Lately, I’ve been grappling with the idea of spending a large portion of my life working. The fact is that most people work 40 hours per week for about 45 years of their lives. That adds up to almost 11 years out of your life spent working. Now in the grand scheme of things, if you live to be 100 then that’s only 11% of your life, which doesn’t sound so bad. But when you’re in the middle of your working stage of life (from about age 20 to 65, or much later in some cases), you’re spending about 24% of your time every week working. If you sleep 8 hours every night, then that’s another 33% of your time. Already, half of your life is spent doing things that you have to do just to survive! That doesn’t even count things like eating, taking care of yourself, and chores. If you’re like me, then you may look at these numbers and feel like you’re wasting your life away merely surviving; when does the real living begin?

While thinking through these things this week, I had two revelations. The first one was the down-to-earth side of me reminding myself that I still have a lot of time to do whatever I want. First of all, there are the weekends. Although I do have a few regularly scheduled things to do on Saturdays and Sundays, the majority of my weekends are usually free. Even on the weekdays, I have at least three to four hours every day to relax at home with my husband or spend time with my friends or family. The truth is, I’m not exactly living a tortured existence here. Quite the opposite— I have everything I need and many of the things that I want, plus enough time to enjoy them. By the rest of the world’s standards, I am incredibly spoiled. Keeping that in mind does help to put things in perspective.

The second thing I realized is the most important. It’s the fact that we are not home yet! The reality is that in the entire length of our existence, which will be all of eternity, our lives here on earth are not even a tiny blimp on the map. When compared with forever, 100 years or so is literally nothing. What should really matter to us is the way that we’re going to be spending the next quadrillion (and everything after that, too). We are all eternal creatures, and we all must decide whether or not we want to spend that eternity with God, the source of everything good, or without him. Everything else in this life seems kind of teeny compared to that, don’t you think?

Of course, while we’re in the middle of it, this life seems like the biggest thing on the planet. It is the only thing that matters to us. We want to spend it as best as we can and I don’t think that that is wrong by any means. I believe that life is a gift, and we absolutely should use it in the best way possible! So I totally understand the desire to enjoy oneself as much as possible, make wonderful achievements, and soak up every moment one has with one’s family and friends. It’s only natural to want those things. However, the reality is that we can never be fully and completely satisfied with our lives here. Even if we try to do all of those things (and even if we succeed!), we will never reach our goals of perfection. There will always be something missing, something that we want more or less off. That certainly applies to people who don’t know or love God, but it also applies to those of us who do. Because even though we are His, we are still here.

In the beginning of the Bible, the hard facts of life are laid out for us. After Adam and Eve brought the first sin into the world, God explained to them the consequences. His perfect world had been broken, and that meant that there would be suffering on earth. Genesis 3 explains these consequences, which include: the end of harmony between animals and humans, nature and humans, and among humans themselves; physical pain, including during one of the happiest times of life (childbirth); work and the hard fight to survive; and inevitable death. These are all the awful things that make us wonder why this world is such a mess. We look at things like death and war and we wonder why things are so bad. The answer is that the world is broken, and it’s broken because of us. Worst of all, we can never fix it.

We are beyond lucky to have a God who loves us enough to pull us out of the mess that we made. Because of His love, He made a way out for us (which He had already planned, and also mentioned in Genesis 3).  Because of His love, we don’t have to stay this way forever. We can choose to accept His forgiveness through the death of Jesus, which satisfied his perfect justice. We can choose to love Him back, and one day we will be freed of this imperfect life and brought into a perfect life with Him forever. That’s totally amazing!

But… it still leaves us here. And in the middle of our lives on earth, it is not always easy to take our suffering with a grain of salt. We long for so much more, and we want it now. Which honestly, I think is the whole point. The brokenness that we feel in our lives is a constant reminder of what we lack without God. Everybody feels this, from the most Godly people to the least. The difference is that when you live life with God by your side, you have hope. Not only that, but you also have help! Once you accept Jesus into your life, He doesn’t leave you stranded and waiting to get to heaven. He helps you with the rest of your life here as well. He gives you a purpose, a family, and joy, just to name a few of his gifts! Don’t get me wrong; life is not instantly better, and it’s also not ever going to be perfect. But perhaps that’s not the worst thing in the world after all. If we had heaven on earth, then why would we ever want to leave? And if we never left, then we’d be missing out on something much, much greater.

Since tomorrow is Easter, I thought it would be most appropriate to write something about it. After all, this is the day when Christians celebrate the fact that Jesus rose from the dead 2,000 years ago, completing the process that God set in motion to free us from our sin!

Easter gives us more of a reason to celebrate than any other holiday of the year. It means the triumph of good over evil because Jesus rose and defeated death, which is Satan’s favorite invention. It means freedom from sin because Jesus took it all for us and left it behind in his empty grave. It means we can receive the gifts that God promised to us; peace, joy, the Holy Spirit, and eternal life to name a few of the best. It means that we, too, will never have to face death because even when our bodies die our souls will live forever with God in Heaven. That’s a seriously awesome reason to celebrate!

But as amazing as all of that is (so amazing that we can’t truly comprehend it the way God does), it isn’t exactly breaking news. We’ve celebrated Easter for a very long time and I fear that everything I’ve said may not make any impact because it’s become so clichéd. “Yeah, yeah, Jesus rose from the dead. We get it.” Even though it’s amazing, the sheer repetition of it may have some of my readers bored.

So instead of just blathering on about Jesus’ awesomeness (which would be way too easy), I’ve decided to go back to the roots of my blog; marriage. Specifically, I wanted to try to write about what the Easter message means for marriage! Think that sounds like a stretch? Well then read on!

I think that the overall theme of Easter is freedom. Again, this is the day that Jesus rose from the dead and proved once and for all that sin and death have no place with his children. So what if, in our marriages—including future marriages for those of you who aren’t married and other close relationships for those of you who don’t plan on ever getting married—what if we acted on this? What if we lived with an eternal perspective, focusing on the big picture instead of the little things in our day-to-day lives? What if we treated our spouses like the precious and eternal beings that they are? What would that change?

Well for one thing, you can be sure that we wouldn’t argue over stupid little things like how he didn’t clean the dishes well enough or whether or not we should buy a new toaster. We would probably relax just a little bit and realize that not everything has to be perfect or go our way. I’m thinking we would be a lot more joyful because of the awesome fact that no matter what happens to us here on earth, it will all just be a tiny blip on the map of our indescribably perfect never-ending lives in Heaven. And that kind of joy emanating from both people can only improve a marriage, if you ask me.

Not only that, but I think that if we saw our spouses closer to the way that Jesus sees them, we would treat them differently. One of the promises that Jesus gave us right before He died was that if we asked for things in His name, then he would enable us to do them. He even promised us that we could do even greater things than He did if we let the Holy Spirit work freely in us. One way that we can take Him up on that promise is by letting Him work in us every day to become more loving, gentle, and self-sacrificing spouses. How can we do that? It’s all about spending time growing closer to God through reading His word, prayer, worship, fellowship, etc. and then listening to the promptings that the Holy Spirit gives us. It’s so much easier to hear God when we have a close relationship with Him, and honestly I believe that that is the key to cashing in on all of the wonderful gifts He wants to give us, including awesome, joy-filled marriages.

The freedom that we celebrate on Easter is something that we can live in every day. We can live in freedom from our struggles and trials in life by knowing that there will come a day when all of the pain of life ceases to exist. We can live in freedom in our marriages when we see everything from God’s perspective, and know that we don’t have to let little issues get in the way of satisfying relationships with our spouses. We can be the freely loving, gentle, forgiving, and passionate husbands and wives that God intended us to be, because Jesus gave us the power to. We are free to enjoy our marriages as a wonderful gift from the God of love! Thank you Jesus!

Money—some people call it the root of all evil, and yet we all rely on it and the world seems to revolve around it. Many people even seem to worship it. It can also cause a great deal of strain in marriages; although the statistics are unclear about the number of divorces that are actually caused by financial issues, I think that it’s fairly obvious that in many marriages, fights over money are not uncommon. So what is to be done about the money problem?

I’ve heard a few times about couples who solve the issue by simply not sharing their money. Each spouse has their own bank account and their own money. And on one hand, I don’t want to be judgmental or say that this is the “wrong” way to go about it, especially if it works for you. But on the other hand, none of the marriages I’ve seen where the couple does not share money have been very happy. To be perfectly honest, I am not the least bit surprised about that.

The problem with this approach, I think, is that it is completely the wrong attitude about what a marriage is. Marriage is not just a contract that two people enter into. On the opposite side of the spectrum, neither is it just what people are supposed to do when they are in love and want to have a buddy for life (or maybe just for a while, if they change their minds). No, marriage is a commitment above all others. It is a promise to stay faithful and devoted to another person for the rest of your life, period. It is not a promise to stay together as long as you feel like you are in love, or until something that’s too hard to deal with happens. Marriage is an unconditional promise. More than that, marriage is an unconditional surrender of your needs and desires to another person’s.

If people approached marriage from this angle, do you think they would want to keep separate finances from their spouse? No way. They are committed 100% to being a team with their spouse. “What’s mine is yours, because I have already promised you everything.” That is what marriage is supposed to be.

So are there any other ways to prevent fighting over money with your spouse? I think so. My husband and I follow the “marriage team” approach in every aspect of our lives, including money. We make our financial decisions together, and we both have a clear idea of what our rules and goals are. Because of that, we are aligned in this area of our lives. In fact, we have never had a fight over money.

Now, each couple is different and struggles with their own specific issues. For my husband and I, money has never been a problem that we’ve fought over. But even if a couple does fight over money sometimes, there are appropriate ways to deal with that so that the marriage is not compromised, but instead strengthened. The key is conflict resolution.

I have a policy of making sure that every conflict I have with my husband is resolved, even the small ones. Though it may sound tiresome and difficult, it’s actually not. When we disagree or have a tense moment about something, we talk about it (either right after it happens or a bit later if we need time to cool down.) It doesn’t have to be a long conversation or a big deal; it can be as simple as saying “I feel like you were being rude to me earlier, when I forgot to wash my dishes” and “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude but I will try to be nicer about it in the future.” As long both people are sincere, open, and others-centered, it isn’t all that difficult to resolve a conflict fairly. The same thing applies to financial conflicts.

Resolving fights over money is extremely important, and goes a long way. If you take the time to talk through your financial disagreements and work out reasonable and fair solutions, then the issue doesn’t have to hurt your relationship; instead, the process of conflict resolution strengthens your partnership.

The real problem comes when money and your spouse do not sit in their proper places in your life. Both of them should be priorities below God, and money should be way below your spouse. If God is your first priority, then the way you treat your spouse will reflect that, and you will the the kind of husband or wife that God desires. If you are the kind of husband or wife that God desires, then your marriage will be strong. A strong, close relationship between husband and wife makes it much easier to work out your issues. And if money comes below both God and your spouse, then I think you will find that arguments over it seem to disappear. It simply is not as big of a deal when you have the right perspective. God will provide, and your spouse is your teammate—so what is there to fight about?

Like it or not, money is essential to survival. But it doesn’t have to go much farther than that if you don’t let it. It certainly doesn’t have to be an issue in your marriage; just put it in its place and you’ll see.

I have a problem. It’s a fairly serious problem that I can usually find lingering in my life to some degree, and I can never seem to get rid of it completely. Although at times it does seem to subside and leave me in peace, most of the time it’s there, making my life so much less than it could be. The problem is focus; more specifically, keeping my focus on God.

Although I write this blog each week and often talk about my relationship with God as if I’m some kind of super-spiritual person, that is definitely not the reality. Yes, I do have a relationship with God and my base level of love and devotion to Him is probably above average if you consider all of the people in the world who call themselves Christians. But my life is still far from what God wants it to be.

That’s because I have a hard time focusing on the things that God finds important. Even in the times that I feel closest to Him, I still seem to get so easily distracted by things of this world. My day-to-day life is centered on me. What am I going to do today? What do I need to get done? How am I going to make this day more enjoyable for myself?

Now, don’t get me wrong; I am kind to people and I do things for others often enough. But it’s all mostly minor stuff that doesn’t take too much of my time and effort. My first priority most of the time is me. And while there is definitely a certain merit to taking care of yourself first so that you can then give more to others, there is no excuse at all for putting yourself before God. He longs to be the first priority in your life, above anything else. The great thing about it is that when you do put Him first, your life is transformed! I’ve experienced it once or twice in my journey so far, and I can tell you for certain that life lived in any other way is simply not comparable.

So why do I falter? Why do I lose my focus on God? Well, to put it simply, life gets in the way. That’s no excuse, of course, just an explanation. I get caught up in the things going on in my own life, caught up in my business and my to-do list. The fact is, I’m a human and I was born on a very distracting planet called Earth. But God calls us to be so much more; He calls His children to be in this world but not of it. As a Christian, this is one thing I think I will probably have to work on as long as I’m here. Sometimes, I just need a reminder that this is not my home. Heaven is my home, where I will be with God forever, and I need to remember to store up treasures there, not here.

The word “treasures” can mean many things. To me, one of the biggest treasures is leisure time. I am happiest when I have plenty of time to relax and do what I want. The funny thing is, the more leisure time I have the more I want. I start to feel lazy and unmotivated, and every little thing I have to do becomes a chore. Pretty soon, I want all of my time to be leisure time. I don’t want to do anything!

If you think about it, this actually makes a lot of sense. I’m storing up treasure (leisure time) on earth and it only satisfies me temporarily because it is temporary. Life on earth doesn’t last forever. And nothing on earth can satisfy us the way that God can. He is the only source of true, everlasting satisfaction.

The same principle can apply to money, possessions, food, comforts, achievements… even relationships! It applies to everything and anything that we “collect” in this life. They may satisfy us in the short term, but pretty soon we want more. On the other hand, God is quite the opposite—He satisfies us completely for as long as we continue to look to Him for our joy.

So what is to be done about this problem of mine?

It’s rather simple, actually; I need to put God first. I need to make Him the first and last thing I think about each day. I need to make time to read His word and pray to Him throughout the day. I need to ask myself, “What would Jesus do?” in all situations. I need to say “yes” to opportunities He puts in my path to be His hands and feet in this world. I need to go to church consistently to learn as much about Him as I can, and I need to worship Him wholeheartedly when I’m there. I need to be present and open with my small group, the group of girls who God put in my life so that we can support each other in our walks with Him. These are all things that I need to do, not out of obligation or a legalistic checklist approach to God, but because they are all part of seeking Him. And I want to seek Him with all of my heart, because I love Him and He loves me and He has put that desire in my heart. Most of all, I know what life is like when I seek Him, and I miss it.

To all my non-Christian readers, I ask you this; do you dare find out what a difference Jesus can make in your life?

To my fellow believers: is God sitting in His rightful place in your life? Either way, there’s always room for growth.

For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been reading through a book called “The Case for Faith” by Lee Strobel. It was lent to me by a mentor of mine when I talked to her about some doubts about God that I was struggling with. Ever since I first opened this book, it has been an amazing resource for answers and reassurance about my beliefs, and I wanted to share this gift with my blog readers.

Before I go into that, though, I want to touch on a few other things. First of all, it’s okay to have doubts about God. Even as a lifelong Christian, I sometimes question whether I’m really right about my views on faith. The key is in what you do with those doubts; whether you let them take over, or whether you take them to God and ask for answers. God is amazing because despite the fact that He is so vast and powerful, He is eager to help us through our doubts. In fact, He promises that we will find Him when we seek Him with all of our hearts.

Second of all, I firmly believe that those who do not know Jesus will see that He is the truth if they come searching with open and honest minds. Whether you are coming from another faith system, have no faith, or have not yet decided; I know that Jesus wants to meet you. My biggest prayer for the world is that people would let go of their biases and search for the truth with honest hearts and minds, because if they did, they would find the savior of the world. That is what I did a few weeks ago, when I was honest about my doubts and decided to see if God could convince me. It is with great joy and humility that I tell you this— He answered me loud and clear.

The book “The Case for Faith” is actually sort of a follow-up to another book that Strobel wrote called “The Case for Christ.” I decided to read “The Case for Faith” first, however, because I felt that I needed to be sure of my belief in God before I could be sure of my belief in Jesus. After reading through about half of the book so far, however, I am already reassured of both.

The book is about a journalist who investigates some of the toughest objections that people have to Christianity. He interviews scholars from several fields to ask them difficult questions about their faith in Jesus, ranging from why God permits suffering to how miracles can be true if they contradict science. Through the eight interviews he conducts and records in this book, Strobel emerges with a very strong case for faith in God.

One of the points that struck me the most was regarding the question of how Christianity can honestly claim to be the only true religion. I used to question the likelihood that I chose the “right” faith system out of all of the other options out there. I feared for the possibility that I was wrong, and that by the time I died and figured it out, it would be too late. This book helped me out a lot by addressing these concerns.

A key point used to address this concern was that the truth is not always pleasant. The ideal values in today’s world are all about peace, tolerance, and acceptance. I think all of those are important values, but I have to disagree when they are used to maintain that there are no universal truths. Torturing a baby is always wrong, no matter the when, where, or why. That is a universal truth. Even if a person’s religion condoned it or it was an important part of a person’s culture, it would still be wrong. The fact is that there are some things that are universally wrong or right, whether that is a politically correct thing to say or not. Asserting that Jesus is the only way to heaven is not arrogant, especially if it turns out to be the truth; it is, however, unpleasant to hear if you do not believe it. But just because you don’t believe in a universal truth doesn’t mean that it’s untrue—that’s what makes it a universal truth; not believing in it just makes you wrong.

So perhaps it isn’t all that unreasonable to claim that one’s belief system is the only true faith, but what gives Christianity that right? A claim of that magnitude certainly requires some proof. Fortunately, “The Case for Faith” does not neglect to provide it. However… I’m not going to tell you any more about it. No, I want you to find out what evidence there is for yourself. This is partly because I am afraid I would not do it justice, but mostly because I think that reading through this book is a journey that will not lead you wrong.

That all being said, I feel that I must throw in a disclaimer here: this book is not the Bible, and it is written by a person, so is therefore imperfect. I do not want you to think that this book is the answer to everything you are searching for. It’s a book, not God. Which brings me to my final point… Jesus is the key to all of this. You can read books, do research, talk to people, and think all you want, but if you don’t give Jesus a chance to speak for Himself, than everything would have been a waste. Jesus is a real person, historically documented and all. His claims to be God, His miracles provided as proof, and His resurrection are all well-documented too, and if you give the evidence the benefit of the doubt and try to talk to Him, then I think you’d like what you find.

So, do you have the courage to seek Him? Are you willing to check out this side of the story, to examine the evidence? Will you call out to Him, expecting an answer?

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13

I have a theory about people, myself included; it’s that people don’t grow up. More specifically, there is never a time when a person can say that they are fully matured, that they are done growing up. Sure, typically as people age from childhood to adulthood their bodies grow bigger and stronger, their minds grow sharper and more capable, and their emotions grow more mature and defined. But no matter how long people live, it seems, they still always have some growing to do.

One example that comes to mind is a certain elderly woman that I know. At the ripe age of 89, this woman seems to still have the attitude of a twelve-year-old girl. I don’t know if she was always like this, or if she regressed into this attitude as she aged, but I do know that she behaves this way on a regular basis now. What I mean by “twelve-year-old girl” behavior is essentially the eye-rolling, “I’m-always-right,” snotty attitude that she constantly exudes. She loves to pick fights with anybody who will listen, and she has no qualms about putting you down to get her point across whether you are a complete stranger or her own daughter. Of course, I see right through this behavior to the insecurity underneath, the insecurity that most twelve-year-old girls are still struggling with. I understand that this old woman is not just a mean person, but that she is struggling to prove her value to herself and the people around her. Because of that, I say all of this with no judgment, but with a sense of understanding and curiosity about the way that humans work. Yes, this woman is 89 but she seems to have never fully grown up. And let me tell you—she is not the only one!

About a week ago, my house had a bee infestation on the outside and we had to call in some bee experts to take care of it. One morning shortly after, there were some men working on the roof right outside my window, apparently fixing some problem related to the bee issue. I was woken up by a noise that sounded like somebody sawing through the roof, and looked out my window to see them working a few feet away. Even when they stopped sawing through the roof (or whatever they were doing) they continued to make a lot of noise by talking very loudly, including a bold use of profanity. Needless to say, my curiosity got the better of me and I sat around to listen to the conversation.

It was surprisingly interesting, because one of the men seemed very upset over a mistake he had apparently made. That’s not to say that I was enjoying his frustration by any means, but I found it fascinating to see how, well… childish he was acting. He kept saying things like “I did everything I was supposed to and I still made a mistake, so I guess I shouldn’t be in this business,” and “I can’t do anything right no matter how hard I try.” Basically, he was behaving a bit dramatically and immaturely about his problems. Meanwhile, his working partner kept trying to tell him not to take it so hard, saying that everybody makes mistakes and that he just needed to learn from them. Overall, it was a pretty strange conversation to overhear. Why? Because adults aren’t supposed to let their emotions get out of control or act immaturely; they’re supposed to be sophisticated, wise, and well… adult! Right?

I’m starting to think not. The older I get and the more “adult” experiences I go through, the more I realize that adults really aren’t that much different than kids. In fact, I think what it all comes down to is that we’re all just big kids in adult bodies, with a whole lot more responsibility. That’s the true difference, isn’t it—the fact that we have more responsibilities (and greater abilities to handle them) than we did when we were kids? At least that’s what it seems like to me.

For a long time, I’ve been waiting. I’ve been waiting to grow up, waiting until I reach that level of grown-up-ness that makes me a fully empowered individual. When I was younger, it was all about getting to high school, the time of true independence! High-schoolers were cool and mature—practically adults in my eyes!—and I couldn’t wait to be one. But once I got to high school, I realized that there were a few too many limitations. I still felt like a child, and I wanted to be truly independent. So then my focus turned to graduation. Graduation meant I would be free and I’d never be forced to go to school against my will again. Or, once again, so I thought. Once I graduated and was officially done with high school, I realized that I still wasn’t a true adult. I had limitations to my freedom. So I set my sights a little higher, and it became all about turning 18. By that time I could drive and I had a lot of freedom already, but turning the official age of adulthood would mean that I could truly do whatever I wanted. Right? No, actually, I was wrong again. Because once I turned 18, I realized that I still had to live with my parents and was thus still practically a child. When would it end?! Well, a few months later, I hoped. Because that was the real deal, the truly most adult and independent milestone imaginable: college.

College meant moving out and moving in to my own new dorm room. It meant being free to choose my own classes and do as well or as poorly as I saw fit. It meant being able to do whatever I wanted at all! Except that, well, it didn’t. Because I still had one adult experience in mind that I wanted very badly but had not yet attained. And that, of course, was marriage.

I thought that marriage would change everything. I thought that I would finally be an indisputable adult, as mature and responsible and grown up as anybody else out there. And when my wedding day finally came and went, I felt quite satisfied with myself. I was officially grown up. Until, yet again, I realized that I wasn’t. Because I am still living with my parents, and I am still not fully independent, and to be honest I just don’t feel grown up yet, because I’m not ready to handle everything on my own! And that was when I started to notice something in other so-called grown-ups, and I started to understand the truth. You see, no matter how many responsibilities I gain and milestones I reach, I will still always have so much growing up to do. And, as I’ve noticed, so does everybody else.

For now, I think it’s best to just love the age that I am, in all senses of the word. I have to love my literal, physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual age for what it is right now, because otherwise I’ll never stop to enjoy it. I have to realize that I will still act like a child sometimes because I am still a child in some ways—we all are! But I also have to never stop growing, maturing, and becoming a stronger person. Becoming stagnant in your age never seems to lead anywhere good, after all. I guess what I am trying to say is this; never stop growing, but never grow up—because you can’t. Most importantly, don’t put too much stock in your age, because it truly is just a number. Wisdom and maturity can come from anybody, no matter how “grown-up” they are, and growing is still possible at any age.

I love Christmas. It is one of my favorite times of the year, and definitely in my top three as far as holidays go. I love the songs, the hot apple cider and hot chocolate, the Santa hats, and most of all, the fun of gift giving. I have such a good time finding the perfect presents for my loved ones and keeping the secret until Christmas morning, when they finally get opened. And of course, I always enjoy wrapping them in misleading ways, like putting a tiny present in a huge box or putting the present in a box filled with heavy things so that the weight is totally off. Then the gift is even more surprising, and we can all get a few laughs out of it! Oh yes, I definitely think that giving gifts is one of my favorite parts of Christmas.

This actually makes sense, because as some people say, giving is the true meaning of Christmas. And in a way, they’re right. Christmas is a time to celebrate the greatest gift that humankind has ever received. It’s a time to celebrate that gift and give thanks for it, especially by giving to others. Christmas is a reminder that we should be doing more for the people in need around us, because when Jesus saw our needs, He came to Earth to serve us and save us. We are inspired to do the same! Or at least we should be.

For some people, of course, Christmas is not about Jesus at all. It may be about giving, or love, or being with friends and family. It may even be about getting presents. And it seems that many celebrate Christmas simply for the novelty; it has become an American cultural tradition, characterized by Santa Claus and his 9 magical reindeer, and families want to celebrate it because it is part of being American! But despite all of these differing reasons that people celebrate Christmas, the truth is still there. Christmas is a celebration of Christ. Well, at least that’s what it is supposed to be.

To be honest, I have a real problem with people who take Jesus’ holiday and turn it into something else. People who don’t even care about, know, or follow Jesus have taken the holiday and used it for their own purposes. It’s not that I think that non-Christians shouldn’t be allowed to celebrate Christmas; it’s just that I think it’s offensive that they don’t recognize it for its true purpose. It would be like if I, a non-Jewish person, celebrated Hanukkah by dressing up as Santa Claus for eight days and singing songs like “All I Want For Hanukkah Is You,” without ever addressing the reasons why Hanukkah is celebrated. These things are no more reflections of the true meaning of Christmas than they are reflections of the purpose of Hanukkah. And when Santa and catchy Christmas songs completely mask the true meaning of Christmas, that’s when it becomes a problem for me.

That all being said, Christmas is actually not a sacred time of the year. It is not the actual day of Jesus’ birth, first of all. It is just a day that was chosen to celebrate it. Second of all, it has become a very commercialized, American holiday. For many people, it is about family, love, giving, gifts, or other things completely unrelated to Jesus. And people have a right to celebrate whatever holidays they want in whatever ways they want, no matter if it annoys me or not. But that’s actually okay, because like I said, Christmas is not really anything that special in and of itself.

It doesn’t matter to me what day of the year is singled out to celebrate Jesus’ birth. I honestly don’t even need a special day to celebrate it! It’s something that those who follow Him celebrate every day of their lives, just by being who they are. By being the children of God, by living as new creations because of the work that Jesus did, all of His followers are celebrating the fact that He came to Earth to save us every day. So we don’t need a special day to celebrate that. But of course, it doesn’t hurt to have one!

For me, Christmas is one of my favorite holidays. It is a reminder to the world about what Jesus did, and I personal reminder to me as well. And it is with that knowledge that I celebrate it just as any other American might; with Santa Clause, catchy Christmas songs, time with family and friends, and gift-giving. There is nothing wrong with that, because I still know that the greatest part of Christmas is remembering and celebrating Jesus’ invasion of our planet so many years ago. I can keep that true meaning of Christmas in my heart and mind, and still enjoy the other stuff for what it is. Christmas is fun, and I wouldn’t want that to change!

This Christmas, I hope that you and your family and friends enjoy the holiday. I hope that you have fun giving and receiving gifts, drinking hot chocolate, listening to your favorite holiday songs, and doing whatever else you enjoy doing at this time of the year. Most of all, I hope that you reflect on or discover for yourself what Jesus did for you, because He loves you beyond understanding. Even if you don’t celebrate Christmas, I hope that you can open your heart and mind to Jesus this year. He is waiting for you with His arms wide open.

Happy birthday, my king.