This is Christmas

As we move into this Christmas season may our hearts glow with gratefulness. We are overtly blessed in every area of our lives. Some areas of our blessings are more easier to behold than others. For like a fragile gift brightly wrapped with a bow these blessings from God portray his glory in our lives. These are the successes, the promotions, the praise of others, the new house or the new car. These are nice and beautiful to behold but they can quickly be torn away like the tearing away of brightly gift wrapping paper.

Other blessings are deeper, they go to the heart. These are below the gift wrapping and at times not easily seen. These are the struggles, the trials, the pain, and the tears of this life. These gifts cause a change of heart. These blessings soften the hard attitudes, break our wills, and cause our hearts to seek God. These blessings create in us tenderness, mercy, and forgiveness towards others.

God uses the pain of this life to create in us a heart that comforts, gives, and loves… others. We are swept away from focusing on our needs to that of others. We begin to see the heart of others and not their gift wrappings. We learn that all of us are much the same… on the inside. In learning this we see the blessing that others are in our lives and we pray that we are a blessing to them as well.

Our hearts become grateful, giving, and content through recognizing the blessings in our lives. We count our blessings and our hearts celebrate the gift of Christ and his glory. This is Christmas.

Prayer-a beautiful thing

“Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.” (Philippians 4:6-7, The Message)

Prayer is a beautiful thing. Prayer takes us away from ourselves and knocks on heaven’s door where fear, anguish, and self-centeredness depart to let peace enter in. Peace is a gift given to those who pray. A gift that covers daily trials like soft snow or cleanses like lapping waves of the sea.

Prayer is our greatest gift one to another. A gift that gives and loves and hopes. A gift that seeks the ultimate for others from the heart. For from the heart we pray and connect to God who knows our hearts and our prayers; he knows the wounds and scars of others; he cares and has concern.

God’s concern is the heart. A heart that prays. A heart so dependent on him that it prays. For prayer is a show of dependency, a demonstration of faith, a belief in God though he is not seen. Yet our hearts see God in prayer, our hearts hear his whisper and our souls are made peaceful. In peace or in sorrow prayer is a beautiful thing.


A Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for your glory this morning! Thank you for this day that you’ve added to my life—a day to give you honor and thanks. A day to see you in the falling snow or rising sun or in children’s eyes. A day to pray, to think of others, and to honor you with my dependency on you—through the act of praying.