Thursday 24th December

So we've made it !  Christmas is here.  Stockings will be hung, Turkeys will be stuffed, veg will be prepped and those presents which we have hidden in hiding places long forgotten will be hunted for until way past midnight.  ( Try the sock drawer.  And the back of the wardrobe)

Today in the Hamilton house we shall be making Jesus a birthday cake - a tradition I started with the boys a few years back. And then tonight for the first time I think we shall be going to the midnight service at church.   I'm not sure if it is a good idea because we wont get home till after 1am and then we shall have to get the boys to bed and wait till they are asleep before doing the Santa thing.   So I might be wrecked by about 2pm Christmas day !   But I think it will be nice to welcome in Christmas with carols and prayer and focusing on Jesus.

Whatever you are doing today I hope you will be able to find a few moments to pause and take it all in.  The fact that the gospel is playing out across the land through our radios and televisions, in shopping centres and on high streets.  The fact that more people will tune in to listen to the Queen than will see any other television programme tomorrow and that she will once again be talking about the importance of her faith.   That social media is full of bible verses and messages of hope and

advent blogs like this one.   Christmas is still an amazing opportunity in our increasingly secular society for God's people to tell it as it is.   And despite what the media tells us,  people are every bit as hungry to know the truth today as they ever were.   As the days darken so our light will shine more brightly and be seen far and wide.

Thank you for following my blog this year.  Your support is so encouraging and it always amazes me that things I write strike chords in other people and help/encourage/challenge or bless.   I write this as a way for me to try to stay focused on Jesus in the run up to Christmas - but a wonderful by product is that I also get to connect with many friends around the world too.

Praying that your Christmas Eve and Christmas Day will be peaceful and contented and that you know the blessing of God in the midst of all you are doing.