I’ve always loved Christmas.
Long before I had a clue about Jesus, when Christmas was all about Santa, Rudolph, & ToysToysToys, there was always a magic about the holiday that set it apart from the others. Becoming a Christian years later only deepened my love for the holiday, as I – apart from the gifts & parties – solemnly celebrated God’s unique engagement with the world some 2000 years ago. Having children – yet again – took Christmas to a whole new level: now able to see more clearly God’s love for His children – and His unique Son – put a whole new perspective on Jesus’ birth.
This year’s Christmas set a new standard for me.
We got Christmas gift-giving out of the way days before Christmas itself. Every day Christmas week we unveiled another batch of gifts: first from my Mother & step-Father; next from my Father & step-Mom, then from various grandparents, aunts, & uncles; next our immediately local family, & on Christmas morning we took care of the immediate family: Cyle, the boys, & myself. Then we went to “Pipie” (pronounced “Pee-Pie”) & “Aly”‘s house for the real merriment.
After dinner, we all gathered in front of the fireplace at the Tucker homestead & began sharing dreams/callings, & what God-gifts we felt we would most need to make those dreams a reality for the upcoming year – then we prayed for them. Well, we didn’t EXACTLY just pray for them – with Mack & Alyson Tucker, and James Goll in the same room, along with family and friends, that’s just not going to happen in the “normal” way. We had – in essence – a revival meeting. Gifts were being prayed for, proclaimed, called out, & prophesied – people were being freed up/loosed, and commissioned – challenged, encouraged, & CHANGED right then & there. It was what Christmas probably should always be: a time of new birth, new seasons – a time of NEW.
Kenimer, our 6 year old, wasn’t going to be
passed over by any means, so he came in and said “I want to be prayed for”, requested a gift of the Spirit, & sat down in our midst as hands stretched forth & voices rose to heaven. Jealous of his brother, Tucker plopped down & simply asked for the fruit of the Spirit – something God would LOVE to give him, so we prayed for that too!
These are the moments I live for – that remind me why I am alive. Thank you, Jesus, for the NEW… we stand expectant.
Amen.
BELIEVER, Husband, Father, Son, Pastor, Songwriter, Musician, Producer, Worshiper, Thinker, Creative
Twitter: fmckinnon
says
That’s awesome Shannon. Saturday night during communion, I saw my two boys take communion, then come kneel at the altar (for quite some time) and pray, without being led or coerced to do so. I had to look away because I nearly fell apart, and have always had to focus intently on the music in “O Holy Night” because of the abnormal chord changes – I knew I couldn’t make it through that song and really take in what was happening 3 feet away.
Bro, that would ruin me for sure! AWESOME!
Im up skimming through facebook and click on this. For some reason, I’m undone. I’m speechless at how beautiful these pictures are. How jealous I am of those moments you’ve portrayed. I wanna be there! 🙂