If you deeply desire life at its finest, a shelter in the time of stormy weather, and a home that will be the treasure chest of lovely memories, you must use the blueprint that your Master Builder has provided for you. The building code established in the Word of God will guarantee that your heart will become the home of your dreams. However, you will never establish such a home without studying the blueprints.

It seems to me that life is often a series of tests.

Some tests are huge … they cause anxiety … and require intense focus … not to mention the role that gut-wrenching prayer plays in helping me to pass these gigantic tests!

Other tests are mere quizzes and can be breezed through easily and successfully.

We foolishly think that no more overspending … no more overeating … no more gossiping … no more wasting time playing games on one’s phone … will solve every reason why we are only living half a life.

What if I told you that there is one simple change that you could make in the coming year that would change your life exponentially? Would you do it?

Memories are pieces of the past that become lodged in the deepest caverns of your heart. Memories are meant to be treasured … and to be lovingly lingered over … day after day … year after year. Some memories are treasured so deeply within one’s soul that not only are the facts of the moment catalogued in the annals of the brain … but somehow … some way … one’s heart is tied to that single event with intense and poignant feelings. Such is the memory that I have of a December evening when I was only 6 years old …

As we travel through the days of this most miraculous month of the year, rather than going to the mall together – let’s travel to the place of miracles … to the place of the angel’s song … and to the place where the Baby was born. I’d like to invite you to travel through time with me and eavesdrop on the conversation that the Angel Gabriel had with a young woman by the name of Mary.

Christmas is a tender time and yet it is a moment in all of our lives when heaven bids us come into the heart of joy. Just because you are dealing with enormous emotional pain this year … doesn’t mean that you are excluded from the joy of Christmas.

At Christmas, I have learned that sad things are sadder and that happier things are happier. I want to talk to both groups of Christmas people today … those who are sad and those who are happy. Wherever you are in your emotional spectrum, Christmas is for you.