My Very Own Grown Up Christmas List

As I sit and reflect on the year that has passed, I see so much pain and loss. Maybe you do as well. Yet, I can still truthfully say "Merry Christmas to You!", and I mean it. In that spirit, and in no particular order, I offer my very own Grown Up Christmas List (with thanks to David Foster who wrote it and folks like Amy Grant, Natalie Cole, or Michael Bublé whose versions I love):

• A Peaceful United States During 2020: Election years are truly the worst since the Clinton days. Instead of civilly discussing issues, all parties and most voters seem to be willing to spew hatred toward each other, further damaging a country clearly divided. 

• An End to Hunger and Religious Persecution: If you read the Bible, you know this will not happen until Jesus returns to the earth. In the meantime, consider bringing food and hope to children around the world. It's too late to send gifts for Operation Christmas Child, but you can always sponsor a child through Compassion International. What a joy to help feed a child who is probably homeless and most certainly needy. You can go deeper and help those who face hardship and death because they are Christians in a nation where they are severely marginalized or tortured because of their faith. Open Doors is one of the best ministries to support. In the 1930's, Jews were being persecuted, and few stood up to the Nazis until millions had been executed. That is a fact, not fiction. Don't look the other way until a group you are part of suffers.

• More Family Friendly Entertainment: I get so tired of movies and television shows I cannot watch with my family! Filthy language is never needed to convey a character's thoughts or emotions. Violence can be tempered and discreetly shown or implied. And I do not want to see what happens in someone's bedroom. Period. The grooming of children toward a more animalistic nature is something horrible, and make no mistake, we will be judged for our words and actions. 

• An Awareness of God's Love: Can you imagine your life projected onto a screen for all the world to see? I would be so ashamed of some of the things I've done! Wouldn't you? Although God Himself is holy, pure, and righteous, He is also merciful and loving to those who come to him and express their remorse and brokenness, choosing to follow Him and live by the standards He designed the world by. His love drove him to send His Only Son to the cross to die for the sin we all deserve punishment for. No one gets a pass. We all have to answer to Him. Heaven for those who follow and trust. Hell for the rest. It was created for angels who rebelled against Him, and those who choose to reject God's great gift. It's your choice. Is this too blunt? The truth is watered down all too frequently. 

• Joy to the World: There's joy in the comfort that only Jesus Christ brings. All else is temporary at best. May the whole world stop- if just for one day- to enjoy a respite of peace, love, hope, and joy.

Merry, Merry, Christmas to You and those you love!