Please remember

I was watching the clip "Once Upon a Christmas" from the KEnny and Dolly movie I mentioned in the survey earlier, and it got me thinking....

Side note...watch the clip on youtube (link's above) as it's probably one of the most beautiful songs. Old, out-dated clip, but gorgeous song....

Anyway.

I got to thinking about how homesick I am. I miss everyone and everything about home. I love being American and I wish we were back there. Now, for those of you who don't already know, I usually get this way fairly close to flying home. This is nothing new. I'm good the rest of the time, but I get weepy and anxious shortly before coming home....I take "excited" to a whole new level.

Now, you may ask, why would that clip make me homesick?

Well, every year, Mom would put that movie in the VCR (yes, I'm old...I grew up with a VCR) and that's what we would listen to as we decorated the house and the tree. Every year. And that was when we knew it was Christmas season. I actually remember thinking that we couldn't start until we found that movie to put in. Funny, huh?

Now, it's been several years since I've watched that movie, and Mom's copy (I say mom and not mom & dad as I don't think Dad wants to admit to owning it) has long since worn out, but I will forever think of that movie as the Christmas Movie.

Then, thinking of that, I began thinking about getting homesick for Heaven. I love my family so much that when I do everything I can to keep in contact with them. That way, when I can get home, they will want me there. I was homesick when I moved out in 2001 and even before that in 1997 and beyond when I was at Purdue. Home is a safe place, a peaceful place. Somewhere that I go because I'm loved and wanted. And I do everything in my power to get home when I can.

So why aren't we homesick for Heaven? Why don't we "call home", "send letters", "spend time with our Father? He loves us more than anyone ever can, and, yet, do we ever miss Him? Do we do everything humanly possible to make sure He runs to the door and waits anxiously when we arrive? Jesus is our ONLY way into heaven. The ONLY way. Deeds don't do it. Neither does duty. Jesus is the only way. And, yet, we never find time for Him. There's always an excuse to not go to church. Or there's always a "better, more interesting" book to read than the Bible, and yet, these are God's venues to communicate with us. Why wouldn't we want them?

I've downloaded Skype, Windows Live, and Facebook to ensure that I keep in contact with everyone. We call home regularly and send cards. And, yet, I feel I fall short in keeping in contact with God.

Why?

I want to find a story book for Hazel that tells of the Christmas story. One that's colorful and 1 year old friendly so she's interested (I know, I know, but she's 1...give me a break). Because I don't want her to grow up thinking that Santa Clause is the symbol of Christmas. I want her to know what the star on top of the tree (is supposed to) signifies, the story of the Candy Cane, and most importantly that Jesus came to earth on that day to be the most important person in our lives...in history. That He came to earth as a person, a human, a baby, to know what it's like to be us.

Here's the NLT translation of the Story if you don't have a Bible, and if you do, and it's dusty, you'll find the passage in Matthew 1:18-2:23....

The Birth of Jesus the Messiah

18 This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement[h] quietly.
20 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus,[i] for he will save his people from their sins.”
22 All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:
23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel,[j] which means ‘God is with us.’”
24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. 25 But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.

Matthew 2

Visitors from the East

Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men[a] from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 2 “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose,[b] and we have come to worship him.”
3 King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. 4 He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”
5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:
6 ‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah, are not least among the ruling cities[c] of Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’[d]”
7 Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. 8 Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”
9 After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! 11 They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
12 When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.
The Escape to Egypt

13 After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother,” the angel said. “Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
14 That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother, 15 and they stayed there until Herod’s death. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “I called my Son out of Egypt.”[e]
16 Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s report of the star’s first appearance. 17 Herod’s brutal action fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:
18 “A cry was heard in Ramah— weeping and great mourning. Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted, for they are dead.”[f]

The Return to Nazareth

19 When Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. 20 “Get up!” the angel said. “Take the child and his mother back to the land of Israel, because those who were trying to kill the child are dead.”
21 So Joseph got up and returned to the land of Israel with Jesus and his mother. 22 But when he learned that the new ruler of Judea was Herod’s son Archelaus, he was afraid to go there. Then, after being warned in a dream, he left for the region of Galilee. 23 So the family went and lived in a town called Nazareth. This fulfilled what the prophets had said: “He will be called a Nazarene.”

Please remember as you trim the tree, why your doing it. Please remember when you are shopping for that "perfect" gift and wrapping it beautifully who you're celebrating with that Present. And please remember, when you're sick for home, that your Heavenly Father is waiting for you to be sick for Him and His home, too!