For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
Romans 11:36
Christmas 2005
Christmas Greetings,
It is amazing to me how easily the focus of my life can shift from Christ to myself. All things belong to Him yet I often think that it’s all about me. Everything that I do must be by Him and to Him for without Him, all things lose their purpose. The gospel of John says that in Jesus is life, which is the light of man. Without the light and purpose that Jesus gives, we stumble around in meaningless darkness.
The other day during our family Bible reading at the dinner table, I came to the word “vain”. I stopped and asked Jeremiah if he knew what “vain” or “vanity” meant. I explained to him that one definition for “vain” is “empty”. I continued trying to explain it to him, thinking he did not understand the concept when he quickly responded, “Oh, vanity is like when I pick up my empty glass and try to drink water out of it”. I was amazed by his ability draw such a simple and understandable analogy. If only we all could see the vanity of the things we do when they are not for the glory of God.
When we remove Christ as the focus of Christmas, it becomes a vain and pointless holiday. The same is true for every other aspect of life, marriage, childbirth, family, education, and career. When these things do not find their purpose or significance in God – when we reduce the pursuit of these things to our own ends and pleasure – they all become meaningless because they will ultimately hinder our pleasure. Is it any wonder that our modern Western culture is increasingly rejecting things like marriage and children? Much of the West has rejected God and embraced the humanist concept that “man is the measure of all things”. When we reject the source of meaning, God, we will also reject those things that He gives meaning to. We must then make decisions based on our feelings, preferences and fleshly motives. We become like a ship on the open sea adrift with no navigational reference point. If we reject the knowledge of God, He gives us over to a reprobate mind (Romans 1).
Our family had a meaningful and exciting 2005! The most exciting news of all is that Abbey is expecting Cox baby #5! She is due April 10th and the sonographer says it’s a girl (we shall see). Abbey had another difficult time with morning sickness in the first trimester but is now feeling herself again. Abbey is such an amazing woman – the way she joyfully serves in our home and is constantly giving of herself for the children. Forgive me for bragging, but I know I got the best woman on earth! She loves managing the home and beginning the years of schooling. Abbey made three trips to the ER in 4 months – Jeremiah for two fractured fingers in July, a cut worthy of 4 stitches in August, and in November, Charity for 3 stitches right in the middle of her forehead (which thanks to Photoshop you will not notice in our family picture).
In July of this year I felt the Lord was leading me away from my part time job as network administrator at Wright Manufacturing. I was blessed to work there for nearly 5 years and am grateful for every moment. I am now able to focus more fully at WCFS on various audio, video and web development projects. I am also moonlighting for a few doctors and businesses as they have need of IT networking, web design and database development. Medically, my tumor is still “stable” since there has been no measurable growth. I continue experiencing low levels of pain – but this does not interfere with everyday life and work. We thank the Lord every day for simple things like taking walks with the family or wrestling with the children. I was even able to go skiing again last winter and have been hunting a few times this fall (I even took Jeremiah once).
Jeremiah (4 years) is learning to be diligent in his work and play. He is constantly working on “electronics” (taking apart old video cameras and mechanical items); intensely studying military books or any book having to do with airplanes or rockets; working on his schoolwork and piano; and pretending to be a pilot or cowboy. He also learned to ride a two-wheeler at the beginning of the summer and loves to refer to it as his dirt bike or his BMX bike. After taking his bike to a particularly muddy location, I was unloading it and he told me to be careful not to knock any of the dirt off his bike. I never thought anyone could be so proud dirt the way he was.
Chastity (2 years) recently got glasses and seemed to literally take off in everything from speech to play and personality. The eye doctor says she can see 90% better and with the total change in her, we are not surprised. She loves to care for her dolls – always changing their diapers and putting them down for naps. She also loves to mother Charity (for which Charity is not always grateful). She has an incredible love for crafts and colors, cuts and glues to her heart’s content.
Charity (17 months) is our little fireball! She can be quite the angel, but also has a complete flipside. We are so thankful God is the perfect parent and counselor because we go to Him often with our challenges. She can also be a delight to be around and has incredible personality – able to carry on a conversation but we usually understand only a third of what she says. She is very dramatic and keeps us laughing. She also has an insatiable desire to color and is almost constantly asking to “col-l-l-l-lor”.
We hope you have a merry and meaningful Christmas holiday as you remember the purpose for the season – to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the savior of the world. For it is in Him that we find purpose, meaning, fulfillment and life.
Love,
David for us all
Abbey, Jeremiah, Chastity, Charity and baby