UNCERTAIN DAYS

Life is uncertain.

One day you can seem to be fine, the next day you can learn you are dying.

One day you can be enjoying coffee with your husband, the next day he can be gone.

One day you can enjoy being a mom, and then suddenly learn your child has a dreaded disease. In just a few short months, you find your arms empty again.

One day you can be employed by a company you have given 25 years to, and the next they can hand you a pink slip.

One day you can live in a nice house, drive a fine car and live the good life. Then with the turn of a bad economy, you can suddenly find yourself living on the street.

Yes, life is uncertain.

None of us are promised tomorrow. In fact, none of us are promised the next second.

But, lest you think this is a terribly morbid blog, CHRISTmas comes to remind us of a few certainties.

Here are a few you can take to the bank.

God is real. God is love. God loves YOU!

The penalty for sin is DEATH. Everyone sins.

Someone MUST pay the penalty. You can either choose to pay it when you die, or you can allow someone else to pay it for you.

JESUS came to pay that debt. He paid a debt He did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not pay.

CHRISTmas is God's ultimate gift to us....the gift of LIFE through JESUS CHRIST.

Our life has a beginning and an end.

We will either die at some point OR we will meet the Lord in the air when He comes to rapture His church [all believers...not a building].

Make no mistake...HE IS COMING AGAIN!!

If this life was all there was, we would be most miserable. But it is not.

CHRISTmas reminds us that the BEST is yet to come!!!!!!!!!!!!

That baby in the manger was our downpayment for a future with God in Heaven.

But remember...that baby...as precious as He was... is NOT still in the manger. Nor is HE on the cross. He is alive!!!!!!!!!!

He offers to you the gift of CHRISTmas....eternal life through Jesus Christ.

As you celebrate CHRISTmas this year with your family, I pray that you will remember that JESUS is the GIFT and I pray that you will receive the greatest gift you've ever received by receiving that GIFT.

Because life is uncertain.

MAKE ROOM FOR BABY

At an event where we sang CHRISTmas carols tonight, one line from one of them really caught my attention. See if you can recall WHICH carol it is from:

"Let every heart prepare Him room".

I thought about how parents...especially mommas....begin almost immediately to plan and prepare for their baby's nursery from the moment they discover they are expecting. I know I did! I knew in my mind exactly what I wanted although I had never actually seen it. And when I found that PERFECT wallpaper, I knew it was THE one!

Our family has welcomed two precious granddaughters in the last 3 years. Each time the big topic of discussion among us females was "how are you going to decorate the nursery?" Oh what fun it was as the girls began to pick out the colors, the bedding, the crib and all the other "essentials" to make it just perfect!

Our daughter had the first baby and as soon as they discovered it was a girl, I was very anxious to see what she had in mind as she HATED pink!! (God DOES have a sense of humor, doesn't He?) She did end up using some pink, albeit NOT baby pink. She is not a "fru-fru" person, so she opted for geometric shapes in lime green, hot pink and a tiny bit of yellow. She did all the drawing and measuring and it was ADORABLE!! Our son commented upon seeing it that the baby would never sleep because it was SO loud..HAHA!

Then last year came our second grand angel. Our daughter-in-love also began the search for the perfect color scheme and decor. She opted for chocolate brown and pink. Our daughter helped her measure and paint the stripes of hot pink, dark chocolate and milk chocolate. (You can't tell that I'm a chocoholic by the names of the colors, can you?) Our son once again gave his astute observation, stating that he'd be hungry every time he walked in his daughter's room because it looked like neopolitan ice cream!!!

Yes, planning and preparing that nursery is just one of the many aspects of all the anticipation that precedes the arrival of the little bundle of joy. And, today, most babies have the luxury of having their very own room!

Not so with a friend of ours who suddenly found herself expecting baby number 4!! So being the creative soul she is, she utilized a large walk-in closet and fitted the baby bed inside in order to give the baby some measure of solitude and quiet. It became quite the joke after a year or so as people began to ask her if her had "come out of the closet yet?" But, you do whatever works!

A missionary family that our Sunday School class supports lives near Mozambique. Although their accomodations are not primitive in the sense of them living in a grass hut....they are not what most of us enjoy today. It is small and simple by today's standards in America. But it is home to them. They had completed their family of 3 children....or so they thought. Then this week we got a letter from them stating that Baby #4 is on the way!!! Seems God had other plans. I'm wondering where this baby will sleep? Will they plan an elaborate nursery as mommas here do? Or will he/she have to be fitted in the best way possible..possibly in a corner of a sibling's room or maybe even a closet?

For all we do to prepare and "make room" for a coming arrival, how much do we do to make room for Christ in our hearts? Especially this time of year?

I know that personally my calendar is running over with things TO DO. In fact, I was recanting to a friend tonight all that I have TO DO in just the next 5 or 6 days and as I did, I began to feel a sense of panic creeping into my mind, wondering how I would ever get it all done, especially since my mother-in-law was also admitted to the hospital tonight and I do not know where that will lead. Decorating to finish, parties to prepare and cook for, a 2 night event I'm committed to at church, doctors appointments, shopping still to do, CHRISTmas cards to address and mail, CHRISTmas letters to write and send, and the list goes on and on and on..........

And before I know it, CHRISTmas morning will be here and it will all be over. And, as much as I love it ALL...........where do I fit Jesus in the midst of all that activity? Have I made room for Him...or have I been like the innkeepers in Bethlehem and found NO ROOM?

I realized that as I heard and contemplated that little phrase from the CHRISTmas carol tonight that I needed to make a conscious effort to slow down and acknowledge the REASON for all this hustle and bustle. As fun as it is, as much enjoyment as it brings, I must not....I MUST NOT lose sight of the ONE around whom it all revolves. Because if I do, then it has all become a huge waste of time.

As our women's ministry leader reminded us tonight....If we are to give ourselves to anything, let it be these:

GOD....HIS WORD.... and SHARING HIM WITH OTHERS

for in the end...NOTHING ELSE MATTERS!!

For the remainder of this season, will you make a conscious effort to MAKE ROOM IN YOUR HEART FOR JESUS?

I pray that every time you hear the carol, JOY TO THE WORLD, for the rest of December, you will be reminded to

LET YOUR HEART 'PREPARE HIM ROOM'!!