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| The view of the river on the way to our apartment. |
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| Cutting down the Christmas tree |
Last week we enjoyed a little snowfall up here in Wisconsin. Well...maybe not everyone...but I always love that first real snow that sticks. I especially love the snow when it hangs to the branches of the trees and turns the world from dead and dark brown to dazzling white. Lucky for me the weather soon turned very cold which gave us those snow covered trees for nearly the entire week. My drive home on the highway was suddenly a beautiful gift from God, like when you see rays of sun slipping through clouds or bright fall color leaves. God's creation amazes me when I take the time to think about it and enjoy.
Don't you just love Christmas time? I feel for those who find this time of year as nothing but stressful. My prayer is to always enjoy the charm and spirit of Christmas for what it really means. A savior came into this world; how can we not be excited about that?! However, as I was listening to the radio with my husband yesterday, we heard a man speaking about Christmas. He said we have made Christmas such a big deal because it's fun. Long ago Christmas was important, but the church focused most on Easter. Everything revolved around Easter. It made me think...what would Christmas be if there was no Easter. As a teacher in the public schools it is difficult at times. I read a story today called Magical Christmas. It was about a mouse asking his mother what is it that is the Magic of Christmas? All the mice have different responses: it's sledding quickly down the hill on a sled, the glow of a Christmas tree, hiding behind trees during a snowball fight, spending time with family and friends, etc. In the end the mouse and his mother decide Christmas is about all the special things you do to make it magical. After the story I asked the students to name the things that made Christmas magical for the mice. One student raised her hand and said, "We have Christmas because it's when God had a Son and it's his birthday." YES...I thought to myself longing to elaborate on the topic. But we quickly move onto the other answers as not to upset the apple cart. So after all these thoughts I was on my way home from school and a Go Fish song came on the radio. It brought back my thoughts from what I heard yesterday. Christmas isn't just about Jesus's birthday, it's about a Savior- coming into this world to die for me and raise himself from the grave so I can live...eternally.
**Type "It's About the Cross" in google or YouTube to enjoy the beautiful harmonies!**
It's not just about the manger
Where the baby lay
It's not all about the angels
Who sang for him that day
It's not just about the shepherds
Or the bright and shining star
It's not all about the wisemen
Who travelled from afar
It's about the cross
It's about my sin
It's about how Jesus came to be born once
So that we could be born again
It's about the stone
That was rolled away
So that you and I could have real life someday
It's about the cross
It's about the cross
It's not just about the presents
Underneath the tree
It's not all about the feeling
That the season brings to me
It's not just about coming home
To be with those you love
It's not all about the beauty
In the snow I'm dreaming of
Repeat Chorus
The beginning of the story is wonderful and great
But it's the ending that can save you and that's why we celebrate
It's about the cross
It's about my sin
It's about how Jesus came to be born once
So that we could be born again
It's about God's love
Nailed to a tree
It's about every drop of blood that flowed from Him when it should have been me
It's about the stone
That was rolled away
So that you and I could have real life someday
So that you and I could have real life someday
It's about the cross
It's about the cross
