Christmas - A Season of Hope

For my whole life Christmas has been my favorite time of the year. I'm sure for many different reasons over the years. As a child, obviously I loved the Christmas season because of the presents and all of the normal reasons kids love Christmas. As a young man I really began to enjoy the giving side of Christmas. I enjoyed the hunt for that perfect gift. And now as a Father I enjoy making Christmas special for my two boys Tyler (6) and Colt (17 months). And to be quite honest all of those things are still very special to me, but I think the main reason I love Christmas is that it's a time of HOPE. For those who know Christ and have a relationship with Him have the Hope to one day see Him face to face because of His birth, Death and Resurrection... For those who do not know Christ, they have the Hope that whatever their life has been up to this point really doesn't matter because Jesus came in the form of a baby and lived a sinless life and then died for our sin and offers life and life to the full... For those who's life may not quite be going as they hoped it would, we all have the hope for a better tomorrow. It's a season of HOPE. So from me to you, Merry Christmas... and may you and yours experience the HOPE of what Christmas is all about!

Destroy Nightmares Once and For All, Thank You for The Holy Spirit & Let Me See An Angel...

One of my favorite times of the day, if not my favorite time of the day, is bed time prayers with my 6 year old Tyler. I live in anticipation of what he might pray for next. His prayers have been as basic as, "Thank you for this day, help us to sleep good, Amen...", but also can get quite detailed and creative. Lately he has been praying a few things that I find extra special. He will pray, "God, let no one have any nightmares, Destroy nightmares once and for all, and let them never, ever, ever come back a live again..." I really love that one, he is also fond of thanking God for everything, and lately he has been thanking God for the Holy Spirit and the world that God has given us and all our blessings, which blows my mind that he comprehends all that God has done for us. He has even begun ending his prayers with, " and God please help me see an Angel..." I say all this to say that I am inspired by the prayers of my 6 year old son who genuinely loves Jesus. I see such an innocence in his prayers but coupled with that innocence is a deep sense of belief, a deep sense of connectivity with the Father, a deep sense of belonging to God. When he says his bed time prayers, it's not the ramblings of a kid saying a routine night time prayer, he's communicating with a God who is very attentive to his words... I want to pray that way. I want to talk to God with such an awareness of who He is but also with a deep sense of faith and connectivity with God knowing that he wants to hear my heart not some routine, churchy, eloquent prayer that would impress a theologian, just the raw realness of my deepest fears, deepest regrets, deepest needs, and deepest emotions. If you're reading this, I would challenge you to lay your heart open before the God who loves you and hears you. Whether you're praying for destroyed nightmares, seeing an angel or thanking God for his Holy Spirit, he will hear you and as you draw near to Him He will draw near to you... Be blessed!