Beginning With Him

By: Destinee Payne

This Christmas time of the year is always exciting. There are wonderful festivities and school parties. There are cozy decorations and Christmas music. The gift exchanges make us wonder what gift we will receive. And don’t forget about the Christmas break from school that does not seem long enough!

With all these things going on, it is easy to go beyond the gift wrapping. We get wrapped up in ourselves! When we are constantly thinking about the things we want as gifts and the plans we make for Christmas fun, we can forget what we are grateful for. If we are not careful, we can forget the special gift that has already been given to us through Jesus Christ.

While on breaks like Christmas, we need to be careful not to take a break from our walk with our Savior. When our schedules change and we get more chances to sleep in and relax, it becomes easier to neglect our quiet time with God. We can fall out of a daily routine of reading the Bible, which will stunt our spiritual growth if we let it happen for too long.

Psalm 19:7-10: “The instruction of the Lord is perfect, renewing one’s life; the testimony of the Lord is trustworthy, making the inexperienced wise. The precepts of the Lord are right, making the heart glad…The ordinances of the Lord are….more desirable than gold.”

When we are strong in our daily reading and prayer with the Lord how strong we can become in Him! How joyful we will become! This is the time of the year to be especially grateful to God for all that He has done, especially in sending His Son.

Psalm 63:7: “You have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.”

I pray that you carry the joy of the Lord with you this year. I challenge you to not let the distractions of special seasons in life stunt your walk and daily time with Him. If you do not have a routine of spending time in the Word daily, I pray that you begin today! If you don’t know how, talk to a mature Christian woman who can help you!