Emmanuel

Mary, did you know

that your Baby Boy would one day walk on water?

Mary, did you know

that your Baby Boy would save our sons and daughters?

Did you know

that your Baby Boy has come to make you new?

This Child that you delivered will soon deliver you.

Mary, did you know

that your Baby Boy will give sight to a blind man?

Mary, did you know

that your Baby Boy will calm the storm with His hand?

Did you know

that your Baby Boy has walked where angels trod?

When you kiss your little Baby you kissed the face of God?

Mary did you know…

The blind will see.

The deaf will hear.

The dead will live again.

The lame will leap.

The dumb will speak

The praises of The Lamb.

Mary, did you know

that your Baby Boy is Lord of all creation?

Mary, did you know

that your Baby Boy would one day rule the nations?

Did you know

that your Baby Boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?

The sleeping Child you're holding is the Great, I Am.

"Mary Did You Know?" - Mark Lowry

The last line of this song always gives me chills—what would it feel like to hold the Great, I Am? How incredible would it be to cradle the baby that would one day give His precious life to grant me the choice of a perfect and beautiful eternity with Him!? I imagine Mary must have felt some kind of electricity shoot through her when she looked at her Baby Boy. I think looking into the eyes of Jesus, heaven’s perfect Lamb, would emit unbelievably strong emotions.

To stare into the innocent eyes of a child in and of itself is one of the sweetest things left on earth—but imagine those precious eyes being the same ones that would hold the tears of painful torture born for you. Imagine those tiny hands being the same ones that would one day be pierced by nails, spilling His blood and making us pure and white as snow. Imagine those lips speaking words of wisdom to thousands of people who would gather to listen. Mary knew…she held her Savior.

Merry Christmas to all of you! I pray that we may all take the time to ponder the beauty of our selfless Savior this Christmas. Remember, today is not only the celebration of His birth, but also of our new life in Christ! Hoping that you all will spend some wonderful time with the people you love most in celebration of the greatest Gift ever to be given—an opportunity for a pure and hopeful life with Jesus!

"Artist" - In the Head or In the Blood?

Why do I call myself an artist? What gives me the right to assign this title to myself? For surely my skills haven’t developed enough to be given the name under the technical meaning of the word. In the last couple of weeks, I challenged myself to think about some things and come up with an answer to this question.

My first thought was to doubt the validity of the word as it applies to me. I dubbed myself as prideful and nearly ceased using the term for anyone who wasn’t at the peak of their game. I soon realized my fault as I took the time to really look at the people around me. A world of artistry caught me quite by surprise. I could see it—the sparkle that glimmers in the eyes of the creators when they construct something. It doesn’t even have to be a physical creation. Every time a mind fabricates a concept, every time imagination is tapped—when love is formed, or when an ultimate reality is created through perspective...artistry is at work.

I think at least a small amount of artistic vision is instilled in every human being—obviously, some carry more than others. I call myself an artist, because in my heart I feel creativity. I perceive that there is more to be made of life than what meets the naked eye. It’s not so much a physical skill, but a passion inside of my soul…a passion to take the elements of the earth and combine them in my mind to create my own vision.

Musings begin when the rich scent of brewing coffee meets my senses; when bright city lights glow on the horizon; when I witness a beautiful sunset stretching its arms upward in a final attempt to grace the earth with its warmth. We take things like this for granted every day, and yet I believe the mark of a true artist is when one can take ordinary situations and turn them into extraordinary sensations, dreams, and inspirations. External works of art are simply the expressions of our inner rapture for the envisioning of our imagination.

Our lives are a creation of the unrivaled Artist. Just as we draw inspiration from listening to the works of a composer or viewing the brush strokes of a painter, we should be ecstatic about all of the imagination and revelation that we can find in the artistry of our superlative Creator. He has forged a world of beauty and intrigue for us and my soul tells me to savor it—take the magnificent stimulus that He has provided and cherish it.

Who am I? I’m one who takes back the breath that was taken away by overwhelming ecstasy and expresses to the best of my ability what I see in my mind’s eye. My heartstrings play their gentle harmony to accompany the melodic chant of my soul’s voice, and the feelings I get in those moments of expression are what define me as an intricate design of the Creator…I am an artist.

IT'S SNOWING!!!!!

I’m taking a break from my poetic antics today. The five year old inside of me has been unleashed with the help of the gorgeous snow blowing around my house in fancy clouds. Snow pulls me out of my thoughts and into the present moment. It brings a refreshing excitement for the day. At the first snow, my Christmas spirit always goes completely off the charts. The beautifully (and somewhat chaotically) decorated Christmas tree simply glows in my vision. The heart of the season bounces through me and gives me butterflies in my stomach.

This morning, when I woke up and saw the light dusting of snow on the ground and the ever growing amount that flew through the air, I literally jumped up and down and started laughing (of course, this was in the privacy of my bedroom where no one would be around to question my sanity). Snow is one of my favorite parts of the cold winter months. Curling up by a window where I can watch it fall with a cup of hot ginger tea and a book or virtual pen and paper (otherwise known as my laptop) always gives me this amazing feeling. It’s the same feeling that I had when I was little and curled up in my momma’s lap as she read me the Little House on the Prairie books or my personal favorite, “Miss Rumphius”, which we had affectionately re-titled “The Lupine Lady”.

Snow held such magic in my eyes when I was younger. It was as if the earth’s greatest beauty had unveiled itself. Sometimes, even if it’s not physically happening, you can feel your eyes sparkling with excitement and joy. When it snowed, I could always feel that—the thrill of something rare and amazing. The pure whiteness that covered my home encompassed my heart with its spritely life.

I hope as I grow older that feeling never goes away. As long as there is life to live, I hope that there is a twinkle of magic in my heart that shines ever brighter with the brilliance of the childlike excitement that I find in snow.

Hey Everyone. I am guest blogger at Blog Around the World today! So, stop by, read my latest post, and leave a comment! :)