Are you in the "mood" for Christmas?

(As you might have noticed I've been occupied else where. As I've said in my previous post it's the season to be busy!)

Over the past couple of weeks I've... (I had to stop writing this post because my son was sick, and needed me to hold him, and now a couple days later I don't remember in which direction my thoughts where going!)

Let me start again!

Are you in the "mood" for Christmas? Do you like Christmas? What is your reason for celebrating Christmas? There are so many answers to these questions, and I'm sure most everyone would have a different answer to each question. The other night while doing some Christmas shopping I over heard a couple of old ladies complaining about the hustle and bustle while they where trying to shop in WalMart. One old lady said something as I passed by that really struck home to me. She said to her friend that the problem is that we allow ourselves to get sucked into the bustle, and we forget what it's all about. (That was a little bit paraphrased!)

This statement is so true. We allow the commercial industry to dictate what we must do to have a fun, festive and happy Christmas season. Yet, there is truly only one thing that can make us happy, and that is Jesus Christ! A personal, intimate relationship with Jesus Christ is the most satisfying thing you'll ever experience. It helps you have peace in turmoil, joy during pain, love through hate, faith while in despair, and endurance through the tough times. He is always there to lean on in every situation!

Yesterday we where able to go Christmas shopping in Corner Brook yesterday (Saturday), by ourselves. (Just the wife and I.) We left the 3 children at a friends house and went shopping all day! It was most relaxing. We were definitly tired after, but we had a large amount of gifts, and a large amount of fun! Why am I saying this? How many people really have fun during this season? How many people really enjoy shopping while about 5,000 other people are too? Not too many, but because of Jesus, and because the children where at a trusted friends house we had nothing to worry about, and just had fun! See, even during the most stressful time of year you can have peace and joy when your trust is in Jesus!

Yours for a peaceful happy Christmas,
Pastor Fred