It's the "most wonderful time of the year" for many people. The Christmas season....
I have always loved this time of year. Seeing Christmas decorations on display, hearing Christmas music playing, there's usually yummy specialty coffee or hot chocolate you can sip on as you look around. Fires are glowing in fireplaces. Generosity seems more in the air, or maybe it just feels more there in the heart.
Here in Ethiopia, there's been no change in weather of course or decorations displayed. The only thing indicating here that Christmas is approaching is my calendar and a copy of the plane tickets home for the holidays sitting in my email inbox. Those are making me smile by the way.
I've been thinking in recent days what I have to be thankful for ... as Thanksgiving came and went ... then about gifts I'd love to get and give ... then I was thinking about another year ending ... What were the greatest things I learned from God in 2017... lots of things have been on my mind.
I think what God has been trying to say to me as Christmas approaches and this year finishes is that I'm still not experiencing relationship with Him like I can. He's been saying to me ... there's more to me than you now know Holly Garrett. Unwrap me. KNOW me. Come near. I'm waiting....
Unimaginable and unthinkable and undeserving invitation. And He offers Himself to each of us in that way.
And I'm convinced, He remains the biggest Gift offered to us and the biggest one we have yet to unwrap.
Without a doubt, the greatest gift ever given in the history of the world was / is Jesus Christ, God's Son. We were separated from God, unable to approach Him. But because of Jesus, He gave us a way to be with Him again.
In an unimaginable move, God gave us part of Himself, His Son, to take our sin on himself and to pay for it. Now, with Jesus, we can approach God with confidence that we can know Him, love Him in amazing relationship.
The holidays are hard for many people I think. But, there's a gift that waits to be unwrapped... one that can meet every need, fill every void.
But again, the gift of Emmanuel, God with us, remains wrapped up and un-opened by most. Or just a little bit opened.
I think this is because of many reasons...
I think one reason is that the wrong advertising has gone out about this gift. The church today should be the main advertisers of the gift. But churches don't speak of this gift anymore. The gospel is not being shared. In other places, maybe the gift is spoken of, but the effects of that gift is not being seen, so it's an empty message without evidence that it actually does something.
Sometimes the gift of Jesus and what is said about Him is false or fake or weird. People don't understand. Why have we made it complicated?
Other gifts distract us in life too. Maybe a good relationship or good job or stuff distracts us from the gift of relationship with God made possible by Jesus. So the gift remains unwrapped.
Or we get distracted by what we think we're lacking... . Maybe a great job, or a marriage, or a family. Satan tricks us in this as well. Because all we need, God himself, is there. The biggest most amazing gift is there, offered to us. The author and giver of life, the source of peace, joy, security, unconditional love, is there. Waiting to be embraced.
I think maybe others of us only open this gift a little. We open it at the beginning of the day and the end of the day. We say Good Morning God. And Good Night God. But what about all the day in between. I believe God wants us to be with Him ALL DAY, enjoy fellowship with Him all day, grabbing moments with Him. Thinking of Him, talking to Him, listening for Him, looking for Him, seeking Him because we love Him. That's what love does to someone. If a husband only says good morning and good night to his wife and nothing else, is this love? Or if best friends do this, there's a whole lot of life missed. I believe God wants us to open up our relationship so much more. He's ready and waiting.
Some people only want to see the hand of God. Only experience that part of relationship with Him... His blessings, His healing. His provision. I believe He loves to bless us and surprise us and give us things. But He wants us to seek His face, His heart, all of Him, not just what He is able to do for us. There's more than His hand to be experience.
Others miss an entire life time without God. They maybe learn of Him early, maybe in church when they're a kid. Then they go their own way for years and at the end of their lives, maybe right before they die, they connect then. Somewhere someone once said that on a tombstone you see two numbers, the birthdate and the date of death. The most important thing on a tombstone is the dash in between the numbers. What did they do with their dash? What did they do with their time on earth? I believe God wants our entire dash. He offers us Himself, to be with us in all of life, if we open up this gift.
This Christmas season and into the new year 2018, I want to unwrap God. To know Him in a way I haven't before. Where I'm not just with Him in the morning and in the last minutes of my night. But all day, every day, I want to take all moments to be with Him. That He's not just my first look but all day I'm experiencing life with Him!
May all of us this Christmas season remember the greatest gift we have is God himself. We can know him, love Him, find our life's purpose in Him because of Jesus.
Unwrap Him. Know Him. He's ready...
Jeremiah 29:13
If you seek me with all of your heart, you will find me
John 3:16-17
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in His name shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save it through Him.
Luke 2:10-11
Behold I bring you tidings of great joy that will be for all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord.
Hebrews 4:16-17
Therefore, since we have a great high priest...Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess....let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Prayer Requests
-Three weeks remain until I travel home for Christmas and the New Year holiday, please pray I can finish the semester strong at both schools.
-Please pray for my travel home and for safety and that I will have a good holiday time with my family as we celebrate Jesus and the New Year, 2018.
-As I spend time with key students in these final weeks before a short break, pray I can be used by God in their lives to toss seeds of truth into their lives, I'm honored and humbled to be in the lives of so many.
Blessed Holidays to You and know I appreciate each of you so much. Let me know how I can pray for you!
I have always loved this time of year. Seeing Christmas decorations on display, hearing Christmas music playing, there's usually yummy specialty coffee or hot chocolate you can sip on as you look around. Fires are glowing in fireplaces. Generosity seems more in the air, or maybe it just feels more there in the heart.
I've been thinking in recent days what I have to be thankful for ... as Thanksgiving came and went ... then about gifts I'd love to get and give ... then I was thinking about another year ending ... What were the greatest things I learned from God in 2017... lots of things have been on my mind.
I think what God has been trying to say to me as Christmas approaches and this year finishes is that I'm still not experiencing relationship with Him like I can. He's been saying to me ... there's more to me than you now know Holly Garrett. Unwrap me. KNOW me. Come near. I'm waiting....
Unimaginable and unthinkable and undeserving invitation. And He offers Himself to each of us in that way.
And I'm convinced, He remains the biggest Gift offered to us and the biggest one we have yet to unwrap.
Without a doubt, the greatest gift ever given in the history of the world was / is Jesus Christ, God's Son. We were separated from God, unable to approach Him. But because of Jesus, He gave us a way to be with Him again.
In an unimaginable move, God gave us part of Himself, His Son, to take our sin on himself and to pay for it. Now, with Jesus, we can approach God with confidence that we can know Him, love Him in amazing relationship.
The holidays are hard for many people I think. But, there's a gift that waits to be unwrapped... one that can meet every need, fill every void.
But again, the gift of Emmanuel, God with us, remains wrapped up and un-opened by most. Or just a little bit opened.
I think this is because of many reasons...
I think one reason is that the wrong advertising has gone out about this gift. The church today should be the main advertisers of the gift. But churches don't speak of this gift anymore. The gospel is not being shared. In other places, maybe the gift is spoken of, but the effects of that gift is not being seen, so it's an empty message without evidence that it actually does something.
Sometimes the gift of Jesus and what is said about Him is false or fake or weird. People don't understand. Why have we made it complicated?
Other gifts distract us in life too. Maybe a good relationship or good job or stuff distracts us from the gift of relationship with God made possible by Jesus. So the gift remains unwrapped.
Or we get distracted by what we think we're lacking... . Maybe a great job, or a marriage, or a family. Satan tricks us in this as well. Because all we need, God himself, is there. The biggest most amazing gift is there, offered to us. The author and giver of life, the source of peace, joy, security, unconditional love, is there. Waiting to be embraced.
I think maybe others of us only open this gift a little. We open it at the beginning of the day and the end of the day. We say Good Morning God. And Good Night God. But what about all the day in between. I believe God wants us to be with Him ALL DAY, enjoy fellowship with Him all day, grabbing moments with Him. Thinking of Him, talking to Him, listening for Him, looking for Him, seeking Him because we love Him. That's what love does to someone. If a husband only says good morning and good night to his wife and nothing else, is this love? Or if best friends do this, there's a whole lot of life missed. I believe God wants us to open up our relationship so much more. He's ready and waiting.
Some people only want to see the hand of God. Only experience that part of relationship with Him... His blessings, His healing. His provision. I believe He loves to bless us and surprise us and give us things. But He wants us to seek His face, His heart, all of Him, not just what He is able to do for us. There's more than His hand to be experience.
Others miss an entire life time without God. They maybe learn of Him early, maybe in church when they're a kid. Then they go their own way for years and at the end of their lives, maybe right before they die, they connect then. Somewhere someone once said that on a tombstone you see two numbers, the birthdate and the date of death. The most important thing on a tombstone is the dash in between the numbers. What did they do with their dash? What did they do with their time on earth? I believe God wants our entire dash. He offers us Himself, to be with us in all of life, if we open up this gift.
This Christmas season and into the new year 2018, I want to unwrap God. To know Him in a way I haven't before. Where I'm not just with Him in the morning and in the last minutes of my night. But all day, every day, I want to take all moments to be with Him. That He's not just my first look but all day I'm experiencing life with Him!
May all of us this Christmas season remember the greatest gift we have is God himself. We can know him, love Him, find our life's purpose in Him because of Jesus.
Unwrap Him. Know Him. He's ready...
Jeremiah 29:13
If you seek me with all of your heart, you will find me
John 3:16-17
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in His name shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save it through Him.
Luke 2:10-11
Behold I bring you tidings of great joy that will be for all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord.
Hebrews 4:16-17
Therefore, since we have a great high priest...Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess....let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Prayer Requests
-Three weeks remain until I travel home for Christmas and the New Year holiday, please pray I can finish the semester strong at both schools.
-Please pray for my travel home and for safety and that I will have a good holiday time with my family as we celebrate Jesus and the New Year, 2018.
-As I spend time with key students in these final weeks before a short break, pray I can be used by God in their lives to toss seeds of truth into their lives, I'm honored and humbled to be in the lives of so many.
Blessed Holidays to You and know I appreciate each of you so much. Let me know how I can pray for you!
