Merry Christmas!

Ah the holiest night of nights, Christmas Eve, the birth of out Lord Jesus is here! The days leading up to it were busy ones, filled with Christmas shopping, cooking and baking delicious treats to suit the season and cleaning the house. Obviously there is a lot of preparing and work that goes into the holiday season.

Sometimes in the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season we do so much preparing and getting ready, that we seem to lose what is most important. We prepare the house, prepare foods and treats, we prepare the Christmas tree with presents and toys. These are all very good, but amidst these preparations, we all seem to forget about one very important preparation that needs to be made.

We need to prepare our hearts for the Lord’s coming. We read it in books. We hear it preached in church on Sunday. We also hear John the Baptist’s message, “Prepare the Way of the Lord!” Now at the time it may seem like an easy task, but soon it gets overlooked by the many other preparations that we begin to make.

Preparing our hearts for Jesus’ coming is not an easy task. Maybe we could start by taking time out of our lives to sit in silence and ask Jesus to prepare us for his birth. Make a morning offer! In this way we will be able to appreciate our Lord’s coming and love Him each day more and more.

A Merry Christmas Everyone!

Snow!!!

This Saturday my city of West Allis was blessed with our first snowfall of the winter season! To tell you the truth, I was pretty excited. My brothers and sister and I couldn't wait to get outside, have a massive snowball fight, which I'm sorry to say I lost, and build a snowman throughout the afternoon.

I love the snow, but sadly there are some that do not. For some people, snow is only seen as work, as just another thing that needs to get done. To them, snow is a hassle, but to me it is a blessing. People may say, "Snow is an annoyance. What good can it come from it? Its wet and cold and dangerous to drive on." They're only seeing one side of this though.

In my mind, snow brings people together! Think of all the things you can do with it and with others. You can have snowball fights, build snowmen or forts or igloos. These are just some of the things that you can do in the snow with others. Doing these brings people closer together and makes them appreciate each others company. Even shoveling, a dreaded job during the winter season, can become enjoyable when you do it in the company of others!

So no matter how cold or annoying snow may seem, it really does bring people together for the holiday season. Thanks be to God!

A Blessed Advent Everyone!

OOOH!........... AAAH! (A Favorite from my Archives)

I can't think of a better way to spend Independence day than with the ones you love, while watching an amazing display of fireworks! To me, Independence day is a great chance to celebrate our country's becoming it's own nation, and also gives us a chance to reflect on the many blessings that God has given us throughout the years, following the great signing of the Declaration of Independence.

I think that we have a lot to learn from our founding fathers too! Just as they stood up for their beliefs and rights, we should do the same! Although we are not standing up to King George, we are standing up to someone even more difficult to defeat! We are fighting off the devil who is constantly trying to "rule" over our lives and forget our belief in God, just as the colonists fought off King George!

Throughout the revolution one thing was clear. Despite all of the hardships, trials, struggles and disappointments, the Americans still continued to fight and to not give up and eventually purchased for us our freedom! This is also how we should be in battle against the devil! We should remember to finish the race and never give up and trust in God! We should also remember that no matter what, God is always with us and he never will make us fight alone! He will give us the victory!

A blessed Independence Day Everyone! :)

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!!!!!!

Hi everyone! Just wanted to post a quick note and a awesome song for the Christmas season! Hope you enjoy it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4FPlNIdQ5A

May you and yours have a blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year!:)

John

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!!!!!!!"

You know it is Christmas time when you see people rushing around last minute for presents in jam packed stores and stressing out about everything they have to get done around the house before visitors arrive. To the world, this is what Christmas is all about.

This is not what Christmas should be about however. Sometimes people fail to realize what the true meaning of Advent and Christmas is. All they know is what the world tells them. They've forgotten the real reason though.

Advent is the time of waiting. We wait for Christ's coming but people often ask,"How can we spend all of our time waiting when there is so much to do?" Christ has an answer for that. This past Sunday the first reading from the Prophet Micah was a message to Bethlehem from the Lord our God. In this reading, God told us that Jesus would "stand firm and shepherd his flock by the strength of the Lord, in the majestic name of the Lord, his God; and they shall remain, for now his greatness shall reach tot he ends of the earth; he shall be peace."

What comforting words! Jesus shall be peace! During the hustle and bustle of this season, God is asking us to take a break from the stresses of shopping and presents and turn to preparing our hearts for His Son's coming, so that He can flood us with His peace. This is what the Lord promised his people when they were in a dark time during Herod's reign and he is still promising these same words today! Peace is coming. This is just what we need.

A Blessed Christmas Everybody!:)

OOOH!........... AAAH! (A Favorite from my Archives)

I can't think of a better way to spend Independence day than with the ones you love, while watching an amazing display of fireworks! To me, Independence day is a great chance to celebrate our country's becoming it's own nation, and also gives us a chance to reflect on the many blessings that God has given us throughout the years, following the great signing of the Declaration of Independence.

I think that we have a lot to learn from our founding fathers too! Just as they stood up for their beliefs and rights, we should do the same! Although we are not standing up to King George, we are standing up to someone even more difficult to defeat! We are fighting off the devil who is constantly trying to "rule" over our lives and forget our belief in God, just as the colonists fought off King George!

Throughout the revolution one thing was clear. Despite all of the hardships, trials, struggles and disappointments, the Americans still continued to fight and to not give up and eventually purchased for us our freedom! This is also how we should be in battle against the devil! We should remember to finish the race and never give up and trust in God! We should also remember that no matter what, God is always with us and he never will make us fight alone! He will give us the victory!

A blessed Independence Day Everyone! :)