I Celebrate The Day

I'm filled with a lot of different emotions right now. This might be the toughest Christmas of my life thus far. It's been a rough couple weeks. This is my first Christmas without my Abuelo Manolo, which is tough enough to deal with. Then add some other things I've gone through these last few weeks, and well let's just say I was looking forward to today to get a chance of regularity and normalcy. 

Then I get woken up early today by my mom because sadly my dog had just passed away. I loved my dog so much! She was my first dog, and the only pet I've ever had. To say the least she was just as much as a part of my family as anybody else. I had her for 12 years, she even had her own stocking. Truly, this hurts. I'm really going to miss my dog. And I haven't started thinking about my grandfather yet. Last night was a little difficult to go through thinking about him, but I made it through with just a tear here and a tear there.

I really feel like this is the culmination of what has been the toughest year of my life. Looking back at everything I've gone through this year, I can truly say wow. I've had a lot of downs but some major ups as well. So looking at this year, this is what I have concluded; I am blessed. This year I made the best decision of my life to truly accept Jesus Christ into my life. And looking through the year I can see how I arrived to finally deciding to surrender. It is such a beautiful thing to sit and realized steps I was making little by little without knowing that would soon define the new me that would be born again September 14. It is honestly crazy to see the steps I was taking all along to get here. Amazing to see the work He did all along, and how He was present all along. All the bad times, and all the good times this year, really have defined me and my character I think, especially who He wants me to become. And I thank God for that. I thank Him for everything. 

And it is all so fitting, that this would all culminate today, on Christmas day because I celebrate today. I celebrate the good, the bad, just everything because today is special. I celebrate His birth today. I celebrate His humbling of Himself to become a human so He could one day fulfill the prophecies of old and become our Savior. How amazing is that!?!?! My God became flesh today so He could die therefore I could one day truly live. That is special to me. What a sacrifice; yet again He is quite the sacrificial Savior. He sacrificed so much for us. I always knew this but now I truly believe it. He is the reason for my season. He is my everything. He is my all in all. I truly serve an amazing God that is amazing love.

If you're reading this, and you don't know Him. If you don't have a personal relationship with Him, talk to me. I'm not going to sit here and force my beliefs down your throat. I am nobody to do that, but I challenge you to give it a listen, and try to get a relationship with Him. Feel free to message and ask me why I truly celebrate the day today. What it exactly means to me, and who knows it could open your eyes to something new and different you have never seen before; like it did to me just over 4 months ago.

Now if you do have that relationship, then I'm going to challenge you along with myself to let's not just celebrate today, today. I feel we should celebrate this everyday. His birth, His life, His ministry, His death, and His resurrection should be celebrated by us everyday! By giving thanks to Him every chance we get. By living a life of pure walking worship to Him. By submitting ourselves and dying to ourselves everyday for Him. It is what He deserves. Our lives have been surrendered to Him, so let's live like it. Do note I include myself in this challenge because by no means am I there yet. I'm still a ways away from it, but I'm trying. We all need to.

With that my friends, I'll wrap it up. Today as we spend time with our families, opening presents, eating, and enjoying each other's company let's not forget what we celebrate. I know I won't, because today I celebrate the day.

with love,

-Adam

Here is a little song for ya'll. It's probably my favorite song of all time and it definite is along what I'm talking about.

I Celebrate the Day by Relient K


And with this Christmas wish is missed
The point I could convey
If only I could find the words to say to let You know how much You've touched my life
Because here is where You're finding me, in the exact same place as New Year's eve
And from a lack of my persistency
We're less than half as close as I want to be

And the first time
That You opened Your eyes did You realize that You would be my Savior
And the first breath that left Your lips
Did You know that it would change this world forever

And so this Christmas I'll compare the things I felt in prior years
To what this midnight made so clear
That You have come to meet me here

To look back and think that
This baby would one day save me
In the hope that what You did
That you were born so I might [ really ]live
To look back and think that
This baby would one day save me

And I, I celebrate the day
That You were born to die
So I could one day pray for You to save my life