Let me ask you a quick question; “Are you sick and tired of hearing about Tim Tebow?”  Well, I for one am not.  So, with that said, I would like to open up with a reflection I have had over this whole Tebow discussion.

I have been somewhat incredulous over all the criticism in the past few months that the man has received over his faith in Christ.  I think what began as a criticism over his skill, or lack thereof, as a quarterback evolved into many people telling him to STOP praising Jesus for all he has given him.

One player on an opposing team even went so far as to say that we are fine with Tim loving Jesus, but he doesn’t always have to share that publicly.  Keep your faith private!

Tim’s response called into light the importance he places on the most important relationship he has in this world, namely, to Jesus Christ.  He equated it to marriage. Why wouldn’t you tell others how much you love your spouse?  For one, your spouse wants to hear it, and so does Jesus.

A good many people, NFL players and fans alike, seem to be rooting for this guy to be a massive failure.  And, amidst all the hate talk, ridicule, and personal jabs he takes, Tim Tebow somehow brushes it off.  He doesn’t ridicule back; he doesn’t take personal shots at other people – he literally just smiles.

To some, his cool collective confidence probably comes across as arrogant.

I, on the other hand, would like to believe that despite all the displeasure and ridicule the man has endured he still walks around with his head held high because Tim Tebow knows who he is and whose he is.

In our scripture lesson, the psalmist, whom we believe to be King David, insists that whether we are aware of it or not, we are known completely by the God to whom “all hearts are open, all desires are known, and from whom no secrets are hid.” (Book of Common Prayer)

In this famous psalm, King David insists, friends, that before we know or name God, God knows and names us.  Therefore, our knowledge of God is derived first and foremost by God’s knowledge of us.  David is inviting his readers to trust the God whose sovereign grace encompasses us in ways that we can never fully comprehend.  “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,” David says, “it is so high that I cannot attain it” (v. 6).

Let me share one more thought before I give your brains a break.  I think what David is saying, is that since we are God’s greatest and most intimate creation, we, that is human beings, have both identity and a value that endure no matter what.

This is something David knew most of the time.  David was a man who knew God and sought after “God things.”  In fact, we know him as “a man after God’s own heart.”  Throughout the psalms, David expresses and reveals over and over how intimate and assured his relationship
with God is.

But, despite David having ground his identity and value in his relationship with God; there were moments when David lost sight of who he was and whose he was.  David flubbed.  David’s sin was great.  He committed adultery and once he found out the woman conceived a child, had her husband murdered – and then, later on in life committed the sin of idolatry.

David forgot who he was and whose he was.  Instead of staying grounded in God, he chose to claim his identity and worth in his wealth, sexual addiction, and status as a great king.

One way or another, at one time or another, we all ask, “Who am I?” Where does the meaning and value of my life come from?

The question of identity, “Who am I?” is a question many people ask themselves, especially today.  This is a question we often associate with the teenage years, but teenagers are not the only ones who struggle with a sense of identity.

The mother whose children are all away from home for the first time also asks herself this question.

The retiree who suddenly has nowhere to go in the morning asks it.

The caregiver whose spouse has died after a long illness asks it, just as the man or woman struggling with issues of sexual identity asks it.

During my time living in Ashland, Ohio I had the opportunity to serve as a youth minister at a local UM church as well as coach cross-country and track for a Catholic Middle School team. As we all know, the teenage years are a time where many “find” their identity.

I didn’t like how many teenage girls I worked with felt the pressure of having their identity in a boyfriend.

In fact, I made it a mission of mine to make sure every girl I ministered to knew that her identity and worth was found in God her Creator and not in some guy.  In fact, I had all these girls, whether in the church youth group or track team, quote back to me a little saying that I taught them.

And the saying was, “I am not an object to be used and abused, but rather a child of God and deserved to be treated as such.”

I may be belaboring the message of this Psalm a little bit – I mean it is such a simple message to share – but I am encouraging us to remember that our identity is who we are (we are children of God) and our value or worth comes from whose we are (we are God’s).  If this is such a simple message to understand, then why don’t we, like David, or Tim Tebow, embrace its truth so confidently?

I think one reason is that our culture has been lying to us, and it’s worse today than it ever was.

Little girls grow up to learn that their worth is only skin-deep – they are only worth something if they are physically attractive.

Little boys, however, grow up to learn that they are only as valuable as their pockets are deep.

Psalm 139 invites us to receive an identity rooted not in the things we say about ourselves, or the labels others assign to us, but in the One who knows us more deeply and more lovingly than we could ever know ourselves.

Friends, let me end by saying that because our identity is found first and foremost in our Creator who loves us fully, we have a worth that cannot be taken from us – by others or ourselves.  The value of our lives does not come by what we achieve or possess or what others may think of us.  But rather, it comes from the God who knows us and names us, from whose steadfast love nothing in creation can ever separate us.

I had a seminary professor who used to tell a story in his presentations about his teenage years.  Every Friday night that Paul would go out to be with friends, his dad would always leave him with the same thought as he left the house.  “Paul, remember who you are.”

Friends, this day remember who you are and whose you are.  You have more worth and value than you or others may think.  You have a God who loves you so much that He sent His Son to die for you.  Embrace God’s love, and live every day with the knowledge that you, along with everyone you encounter, is fully known and loved.  Remember who you are and whose you are!  Amen.

I have had the blessed opportunity to visit Israel 2 times so far in my life.  Actually, both times have been in the past 2 ½ years.  My first visit to the Holy Lands was for a 5-week archeological dig.  Even though my visit was for an extended period of time, where we had the opportunity to tour throughout Israel on the weekends, I had a difficult time truly digesting everything I was seeing and hearing.  I came home having thoroughly enjoyed an amazing trip overseas, but feeling like I missed out on truly understanding and piecing together this rich piece of land.

Now with that said, my second trip to Israel ended up being more productive for me in that I came home with a better understanding of where I was and how every place we visited fitted into the stories of the scriptures.

One place in particular we visited was the Jordan River, but up until recently, I did not realize just how important this river was in the Bible.  The Jordan is a river that spans all the way from the heights of Mount Hermon and descends into the depths of the Dead Sea.   It’s a river roughly 200 miles long.

As testified to in our scripture lesson today, the Jordan River was where John the Baptist baptized people.  One person in particular that was baptized there was Jesus Christ.  When I asked my wife where she remembered reading about the Jordan River in the Bible she immediately went to this story in scripture about John baptizing Jesus and the Spirit of God descending on Christ Jesus and affirming him as God’s Son.

I would assume that anyone somewhat knowledgeable about the scriptures would also immediately speak of this particular story of Jesus and John on hearing the words “Jordan River.”

I found out that the Jordan River is spoken of 175 times in the Old Testament beginning back in Genesis when father Abraham parted ways with his nephew, Lot.  Further on in Genesis, we read of the great wrestling match that Jacob, Abraham’s grandson, had with God, which took place on the banks of the Jordan River.

The last story I want to highlight for us this morning is the one most pertinent for our discussion today and that is the mention of the Jordan River in the book of Joshua.  A number of us at the church are part of a small group study where we are reading
through the Bible in story format.

Anyway, one book that everyone agreed was not their favorite was the book of Joshua.  Joshua is the 6^th book in the Bible and it is full of battles, death, and blood.

I promise you that if you read through it you will agree that it makes any Clint Eastwood movie look tame in comparison.

What makes this book of the Bible so important though is that it testifies that God’s covenant is finally being fulfilled. In the book of Joshua, God finally brings the Israelites into the Promised Land, which he promised Abraham years and years before.

In Genesis, God made a covenant with Noah to never again destroy the world by flood waters.  He also made a covenant with Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky.  And as I mentioned a few moments ago, God promised Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses that His children, the Israelites, would eventually enter the Promised Land, a land flowing with milk and honey.

Friends, God kept and continues to keep His promises.  This is important for us to not only remember, but also to respond accordingly.  One way we respond is by being baptized.  When we willingly covenant with God through the waters of baptism, we commit ourselves to a life with God.

And this story of John baptizing Jesus in our scripture lesson today helps us yet again link the fulfilled Old Testament covenant with a promise God, in Christ Jesus, makes to us today.

Ok!  Really quick!  Let me back up and cap off the story of Joshua and draw the correlation with Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River.

Exodus starts out describing the oppressive conditions of the Israelites as they lived as slaves in Egypt.  It also tells us of God’s promise to deliver His children from the hands of the Egyptians and bring them safely to the Promised Land – a covenant God made with the forefathers of our faith, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  In Exodus, God intended to use Moses to lead the Israelites to the Promised Land.  To make a long story short, because of the Israelites’ unfaithfulness and sin (NOT GOD’S) it took them nearly 40 years to reach the cusp of the Promised Land.  Their journey through the wilderness is outlined in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.  And now we find ourselves in the book of Joshua and God is finally ready and willing to fulfill his promises.

We are with the Israelites standing on one side of a river looking at the Promised Land.  And can you guess what river that was? It was the Jordan River! For the Israelites, it was the Jordan River that divided their promised land flowing with milk and honey and the wilderness that they just wandered through for forty years.  And, like God divided the Red Sea for the Israelites 40 years before as they escaped from the clutches of Pharaoh, so now God divided the Jordan River so the Israelites could enter into yet another blessing given to them from God.

Are you seeing the parallels yet between this story and that of John baptizing Jesus in the Jordan River? The significance is huge, please don’t miss it.

“For it is written in Isaiah the prophet: ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way’ – ‘a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”  John is in the wilderness, he actually lives in the wilderness voluntarily, calling others out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land.

But this Promised Land that John calls his contemporaries to is not a literal land flowing with milk and honey, but a place of fellowship with God, flowing with forgiveness and joy.

And the way they must go – through the Jordan River – through repentance and the forgiveness of sins – through baptism – will take them from their current wilderness to the promised land of eternal life.  Unfortunately, many people see baptism as nothing more than a rite of passage, so to speak.  Many think, “As long as I, or my child has been dunked or sprinkled, then I am guaranteed heaven.”

But friends, we must understand the importance of our baptism as the making of a promise or vow before God on
behalf of either ourselves or our children.

When we present ourselves or our children for baptism what we are doing is covenanting with God that we will do whatever is needed to help deepen our faith in Christ Jesus.

I want to stop for a minute and make something clear.  While baptism by water is very important and one of the two sacraments of the Methodist faith tradition, this message is not solely about the importance of getting baptized.

I think there is an even more substantial truth to discover here.

This truth is that not only should we experience baptism by water, but in order to continually live in the land flowing with milk and honey, we need to constantly be saturated with Jesus Christ.  Just as John saturated those around him in the Jordan River through baptism, we must saturate ourselves in Jesus –we must be drenched in his goodness and his love!

What does this mean?  What does it mean to be saturated with Jesus?

When we attend church regularly on Sunday mornings or when we attend small groups, we are saturating ourselves with Jesus.

Spending time alone in prayer or in Bible study is another way we can do this.

We saturate ourselves with Jesus by spreading his love through Christmas caroling, orchestrating a food drive with others from church, or participating in other outreach activities.

In other words, we saturate ourselves in Jesus when we make our faith something real and vital that we live each day.

It’s NOT just a box that we check on a survey or a piece of the pie that makes up our identity – but the single most important aspect of who we are. When our relationship with Jesus is central to our lives, when we are, in a sense, soaked in his love, then we are saturated with Jesus.

And when this is the case, even though we sometimes find ourselves living in the wilderness, we are always surrounded by the Promised Land.  Our circumstances in this life might be trying, but the Promised Land is ours for the taking – if we just step into the waters and saturate ourselves with Jesus!  Amen.

Also, on Sunday, December 25th at 10:30am we are meeting for a “Casual Christmas Celebration!” Basically, just come as you are.  Don’t worry about putting on your “Sunday best” – jeans and a t-shirt will do.  We hope to see you at either or both of our services this weekend.

Merry Christmas and may God’s blessings be upon you this holiday season!!!!

“The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted…” (Isaiah 61:1)  And so we commence our journey through the 61^st chapter of Isaiah.

This is a passage that brings to us today, and the prophet Isaiah’s contemporaries, a message of hope and assurance that in the end, God will restore, reconcile, and make all things new.

Many of us know these words of Scripture NOT because we have ever read the prophet Isaiah, but rather we remember these words quoted by Jesus Christ as he commenced in ministry as testified in Luke 4.

As Jesus’ story unfolds, he reads this passage from Isaiah and then proclaims to be the long-awaited Messiah – which in turn almost gets him killed. Yet, he was not deterred from his life’s purpose of glorifying God and bringing restoration into the lives of God’s people.

His call is for us to do the same.

Now, in this verse in Isaiah, we read the words, “He has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted.”  Another way of reading this verse would be to say “he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bandage up the brokenhearted.”

This way of interpreting this passage gives us a clearer picture of what the Scriptures are saying – in essence, Jesus is like a bandage that helps heal our wounds, our pain.

The people of antiquity that Isaiah spoke to were people who needed to hear a word of hope.  They needed someone to make their lives better.  They were a people who understood first-hand oppression, broken heartedness, captivity, and imprisonment.

These were a people that watched their homes get burned down to rubble as they were carried off to captivity to live imprisoned in a foreign land.  They were a people who needed a Messiah to make it all better.

The Christmas season is a time each year that brings out the best in people.  Many of us get caught up in giving gifts, indulging in food and sharing the holiday traditions with our family and friends.

Our homes, workplaces, and communities are transformed with bright lights, Christmas music, and Christmas pageantry galore.  For most, as the song proclaims, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year!”

But, for many people, this time of the year carries heavy burdens.

Many people are aware of their own brokenness.  The losses remem­bered are many.  Some do all they can to pretend they have moved on.  However, the need remains.  They find themselves needing to have their broken hearts bandaged.

A Christmas children’s movie that brings this to light is “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer” and it’s Island of Misfit Toys.  Christmas was their reminder each year that they were not wanted and they were not loved.  Besides, who wants a…Charlie in the box, or a…

• Train with square wheels
• Toy boat that sinks rather than floats
• Squirt gun that shoots grape jelly
• Airplane that cannot fly

These “misfit” toys knew they were not wanted and knew they were not loved.  They lived on the margins of society. They were forgotten and they were abandoned.  Their hearts’ cry each Christmas season was that some boy or some girl would make it all better.

Even though this is a comical representation of “misfits,” there are many in society who are, in fact, considered to be misfits, aren’t there?  Back in Jesus’ day, the shepherds fit into this category.

During Jesus’ time, shepherds were looked down on by polite society.  They were equivalent to today’s street people.

In a Jewish society, in the hierarchy of life, shepherds were found to be lower than unwed mothers, lower than tax collectors, and lower than children.  They may have been equivalent to that of a dog.

I wonder if their loneliness and their abandonment wore off onto them.  I wonder if, like the misfit toys, they longed for someone or something to make it all better.

And then, one night, in the wee hours of the morning, an angel of God came declaring to these ragtag shepherds that their Savior had come to make it all better.

And the proof!!!! They would find the baby wrapped in cloths, lying in a manger.

I find it interesting that out of all the people in Israel at this time the only ones invited to see the Christ-child were the shepherds.  Herod was not invited.  The Romans were not invited.  The rich were not invited.  Not even the Magi were invited.

The only ones who got the invitation to the manger to witness and then testify to others that the long awaited Messiah had come were the shepherds.

I think this is a remarkable and profound point that our gospel writer is making here.  Dr. Luke is saying that God has special concern for the dispossessed, the marginalized, the poor, and the forgotten.

Luke is saying that the love and mercy of God is wide enough to encompass all people by saying that Jesus has come to make it all better.

I love my children immensely and I know they love me.  Whenever either Maggie or Elias fall and get a bump or bruise; or when they get scared they come running to their mommy or daddy to “make it all better.”  It makes me realize how important family is.

Families give people a sense of security, familiarity, love, and comfort, don’t they?

Friends, we who are the church are a family. We are a family made up of people who have become convinced that Jesus is the one we come running to, in order to have our broken hearts bandaged.

Where inner turmoil and discontent have plagued our hearts, Jesus has made it all better.

Where suffering and anguish over the loss of a loved one has torn our hearts asunder, Jesus has made it better.

Where confusion and disorder have clouded our minds to the good things of God, Jesus has made it better.

Where loneliness, fear, and worry have consumed us, Jesus has made it better.

Where addictions have controlled us, Jesus has made it better.

Friends, in Isaiah we are told to bring good news to the oppressed, to bandage up the brokenhearted.  We see in the Christmas story that God gives the shepherds, the misfits, a personal invitation to Christ’s birth.

Let us go out into the world and invite others to come to the manger, to gaze into the eyes of Jesus, the one who makes it all better.  Amen!

“What is that one thing that if you could change (you just know) life would be better, you would be ok?”

Matthew 1:18-25 gives witness to the one thing Joseph probably wished he could have changed.

Joseph is a character in our Scriptures that we really know little about.  We know that he was the father of Jesus and that he was a descendant from the tribe of Judah, which made King David a part of his family tree.

We know that he was a righteous man who was faithful to the law.  And, we know he was from the village of Nazareth and that he was a carpenter by trade.

Joseph disappears from the gospel narrative nearly as quickly as he emerges.  There is no information about his sudden departure. However, if we could try to get into the heart of Joseph for just a moment and try to experience what he felt, I think we could all learn something.

I, as well as most husbands, can understand the courage he must have mustered up to ask Mary to be his wife.

He probably fumbled his way through the proposal before she said yes and then they probably ran home together with smiles on their faces to tell their family and friends that they were getting married.

Joseph probably stood proudly by his wife-to-be as she shared the story of her proposal over and over and just how fortunate she was to have such a great guy.  I am sure joy, happiness, and celebration filled their souls.

We shared last week that the wedding plans for Mary and Joseph were going smoothly until something unexpected and strange happened.  Mary was in fact with child – she was pregnant, and NOT by Joseph.

Just as it took all Joseph had to muster up enough courage to ask Mary to marry him, it must have taken EVEN more courage for Mary to tell Joseph that she was expecting and that the baby was NOT his.

How would Joseph believe such a bizarre story that bordered on the unbelievable?  My fiancé is pregnant? And, she is trying to convince me that it happened by the Holy Spirit?  Joseph had a choice to make – do I reject or accept this claim by Mary and then, as our scripture lesson testified – do I reject or accept this claim made by the angel of God?

The easy way out is to reject, isn’t it? Set this circumstance and person aside and move forward and try to start over.

Joseph could have done that.  In fact, he was about to.  Let me just divorce her quietly and move on.  However, Joseph chose not to reject Mary and instead embraced her and accepted his given circumstance.  Instead, Joseph turned his mind to God and opened himself up to the opportunity to increase his faith during this almost unbelievable situation.

So, going back to my question a few minutes ago, what is the one thing in your life that you would change?  What is the one thing that tends to be a thorn in your side?  The one thing that seems to make life the most difficult?

Now, unlike Joseph, we are not dealing with the Son of God suddenly becoming members of our family!  Maybe we are dealing with stressful jobs, or maybe we are dealing with illness or disease in ourselves or in a family member.  Maybe someone that we love is making poor decisions and we are constantly worried for them.  Maybe our kids are acting up more than we would like.  Or, maybe we are dealing with financial strain and are truly worried about how we are going pay our bills.

I don’t want to give you all a pat answer to whatever challenge you are facing.  However, I want us all to stop for a moment, and, like Joseph did, think about what God might be doing in this situation through us.

How does God want each of us to respond?

For Joseph, this meant staying committed to Mary and trusting that the baby was indeed God’s son.  And aren’t we glad he did!  Otherwise, poor Mary would have been raising Jesus all alone on the fringes of society as an outcast single-mother.

Today  we are talking about, “Open Up…Acceptance.”  And with this idea of “acceptance,” I am encouraging you to, yes, ACCEPT your current circumstances and the people that have been placed in your life.

However, once we have accepted our circumstances, it is crucial that we don’t stop there.

The next step is vital.  And that is the step of asking ourselves the question, “What does God want me to do with this situation?  How can God use me?”

Friends, if all we do is shrug our shoulders and resign ourselves to the fact that we are facing trials in this life, all we end up with is apathy and despair.

But if we see our challenges and hardships as opportunities to bring God glory and to serve Him, then we have successfully done our part in ushering in God’s kingdom in this world.

This Christmas, let’s spend our energy serving God where we are NOW, instead of wishing for what could have been or what could be.  Let’s bring God glory in our present circumstances, instead of waiting for circumstances that are “better.”

Growing up in the Priset household, Christmas came with its fair share of expectations.  I always expected that I would be sitting down every Sunday night with my family to light the advent wreath and sing our favorite Christmas carols.  I would always get a small gift from my mother on December 6^th – Kris Kringle Day!  I would always be eating my mother’s holiday cookies – her peanut butter balls being my favorite.  I always expected that my church family would gather on December 24^th and end our time together singing “Silent Night” to candlelight.

And, if I could throw in one more, I always expected that my family would load up into our van and drive around neighborhoods admiring all the Christmas decorations on people’s homes around midnight on Christmas Eve.

However, on one of these Christmas Eves the unexpected happened.  Yes, the worship service went as planned, and yes, we ended our time singing “Silent Night,” but instead of driving around with my family admiring Christmas lights our night was unexpectedly interrupted by a homeless woman.

To make a long story short, my father offered to help this woman by driving her to the nearest shelter.  I, who loved to be at my father’s side, was eager to ride with him.  Over the next hour or so I had the amazing time of hearing this poor woman’s life’s story and seeing her sad face smile when we found her shelter.

I am not sure what happened to her, nor do I even remember her name, but I know I saw Christ in her eyes.  It reminded me of the words in Matthew, “whatever you have done for the least of mine you have in fact done for me.”

Friends, I can’t remember the decorations on even one of the houses we admired on our late night travels, but I do remember that woman’s face.  In this unexpected event in my life, in this (what I like to call) holy interruption, God redefined for me what this holiday season is really all about.

To be honest, I find the Christmas season to be somewhat routine.  Despite the joy and excitement that surrounds this month each year, it comes packaged to us in a somewhat expected fashion.

We almost know exactly how each day is going to unfold during this holiday season, don’t we?  We find ourselves pulling out the same tree and decorations from our basements.  We read the same Christmas storybooks and eat the same holiday sweets.  On our way to the shopping malls we know we are going to pass the same red bucket calling out to each of us for our spare change and we will find ourselves at church on Christmas Eve singing the same beloved Christmas carols and hymns that share with us the greatest story ever told.

We are in the first days of Advent.  And, yes, as we are all gearing up to celebrate the day Jesus Christ was born, the theme of this first week of Advent begins with an unexpected twist.  Can you believe it?

We, in fact, are thrust not first into pondering the joy of Christmas morn, but rather the promise of Christ’s second coming, which brings us to the end of time.  Isn’t it interesting how this theme of the first week of Advent speaks about the end when we are just beginning?

Yes, we are expecting for Christmas day to come and in its expectancy we anxiously wait.  Likewise, we as Christians also are expecting Christ to come again and in this expectancy we also find ourselves anxiously waiting.

So what are we to do?  How can we best live in this in between time with Christ’s birth on the one end and his second coming on the other end?

Friends, we are called to act in the midst of waiting.  We are told to be alert!  Keep awake!

Keep awake?  Kind of an odd thing to encourage us to do especially in the midst of the busiest time of the year.  In fact, many of us find ourselves operating in a state of sleep deprivation.  If you consider all the shopping, parties, school concerts, church activities, etc. etc. etc, it all adds up to quite a lot.  With all there is to get ready for the holidays, secularly and sacredly, nobody needs to tell us to “keep awake,” right?

Now, I am not talking about needing to deprive ourselves of more sleep physically, but rather I am encouraging us to “Keep Awake” spiritually.

Through our busy schedules have we lost the ability to hear God’s voice in the world and experience, like Mary, a blessed and holy interruption?  If there is one thing I want to leave you, it is the hope that you will carry the phrase “holy interruption” with you throughout this incredible time of the year.

Holy interruptions happen all the time.  And what I mean by that is that the presence of God is all around us if we only look for it.  The presence of God is found in other people if we only take the time to search deep into someone’s eyes.

Amidst the holiday parties and the late-night shopping trips, our gospel lesson today reminds us to be awake to God in the world.  Amidst all the expected Christmas activities, let’s not forget to be alert.  When a “holy interruption” comes, I hope that we are all ready and willing to follow God wherever he wants us to go this Christmas season.