The Greatest of What Remains…..

These three remain…. Faith, Hope and Love.

Faith Hope and Love can remain - it's a choice, if you ask me, but possible for them to remain no matter what. 

Sometimes life is complicated. Sometimes life is difficult. Sometimes life is easy. Sometimes life is wonderful! Sometimes life is absolutely awful.

But, here is the deal. YOU CAN HOLD ON TO FAITH, HOPE AND LOVE. Those three things can remain - should you chose to allow them no matter what is happening in life!

The greatest of the three? LOVE. 

WHY?

Love is stepping aside, getting yourself out of the way, focussing on other.

Love is what you can do and be to someone else to help keep them hoping and having faith.

But, love is not about you. 

LOVE IS THE GREATEST because it is better to give than to receive.

LOVE IS THE GREATEST because it is something that you can give when you don't have anything else to give.

LOVE IS THE GREATEST because it is contagious and once you give it, you catch it back- or at least feel a little something from it that keeps you a bit warm and fuzzy!

My best advice if you need a pick me up? Stop sulking about yourself, you situation, your sickness, your predicament, your lack and start LOVING OTHERS!

My Favorite Things About This Guy, Jesus…….

So, based on my upbringing, I have always told my kiddos the truth about Santa and the reality that Christmas Day isn't REALLY the birthday of Jesus, but when we choose to celebrate it. (Much the same as how we usually celebrate our own birthdays on a convenient day- not the actual day of birth.)

I have also been always honest about the story of His birth. Yes, Shepherds were probably told first. God is cool like that, he often uses those people that others consider the under-dog or slightly under par according to society. I think it may be because often times, they realize they don't have much to lose in following Him- but, I also think it shows the proud that it's a good thing to depend on God and not just yourself, because the really cool things happen then!

The wise men? Let's be serious…. sometimes, they stand alone in another part of the house away from the Nativity at our house because they weren't there when he was born. Good heavens! There were no airplanes back then. They probably  showed up when Jesus was a toddler- the journey was too far!

Anyway, what I really have always appreciated as I started looking at the story of WHO this guy Jesus was on earth, some things have really stood out to me. These things have caused me to love him more than I had before- because, hey! He's God and man and CHOSE to be in RELATABLE.

First, He was born into a working class family. Born in a stable of all places where virtually ANYONE could come to him. (Right off the bat- he was available to people- not in some ritzy, high class building where only a few were welcome….) To a woman who got pregnant OUTSIDE of marriage… (gasp)….. to a YOUNG mother (teen)…… He was a child to a STEP-DAD and had only "HALF-SIBLINGS". (Can you imagine all the people talking about this family behind their backs and under their breath?)

As an adult he chose to be HOMELESS….. Have you ever met anyone who CHOSE that life? (I know one person….it takes a very humble spirit.)

He hung out with and talked to people that society discounted or hated and he chose to love them! He was a RULE BREAKER whenever it came to rules; he chose a person over being right or being thought of as right by others.

Yeah, this Jesus, stole my heart when I realized how he could have chosen a different life when he lived here with us…. but he chose the common life. The life that would make him more relatable to more people. I love that about him. He didn't come for the select few- he came FOR ALL.