looking at Christmas "like little children"

Tonight during our nightly cuddle time with the kids, Joel made sure that he sat on the end of the couch nearest the Christmas tree. He sat on the VERY end -- right on the arm of the couch -- as he announced, "I'm on the spot closest to the tree! See? So close I can touch it!" He's saying this as he stretches as far as his little 4-yr-old arms can stretch, leaning off the sofa, nearly falling into the tree, demonstrating that his fingertips can graze a branch.

As we snuggled and listened to soft music, I watched him as he watched the tree. He looked at the sparkling lights in awe, and shared with me (again) in a whisper that he put lots of ornaments on "that branch" and it's so pretty. He kept reaching towards it, hoping for another graze. He could hardly turn his head from it to join the family cuddle, and the light from the tree lit up his eyes as he continued to gaze in wonder.

As I watched him I couldn't help but think of Matthew 18: 3 where Jesus says, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven..."

I wonder, do I look at Jesus the way I saw my son look at the Christmas tree? When was the last time you stood in awe of Christ. In giddy, near-speechless, wonder-filled awe? I can't help but think that if I looked upon Christ with that sort of awe, it might shed light on the mundanities of life. Oh to be so stricken with wonder at our Lord and Savior that I hardly notice my circumstances! Isn't that what we should be striving for? Ultimate focus on Him? But far too often we treat other things as "ultimate" and those things crowd out Christ in our lives.

And what if I stretched as far as I could stretch just to be near Christ? For the faintest brush with His presence, could I lean, bend and reach as far as possible? But far too often I duck, turn and retreat from experiences out of fear or insecurity.

You know, my son's enjoyment of the tree makes me want to keep it out for him all year long.

Unlike the Christmas decorations though, Jesus is available to us all year long, and His wonderful light can be seen any time.

This weekend, and today in particular, I find myself convicted to reach for and pursue Christ, engage in opportunities to "stretch," and be in child-like awe of Him.

Christmasness

It was a busy Christmas this year. We started it off with a trip to Lindale, Tx with the whole Francis clan. The kids and adults had a blast playing outside with guns and frisbees. The munchkin army spent a lot of time in the bushes, Shane and Joel turned a small table into a pirate ship, and Allison...well, she didn't have to be asked twice to pose for a picture.

Other highlights were decorating gingerbread man cookies, and opening presents on Christmas morning, of course.

Later on Christmas Day we visited the Smiths, then Matt's parents. Then we left for Corpus the day after Christmas to spend the weekend with my sister and nieces.