Comfort and Joy - for your 2016 and beyond.

   Now that we are 1 week into the New Year, I am finally getting the "official" Christmas post out to you. 
 (And that is why I have never made New Year's resolutions - I know my limitations.)

   "That is out of my comfort zone"  

I was thinking about this all during the holidays. 

Especially in the uncomfortable things that I participated in during December. 
Things I maybe didn't want to do, or was extremely uncertain about. But things that I knew would be good for me:

 The Saturday at Lighthouse church when I was called on to give a testimony during testimony time in the worship service,

Going to the local prison to visit with inmates on a Sunday evening for worship service.

  Setting down at the table with a first nations family I don't know during Amazing Kids dinner and striking up a conversation during bites of food. Starting to form relationships.

  Helping to host the only Christmas 6 different groups of inmates at the local prison would have this year, and receiving a special handmade gift from Michael, one of the inmates.

  Serving breakfast at the local homeless shelter on Christmas morning.

             Which brought me over and over again to Jesus -

  Think about it - he left his comfort zone of HEAVEN, to arrive on EARTH as one of the most helpless creatures there is...a new-born BABY

  And He knew what he was getting into when he arrived.

  I love the words to the Stephen Curtis Chapman song that I play at Christmas:

                                                   "This Baby"

Well He cried when He was hungry
Did all the things that babies do
He rocked and He napped on His mother's lap
And He wiggled and giggled and cooed
There were the cheers when He took His first step
And the tears when He got His first teeth
Almost everything about this little baby
Seemed as natural as it could be

And this baby grew into a young boy
Who learned to read and write and wrestle with dad
There was the climbin' of trees and scrapin' of knees
And all the fun that a boy's born to have
He grew taller and some things started changing
Like His complexion and the sound of His voice
There was work to be done as a carpenter's son
And all the neighbors said He's such a fine boy

And love made Him laugh 
And death made Him cry
With the life that He lived 
And the death that He died
He showed us heaven with His hands and His heart
'Cause this man was God's own son
This man was like no other one
Holy and human right from the start

This baby made the angels sing
And this baby made a new star shine in the sky
This baby had come to change the world
This baby was God's own son
This baby was like no other one
This baby was God with us
This baby
This baby was Jesus 

I contrast it with a line from the song we teach little children to sing:

                            "...The little Lord Jesus no crying he makes...."

Not so much I'm thinking....after all, His purpose in coming was to be a Man, to experience everything each of us does.  

All of the hurt, all of the pain, all of the joy, everything except for the sin that follows us around like a ball and chain.

Comfort and Joy to you in 2016

Comfort and Joy for me in 2016

and the challenge of getting of our comfort zone even more!

Following the example of Jesus!