On this Christmas morning Noteworthy Mommy wishes you and your family a very Merry Christmas and love, joy and happiness in the new year.

As I pass on family traditions like reading Santa Mouse, hiding a pickle in the Christmas tree and watching The Snowman, I also enjoy starting new traditions like Angel on Assignment. I hope you are enjoying Christmas as much as we are.

But in twelve short days Christmas will come to an end. The tree will be taken down and the ornaments will safely be packed away for another year. The stores will discount anything associated with Christmas to make way for chocolate and Valentines. After all of the gifts have been opened, some may be exchanged and many will be long forgotten. There is one gift, however, that is constant. That remarkable gift is Jesus and His love is forgiving and everlasting.

In church last night I was reminded how God can use us to show Jesus’s love to others. He shines through when we perform a good deed, share a kind gesture or tell others about God’s greatest gift. By sharing God’s love we remind others that the gift of Jesus is always there for us even when the sparkling lights and nativity scenes are packed away. Jesus loves us through those dark times too. Even when it seems impossible to see the light, He is there.

The lyrics from a favorite Christmas song by Point of Grace, “Emmanuel, God With Us/O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” reminds me how the Holy Spirit can work in us, not only during the Christmas season but each and every day.

“Oh Emmanuel, God with us
Spirit revealed in us
That we may be your hope to the world
Oh Emmanuel, God with us
With a light to break the darkness
That we may show your hope to the world
Emmanuel, God with us
Be God in us”

So on this Christmas Day and every day after…”Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!”

2 Corinthians 9:15