I’m going to be upfront with you. This will probably be one of the most (if not THE most) elementary things you read today. No gimmicks. Nothing fancy. It’s basic and ordinary….and it’s exactly the reminder I needed.

For weeks, I have been searching for topics to write on. And though I found many great things to share with you, nothing seemed to work. As I would begin to type, I never felt like it was “the one” to post. I really enjoy hearing profound messages, deep teachings or personal stories that pull at my heart strings. That is not what you’ll be getting today. While asking The Lord about my writing predicament, the one thing He keeps telling me is this: Simplify.

I, for one, can be so guilty of wanting to skip the beginning parts, and jump right into the thick of it. While even reading a book, I have the urge to bypass the first few chapters. Just like in life. But I hear The Lord say…go back to the basics. Not just slowing down our schedules, or cutting out activities, but I mean SPIRITUAL basics. The fruits. We tend to want to skip over love, joy, peace, gentleness, and self control, and head straight for miracles and the spectacular. And while I pray for those things and believe that God wants to use us in that area, I often wonder if we miss out on the extravagant because we fail to see the importance of the simplistic. If our Heavenly Father can’t trust us with the smaller things, how can He trust us with the bigger ones.

Right now, we are at the heart of Christmas. You can just feel the busyness. The excitement. The expectation. But you can also sense the stress. The tired. The lonely. The hopeless. The lost. With our focus, even as Christians, being shifted to shopping and decorating, we loose sight of the most important thing. Jesus. I know this seems basic, because it is. But Christians should give hope. We should display love, especially this time of year. We should extend His mercy and grace to those who are struggling. Or even to those rude individuals we may encounter at the store. Christ doesn’t love us based on how we act or love in return. He loves in spite of that.

Christmas time should not be a burden for Christians, but rather an opportunity to give an eternal gift. One that doesn’t need to be repaid, and is worth far more than gold. So this season, I’m reminding myself to share joy. To display mercy. To offer hope. To be a soft place for someone to land. I don’t want to be so earthly minded that I miss out on Kingdom opportunities. I want to advance my Jesus. I want to represent my Father well. I pray that you all have a blessed holiday and a very Merry Christmas!!