Countdown to Christmas: Day Five

Another very busy day, yet very rewarding serving my Lord.

Today I want to take a turn from the serious for a moment of joy. The kind of joy that makes you laugh.

Remember our friend Zacharias? We left him in the presence of the angel of the Lord receiving great news for the nation and himself. Zacharias had difficulty believing so Gabriel shut his mouth until the words were fulfilled. Ironic isn't it that God had not spoken to His people for over 400 years and when He does speak the one spoken to cannot speak about it. All he could do was to make signs and gestures. He entered the Holy of Holies speaking and came out not speaking. It was mysterious to all those looking on. Don't you know they watched him and Elizabeth very carefully. Then Elizabeth is pregnant. Can you imagine where there thoughts turned and how even closer they watched. Something is happening around here and it is exciting.

This is how I wish we all could be everyday of our lives...living excitedely. I would that we all would be watching carefully for the signs of God's presence and working in an all around us. I also like a good mystery. If I had been around during this experience I would have been probing Zacharias to draw me pictures of what happened in there. I treat God's word the same way. Probing with questions and digging deep to get to the bottom of the truth. And because I am dense God leans down and draws me pictures. He is so patient with me yet I believe that He loves my hunger for more of Him.

Will I said we would laugh today. That is where we go next in the story. Read Luke 2:57-66.
Did you see how goofy Zacharias' family were. You have seen people who start speaking louder to the blind man. Well that is exactly what is happening here; look again and see if you don't see it. What did Gabriel do to Zacharias? Shut his mouth so he could not speak. His hearing? It is just fine; yet how does his family try and comunicate with him? Yes, making signs and gestures. Goofy people. Had my family been there observing we would have all laughed out loud! I'm so glad God gave us this little detail. I think it was another way of saying, "Rejoice! Good things are on their way."

Family is just fun. Last Christmas God favored me with giving me a dream come true with having my whole family minus our patriarch at our home. We had a blast! This year we (Jon, Chad, Amanda, Clay, Ava, Grant and Anneen) went to Dallas for Thanksgiving. All of us stayed with my sister Wendy and her family. Again, we had a blast. We played games into the night, shopped and ate. What we did more than anything was laugh. We haughed with each other and at each other. Sometimes we are just goofy. What Jon and I do more and more is laugh. Milk may do the body good, but laughter does the soul good.

So my challenge to you today is laugh! Have fun with your family. Get excited about God's work in your midst. Finally, Rejoice! God things are on their way (no I didn't misspell good.)

Merry Christmas