Merry Christmas

We raise beef cattle.

Stuart has feeders and fats,

heifers, bulls, and cows.

One thing they all do is poop.

A lot.

That means lots of manure.

He scrapes the barns and then

he piles it up 

and spreads it on fields as fertilizer.

It does not smell good.

It actually smells quite awful.

Now imagine having your baby 

in one of these barns.

That is what Mary did.

She suffered the pain of childbirth

in a stinky stable.

Then she wrapped her brand new baby 

in rags.

That baby was a King

who humbled himself and

came to earth to save us.

He could have been born in a palace

but his simple birth

is a reminder to us.

He came in to that dirty, smelly place

as a gift to us.

He comes into the smelly, filthy parts of our life

and loves us. 

I can't fathom my life without my faith,

yet many times when troubles come

I try to do it on my own.

Then I call on him and he changes everything.

He gives me strength.

He fills my world with light and hope.

Jesus wants to be involved in our daily lives.

He wants to be involved in

where we go and what we do,

our simple, ordinary days.

I pray you know the presence of Jesus

who is the very reason for 

the Christmas season.

May you have joy and peace that only

Christ can give as we honor him 

on his birthday.

Merry Christmas everyone!

For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, 

who is Christ the Lord

Luke 2:11