Blessing #7 - FAITH

Today may be the first day of a new year but it's also the 7th Day of Christmas. And since I'm blogging about the 12 Blessings of Christmas, it's a great day to think about the blessing of FAITH.

Faith is one of the greatest blessings of our lives all year round; but at Christmas when so many people are more focused on the "reason for the season" than they are at other times of the year, our faith is an even more meaningful blessing.

As a child, and throughout most of my life, I thought the scripture that says "I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord" was written for me ... and about me. LOL! I LOVE LOVE LOVE to go to church! When I walk through the doors of the church, I am "home" - I "belong." The moment I enter, I feel wrapped in the comforting arms of my faith. The warmth of prayer and worship feeds spiritual nourishment to my soul and provides me with strength for my daily life.

For me, one of the defining moments of the blessing of faith is the candlelight Christmas Eve service at church. Lights are dimmed, reminders of the nativity are prominently displayed against a backdrop of red poinsettias ... it is beauty personified in an ambiance that invites genuine worship. The music brings forth emotions from deep inside my soul and rises in my throat until I can barely sing. My heart rings full with the joy of God's love and the blessing of my faith.

Children played an important role in our Christmas eve service this year. Children's choirs sang, and the little ones gathered around the creche to hear the Christmas story and supplied the missing pieces as the pastor asked for them ... all except one little guy who was a bit reluctant to hand over baby Jesus! Thank goodness for a child-friendly pastor who knows how to ad-lib. GRIN!

But I think the most special part of the whole service for me was the way the Lord used two little sisters. Sadie and Maddie Jasper are sweet little girls about 9 and 10 years old, I think. Those two little beauties stood at the front of our church and recited the entire Christmas story as recorded in Luke's gospel from memory and in unison! Oh. My. It was SO precious!! THEY were SO precious!!

They reminded me how precious my faith was to me, even when I was their young age and how precious it still is to me today. They reminded me how I loved to memorize scripture when I was their age and how lax I have become in recent years. They reminded me how much I want to begin committing more scripture to memory this year. They reminded me how faithful the God of my faith is to enable me to do what He calls me to do no matter my age. He is as faithful to enable me to do His will at 65 years old as He was when I was 8 and accepted by faith His free gift of grace - my salvation.

I have pledged to memorize two scriptures a month this year and I have enlisted a partner to hold me accountable. I have made my commitment public on the LPM blog (as well as here). The first scripture I am memorizing in 2011 is -

Psalm 71:5 "For you have been my hope, O Sovereign LORD, my confidence since my youth."

And, Oh, my friends - He has! HE HAS!!!!