Unexpected gift of Christmas

I can't believe Christmas has already come and gone. We had some busy yet fun days. Some of out of town friends were in town and we spend time catching up. Ruth and Faith (Chris' sisters) were in town too so we spend a good bit of time hanging out with them each day. They enjoyed some one on one time with emma as well while i worked for 2 days. Emma is a big fan of both her aunts. She has been a fan of Pam and Mateja already but it seemed like Ruth and Faith were new discoveries. She was truly excited each day when she saw them. It was fun for me and Chris to see how much she enjoyed spending time with them. It made me sad sometimes realizing that all of her aunts are far away and she sees them once a year, yet at the same time i was happy to see how emma does not need any warm up time with her aunts. When we were in Croatia Mateja was an instant hit and the same happend now with Ruth and Faith. Praise the Lord for technology and webcameras so emma can keep in touch.

This year I was trying to think some more about Christmas and why we do what we do. Emma enjoyed the gifts even though it was overwhelming still. Our pastor in church had a great sermon about the gift of Christmas. The gift that Christmas bring is an unexpected gift. Gifts we give are to make us more beautiful (clothes...) or to distract us from what is going on (gadgets...), to make us more efficient...Our gifts are all about self reliance. But what would it look like to give gifts that aren't about self reliance. But the gift that God gives at Christmas is a little baby born in the manger. It is a very unexpected gift. The gift God gives says as much about God as it tells about the recipient of the gift. It tells us that we need a counselor, a mighty God, a Father. It tells us that we are sinners that need rescue from the outside because self reliance is destructive and dehumanizing. God knew us better then we knew ourselves. Emma was very excited about baby Jesus in the manger laying under our christmas tree. She would take Jesus each morning, give Him some milk to drink, she would carry Him everywhere around, she took care of him. She does not understand who Jesus is and why He came yet. But in a way it is like she knew there must be something special about baby Jesus-she would not play with any of the other figurines in the manger scene. I want to remember what is the whole reason we celebrate Christmas. That the reason we even give gifts is because Christmas is God giving us the ultimate gift of Jesus our Savior. I pray that all of you reading this would find the gift God has given you and that Christmas will never be the same. That it won't be just about the new shirts, or days off, or a good party, but about celebrating the birth of your Savior and receiving the gift God has prepared for you.

Isaiah 9:5
"Unto us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the goverment will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Stari Zavjet: Izaija, poglavlje 9:5
" Jer, dijete nam se rodilo,
sina dobismo;
na plecima mu je vlast.
Ime mu je:
Savjetnik divni, Bog silni,
Otac vjecni, Knez mironosni."