Christmas 2025

Long before the Christmas shopping was complete, long before the stars appeared on Christmas Eve, I began receiving email after email about "end of the year giving." The final push for non-profits to increase donations by encouraging folks to give, this Christmas, in honor of the loved one who has everything, or get that tax deductible gift in under the wire. In the days when I worked for that worldwide package delivery company and the entire Christmas season put us financially in the black, I bought goats and gave generously. Today's giving, however, looks a bit different. I no longer work outside our home. Christmas drains our coffers. Our income remains steady throughout the year; it is what it is. Giving takes the form of time, preparing lessons and praying for others. Giving means my husband uses his skills to do things for others --no recompense required. Giving looks like doing without so that others may have. And, please, no virtue signaling here --I'm just looking to make a point. 

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says:

Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Bought with a price. A price greater than anything --if you are reading this right now --you've ever given. Jesus' life. He suffered the excruciating pain of His beard being ripped from His face, felt the warmth of His own blood and tasted it in His mouth. His heart broke at the betrayal by those closest to Him. He endured the humiliation and stood fast as spit clung to His hair; He heard the names they called Him. My words will never come close to expressing the weight of the price He paid.

And we --especially those of us in the West --love to whine about our rights. We've got more than any other people group, and it's never enough. But we, those of us who believe in the Reason for the Season, the truest, greatest Gift to humanity, we are not our own. Not our bank accounts. Not all those little boxes we will fill in our 2026 planner. Not our vehicles. Not that fabulous pair of boots we just got for Christmas. Not our jobs. Not our children or spouses. Not our dignity. Not our health. None of it. Granted, we serve a loving and good Father God whose love for us cannot be cleaved and plans for us are always good. But our flesh, if not in check, will resist anyway. 

So, what is God requiring you to give in the final moments of this year? As we take this day to revel in the gift of Peace brought to earth (Imagine it without Him!) and share His example of giving, let us not minimize the cost or comprehensive nature of His gift. And let us seek to give as He has given us. With all we have.

Merry Christmas! 

Midweek: Break

 Broken to Breathless is taking a break today --certainly NOT from sobriety --but from posting. So, shut off your phone (it is possible), spend some time with the family, and revel in the season! 

I will be 😁 

It Is Finished!

"The stockings were hung by the chimney with care..." This is it! The final stretch. By this time next week, our thoughts will be trained on resolutions for the new year and how we plan on staying awake until midnight. So, let me ask you, how have you found yourself this season? Frazzled? Fragmented? Frugal? Maybe this has been a season of grieving. Maybe this year's been especially tough, and you would prefer to simply get on with it. Maybe you've found yourself content with quiet moments or constantly surrounded by the laughter and conversation of family. When it comes right down to it, have you found yourself grateful?

I spent the quiet times of November reading Scripture about gratitude. What excellent timing, that we approach the season of God's greatest Gift with hearts prepared by Thanksgiving (thanks giving)! It took me only ten days to burn that to the ground. On the 1st of December, I jockeyed and jostled to find a moment to get my husband a birthday card. It didn't happen, but it was because we were spending those days together, enjoying each other's company and beginning to tackle our holiday list. On the 5th of December, I began reading Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts. On the 7th of December, I took the time to notice a precious gift we received: a young boy's wonder, an unguarded moment. So far, so good. But on the 9th of December, the wheels began to wobble. No time for quiet, too much to do. Traffic and time constraints. People-ing and waaaaay too many options. On the 10th came the crash. I overate. I snapped at my husband. I didn't exercise. My Bible lay unopened and my journal untouched. Ironically, just weeks before, I'd read the account of the ten lepers in Luke 17:11-19. Jesus healed all of them, but only one --a Samaritan --returned to thank Him. Jesus responds with, "Your faith has made you well." The Complete Jewish Bible renders it, "Your trust has saved you," and the King James says, "Thy faith has made thee whole." The Greek word is sozo, the same word used in Matthew 1:21:

And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. 

The leper, like the other nine, was healed of his physical condition, but it was his gratitude that drew him back to Jesus where he was able to be saved, to be made whole. It's difficult to be grateful when we're not really present, when we're rushing from one task to another, focused only on what "must be done" rather than what Jesus has already done. It is finished! 

In these last few days, I would encourage you to put down the phone, forget the list for a few moments, and focus on the completed work of Jesus Christ. The Savior of the world has come, and He desires intimacy with His people. Wholeheartedly, consistently, and humbly pursue Him. He reveals Himself to us, as He always has, through the world around us. Pause. Give thanks. Be made whole.