Celebrating Jesus

Hi, Swamp Blog Readers!

Merry Christmas! Wow, I can't believe it's already Christmas day. The year has almost completely come and gone, but it wouldn't be complete without a day to celebrate the birthday of Jesus with our friends and family. I know I'm looking forward to spending time with my family today and watching each other open up presents. Hopefully, you have some special Christmas traditions that you are looking forward to today.

Christmas sights around my own house

For this blog I just wanted to remind us all of the specialness of celebrating Jesus on this holiday. How amazing it is that the Son of God came to Earth to live amongst us! Seriously, just think about how crazy that is.

"But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship."

-Galatians 4:4-5

While we can celebrate Jesus's birth everyday in how we live our lives, Christmas is a special time to remember this. While we may believe we don't think that much about Jesus's birth on Christmas, many holiday traditions are built around the way Jesus lived. We give gifts to each other, just as God gave the great gift of his Son to us. We spend time with our family and friends, just as Jesus did. We gather around a tree with a star, which symbolizes the star that led the wise men to baby Jesus. We celebrate life, love, the year coming to an end, and hopefully remember the ways God has blessed us. And, all of this is because of one great man who came to show us the way over two thousand years ago.

I think that's one thing that can get lost during Christmas. We can enjoy the happiness and the good times, but forget the why of it all. And, that's a real shame, because the why of Christmas is the best gift of all. The whole reason we celebrate Christmas is because we are grateful that Jesus came to Earth and created a way for us to be with Him forever. How special is that!

This Christmas I hope you have a day filled with love and celebration. And, I hope that your day will be full of all of the specialness that comes from celebrating our Savior and all of the other gifts God has given us.

Remember, you can still sign up for H@TS here if you would like! Also, please keep Swamp Corps in your prayer, as our team in Africa returns home and another team heads out to Managua, Nicaragua on Dec. 28 for Nicaragua Year Three.

See you all in 2018! What a blessing it has been to write to all of you this year. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Much Love & Respect,
Julie