Category Archives: Observations

Smoke and Mirrors

February 21, 2012 By in Encouragement, Observations Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

A friend of mine recently visited the Los Angeles area and decided to go on a tour of Hollywood. As the group approached the heart of Hollywood near the Walk of Fame the bus driver said “Whatever you expect Hollywood to be, go ahead and throw it out the window now. It will be nothing like you expect it to be.” As the driver warned, it was certainly not what she had imagined. The Walk of Fame was a full-blown letdown. She recognized very few of the names on the stars in the area where they were dropped off. When she asked where she could find some of the more well-known stars she was informed they were a few blocks down and were not in an area she would want to venture into as a tourist.

A visit to the famed Rodeo Drive resulted in further disappointment. The high-end designer stores were old, plain storefronts lacking in glitz or glamour. And what appears on TV as an endless array of upscale shopping is merely a small area of uninviting stores. Her next stop was The Grove where many celebrities are spotted shopping or surveying the fresh fruits and vegetables at the local Farmer’s Market. This location proved to be much more desirable and she even saw filming taking place for the entertainment show “Extra”. However, from the celebrities she saw that day to the tour of Hollywood, everything was smoke and mirrors. Nothing that she saw in person, including the celebrities, looked anything like they appear on TV.

As women we often hide behind the same smoke and mirrors. By all appearances everything is fine. People see us and we smile and put up a front that everything in our lives is going according to plan. We seemingly have it all together. But when the smoke and mirrors is gone and the mask we wear is removed, many times what is behind it all is a woman who has been robbed of her identity. She questions who she really is. Her identity has been found for so long in her children, her spouse, her position or her title that she’s forgotten who she really is. Women today are defined by images and portrayals in the media that do not line up with the image in which we were created by God. Among many of us today, there is an insatiable desire for beauty and a longing to “fit in” to a world we were never meant to fit into in the first place.

We place false expectations on ourselves that we must take on many roles (wife, mother, sister, daughter, friend, worker, volunteer, student, leader, caretaker) and there is no room for mistakes or weakness. We are drowning in our attempt to be everything to everybody by taking on these many roles, many of which were not intended for us. And in some cases, women spend their entire lives trying to prove their worth and value based on a definition of who they should be and not on the biblical definition of who they were created to be. And in a futile attempt to cover up what society defines as weakness, we pretend that we are effectively doing it all and being it all without any negative consequences.

The identity crisis among women lies not in our inability to do all and be all. It lies in our inability to believe in the truth of God’s word. We have allowed ourselves to believe in the altered images we see and the false words spoken to us. Our own insecurities have kept us from the power and joy that comes from walking in the unity of authentic relationships with our sisters in Christ. God’s word says that those who believe in Jesus Christ are the righteousness of God in Christ. Jesus became sin for you so that you might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Cor. 5:21). And that you are a child of Abraham by faith and therefore an heir according to the promises God made to Abraham. (Gal. 3:27, 29). You are blessed, chosen, predestined and adopted as one of His own and accepted in the beloved. And in Him you have redemption through His blood and forgiveness of your sins. (Eph. 1:3-7).  You are holy, chosen and a special treasure for the Lord. (Deut. 14:2).

Which definition will you choose to believe? The one masked in smoke and mirrors that isn’t what it seems to be or the one that says you are a treasured possession chosen by your Father in heaven? If your identity is in your role or title or how someone else defines you, you will always question your value and your worth. But when you know who you are in Christ you will know the peace that comes with knowing your true identity. You will know that you are valued and will find unspeakable joy in knowing that you are a treasured possession in the eyes of God. You are not who this world says you are or who someone else says you are. You are who God says you are. Isn’t it time you started believing it?

Missed Destiny

January 31, 2012 By in Current Events, Encouragement, Observations Tags: , , , , , , , , 5 Comments

In this election year the political rhetoric and attacks are running high, especially among the Republican candidates campaigning in primaries. The most common form of attack I’ve notice in the advertisements and during the debates is when the focus is on the candidate’s past. They dig up every inconsistency in their opponent’s past, every word they misspoke, and every personal mistake they ever made. The attacks on their personal life are the most vicious and cruel but unfortunately seem to carry the most weight among voters. Focusing on a candidate’s past is so widely used among the candidates because it’s proven to be effective in selling short the political future of the one under attack and in many cases causing them to never reach their longterm dream.

Focusing on the past and attacking someone for who they used to be instead of who they are now is as old as time – it’s creator is the devil himself. His most effective method of attack is to keep us focused on our past so we’ll fail to move forward toward our destiny in Christ. When we are preoccupied with looking back to events and people who have caused us pain, hurt or anger then we cannot look forward to see what our future holds. We become blinded to the promises of our future by the obstacles of our past. When we become obsessed with the past in the form of unforgiveness, guilt, hatred or consuming sorrow, we miss the opportunity to be set free from that which keeps us held captive to the past. And when we fail to move forward in these areas we become an easy target for spiritual attack. The enemy will begin to constantly remind us of who we were in our past in order to ensure we keep looking back instead of keeping our focus forward on God. Staying focused on the past is the single most common cause of people missing their destiny in Christ.  

But God’s plan is to keep us moving forward toward the destiny He has called us into. And Jesus is the key to our being released from our past and being able to move forward. He is the key that sets us free from the weight of our past that holds us back. Many try in their own strength to break free from their past but find the chains that hold them there are too strong. And each time they start to make forward progress the devil is right there to remind them of their failures and shortcomings.  He uses doubt, insecurity, unforgiveness, guilt and even hurtful reminders from others to keep us looking back and focused on our past. But when you reach the point that you realize you are powerless to break free from your past on your own and you surrender your life and your past to Jesus, He can give you the power you need through His Holy Spirit to have the strength to forgive and to begin to heal from the hurts of your past. Then you can begin to move forward into the destiny you’re called to. You no longer have to fight the distractions of your past. And you have freedom from the chains that have kept you bound. It’s time to stop looking back and focus on your future in Christ. You have a destiny awaiting your arrival.

Who’s the Boss?

January 26, 2012 By in Encouragement, Observations Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

One of my favorite TV shows in the 1980’s was the sitcom “Who’s the Boss”. As the title eludes, the show was about the clear role reversal of the two lead characters, where a woman was the breadwinner and a man (who was her live-in housekeeper) stayed at home and took care of the domestic duties. As their friendship and trust in each other grew and the lines became crossed, there was an underlying tension between the two of them of who was really in control of the decision-making in the home.

We live in a world that constantly attempts to remind us through all forms of media that we are in control of our lives. That we are the ones with the power to direct our path in life. Actress Drew Barrymore once said “I don’t want to sit around and hope good things happen. I want to make them happen.” She clearly believes she is the one who ultimately determines the outcome of her life. We all have seen or experienced marriages in which husbands and wives fight for control of each other. Or parents who try both successfully and unsuccessfully to control their children. In the workplace and in the school classrooms it’s sometimes hard to tell who’s in control. And while it’s true that we are, for the most part, in control of the choices we make, it is in those choices that we are ultimately giving up control. We falsely believe that because we are free to make our own choices then that means we are in control of our lives. There are much bigger forces at play and much more at stake than we realize.

I am a self confessed control freak. I get it when people tell me it’s hard to give up control and to trust in someone else to guide their decisions. I was one of those people who held on to control of all areas of my life (my marriage, my work, my money) even as I was watching them all slowly spiral out of control. People who were far wiser than I ever will be told me to surrender control of my life to God. To trust in Him to “fix” all the areas of my life I was incapable of fixing myself, as long as I was relying on my own strength and abilities. I held on tight-fisted to control until I almost lost it all. I believed that I knew what was best for my life and thought “how in the world can I just release all this to God? It’s too hard!” Even though I believed that I was the one in control and that the choices were either “I’m the boss” or “God’s the boss”, the truth was that I was never in control. Either I was going to surrender and allow God to be in control or I was going to continue to give into my own desires and allow the enemy of God to be in control. We are extremely deceived if we believe we are ever truly in control.

It isn’t easy and I use the present tense because it is a daily surrender to the desires of my heart and of my flesh. But thankfully I don’t have to rely any longer on my own strength or on my own abilities to do so. And I now know that God’s ways are always better than my own. I made the choice about 15 years ago to surrender my life to Jesus Christ, to relinquish the burden of control to Him. And since that time I have learned that what our world would perceive as weakness was the single-most freeing thing I’ve ever done. I believed the lie that freedom was found in being in control of my own life and on not relying on anyone but myself to make the decisions that affected my destiny. But the truth was that I was enslaved to my need to be in control. (Gal. 5:1) Now, I no longer have to carry the burden of trying to fix everything, do everything, be everything or know everything. I have the joy of experiencing freedom from being in control – yes freedom from not freedom in being in control. It is bondage to hang on to the belief that you are in control of your life. (1Kings 18:21). Remember, either you have surrendered to God and He’s in control or you’ve surrendered to your own desires and the enemy is in control. So, who’s your boss?

Misplaced Trust

January 21, 2012 By in Encouragement, Observations Tags: , , , , , , , , , 6 Comments

During a recent thunderstorm I was lying in bed listening to the heavy rain and wind outside. Although the wind made it sound like there was complete chaos going on just outside my window, I felt an unusual peace in the moment. I began to think about how people react when a “life storm” hits their otherwise calm existance. Do they experience that same peace I felt that night or is their response something much different. How you react during the storms of life greatly depends on who your trust lies in.

Whenever there is a big thunderstorm at our home my grandmother who lives with us reacts with worry and fear. She can’t sit still. She comes in and out of her room as she tries to stay calm but she can’t help but keep looking out all the windows to make sure everything is still ok. If she was in the middle of something and a storm comes up she stops everything to direct all her focus and attention to the storm even though she’s in the safety of our home. She prepares for the worst possible scenario by readying her flashlight and ensuring that if it gets too bad we’ll all head to the basement for safety. She wants to talk about the storm and relay all the information that the weatherman has communicated on TV. She thinks there’s no chance that the storm will quickly blow over and fully expects it to last a very long time. Even if there is no severe weather in the forecast, if she sees clouds outside she assumes that a bad storm is coming. And although at 99 years old she has been through many, many thunderstorms and has come out of them completely unscathed, she still becomes consumed by the most current one.

Even as Christians don’t we respond that way many times to the storms of life? We worry, we can’t be at rest, instead of being full of faith we fully expect the worst case scenario, we put all our focus and attention on the storm and we are fearful of what’s going on around us even though we’re under the covering of God’s protection. We expect our storm to last a very long time and we quickly forget the previous storms we’ve been through and survived. Yet we proclaim our belief in Jesus, the very One who calmed the storm by rebuking the winds but like His disciples we lack faith and are fearful when the storm hits. We put our trust in our own abilities to overcome our storm. We become consumed by it and allow it to steal our focus away from the only place it should be. We too easily brush off the promises of God’s word that says that we are to be without fear because God is with us wherever we go. (Joshua 1:9). We forget that His word also says “When I am afraid I will trust in you”. (Psalm 56:3). Our trust is completely misplaced if it is anywhere but in God and the promises of His word.

When our trust is in God, not only can we experience a calm before the storm, but we can experience complete calm during the storm. When we surrender control of the situations and circumstances in our lives that usher us into the darkness of a storm, there is an inexplicable peace that overcomes the effects of the storm. And when we can continue to rejoice in the Lord even when things are spiraling out of control, His grace will sustain us through the storm. Philippians 4:6-7 promises “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” He is faithful in His promises. If you are in a storm and everything is raging around you and fear and worry are consuming you, it’s time to put your trust in the Jesus. Cry out to Him and ask Him to calm the storm. Then praise Him that He is the only One who can. The storm may continue to rage all around you but the storm within you will subside. That’s a promise.

In a World Full of Options

January 4, 2012 By in Encouragement, Observations Tags: , , , , , , 4 Comments

We live in a world that is full of options. When we are faced with challenges there are many available solutions. And for most of us, when everything is going well we would probably all agree, that in the world we live in it seems that there are options for most any circumstance or situation that we may face. With the resources available today there is options you may never have thought possible. In most cases it’s just a matter of deciding which is the best option.

But for some reason when things are not going so well and we hit difficult times in our lives many of us are quick to come to the conclusion that there aren’t any options. I hear people say “divorce is the only option”. Or their excuse for making a wrong decision that caused their life to be a huge mess is “I didn’t have any other option”.  Why do we place such limits in our lives when things are not going according to plan? The reason is because we falsely believe that it’s up to us to fix everything that we’ve messed up. That things will only get better through our limited abilities. And when our own selfish choices are the reason for the mess, we feel incapable in our own strength to fix it because we already failed by allowing it to happen in the first place.

Whether it’s a marriage in crisis, children who are out of control or financial debt so deep that we cannot see a way out, we see no other option but giving up. People will say “I’m at the end of my rope, I can’t take it any more”. Many of these are people who believe in God. They know He exists and they believe that He is the creator of the universe and is capable of healing the sick and giving sight to the blind. But because they think it’s up to them to fix their situation, they don’t see our God, the God of miracles, as an option to bring a miracle to their situation. So they give up hope.

But when you are out of options, you’ve reached the end of your rope and you see that giving up is the only option left, then you are in a perfect place for God to step into your impossible situation and do the miraculous. When you think all hope is gone and you’ve exhausted all that you in your own power are capable of, then God is just waiting for you to say “God, I surrender! I can’t fix this!” It’s in that moment of surrender when you are willing to turn the situation over to Him that the doors can begin to open for your miracle to happen. The marriage that you thought never stoood a chance, the impossible financial situation, the hurt inside that you thought you would always have to live with or the addiction you can’t seem to overcome can begin to turn around. The key is surrender.

In a world seemingly filled with options, there really is only one foolproof option that works every time and that’s trusting God with every area of our lives. The best option will always be to surrender control to the One who has the world in His hands, including your world. He is more than able to make a miracle out of your mess. But in order for that to happen you must see God as an option in the first place then you have to be in a place where He is your only option. When those two things happen then nothing is impossible because with God all things are possible. Are you ready to surrender?

When You Don’t Notice You’ve Reached a Crossroads in Life

December 31, 2011 By in Encouragement, Observations Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

Many times crossroads are well marked with flashing lights and plenty of signs to warn you that you are approaching roads that will intersect one another. There may even be speed bumps or rumble strips to warn you that you will soon be required to stop. But sometimes when you are in an unfamiliar area you may come upon a crossroads and barely have time to stop. And in extreme cases you may pass through a crossroads without realizing it until it’s behind you. In those situations you may be lucky and come out on the other side completely unscathed. But unfortunately there is also the possibility of serious if not fatal consequences.

In life crossroads are much the same. Many times we see them well in advance and have plenty of warning that we must stop in order to make the right decision on which direction to proceed and when the time is right to proceed safely. And sometimes we come upon them unexpectedly but in those instances we still have time to stop and evaluate direction and timing. But there are those times when we pass right through the crossroads of life and don’t realize what’s happened until it’s too late. It’s in those instances that we are in danger of making decisions that can have lasting consequences in our lives.

Several years ago a friend’s daughter had made a decision during an emotional time of her life. She set her mind and didn’t look back. When she hit the crossroads she didn’t even realize it. She made a choice at a critical time that she can now see was not the best decision for her future. She had breezed through the crossroads and never looked backed.

At the time it seemed like there were no consequences to her not noticing she was at a major point in her life. She took a turn that felt right at the moment. But that turn took her down a road she can look back on and wish she had never taken. Now she sees that there was a defining moment when she hit the crossroads but she was unprepared to notice it at the time and had no warning signs in place to let her know she was approaching a critical intersection in her life.

As women our warning signs, our rumble strips are our friends. And as believers we have the gift of the Holy Spirit to give us internal signals that we need to slow down and evaluate. Don’t set your life on cruise control and pass through life’s intersections without slowing down to give prayerful and thoughtful time to your decisions. Call on trusted people in your life and ask them to give you biblical wisdom to help you in your decision-making.

There are two simple ways you can avoid passing through the crossroads of life without noticing. First, spend time in prayer and communicate with God by reading His word so that when you hear His Holy Spirit whisper “slow down” you won’t miss the warning. Secondly spend time developing authentic friendships so you will have people in your life who will be your rumble strips. There’s no guarantee you’ll never take a wrong turn but you’re less like to miss the intersection if you have your warning signs in place.

Christmas is like a magnifying glass

December 25, 2011 By in Encouragement, Observations Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

For most of us our Christmas memories as children are good ones. I’m not sure if that’s because Christmas was really better back then or if we were just oblivious to what was really going on around us because we were so excited for Santa to come.

But as we get older it seems like Christmas becomes a time of stress, sadness and disappointment for many of us. The reason holidays can be such a difficult time is because Christmas is like a huge magnifying glass that magnifies everything that is wrong in our lives, especially when it comes to relationships. Christmas seems to cause us to be so much more aware of the enormity of the fact that all the expectations we had of Christmas as a child are now mostly unmet in our adult life.

It’s the time of year when it’s never more obvious to the divorced parent that they had a failed marriage when they have to put their child on a plane and send them off to the other parent for the holidays. It’s more evident to those whose families are estranged when every commercial on TV seems to show happy families all gathering together and everyone is enjoying each other’s company. It’s never more lonely on Christmas day for the soldier who is deployed away from family as they sit alone a million miles from home. Or for the single person who has no one special to share the holiday with, Christmas is the longest day of the year.

For those who have lost loved ones the loss is magnified when the realization hits that they will never again celebrate the holiday with the one they miss so much. For the families whose marriage is in crisis, Christmas magnifies the brokenness in the home and ushers in a new level of hopelessness when everyone else seems to have it all together – or so it seems when you’re the one who’s marriage is falling apart. For the child who is on the Angel Tree because his single mom cannot afford to buy gifts, his situation is magnified as all the other kids in class talk about what they’re getting for Christmas this year. He just hopes he gets picked so he’ll get something and won’t be embarassed when everyone asks what he got when they return to school.

Christmas is not easy for everyone. If you are one of the fortunate ones whose family has strong, healthly relationships and the get togethers are special moments where memories are made, please take time to give thanks that you are richly blessed. If you are like so many others whose situation is magnified this time of year and you are accutely aware of the failures, hurts, losses and disappointments in your life please take time to give thanks. No matter what your situation is and no matter how hopeless the holidays make you feel, you can still find hope in the one who’s birth is magnified in the songs you hear over and over every where you go. In the words of “O Holy Night” – long lay the world in sin and error pining, til he appeared and the soul felt it’s worth. The thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn. Fall on your knees. O hear the angel voices, O night divine, O night when Christ was born.

You see, this is the time of year that we long for in our souls. We have long been in sin and error but Jesus was born and finally our souls felt worthy. We should feel the thrill of hope, we should be rejoicing and falling on our knees because our Savior was born. We no longer have to live feeling hopeless and in despair because, through His birth, everything is new and glorious. We don’t have to live consumed by our circumstances and the enormity of our failures, shortcomings and mistakes. We can seek the One who came to save us and in Him find the peace that we so long for. Don’t spend another Christmas feeling overwhelmed at the magnitude of this life and all it’s shortcomings. The things of this world will never bring us the joy our soul seeks. It’s only in the Savior, the Christ who was born on that holy night so long ago that we will truly find the peace and joy we so deeply long for. Let this Christmas be the one that you fall on your knees and receive His forgiveness and salvation. You can awaken tomorrow to a new and glorious morning where the only thing magnified in your life is His love for you.

Defying the Odds

December 15, 2011 By in Observations Tags: , , , , , 5 Comments

For the past 4 years I have been the primary caretaker for my 99-year old grandmother who lives with my family. As those closest to me know, it has been a challenge.

The challenge has not been the physical needs of my grandmother. At 99 she defys the odds. She is in good health – the only medication she takes is blood pressure medicine. She has never suffered from any diseases. Her mind, other than short term memory loss, is sharp. She reads the entire newspaper every day, watches Days of Our Lives religiously and her favorite primetime show is Dancing with the Stars.

Besides preparing her meals, doing her laundry and shopping, and helping with bathing, hair washing and getting dressed, her physical needs are pretty minimal.

The difficulty lies in the emotional realm. It is not easy to see someone you love be so troubled in their soul. On the outside she displays an attitude and demeanor that everything is ok. But when you care for her day in and day out you know there is great fear and worry that occupy her thoughts. Her consuming fears revolve around the “what ifs” in her life – “what if I fall?”, “what if I end up in the hospital?”, “what if someone breaks into the house when no one is here but me?”, “what if I can no longer do things for myself?”

Over time the subtle doubts and fears that enter into our minds when we are young begin to take root. Their grip becomes tighter and tighter until those doubts and fears begin to consume your every thought. Your focus settles on the negatives and peace eludes your soul.

Because of what I’ve seen in my grandmother I began to take notice of the same strongholds in the lives of others. I noticed that so many people are absorbed by disappointments, failures and hurts of their past or they focus on the fears of not knowing what the future holds. And what they miss is the present moment. They miss the beauty of this season of their life. They miss the opportunity to have peace because they have convinced themselves that the turmoil of their past or the unknown of the future won’t allow them to ever be at peace. They “make it” through the present in order to “survive” to the end. And like my grandmother, they are not the exception to the rule. They are the majority.

But what if……what if you decided to really defy the odds? What if you chose to believe in that baby in the manger who defyed the odds? What if you became the exception to the rule and lived a life full of peace and joy? What if you had a strong, loving marriage that defyed the odds in a time when divorce is so prevalent. What if you found healing for the past hurts you’ve experienced and forgave those who hurt you? What if you didn’t worry about the future because even though you do not know what the future holds, you know the One who holds the future in His hands? What if you stopped trusting in your own abilities to make everything wrong in your life right and began to trust in Jesus, the Prince of Peace. He defyed the odds that the people of the world placed on Him and came to the world as a baby in the manger in order that you may defy the odds too and find rest for your weary soul simply by believing in Him.

High Performance Christians

December 14, 2011 By in Encouragement, Observations Tags: , , Leave a comment

If you’ve ever been to a church you’ve probably seen them – the High Performance Christians. They’re running around looking very busy in hopes that someone may notice, especially the Pastor. They are quick to tell you what committee they are on and what area of ministry they oversee.

They sign up for every class, event and opportunity to volunteer. They have their bible highlighted with lots of handwritten notes along the side of the scriptures. And they sit right up front and are the first to speak to the Pastor after the service ends.

They even update their Facebook status so everyone knows that the Pastor sat at their table at the restaurant after service.

Even those who serve the church behind the scenes and are not seeking attention are still tempted to “perform” for God. They think that if they read their bible enough, pray enough and do enough bible studies that God will love them more. But the truth is that God loves us no matter how we “perform” for Him.

If we don’t pray a certain number of hours each week or we don’t read  our bible every day, He still loves us. His love for us is not based on how good a Christian we are. He simply loves us. There is nothing we can do to make him love us more and nothing we can do to make Him love us less. He just loves us.

Let that thought sink in……He simply loves you. You do not have to live in fear of losing His love if you do something wrong. And you do not have to live under the pressure to “perform” to make Him love you more.

In the same sense we are to love others no matter how well they “perform” for us. (Mark 12:30-31).

People will let us down – they’ll disappoint us. But we are to love them no matter what just as God loves us no matter what.

As Christmas approaches, think of someone you need to love even though they have not performed to your expectations and ask God to give you the strength to love them just as He loves you.

Behind the Scenes of An Extreme Makeover

December 8, 2011 By in Encouragement, Observations Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

For my son’s birthday we decided it was time to redo his bedroom to give it an updated and age appropriate look. So we set out to perform a much needed extreme makeover. We started by removing three layers of wallpaper then painting the room a warm shade of blue. We bought a new bed, new bedding and a new rug. We brought in a floor plant and changed the ceiling fan to a more modern one. And a new lamp and some new wall hangings finished out the job. His room now looks completely different than before. But the thing is, nothing has really changed. If you remove all of the new items from the room, what’s left underneath the surface is still the same. Many people live their lives much the same way. They try to cover up the pain they feel on the inside by changing things on the surface. They change their appearance. They change relationships, jobs, homes, surroundings, and spouses. They do so in hopes that if they make “surface” changes then they will feel a change on the inside that will overcome the wounds and hurts that nobody can see on the surface. But when you strip all of that away, nothing has really changed on the inside. The only option for real transformation on the inside is when we are born again and become a new creation through Jesus Christ. We keep doing the same things over and over and expect different results. But the truth is nothing will change until we surrender our lives to the only One who can bring about real change. Jesus came in human form so that He could die on the cross the death that we deserve. He gave His life so we don’t have to give ours as payment for our sins. So as you give and receive gifts this Christmas, receive the gift of salvation, eternal life and a new life transformation so that you may be healed of the hurts and pains that have held you captive for so long. It’s time for a real change, a below-the-surface life transformation that is found only in Jesus Christ. Ask Him into your heart and to forgive your sins and you’ll have the joy this season of receiving a real Extreme Makeover.