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It happens every year with young children. You get them the things on their wishlist for Christmas, but then later on Christmas morning, you find them not playing with the gift - but the box it came in. 

We are not unlike children. God designed this world and the things he has made to direct us back to the real gift, himself. Unfortunately, mankind would rather ignore the gift of God, and settle for playing with worthless idols instead. Don't just play with the box, the gift of God is far better. 

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Having three young children, especially around the Holidays, can be very chaoitic. But while that's true, I need to remember how quickly this stage flies by - and how much I will miss it. I only get one chance to impact my children, how will I use this time? 

Even Mary, the mother of Jesus, took moments to take in his upbringing and treasure the moments in her heart. We would do well to follow her example, and remember that though our children our not our own and will soon be gone, they are a gift from God not to be taken for granted. 

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"It's A Wonderful Life" is my alltime favorite Christmas movie, and among my favorite movies period. The story climaxes with two expressions concerning George Baily - one a note written by his guardian angel Clarence, "No man is a failure who has friends." The second, a toast from his kid brother Harry, "To my big brother George, the richest man in town!" But what made him a success? What made him rich? Not his net worth, not anything financial in nature, but rather the love that he had from his friends and his family and his newfound faith. 

We must recognize what truly is valuable in this life. It's not about money, and if you love money, you'll end up miserable like Mr. Potter. If you have faith and hope in Christ, and you have been blessed to enjoy the day to day things God has given to us in this life, like a family and friends, then you truly are the richest person in town. 

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I recently started drinking Mushroom Coffee, and it is as bad as you can imagine. It's hard to swallow. I thought about just quiting, but I decided to try and doctor it up with oatmilk and honey and found that is much more enjoyable. I don't taste the rougher things anymore. 

Sadly, many people treat Jesus this way. They don't like his teachings that are hard to swallow, so they just abandon him. Or, for others, they preach a Jesus that's doctored up the way that they want and that they like. But that's not what leads to life. We have to take him exactly as he is. 

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I was at Starbucks the other day when this lady came in wearing a shirt that made me do a double take. It said, "Not aspiring to be humble." Wow...it's one thing to be proud out of ignorance. It's another to be proud by choice. 

Without humility, we cannot love. Without humility, we cannot be transformed. Without humility, we are enemies with God and without grace. Aspire to be humble. 

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Have you ever cleaned underneath your couch? You never know what you might find under there. On the surface your sofa looks clean, but when you dig a little deeper and pull it back - there are all kinds of things hiding beneath the surface. 

If we are not careful, this is the way that we can be spiritually in our lives. On the surface we have the appearance of righteousness and godliness, but deep within, unseen, we are anything but that. It's time that we pulled back the cushions and did some deep cleaning in our lives. 

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I started a program called "Reading Buddy" with a local elementary student. It turns out, he is a wonderful reader that just lacks confidence. With some encouragement, he has already grown tremendously, but more than that, we have grown close to each other. 

This is exactly the kind of relationship Paul & Timothy would have, and the kind of relationship Paul expects the older & younger generation to foster together in the church. Sometimes, younger disciples just need some words of encouragement. And in doing so, we will build lasting relationships that close the generational gap. 

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Hurricanes have devastated Florida, North Carolina, and Tennessee. You absolutely hate to see the destruction and hardship caused to others by these storms. Our prayers go out to all those suffering. 

But even in the midst of so much loss, there has been so much good in response. Christians have banded together to serve others and help those in need. Unity in service have been demonstrated accross the board as together God's people from all over serve those impacted. Sometimes the worst have the potential to bring out the best. 

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Hurricane Helene came through and did some damage to our area, but absolutely nothing compared to other areas of the country. At first, our kids were pretty upset about no power and no tv/internet. But once they learned that that other people were losing their entire homes and communites, that was no longer important. They needed some perspective. 

I think we all do. We can be so entitled, ungrateful, and complain about everything. But if we just gained some perspective, we would learn rather than complain, to be lights, we ought to be grateful. 

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When you become a parent, it's easy to get overstimulated by the end of the day. Constantly being asked questions, touched, etc. Same goes for teachers, btw. I saw a video where a kindergarten teacher was asked a question or had her name said by students to get her attention 627 times! What keeps them from burnout? Why do they do it? Because they love their kids, and love their students. 

It makes you wonder...does God get overstimulated? The short answer is no. Even though his name is envoked millions of times a day, nothing is impossible for God - nor is anything too exhausting. But why does God do it? For the same reasons a parent or teacher would: because he loves his children. So don't be afraid to go to him. Ask. Seek. Knock. 

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