns in their CHRISTmas song, God is With Us, say it this way, “You’re the Savior we’ve been praying for, In our humble hearts You will dwell, You are in us, You are for us, You are with us… Immanuel.”

Immanuel – God With Us…from the humble stable in Bethlehem to the humble heart of mankind!  Have you received Him into your heart and life?

We must remember the beautiful story of CHRISTmas with all the incredible characters, events and scenes.  However, we must be careful to remember the real purpose of that first CHRISTmas, the Blessing we were given and what it calls us to.

The Beauty of CHRISTmas in a Culture of Self

December Nativity scenes are still quite common (that’s a good thing) even in an age where they have become political fodder in public schools and government facilities.  In the “commonness” we can easily forget how sharply these scenes call to our attention the self-absorbed culture we live in.

First of all, there’s the pure, common teenage virgin, leaning over the manger, who responded with a humble “yes” when divinely charged with bringing about the pivotal point in all of history!  She said, “I am The Lord’s servant, may it be unto me as you have said” (Luke 1:38) knowing full well that the burden of an out-of-wedlock pregnancy would continue far beyond nine months to a lifetime.  Her faithful obedience allowed your burdens and mine to be lifted for eternity.

Then there’s the man quietly standing beside her, remembered by all of history as good and noble because he put this young woman’s welfare above his own reputation.  He raised God’s son, not his own flesh and blood, and he did so without hesitancy or complaint.

Of course, there’s the central figure…God as a Baby: Jesus Himself.  As pointed out in “the rest of the CHRISTmas story” from Philippians 2 above, he emptied Himself of His Divine Glory, took on the form of a lowly human servant and, in doing so, bore all our sin and brokenness on the Cross.  Check out Self-Giving in The Nativity for more and note the “beauty” in all that God does in contrast with our culture, to which I would add one thing displayed by Mary and Joseph…Which is more beautiful and fulfilling, the sacrifice, engagement and marriage that honors God’s love for us or our culture’s alternatives to relationships and sexuality?”

You see, without Immanuel nothing else matters.  If He’s not Immanuel, then Lord, Shepherd, Friend, Brother, Savior…nothing else matters.  God With Us…He not only came to us, He became us, to save us and offer us Eternity with Him! 

Without CHRISTmas there is no Easter – no chance of salvation if Christ doesn’t put on flesh, doesn’t become human and give up His life as the perfect sacrifice and atonement for us.

Oh, He is forever King of kings and Lords of lords…but He could never have been our Savior/Lord had he not become a baby…become us…Immanuel!

That’s CHRISTmas…That’s the womb of a virgin, the manger, the swaddling cloths, the hay, manure, cows, sheep and maybe a dog or two…That’s God wrapped in our injured, dying, decaying flesh!  Don’t miss this!  Everything else you hear this season…Savior, Lord, Shepherd… everything – could only happen because He became IMMANUEL – GOD WITH US!!!

Enjoy all of it because He came to us and he became us!  We have every reason, even in the struggles, stresses and trials to rejoice because of CHRISTmas!

Before this week’s Top 10, I saved one song that has become my all-time favorite.  It’s included in this post because it so fully encompasses all that God shared with us in Immanuel at CHRISTmas.  Listen to Welcome to our World (by Chris Rice).

Now, here’s a great “Top 10” for parents and grandparents to share with your children/grandchildren or share with children’s class at church… http://www.imom.com/10-great-christmas-stories.

Make it a great day and God bless in Christ!

Love and Lordship…Food for Thought – Have you considered that God becoming flesh in the Christ Child at CHRISTmas had to happen or there would have been no sufficient sacrifice for us on Good Friday?   How does the “Other” CHRISTmas story affect your perspective of CHRISTmas? 

Love and Lordship…Action Item – In your quiet time think about the manger, the cross and the tomb and the fact that they are all empty?  In your prayer time ask The Holy Spirit to draw you closer to Him as He reveals to you the significance that each are empty.

Let me take you back to that first CHRISTmas and just briefly recount the well-known narratives and names.  Then I want to spend the better part of this article on a part of the story that you may have never heard and the lessons we can learn. 

Matthew 1:18-23 – Mary and Joseph are engaged; Mary is found to be pregnant; Joseph chooses to privately divorce Mary which was an honorable thing as he could have had her stoned or exiled from the country and family; the prophecy of a virgin birth is fulfilled and the name of God’s Son through Mary is revealed.

Luke 2:1-20 – the famous CHRISTmas narrative of Caesar Augustus’ census that brought Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem and a stable where Jesus would be born in a manger and wrapped in swaddling (poor man’s cloths) likely in a cave or barn that was a stable for animals to fulfill a several hundred year old prophecy; angels and shepherds which bring me to the story I want to focus on as alluded to earlier.

The Real Shepherds of Bethlehem

Here’s an excellent article that I’ll just summarize and encourage you to read the entire article, The Real Shepherds of Bethlehem by Nick Harris.

The shepherds keeping watch over the flocks near Bethlehem would have been quite out of the ordinary.  Because of the stench the sheep were normally kept miles from towns and villages.  There was one great exception to this and it just so happened to be Bethlehem at this specific time of the year!  Imagine that…and even more so think about how God brought all of this together?

The shepherds that “resided” in Bethlehem, along with the very large flock, was specifically culled out for one purpose only.  These were set apart as “perfect” one-year old lambs, belonging to and declared so, by the High Priests to be sacrificed in the Temple!  This was the High Priest’s flock!  These were the Passover lambs!

This was likely the largest herd of sheep and required a great number of shepherds to tend them…right there in Bethlehem.  You think God may have been orchestrating something all along?

Two other key components regarding Bethlehem and the shepherds…First of all, Bethlehem was a beautiful place situated high on a hill from which you could see in all directions.

Second, the shepherds were monitored by the temple priests, seeing as how these sheep belonged to the High Priest and were for Passover.  Typically any shepherd (or anyone else) who defiled himself by mingling with the sheep was considered filthy and unclean and therefore unable to enter into the Temple. 

The priests would “watch over” the shepherds “below” from the MIGDAL EDER or “Tower of the Flock.”  In this way they remained ritually clean and certainly “high above” the filthy shepherds so they could go into the Temple.  As for the shepherds they remained filthy and were considered unclean and could not enter the Temple or God’s presence. 

Hmm…wonder who God might select to be the first to actually enter into His presence and kneel before the newborn Baby King?  The ritually “always”-clean priests or perpetually filthy shepherds?  We know the answer to that one, don’t we?  

And God’s answer and plan would have been truly shocking, but as one song says,

“To think of how it could have been
If Jesus had come as He deserved
There would have been no Bethlehem
No lowly shepherds at His birthBut Joseph knew the
Reason love had to reach so far…”  (Strange Way to Save the World,  4Him)

Don’t forget to check out the full article on The Real Shepherds of Bethlehem.  With all of this in mind I believe there is much that we can learn from them when it comes to our response to Christ and God’s message to us.   

The Gospel According to the Shepherds

So often in the CHRISTmas story, we focus on the main characters: Mary, Joseph, and of course, Jesus.  But through the short account in Luke 2:8–20, there are four things we can learn from the shepherds that should make the top of our to-do list this and every CHRISTmas, and for that matter, every day of our lives!!!

1) Believe…The angels announced in spectacular fashion that the Messiah was born. As soon as the angels left, the shepherds looked at each other and said: “What are we waiting for? Let’s go straight to Bethlehem and see what has happened.”

No debate. No procrastination. They don’t decide to sleep on it. They don’t go to the local library (or Temple as they wouldn’t have been given access anyway) to research or ask questions. They just believed. That’s faith. Scripture says “without faith it’s impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6). The angel said, “Peace on earth among people with whom he is pleased.” Who is that? It’s those who respond to God’s gift through faith. Scripture also says, “For by grace you are saved, through faith, not of works for it is a Gift of God….” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Faith means you say yes to all that God did through Christ. Yes, he is the Savior of the world. Yes, he came to die for my sins. Yes, through him I find forgiveness and new life. Yes, I want Christ as my Lord. If you’re not sure, what are you waiting for?

Faith isn’t a spectator sport; it’s an active embracing of all that God has promised and given us in Christ.  Which is the second thing the Shepherds teach us…

2) Obedience…The shepherds didn’t just talk about what they heard…they did exactly as they were told. “Go and see…” We sometimes think of CHRISTmas as a tame holiday…“the sweet baby Jesus asleep on the hay.” Everyone loves that because it’s so innocuous and safe. CHRISTmas isn’t safe! Maybe we would react as they did if angels appeared to us…BUT, wait a minute…WE HAVE HIS WORD!  Are we responding in faith…not just showing up at Church but also living it out daily?

That Baby was/and still is the King of kings and the Lord of lords and the angels and His Word tell us the same thing!!! He came to usher in a kingdom that rivals the worldly kingdom – against culture, against the flesh, against self. That’s threatening. He bids those who would follow him to take up their cross daily—to lay aside our own right and deception to rule ourselves and surrender to His rule.

Just as with the shepherds, we can only know/see the Lord through Obedience (FAITH in action – the only real Faith!)…THINK ABOUT THIS – from the time they heard from the angel(s), walking from the fields of Bethlehem, the City of David (City of the King), every step of the way they took in faith based only on what the angel had said.  Not until they completed their journey and arrived at the lowly stable, and entered into the filth and stench did their faith become sight. Unless they had walked in Faith they would have never seen the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in the manger.  The same is true of us and our walk of Faith.  Unless we continue in it we will not see the King.  That’s what the shepherds taught us by walking out their belief in Faith until they SAW Him!

The world loves to celebrate ‘CHRISTmas’, but they hate to obey him as Lord of their lives. Everyone wants to keep Christ in the manger. But the manger is meaningless apart from the Cross and the Tomb…and His Lordship in our lives!

Ben Franklin stated over 200 years ago…“How many observe Christ’s birthday! How few, His precepts! O! ‘tis easier to keep Holidays than Commandments.”

CHRISTmas is a time for Faith…obedience! The two can’t be separated.

The third thing the shepherds teach us is that once their faith was made real they…

3) Told others…When the shepherds arrived in Bethlehem and saw the child lying in the feed trough, “they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child.” They weren’t preachers; or missionaries…that didn’t matter. They had heard and seen something that meant salvation for the whole world.

CHRISTmas trees, eggnog, and exchanging of gifts are fine (Remember my CHRISTmas Memories)!  If we enjoy all that but don’t share Jesus—if we fail to speak (by our words and lives) of the real meaning of it all as the Shepherds did; if we neglect to tell others that this Child is Savior and Lord, sent by God to die on the Cross to purchase our own deliverance from sin, death, and satan with His royal, divine, human blood; if we neglect to share CHRIST, we miss CHRISTmas.

The angel said that this is good news of great joy, which shall be for all the people. If we truly believe it we must Share this Good News…this joy.

Finally, the ‘Bethlehem, Passover shepherds’ taught us this…

4) Experience the Holy Wonder…The shepherds were overwhelmed at the angel’s announcement. They experienced holy wonder.

How can we engage in holy wonder? Maybe that means you stop in the middle of your shopping, sit down, and read the CHRISTmas story. Maybe you gather your children around a Nativity scene each night and focus on a particular player or event and the role it plays in the CHRISTmas story. Maybe you wake up early one morning and find a place you can watch the sun rise as you meditate on Luke 1:76–79…

⁷⁶ And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, ⁷⁷ to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, ⁷⁸ because of the tender mercy of our God by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven⁷⁹ to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

The work of holy wonder is treasuring and pondering that God invaded Earth on a dangerous rescue mission. Let’s do the same…let’s engage in holy wonder.

The shepherds departed, rejoicing in all they’d seen as “everything was exactly as they had been told” (Luke 2:20). The same Truth the angels gave the shepherds is in God’s Word for us to experience Holy Wonder and share it with others!

Make it a great day and God bless in Christ!

This week’s Top 10 CHRISTmas list (Ok so it’s going to be 20) and of course I have to begin with one that tops them all…Handel’s “Messiah.”  Hope you find time to listen to and enjoy them all and many others!  And be sure to send your favorites!

Top 10 Classical CHRISTmas Songs                  

• 1) O Holy Night
• 2) I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
• 3) Silent Night                                  
• 4) O Come All Ye Faithful                      
• 5) Angels We Have Heard on High
• 6) Joy to the World
• 7) O Little Town of Bethlehem
• 8) The Christmas Song
• 10) Sleigh Ride/Silver Bells       

Top 10 Contemporary CHRISTmas Songs

• 1) Don’t Save it All for Christmas Day (Avalon)
• 2) Strange Way to Save The World (4Him)
• 3) We are the Reason (Avalon)
• 4) Your Heart is Where Christmas is Found (Truth)
• 5) The Way He Came (Truth)
• 6) Not That Far From Bethlehem (Point of Grace)
• 7) All I Really Want (Steven Curtis Chapman)
• 8) Rose of Bethlehem (Selah)
• 9) Christmas is All in the Heart (Steven Curtis Chapman)
• 10) Tennessee Christmas (Amy Grant and others)

Love and Lordship…Food for Thought – Isn’t it interesting that Mary, Joseph, the shepherds and all involved faced a decision when they heard about God’s plan for CHRISTmas and then a response as it became a reality.  What about you?  What has been your response to Christ in your heart and life?

Love and Lordship…Action Item – Take some time this week in preparation for CHRISTmas and read through the Scriptures in this article.  As you do think about how each person that was given the news of CHRIST was affected and how they responded.  Think about how you would have and are now responding to CHRIST.

Before we start this article and CHRISTmas series I want to let you know to look for a Top 10 CHRISTmas list at the end of each article!

As I begin this article my beautiful wife comes in the room and plugs in (or flips the switch) and on comes the CHRISTmas lights (you’ll notice I always spell CHRISTmas in this fashion on purpose).  As she does so she asks, “Does that help?”  Of course it does, so I give her a hearty, “YES!” 

Don’t know about you but I have great CHRISTmas memories…Early on it’s always been about the lights, decorations and trees (which were always live as I didn’t know they had fake trees when I was growing up).  Even if we’d known about fake trees, we likely couldn’t afford them, which probably helped fuel my “obsession” with real trees to this day.  

Most importantly, my greatest memories every year always draw me back to the Nativity,  the angels, the shepherds, the manger and the Biblical account of CHRIST’s Advent, His coming to earth in the form of a helpless Baby ultimately to save us!  More on that at the end of this article and throughout this series!

CHRISTmas? A Bundle of Switches and a Lump of Coal

Many memories of CHRISTmas flood my mind and fill my heart but there are 2 specific CHRISTmas memories that push to the forefront of my thoughts as I begin this series.  The first is one that hopefully few but likely many can relate to…I was 7 years old, my brother, 5, and sister, 3.  We came running, and I was jumping, down 10 steps at a time not even worried I might go right through the front door. I remember we’d not been, let’s just say, particularly good that year and sure enough, as promised, Santa had us on the “Naughty List.” He left us each a bundle of switches under the tree and a lump of coal in our stockings hung on the fireplace mantle. 

What?!?  Was it really true that Santa Claus would leave these “gifts” to children that were disobedient and maybe even a little defiant?  Yes He would. 

After my parents made us go to our rooms to think about it and making sure that our tears and remorse were real, they called us back downstairs.  Much more slowly than our earlier pace down the stairs, we sadly sauntered down to offer apologies.  To our childish delight, presents had magically appeared and our stockings were full!  I remember getting a Big Wheel that year – what better gift is there for a 7-yr. old boy!?!  My brother and I wore out the heavy duty plastic wheels before the next summer was over!  How could I ever forget that CHRISTmas or the related lessons?

Year after year, no matter how difficult, CHRISTmas was always special and I have nothing but wonderful memories of the season.  Maybe that’s why my wife and kids think I go just a little overboard each year but I love everything about it!  

I like to be first on my street, if not neighborhood, with lights and tree up! Sad, but can’t help it.  Even more sadly I must admit in full disclosure…last year I lost to a blow up Santa and Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer display! I love it! 

Our First Family CHRISTmas…spent in a Hospital

The second vivid recollection was the year our first child was born.  He was born on December 21 and the plan was to be home by CHRISTmas Eve and celebrate our first CHRISTmas as a family.  I had decorated the house prior to heading to the hospital.  The team I was coaching at the time had given us a white rocking chair for the occasion and I had come home on the last day of practice before CHRISTmas break and fallen asleep on my wife’s pregnant lap. 

A couple of hours later she awakened me and said, “It’s time!”  I helped her into the already packed car and we headed to the hospital.  From the moment we arrived we should have known it was going to be memorable.  It was all worth it as I held our son while my wife slept soundly for the first time in weeks.

The doctor came in the next morning and said they would need to place our son “under the lights” in order to help him overcome the jaundice (infection) that he had.  He was placed in isolation on December 23 and was there for 3 full days. 

There went our “perfect” CHRISTmas plans in our new home with our first child.  We ended up staying on the top floor of the hospital, which had been converted into a “hotel” type setting for just such occasions to accommodate the family of patients that needed to stay under hospital care. 

To exacerbate the situation, except for the limited holiday staff, we were the only ones on the entire floor! 

As CHRISTmas Eve Day rolled around, my wife (neither of us had been able to hold our newborn since the first few hours after his birth) became understandably dejected and tearfully expressed, “This is not how I envisioned our first CHRISTmas as a family to be.” 

I truly believe The Holy Spirit gave me my next idea.  I went to the greatly reduced holiday staff on the floor and asked if I could gather any/all CHRISTmas decorations on the floor (except for those at their workstation) and put them in our room?  They gladly consented and I grabbed a couple fake trees (maybe the only time ever?!?), garland and lights and every other CHRISTmas décor that I could find and brought them into our room.  It was beautiful and right on queue, as we looked out our window, God blessed us with a snowfall that glistened through all the lights as we looked out over the city from our seventh floor room. 

I called our families and they sacrificially but excitedly agreed to bring all the gifts, food and trimmings the next day…CHRISTmas Day…to celebrate with us in the little hospital/”hotel” room!  It was magical, except that we couldn’t hold our son…

Until 2 days later when he was released in good health and we took him home!  The evening of December 27, I sat rocking my son in our brand new white rocking chair right next to the CHRISTmas tree as his eyes locked in for minutes at a time on the twinkling lights on that tree!  Tears ran down my face as I thanked God for CHRISTmas and His greatest gift as I sat rocking a very similar gift in my arms. 

For these memories (the good and the bad) and all the others, I choose to see everything…time with our families, the lights, trees, decorations, food, stories (even Santa and all related stories – St. Nicolas – real life ‘St. Nick’), my CHRISTmas ties, the music (love it) and every memory in light of The Spirit of CHRISTmas and the real reason for it…CHRIST…God With Us.  I encourage you to consider doing the same thing, no matter what past experiences or memories hold.

The Greatest CHRISTmas Memory and Gift

How do you choose to see CHRISTmas and how does it affect you and your family?

The Greatest Memory and Gift of course is that CHRISTmas is CHRIST!  That’s what we’re going to unpack in some unique ways over the next few weeks leading up to that most wonderful of Holidays in which we received the Greatest Gift of all – Jesus – God as a Baby in a manger…God in the flesh!  After all, that’s what it’s really all about – God dwelling with us, making a way through His Son (Emmanuel – God With Us) and His Spirit (abiding in us) – this is CHRISTmas and if we choose we will see it all around us throughout the season and beyond, even in the tough times…just in recent years I’ve attended services of 2 families where a family member passed away in the weeks leading up to CHRISTmas – one was an 84 yrs. old wife, mom, grandmother and a life well-lived; one was a 37 year old young man (former player of mine) who’s life was seemingly snuffed out all too soon, leaving a wife and children…we can see it and live it out now and all year long because we have this prophecy and promise that came true on the First CHRISTmas…

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.                                                                                                              Isaiah 9:6

Now, before I go, here’s that Top 10 CHRISTmas list that I promised you:

Top CHRISTmas Movies

All-time Top 10 CHRISTmas movies…let us know your favorites/what we left out?

1. A Christmas Carol – starring Alastair Sims (1951)
2. The Nativity (2006)
3. A Charlie Brown Christmas (animated, 1965)
4. Miracle on 34^th Street (both versions, 1947/1994)
5. How The Grinch Stole Christmas (animated, 1966)
6. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
7. A Christmas Story (1983) – this one is for my wife!
8. The Santa Clause Trilogy (1994, 2002, 2006…so I’m stretching the list a bit…warned you about me and CHRISTmas)
9. Rudolph, The Red Nose Reindeer (animated, 1964)
10.  Christmas Vacation (1989)
11.  Elf (just so several friends won’t get mad at me!?!) (2003)

Make it a great day and a very Merry CHRISTmas in Christ!

Love and Lordship…Food for Thought – What are your favorite CHRISTmas memories?  Which memories are not so pleasant?  How have you chosen to view the memories and how has that affected you and your family? 

Love and Lordship…Action Item – Take some time throughout this CHRISTmas season (and beyond) to choose a memory or tradition that impacts you think about whether you need to let go of it or hold onto it in order to experience the love, joy and peace of CHRIST that is CHRISTmas.