I can still remember being Mary, the mother of Jesus, when I was a little girl.

Dressed in pale blue, I walked slowly up the right hand aisle of the church with Joseph.

I am not sure at what point I met up with the baby Jesus. I wanted him to be real so bad!

I probably tried to convince the adults in charge that we could borrow a real one from the nursery for just a minute.

For obvious reasons, our Jesus was a baby doll, the only disappointing part of the evening as I recall.

He was wrapped in swaddling clothes and after I held him, he was placed in the manger.

We sat on square hay bales and sang a rehearsed chorus of "Away in a Manger."

I remember this evening so well because I loved it.

It was my favorite role and still is. The story was beautiful.

Even at a young age, maybe I could sense that the story of Jesus had to be more than just a nice Christmas tale.

When I studied the names of God several years ago, I had to come to terms with the fact that I still thought of Jesus as the baby in the manger.

Possibly other childhood actresses have experienced a similar hang-up after playing Mary.

Nevertheless, we all have our personal views of who Jesus Christ really is.

My realization got caught up at the manger and stayed there for a long time.

Bethlehem is where it all began.

The story is amazing, but I had to learn that there was more to the story.

I got the story straight in my head and accepted Jesus as my Savior in my twenties.

He became my Savior.

While studying Isaiah, I learned that Jesus came to set the captives free and He began freeing me of my own strongholds.

He became my Redeemer.

The study of Luke later taught me that Jesus walked, lived, healed, and was a man of many miracles.

I was fascinated with how even though Jesus had all of the power in the world; He still withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

From that I realized that if He had a need to be with the Father, I really did and that my own private time with the Lord had to be priority!

In the past few years, I have come to know Jesus in a even more passionate way.

When I look back on cancer and my other trials, I can honestly say I agree with the words in a song that say "When I think of you, you take my breath away."

That is my Jesus now. He takes my breath away, especially when I take the time to count my many blessings.

This Christmas give some thought to who Jesus is to you. Write it down.

Share it when you gather with family and friends.

Another fresh thought during this Christmas season came when Pastor Ken reminded us that Jesus accomplished everything on earth He was sent to do.

He fulfilled his purpose! He did His job!

He satisfied His prophecy all the way from Bethlehem to the cross.

When I heard Pastor Ken's sermon, I wrote myself a question in the margin of my notes.

It read "Am I accomplishing all here on earth that I was sent to do?"

I have kept that question close to my heart.

The thought calmed my frustrations a few days ago when my children were dressed for school and decided to see what the ice on the trampoline felt like.

Three of them were wet down to their underwear and had to be changed.

I have kept the question in mind when my shopping list has overwhelmed me and even right now when I look around at the extra mess we create over the holidays.

Jesus purposeful life here on earth has forced me to stop and ask myself "Does this really matter?"

Fulfilling my purpose came to mind when I put on my old candy cane pajama bottoms last night.

Blaise, my three year old, surveyed them from top to bottom and said "You don't look cute in those old pants, Mom."

After laughing at her like I do so very often when she criticizes my attire, I had a thought that went along with my view of Jesus this Christmas.

I responded to her, "Sister, although looking cute is fun, especially to you, Mom is on a mission here to do more.

Looking cute will only get you so far in life."

On that note, Merry Christmas!