We made it through the fall with everything in tact and moved on to our first Christmas on the farm. Dad got nostalgic on everybody and thought now that we own a farm we could remember Who Christmas is all about. So very early Christmas morning I woke the family and we all went out to one of the goat stalls to tell the story of the birth of Jesus. It seemed to me an opportunity to remind us all that our Lord was not born to riches, He wasn't born in the fancy comforts of a wealthy man's home. He chose instead to be born in the stables. He was born meekly amongst the barnyard creatures and people of modest means. To me it was a precurser to the life He lived on earth. He didn't seek wealth and power. The only glory he sought was to glorify His Father in heaven. Its no secret that in today's society we lose sight of the real reason for Christmas, me too. We tend to get wrapped up in the retail mentality buying gifts and worse, expecting gifts from others. Its ironic that we have now turned the celebration of a Lord that sought no gifts into a day where often focus on receiving gifts. As we huddled on that cold morning in the stall smelling of animal poop and straw, I thought about how meaningless "things" are and how the amazing things are taken for granted. There I stood, amongst a beautiful family that loves me, honoring a God that saved me on a farm that I had dreamed about for years. For the first time in many Christmas's I had absolutely no thoughts at all about any gifts I would receive or what I may have for dinner, or what football games may be on, I was simply thankful for all the real gifts He has given me.
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