We had a great Christmas with two of our daughters and their families last week. Our oldest daughter, Jenny, spent the holidays closer to home at a snow resort in Kentucky and The Creation Museum in Ohio and we heard they had a great time and even though the weather was cold and the roads often icy, they did not have too many problems driving. They did have some problems staying warm, though, and we heard that a couple of members of their family spent more time by the fire with the hot chocolate than they did in the snow!I am not one for resolutions, but a program I heard on Focus on the Family reminded me that I have lost some focus in the last few months and need to get serious about my life purpose. The program was a presentation of Focus on the Family's Radio Theatre production of Leo Tolstoy's "Shoemaker Martin", a Christmas story about a shoemaker who encounters God while showing kindness to strangers. It is a beautiful story and you can listen to it on your computer here:
I put it on my MP3 player and we listened to it again on Christmas Eve. It ends with my life verse:
Mathew 25:34-40
Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’
I am praying for grace to pass out more cold water this year.
