Thursday, December 26, 2002
Christmas Blessings
Well, I admit that I haven't picked up my Bible since I got really sick on Monday. And I definitely haven't been reflecting on the true meaning of Christmas as I should have, with all the hustle and bustle of Christmas festivities, so even though Christmas is technically over (it's about 1am on Boxing Day as I'm writing this), once I'm done posting here I'm going to spend some quality time with God and reading the Bible.
That said, however, it hasn't been just fun and presents this Christmas either. This Christmas I've truly felt God's blessings in my life, and I want to spend some time right now sharing what I've experienced. I've realized the blessing of having friends with whom I can spend Christmas Eve, eating, talking, playing NHL 2003 and speed Scrabble and mah jong. I've realized the blessing of having parents who not only allow me to invite ten to twenty friends over for Christmas Eve, but spend most of the night cooking for said friends and otherwise making sure everyone is comfortable and having fun.
I've realized the blessing of being able to wake up to open twenty packs of McDonald's hockey cards from my Avalanche stocking with my mother and father.
I've realized the blessing of having friends who know my passions well enough to give me a tape of the Colorado @ Vancouver hockey game (not broadcast in Ontario) in which Joe Sakic scored his 500th goal, and who otherwise feed my hockey and anime mania. I've also realized the blessing of having friends who know my passions well enough to purposefully not feed my mania and try to keep me balanced. And I've felt the immeasurable blessing of friends who see so much more good in me than I see in myself, and who tell me explicitly in acrostic poems or cards.
It's literally awesome to realize how much God has blessed me even though I don't deserve anything. You know a lot of times I talk about God's grace in pretty depressing tones; the emphasis can easily shift to how horrible I am, rather than how great God is in his grace. But this Christmas, I've truly felt humbled and uplifted by recognizing the measure of God's love for me, as sinful and flawed as I am.
"Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise him all creatures here below. Praise him above ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen." ~ Doxology
Well, I admit that I haven't picked up my Bible since I got really sick on Monday. And I definitely haven't been reflecting on the true meaning of Christmas as I should have, with all the hustle and bustle of Christmas festivities, so even though Christmas is technically over (it's about 1am on Boxing Day as I'm writing this), once I'm done posting here I'm going to spend some quality time with God and reading the Bible.
That said, however, it hasn't been just fun and presents this Christmas either. This Christmas I've truly felt God's blessings in my life, and I want to spend some time right now sharing what I've experienced. I've realized the blessing of having friends with whom I can spend Christmas Eve, eating, talking, playing NHL 2003 and speed Scrabble and mah jong. I've realized the blessing of having parents who not only allow me to invite ten to twenty friends over for Christmas Eve, but spend most of the night cooking for said friends and otherwise making sure everyone is comfortable and having fun.
I've realized the blessing of being able to wake up to open twenty packs of McDonald's hockey cards from my Avalanche stocking with my mother and father.
I've realized the blessing of having friends who know my passions well enough to give me a tape of the Colorado @ Vancouver hockey game (not broadcast in Ontario) in which Joe Sakic scored his 500th goal, and who otherwise feed my hockey and anime mania. I've also realized the blessing of having friends who know my passions well enough to purposefully not feed my mania and try to keep me balanced. And I've felt the immeasurable blessing of friends who see so much more good in me than I see in myself, and who tell me explicitly in acrostic poems or cards.
It's literally awesome to realize how much God has blessed me even though I don't deserve anything. You know a lot of times I talk about God's grace in pretty depressing tones; the emphasis can easily shift to how horrible I am, rather than how great God is in his grace. But this Christmas, I've truly felt humbled and uplifted by recognizing the measure of God's love for me, as sinful and flawed as I am.
"Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise him all creatures here below. Praise him above ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen." ~ Doxology
