It is Christmas morning.  The world is cold and still outside and the house is quiet.  I sit here reliving memories of many Christmas mornings of the past.  Memory is a great gift of God.  It allows us to relive, without limit, the joys of the past and to learn from the difficulties when years have gifted us with the insight to see the lesson.

One cannot sit like this without being filled with gratitude for the amazing blessings in life.  To be surrounded by loving family, precious friends and a life where our needs are met.  And above our needs, we enjoy so much that enriches our lives—opportunities, comforts and experiences that most of the world cannot even imagine.

At this time, I want to express my gratitude for the wonderful people in my life.  My family, who support me, love me, work with me  and endure me in ways that no one else can understand.  For the faithful people who work with me in ministry—our team of volunteers and church staff who labor as unto the Lord in developing venues for vibrant and meaningful worship and outreach.  For our church, its leadership and the wonderful people of our congregation who love God and each other.  For the people who God has added to His Kingdom, even as recently as our concert last Sunday night, for whom this Christmas Day will be the most wonderful they have ever experienced.  I could go on and on, but they day calls.

This morning, the news reported that this Christmas season was a failure: that retail sales were the most disappointing in years so profits would be a disaster.  How sad that the values of our culture have become so warped that in the midst of amazing blessings, that many can only see profit as the goal. I beg to differ with the media: far from a failure, this Christmas is as blessed as any have been or any that will come.

“This is the Lord’s doing and it is marvelous in our eyes.”

Merry Christmas