72 Ounces of Chocolate Chips...worth repeating 72 OUNCES!

'Tis the season!! Can you believe it? Christmas time already! All I can tell you is that I am so excited! I love this time of year. Today I had the privilege of going to Sam's club for my monthly grocery stop. I was able to stay with the list, until I rounded the corner and what to my wondering eyes did appear!!! 72 glorious ounces of Nestle's Toll House chocolate chips. And Yes, I put them in my cart as fast as I could and I skipped down the aisle! It is officially, "the most wonderful time of the year!"

Seriously, before you think I have totally lost my mind, I will tell you that I am excited about the season for more reasons than 4 pounds of chocolate chips. Don't get me wrong, I, like most of you, do not like what this time of year has become. But I do LOVE what it is about. It is a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus. My Jesus! Your Jesus. Our Savior. What a great time to be joyful and share His love for the world. As we go out and about this time of year it is easy to lose our focus. It is easy to get "scrooge-y" as we stand in long lines. But Christmas is a time for us to embrace our faith. Faith that a baby was born to a virgin in a manger. This baby was born, to die. Die for us. For our sins. With that in the forefront of our minds, what a great opportunity we have before us this season. We can share the gospel to our cashier, give the sales clerk a tract, encourage a single mom with an anonymous gift, talk to the Salvation Army Bell ringers, bake a batch of cookies (I have some chips you can borrow) for your lost neighbors. Take your family out Christmas Caroling to a nursing home, volunteer at a homeless shelter or soup kitchen, write a letter to a missionary and tell them "Thank You" for sacrificing their life to serve The Lord. Host a Happy Birthday Jesus Party for the neighborhood kids (thanks Neener from CBS for this great idea!!) The opportunities are endless.

The important thing this time of year is to just shine for Jesus! And sure, we should do this all year long...but why not start now!