Alright, you need to know why our ministry is called Christmas River. Apart from the fact that everyone LOVES the name, because it conjures up all sorts of cool images of chrissy, there is a lot more to it. Christmas River came wrapped up in a God-given dream, with clear and vivid pictures of a farmhouse in a rural setting filled to capacity with happy, laughing children.
Christmas is our FAVOURITE time of year. (I am widely known for playing christmas music as early as April, and have to be tied up not to get the decorations out straight after my birthday on October 31! I love the whole event…the lead-up of sorting and decorating, pressie shopping, wrapping and gift card making…but Christmas became especially significant to our family in 2004, when we realised that the day wasn’t all about Santa and presents. There was a free gift we hadn’t opened; a relationship with our Creator. As Christmas signifies the birth of Jesus Christ, who is an integral part of our life today, the word Christmas is a necessary one for our ministry.
One of the lines we use in our promotional marketing of the ministry is ….’Christmas River’- where the spirit of christmas flows every day.
When you think about Christmas spirit, what words come to mind? Kindness, generosity, charity, goodwill, compassion, fun, largesse…I’m sure there are hundreds. It is these words that define who we are, and what we are aiming to do (by the grace of God) with the children who come here.
River signifies the flow of life. John 7:37 says, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Rivers of living water will brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in me in this way.” We know we could not walk in this calling without daily strengthening and support from the Holy Spirit – the ‘living water’ in us. And man, were we ever thirsty before we came to know Him!
So, in a nutshell, that’s why. I pray that this Christmas, you open the free gift Jesus has sent you. Even though it’s free, it will cost you your life – but the present you get is SOOOOOO worth it!
Blessings, Shani
