Merry CHRIST* mas to YOU!

It has been a LONG week.  My dearest has been working something like 12-16 hour days.  He hasn't had a day off in over a 12 days.  My brother and sister-in-love were in town from Michigan to celebrate Christmas with us.  We celebrated with my side of the family Wednesday.  I have been cleaning, shopping, baking, being a parent, working at my part time job, hockey mom etc. etc....and oh, did I mention, SICK!  I have had some pleasant virus I have nicknamed "THE PLAGUE."  My honey said this is the sickest he has ever seen me.  (please note if you don't speak sarcasm, that would be the language I was using above...)  My point is, I have so desperately wanted to make this Christmas one to remember.  One where we did great crafts, bake oodles of yummy baked goodies, read stories about Jesus, watched great holiday movies... I had PLANS.  Well, a few things did happen.  We watched a couple movies, made two kinds of cookies, read a few books, but it was nowhere in the grandeur of my vision.

Today, I as I am lamenting my lack of completion of my vision, I thought of Mary.  She knew she was having a baby.  (Don't we all dream of a perfect delivery and birth with our first child?)  Not only was she have a baby, but it was GOD!  I think she was probably looking forward to a GREAT birth full of all kinds of perfection.  What she got was a long difficult journey and dirty manager full of animals.  Plus the esteemed visitors were dirty, lowly shepherds.  But the end result was the same.  She had a beautiful baby and it was the LORD JESUS.  She even called herself most blessed among women.  So as I go through my day today, I am no longer gonna say "I didn't get...(fill in the blank)"  BUT I am gonna say, "I GOT THE LORD JESUS!  Blessed am I!"  And truly, isn't that really what it is about today and tomorrow?  We got our LORD JESUS!  We are blessed.

Luke 2:1-20

New International Version (NIV)

Luke 2

The Birth of Jesus

 ¹ In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ² (This was the first census that took place while^[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ And everyone went to their own town to register.

 ⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

 ⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

 ¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

 ¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
   and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

 ¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

 ¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.