Don't Give Up

 As Christmas is quickly approaching and we are in the thick of the season I find myself feeling more grinchy than jolly. I work in retail. We've been playing Christmas songs since November 1. The decorations have been up since before Thanksgiving and the shoppers have been less than kind this year.  I love what I do - I sell diamonds - but I'm reminded every day of how materialistic this world has become. Now don't get me wrong. I love gift giving and receiving just as much as the next person... but for me Christmas is about the love of God and His gift to us... Jesus. And - since this is to be a quick blog post and not a full on theoretical debate I'm keeping it simple.  While seeking to be in God's presence this morning I stumbled upon something that truly inspired me. Joseph, Jesus' earthly father. This man does not get enough credit in our church Christmas plays, story telling or any other Christmas related activities. This man was pure love. Nothing grinch...

I posted this meme on my social media page a few days ago and it caused quite a stir. What seemed like a very cut and dry meme to me was the complete opposite for some others. Apparently it opened some wounds that were not quite healed, provoked unforgiveness lingering in some and made me a "bad" Christian for sharing. I've grown some pretty thick skin since my divorce... so with my formidable defenses in place I decided to respond to the comments on my Facebook page and share my heart. This action is second nature to some, but the old me would have simply deleted the post and moved on. I have never been a fan of confrontation, I would back down from a debate and I would walk away from a fight instead of standing up for myself - but I'm learning that being completely passive is not a good thing and sometimes we need to be assertive. I still pick and choose my battles... and this was one I felt needed to be fought. Or at the very least... explained.  Most of my posts a...