Celebrate life.
This Christmas.
Celebrate life.
Don’t hold back.
Celebrate.
Every day.
Celebrate.
Not just this season.
Not just December 25.
Every day.
Celebrate life, love, family, goodness, kindness. Don’t just celebrate if it’s easy. Celebrate in difficulty. Give thanks always. Rejoice daily.
Many people say Jesus is the “reason for the season.” I would say Jesus is the reason for every day of my life. That includes January 8, February 2, August 15 and December 25. And all the other days in between and after.
Treat each day as if every day was the celebration of Jesus coming to earth, Jesus sacrificing His life, Jesus living again, and Jesus coming back soon. He is the focus!
He is life. He gave His life so we could live life fully.
So when was the last time you lived life fully?
When was the last time you laughed so hard your belly hurt? Or cried with a friend over a disappointment or loss?
When was the last time you gave without strings attached? or gave with hands opened wide in generosity?
I will confess that I get frustrated with comments at this time of year that Christmas is not about gifts, or if you give gifts you have to be as thrifty as a churchmouse. Christmas is about giving gifts. Christmas is about generosity. Christmas is about celebration, and I believe the church has a huge role to play in expressing the generous heart of God to the world, not only in this season but every day of the year.
God is generous. He gave the greatest gift of His son, and He daily showers us with blessings.. So why wouldn’t we, at this time of year and every day, shower others with the same thing? Celebrate and live and let Jesus flow out of you in love, kindness and generosity. Do it with your time, your money, your heart, your laughter, your tears, your hands, your feet, your very being!
You serve no one when you withhold the beauty of “Christ in you, the hope of glory” from others. You were made to shine and give generously because you are made in the image of the Most High God, the One who always shines and gives generously.
At More Than Enough, we teach that Jesus is more than enough, and provides more than enough. We don’t want any to be enslaved to debt, but we also don’t want people enslaved to their savings account, or the lie that they don’t have what it takes. At More Than Enough, we want you to walk in the hope and freedom of Christ, believing that in Christ you have all you need to make a difference.
My son Zach is performing in a local production of the musical The Christmas Carol this week. In this rendition of Charles Dickens’s classic, Scrooge heeds the words of his father as a young boy: “Don’t spend your money. Save every penny.” These words are the driving force of his life, until he deals with the truths of his past, present and future. He is shrivelled and miserly until his heart is opened in compassion to the needs of Tiny Tim. His heart is stirred and love comes flooding in. He has what it takes to make a difference and for the first time in his life, the joy of giving fills his heart.
Scrooge learns finally: don’t hold back.
Will you learn it too and celebrate with all that is within you?
Start to learn about the generous heart of God, the Father and ask Him these questions:
- Who can I bless this season and how do I do it? Don’t let your limited, finite understanding of what you think can and cannot be done, hold you back from how He wants to flow through you in generosity.
- Who can I bless today and every day, and how do I do it? Don’t let your limited, finite understanding of what can and cannot be done, hold you back from how He wants to flow through you in generosity.
I leave you with this gripping and heart-warming story of a community who brought life to a young boy, when his own life was failing. “With man it is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.”
http://site.macleans.ca/longform/christmas/index.html
Rebecca van Noppen is a teacher, home educator, writer, and More Than Enough blogger, who happens to be married to a financial coach. A lover of Jesus, she is on a journey of surrender, kindness, and generosity.