All I Want for Christmas...

Google that line and see what pops up.  Mariah Carey's song will be at the top of the list, but other things that crossed the search?
       --front teeth
      --spark plugs
      --a pond full of reptiles
      --a baby
      --a new president
       --peace on earth

What would your list look like? Is it all material or does it include something longer-lasting?  Eternal?  Our desires say a lot about what we value most and what we deem as trustworthy.  Where do we put our hope?


Is it here?

Or is it consumed with this?

It's easy to lose focus; we must constantly realign our thinking to match our Creator's, remembering why we are here and what our purpose is, this season and every other one too. 

Isaiah 53

Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
    stricken by him, and afflicted.
⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
    and by his wounds we are healed.
⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
    each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.

Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
    and though the Lord makes^[c] his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
    and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
¹¹ After he has suffered,
    he will see the light of life^[d] and be satisfied^[e];
by his knowledge^[f] my righteous servant will justify many,
    and he will bear their iniquities.
¹² Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,^[g]
    and he will divide the spoils with the strong,^[h]
because he poured out his life unto death,
    and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
    and made intercession for the transgressors.