Merry Christmas!!!
“For God so loved the world that
he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him
shall not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16
The Christmas
music is playing. The lights are strung
on the Christmas tree. Candles are
glowing on the dining room table. The
story of Jesus’ birth is being retold at our church’s live nativity, in our
homes and in our schools. For truly that
is the reason for all this celebration!
There is no other holiday throughout the entire year that is more fun,
more divine, more prepared for, more enjoyed … than Christmas!!!
Reflecting on the
Christmas story that happened so long ago still brings hope and joy to our
world! Two young people were traveling
from their home in Galilee all the way to their home town called Bethlehem to
pay taxes. It was a decree sent out by
Caesar Augustus. (Luke 2:1) The only way Joseph and Mary could make sense
of the timing was knowing that it was prophesied that a baby would be born in
the town of David and that God was with them!
Mary was great with child and Joseph tried to comfort her as they went
from one small town inn to another just trying to get a room and let Mary
rest. She was in intense pain, thinking
maybe labor pains have begun, and they really needed to get somewhere warm and
dry! The whole town was packed to the
limits because many others were there to pay taxes too. Joseph tried everything he knew he do, until
finally, he asked for just a small room in a stable! Somewhere!!!!???!!! Anywhere!
It would be better than laboring and giving birth along the town
streets! Fresh straw was layed and Mary
was finally able to breathe through her contractions without balancing herself
on the donkeys back. It felt so good to finally
lie down and even though she didn’t stay in one position for very long, her
labor pains were getting worse. Maybe
tonight she would give birth to their son?
An angel appeared to both her and Joseph back in Galilee months ago and
told them that they would give birth to a baby boy and they were to name him
Jesus. (Matthew 1:18) She hoped that would all happen tonight! Joseph hoped so too. Throughout all the commotion and travels and hard
labor pains and trying to stay warm and out of the cold wind, Mary did give
birth to a baby boy! Just like the angel
said! Even though the stars were out
bright, the animals in the stables ate their food, and tired travelers were
sleeping nearby, this was no ordinary night for Joseph and Mary!!! They were so grateful to have somewhere off
the streets to be on this night of delivery.
They were now holding and tending to their baby son! The son promised by the angel. Their son named Jesus!
It wasn’t long
before shepherds came barging into the stable!
They could barely talk because they were so excited to see this baby
that another band of angels proclaimed was born tonight! (Luke 2:8)
It must have been grand seeing all those glowing angles in the night sky
while those shepherds listened intensely at every word the angels sang. This was the first time ever that the
shepherds saw something like this and after the heavenly host disappeared back
into the dark night, they ran off to see this baby the angels talked
about! After searching and looking
through the town, it was an honor and miracle to see this special baby boy lying
in a manger! Wise men were on the lookout
too! (Matthew 2:1) They did tons of studies about this amazing
star they spied on high. They decided to
go search it out and see what it must mean.
The star took them to Bethlehem.
It rested a roof top. They have
followed a bright star in the sky all the way to the boy Jesus. The wise men have been searching for so long
and maybe now they would be able to present their gifts to this King! Their hearts must have felt overflowing as
they finally gazed at the tender face of Jesus.
Presenting expensive spices now made their many miles of dessert travels
and hot sand so worth it! It was by far
their best part of their faraway travels!
I never get tired
of this amazing story! You can read the
entire story with many more details in Matthew 1 & Luke 2! Jesus came to earth to save sinners from
eternal damnation! Believing in Him will
promise you an eternal home in heaven!!!
Jesus was born on earth to die for my sins. For yours.
For the whole wide world!!! This
was God’s plan to save His most beloved creation of all, mankind. With the holidays among us, please don’t
forget to take a look at your heart. Be
thankful that God sent his son to be born for you and me! Thank Jesus for dying on the cross. Take time to reflect on all your
blessings. Jesus longs for the whole
world to hear about salvation and turn their hearts to Him. He will heal your broken heart. He will restore you. Rejoice in the birth of Christ!!!
Now,
for some updates on our family:
Mike
– He is still working hard at Lapp Structures.
His employees and office team make it a pleasant place to work! Thank you!
At the very beginning of the year, Mike was busy finishing up our house
project! He did a wonderful job at
making us a beautiful home! Mike loves
to golf and was privileged to go on some fun golf outings again this year. Biking to The Haft with a group of friends
was an accomplishment! He helped coach
Matthew’s little league team in the summer!
Being a dad fills up any spare time Mike has! He bumped so many volleyball’s with Hadassah,
pitched a ton of balls to Matthew to hit, pushed Ashlyn high on the swing and
gave daily moped rides to Austin! We are
very grateful that Mike regained his health in July after being diagnosed with Lyme’s. God has been good to us and has healed Mike’s
body!
Lori
– I’m living out my dream. We have four
beautiful children and my life is so busy trying to juggle the teenager that
wants to hang out all the time with friends while tending to baby who still
needs naps and doesn’t want to be confined to his car seat for any long amounts
of time! I became the official soccer
mom as we went from soccer games to volleyball games and practices and now heading
for the basketball courts!!! It makes for
a full schedule but we are so blessed to have a thriving Christian school that
wants the best for our children and offers us great sports! This is an incentive and adds so much to our
lives. Thank you!!! This year has been a huge, very busy year for
our family. Last year this time we moved
into our new home. And since then so
much work has been done! Porches were
concreted, grass seeded, landscaping done, the driveway was paved and a basketball
net is now in place! J
We enjoyed the warm summer afternoons at the pool! Late this summer, we were grieved at the
passing of Daudy D.. My grandfather was
a man I knew my whole life and I got to live next door to my grandparents all
my childhood years! Daudy D. went to be
with his Jesus that he loved with all his being! We miss him so much but rejoice knowing that
he is in heaven having the best Christmas celebration with Jesus we could ever
imagine this year!!! Looking ahead, Mike
and I are excited to be celebrating our 16th anniversary in January
and love each other so much!!! Our
marriage is a gift from God and I am so blessed to have Michael as my loving
husband! If you would like to follow our
family events throughout the year, you can visit us at: reallife-lori.blogspot.com.
Hadassah
- She is a freshman at Linville Hill Christian High School. She really enjoyed the volleyball season she
just went through and is now excited about basketball. Hadassah made a public stand for Jesus this
summer at her baptism service. She loves
to hang out with friends and have a good time!
Her popular statement is, “So, what are going to do tonight?” Or, “Who can we have over this weekend?” She shows great diligence with her school
studies. Her internship at Darla’s Hair
Care & Spa is being a good experience.
In August, she started a job at Beiler’s Donut Shop. If you are looking for a fun, tasty treat,
she would love to sell you the best donuts you have ever tasted!!! Come visit her! Having a teenager in the house is
interesting. It takes her a bit more
time getting ready to go somewhere J
but we are so proud of how she cares about people’s hearts and the priority of
living her life for Jesus!
Matthew
– Going into sixth grade at Linville Hill Christian School and starting middle
school has been a good experience for Matthew!!! He enjoys school and has good friends. He played hard this spring at his little
league games and the Tigers finished in first place!!! Mike was privileged to help coach and lead
the team to victory! Matthew was also
diagnosed with Lyme’s this summer but after a few weeks of meds, he has made a
full recovery! Again, we are so blessed
and give God the glory for restoring us to good health!!! Matthew has become a good chess player,
thanks to schools electives, and ran hard playing on Linville’s soccer team. His dream came true when a trampoline entered
the back yard this summer! Matthew is a
great friend to Austin. They love to
wrestle on the floor together and “play ball” on the living room floor.
Ashlyn
– Our little girl is growing up so fast and is now in Kindergarten at Linville. She loves to play with Austin and they are
becoming the best of playmates. Ashlyn
loves to garden and she was the one that helped me pick the vegetables this
summer. She learned how to ride her bike
without training wheels! Her favorite
snack is still cucumbers and black olives!
Ashlyn is often found lately with a pencil and paper and writing
letters. School is bringing a new level
of intelligence to her! Thank you, Miss
Peterson!!! She is super excited about
the Christmas season!
Austin
– Blonde hair. Blue eyes. Austin entered the toddler world and is so
much fun at this stage in life! He is
starting to talk! He loves, loves his
daddy! Animal books is something we look
at daily! He still likes his nuk and
blanket. His favorite food is pretzels
but he loves cucumbers and black olives too. J
Every night when his daddy comes home from work, he begs to go outside. This summer Mike gave him moped rides daily. Austin absolutely loved this!!! Austin adores Matthew and loves to follow him
around the house. Even though the
toddler years have their challenges, Austin is adorable and we could not
imagine life without him!!!
We
are super excited about this Christmas season and really do want to celebrate
the birth of Christ! Too often we find
ourselves running one hundred miles an hour and if we are not careful, we miss
the whole reason for Christmas!!! Yes, we’ve
got cookies to bake yet, gifts to wrap, and parties to attend but we are
blessed beyond measure to have good health, great family and friends! Let’s never forget our blessings and always
reflect on the goodness of God!
Merry
Christmas and Happy New Year!!!
~
The Lapp Family
