merry christmas

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” ~Romans 15:13, NIV

I am having an afternoon snack of chocolate milk and Christmas cookies. Tonight we officially start the Christmas weekend. I am making nachos supreme and Lydia and I will watch a movie (a new tradition??). The apartment is clean. In fact, I have cleaned out two bags for Goodwill, one for Daisy Exchange (and made $14.50!!) and another for the trash. Amazing how it accumulates.

Speaking of accumulating…maybe, just maybe we will get snow on Christmas Eve? So the forecast says now. Wintry mix. Sounds nice to me. Along with time spent with family, Mom’s roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, a crackling fire and Christmas music. Couldn’t ask for more.

The hard times don’t disappear during Christmastime. Sometimes, in fact, they are amplified. The difficulties and causes for worry and questions and prayers whispered in the light of day and the dark of night – they don’t just cease. They remain. They are here.

But they are made bearable because of hope. Hope from one place: Jesus Christ. He is the one I choose to celebrate this Christmas weekend.

I was reminded again of this truth when I came across the verse above posted on another blog. I needed to read it. I need to remember it. This is the heart of Christmastime: Jesus coming as a tiny, helpless baby into a hopeless world, to live, to die, to rise again so that our (anyone who believes in Him) hope  may overflow.

I think I will go turn on the Christmas lights now.

Merry Christmas to you and yours.