"We don't want our conversations with people to center around our new car or curtains"....I read this on Matt's blog(from his wife, Ginny) and this statement resonated with me. I want my conversations to be so much deeper than this...and although there are times we must talk about getting a new car...or decorating our home, it should not be the heart beat of our lives...at least I don't want it to be. I hope to be the kind of person who speaks about the Lord and what He has done. I desire to be a woman who builds relationships with others to encourage them in the Lord...to build others in the faith and to grow in my faith through other's help and teaching...to walk along others to learn from their wisdom and be teachable in my spirit. I would love for my speech to be seasoned with grace and used by God in other people's lives. I want to be more about learning how God is working in other's lives instead of learning about the latest decorating ideas. I love being a homemaker and I do find joy in serving in my home....preparing meals, making my home a warm and inviting place, etc...but I pray my priority would be worshiping God with my whole heart and investing in people's lives--loving those around me. I have been convicted lately that I have not been this kind of person.

I have had such a heavy conviction on my heart that to write anything about the Lord on my blog lately seems somewhat hypocritical. I don't want to be writing about how much I love the Lord and then be Christmas shopping online the next minute...finding greater joy in that. Does that make sense? It seems this time of year can make me so busy doing and doing that I can easily lose sight of what really matters. We have done all the things we normally do with our children...the Christ entered Christmas activities and all...but, sometimes I feel my heart is not engaged in true worship like it should be. There are so many distractions...and I have been guilty of becoming distracted.

So, at Christmas, I have been thinking through some things. We spend a lot of time on temporal things this time of year and I have to admit, I enjoy some of it. Sometimes, though, I feel as if I enjoy it too much or find joy in these earthly treasures that will pass away. I know they will pass away, but I still seem to be enticed by the sparkle and the glitter at times.

Finding joy in the things of this world is a struggle for me...and I am fighting it.

I have found some quotes to help me refocus my heart and mind on the person of Christ. These have been a great reminder to me that Christmas is about celebrating my Savior...it is a holiday celebrating His deity, His magnificence, His glory in all of creation--heaven and earth.

John MacArthur says this in Truth For Today:

This baby who was to be born would be God Himself in human form. If we could condense all the truths of Christmas into only three words, these words would be "God With Us". We tend to focus our attention at Christmas on the infancy of Christ. The greater truth of the holiday is His deity. More astonishing than a baby in the manger is the truth that this promised baby is the omnipotent Creator of the heavens and the earth.

“On this side of eternity, Christmas is still a promise. Yes, the Savior has come, and with him peace on earth, but the story is not finished. Yes, there is peace in our hearts, but we long for peace in our world.

Every Christmas is still ‘a turning of the page’ until Jesus returns. Every December 25 marks another year that draws us closer to the fulfillment of the ages, that draws us closer to . . . home.

When we realize that Jesus is the answer to our deepest longing, even Christmas longings, each Advent brings us closer to his glorious return to earth. When we see him as he is, King of kings and Lord of lords, that will be ‘Christmas’ indeed!”

- Joni Eareckson Tada, “A Christmas Longing” in Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus ed. by Nancy Guthrie (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 2008), 137.
(From Of First Importance)

“To live for yourself is to rob yourself of your own humanity. It is only in living for Christ that we actually begin to become what we were meant to be.”

- Paul David Tripp, A Quest for More (Greensboro, NC; New Growth Press, 2007), 100.
(From Of First Importance)

There is an encouraging lesson to draw from this story (you can read the whole story here). Joseph was a just man (Matt. 1:19) and assessed the situation in the integrity of his heart, and, I assume, with a deep trust in God. He made the best decision regarding Mary that he could. It turned out to be the wrong one. But God, full of mercy, intervened. He gently corrected Joseph and gave him the guidance he needed.

He will do the same for us as we trust him.

Another quote from John MacArthur from Truth For Today:

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. Mark 10:45

Here's a side to the Christmas story that isn't often told: Those soft little hands, fashioned by the Holy Spirit in Mary's womb, were made so that nails might be driven through them...Jesus was born to die. Don't think I'm trying to put a damper on Your Christmas spirit--Far from it--For Jesus' death, though devised and carried out by men with evil intentions, was in no sense a tragedy. In fact, it represents the greatest victory ever.

I pay all of us will find Christ in this Christmas. But this is not just a wishful statement...it will take effort on our part. This world fights for our attention and our own selfish wicked hearts like it more than we should! I think I see my own wickedness at this time of year more than any other. God, please forgive me and make my heart more like yours. Amen.