Christmas just excites me! I can hardly wait until Thanksgiving is over to bring out the Christmas decor! And “elf on the shelf” is basically the best idea ever! Plus, sometimes I feel like gift wrapping could be my year round hobby! Because bows are just so fun, right?! Haha! Or, should I say "HoHo?" :)

Okay, so if you know me at all, you probably know that none of that is true. Like super not true. While I do consider myself a deep “appreciator” of (most) Christmas decor and I enjoy hearing how others love their “elf on the shelf”, those are not the reasons I’m excited for the season. Honestly, I struggle to tie a decent bow. Yikes! And I’d love nothing more than for someone ELSE to wrap all my gifts.

I know I sound like the ultimate Grinch (poor Sophie & Jude)! But before you judge me, please understand that I love the people who love those things about Christmas! So, if you’re an “elf on the shelf” fanatic/lover of bows, then I love you! And you’re welcome to come decorate my house! ;)

Anywho, although I’m often overwhelmed by the beautiful traditions and perceived expectations of the season, I really do love Christmas! And this Christmas, I am especially excited to celebrate!! Or should I say to worship??!

Let me explain what I mean. All year long, God has been revealing to me through the Old Testament just how AMAZING Jesus really is!! I’ve actually become (slightly) obsessed with the phrase “Jesus is Better & Enough”.

I am slowly learning/believing that Jesus’ fellowship is better than all our temptations. His beauty is better than all of His good gifts. His payment is sufficient enough for all of our sins. And His sacrifice is powerful enough to destroy all our enemies!!! Talk about good news of great joy! That’s why the deepest cry of my heart this Christmas season is, "Let me see Jesus!!"

So here are just a few reasons I’m excited to worship this season:

• Because of Christmas, I’ve been qualified to enter the Promised Land!!
• Because of Christmas, this short life doesn’t have to meet my expectations because the next one will supersede them!
• Because of Christmas, my final enemy, death, is really only a short nap!
• Because of Christmas, I will never be left to the limited scope of my own resources.
• Because of Christmas, I have something far greater to exist for than myself!
• Because of Christmas, the “old” me is dead and the “real” me has been forgiven, set free, and empowered to change!

Y'all, I hope it’s clear that Christmas is everything because Jesus is everything! Think about it. Over 2,000 years before God made me or you, God made provision for our souls! That’s amazing! And it’s fantastic news for control freaks (like me) because it shows us that we’ve never been in control of our own salvation! It’s always been God. And it’s always been grace. Christmas is God’s grace from start to finish.

And what blows my mind is that Christmas isn’t just a fun idea - it’s REAL history! Just imagine with me. Imagine the very first Christmas where the REAL God-man REALLY left Heaven and REALLY came to this Earth! Not only that, He REALLY lived a perfect life, REALLY suffered, REALLY died, and REALLY walked out of His tomb!! Through REAL history, Jesus, who is “the first fruits of the resurrection” gives us the absolute guarantee that we too will rise from the dead on one REAL and glorious day!

Clearly, Luke 2 doesn’t mess around. It is the past grace of Luke 2 (Christmas) that is the present grace of our daily bread and the future grace that will bring us all the way home! That’s why I believe that when we see Christmas in REAL history, our faith just can’t be satisfied by the “storybook” version. Because our hearts will realize that, at the very first Christmas, the angels were announcing the coming of OUR Hero, Jesus Christ, the God-man. And if the God-man is for us, who can be against us?

Friends, I really hope Luke 2 changes me and changes you. Because we’re desperate for change! We are desperate for God to scrap the nasty “gradoo” of sin from our hearts and to show us that Jesus is better and enough. Because it’s only when we truly see Jesus that we will become a people more defined by the Christmas story than by any other story. And it’s only the Christmas story that has the power to trump the stories of our past, to empower the stories in our present, and to secure the final story of our futures! So Merry REAL Christmas! :) The God-man is powerful enough to cover all your sins and He is better than life itself!

Far as the curse is found,
Anne Marie