Holy-Days

I spent time over the last week or so writing a Christmas letter, as I try to do every year. The letter, as usual, is very news-y and somewhat lengthy. I love writing the annual Christmas letter, updating my loved ones on my life and putting a nice cap on the year; summing it all up in one neat little package. It's a great way for me to look back on our year and to remember what we've done.

I add lots of photos to my letters too, because I just love photos. Going through the photos of the year is really fun; seeing all the shots I took and all the opportunities we had to take the photos.

Suddenly, today, I'm feeling a little on the ashamed side that I barely mentioned the meaning of Christmas and why we celebrate. Being the analytical and logical person that I am, I recognize that Christmas was originally a pagan celebration that Christians used to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior. However, in our society, Christmas is a Christian holiday.

The sermon today in church was about being Holy in the holidays. God makes us Holy, as He is Holy. Additionally, the word holiday comes from the term Holy-day. These are HOLY-days that we celebrate and we should celebrate them in such manner.

After today's sermon, I feel like I want to add to our Christmas letter that we as a family are enjoying the biblical basics in our household. We are celebrating ADVENT, the anticipation of Christs' birth. We are celebrating the BIRTH of our Lord. We are reminded of the humility of Mary and Joseph; the obedience they showed; the faithfulness to the calling God had for them. We remember the wise men and their great trek across the continent to worship the newborn King. We are thankful for the shepherds who were present that first night to welcome our King to this world. We awe at the thought of all of God's angels singing Praises, and being God's messengers of this GREAT and GLORIOUS event.