Christmas morning when I was 7 years old, I had all the biggest packages under the tree. That year I remember getting a football uniform and the popular vibrating football game and many other things. Those gifts were significant, and I remember them well, but they weren’t my favorite Christmas gift I ever got…that was a few years earlier when I got my big wheel. Man, I tore the wheels off that thing. I would pedal up to the top of the driveway, go down fast, hit the brakes, and spin around. I loved my big wheel. I wish they had one for adults.

But truly, the greatest gift I ever got for Christmas was the truth about Jesus. It seems trite to write about it, and we all know that Christmas isn’t the day Jesus was likely born, but we celebrate it as such. Without Jesus, none of my Christmas’ would have been significant. Stuff is nice, but my relationship with Jesus changed my life for good. Everything about my life has been impacted by the gift of Jesus’s life on earth, including my marriage, my family, and my work.  My relationship with Jesus impacts even my neighbors. Now that is a great gift.

Jesus gave himself to us as a gift so that we could live life with Him at the center. That is amazing. I am thankful for you, and I am thankful for Jesus. He truly is the best Christmas gift ever.

Merry Christmas,

Jim & Martha