A Life of Gratitude

One of my favorite Christmas decorations is a nativity scene made in Italy in the 1940's. It belonged to my Great Grandmother, was passed down to my mother many years ago, and has since become part of the collection of decor my family puts out each December.  Knowing how old it is, and the sentimental value it holds, tempts me to make it an "adult hands only" decoration, but years ago I decided to allow my children to be "hands-on" with all of our nativity sets. It's a simple idea but I have always wanted to them to know that Jesus is never off limits to them.  So, with each of my four children, our nativity sets have been played with, and I've often found them in various interesting arrangements. A few days ago, I noticed the sweetest scene my daughter had set up with the figures. All of them, even the camels, cows, and sheep, we're placed in a circle surrounding Jesus. As soon as I saw this display, a thought entered my mind. Especially at Christma...

During Sunday's church service, I found myself kneeling at the altar with tears streaming down my face. As I poured my heart out to God about some difficult situations in my life, I began to feel guilty for begging God for help instead of worshipping Him. I started to scold myself for crying out to God instead of singing His praises, when I heard that sweet, still, small voice say, "Tears are worship, too."  As I've thought about those words, I was reminded of the story Jesus told in Luke 7:37-38. The Passion Translation tells it this way,  " In the neighborhood there was an immoral woman of the streets, known to all to be a prostitute. When she heard that Jesus was at Simeon’s house, she took an exquisite flask made from alabaster, filled  it with the most expensive perfume, went right into the home of the Jewish religious leader, and in front of all the guests, she knelt at the feet of Jesus.  Broken and weeping, she covered his feet with the tears that fell fr...