It’s that time of year again– Thanksgiving, Christmas and then the New Year.  If you’re like me, you sometimes get caught up in what needs to get done– in the details of holiday preparation– trying to make it a special time for family and friends.  Do you remember Thanksgiving and Christmas as a child?  Remember how magical it all was?  What made it magical?  I don’t remember many gifts I received or exactly what we ate for dinner (although I do remember Mom made a chocolate pudding pie for dessert each year because she knew it was my favorite).  I remember the people who were there, going to choose and cut down a Christmas tree together as a family, decorating the tree, making Christmas cookies, going caroling and drinking hot cocoa, playing games together, telling family stories and laughing at the table, building a snowman, and watching Christmas movies together.  What made Christmas magical?  For me, it was the family time, the laughter, the smiling people, the relationships.  

Now I know the reason we celebrate Christmas.  I know the story of the Christ child.  And it’s still about relationships, but it’s about God’s love for us, and about relationships with each other.  As you make preparations this holiday season remember the “magic.”  It turns out “magic”is spelled L O V E.  Remember: God loves YOU so much God left heaven and power and glory, and came to earth as a vulnerable infant.  Read Philippians 2:1-18, and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally!

Annie

Today’s reading: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians%202:1-18