16 Days Until Christmas...

We have some special Christmas traditions in my family. Every year we have a big day where my aunts, grandma, and cousins gather to make Christmas cookies--and boy, are they delicious! Since we, Team Cummins, moved to Florida we haven't had this special day with the rest of our relatives for several years. Well, my mom has kept up with all of the amazing cookies and this year a new tradition began when my mom surprised us with different types of cookies every day after we came home from school.

While cookies are just a small thing that satisfy our taste buds while expanding our waist lines, they are really a big sign of love. How have you felt when someone gave you homemade food? That person took the time and energy to prepare something delicious especially for you! That is a gift that money just cannot buy! When I come home to the smell of homemade Christmas cookies my taste buds start to dance and I am extremely thankful for the time my mom spent on making that smell possible.

A baby being born is a miraculous thing. But today the birth is also a very common thing. A long time ago a baby was born. He was born is a dirty, smelly stable surrounded by animals. His mother was a virgin empowered by God betrothed to a man who trusted in his Savior. A baby boy being born--ordinary. A baby boy being born to a virgin--extraordinary. Ordinary yet extraordinary all at the same time. While some looked at this birth as any other birth, it was in reality the biggest sign of love ever given. God didn't have to send His Son for us, but He did because He loves us. Someone making cookies is a pretty simple thing, but maybe it is just a little bit more extraordinary than we think. The cookie-maker is extending love towards the cookie-taster just as God extended His love towards us. We don't have to accept it, just as we don't have to eat deliciously-made cookies. But if we chose to ignore those warm cookies, we will miss out on an amazing cookie-filled experience. If you choose to ignore God's gift of love to you in His Son, Jesus, you will miss out on much more than a yummy cookie. You will miss out on eternity with your Creator. And that is something you just shouldn't miss!