Merry Christmas season CSBC Family!

It’s me, Victor Chayasirisobhon, and I am glad to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! Christmas can be a very busy time for churches and their leadership teams. It sometimes gets so busy that we forget about the Lord and each other!  Isn’t it funny how that happens?  So, this is my encouragement to all California Southern Baptists, take the time to slow down and experience the season for what it is, the celebration of the birth of the greatest gift of all, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Slowing down helps me think back to the Christmases before cell phones, online shopping, and video games. It helps me think back to when my parents were my age and trying to make it in America as immigrants from Thailand and the only Christmas tree we could afford came in a box with a stick and a metal stand that could never hold the stick right with those pre-marked branches. If you put them in the wrong hole, you had a tree that looked more like a downward arrow. Then, of course, you had to untangle the lights which could take hours just to figure out which bulb was out because if one was out, it affected all of them down the line (that’ll preach). Then you would have to walk around the tree, appropriately wrapping the lights, to mother’s satisfaction. Finally, you’d get to put on the ornaments, the tinsel, and that darn star that refused to stand up straight. Nowadays you can take a pre-lit tree right out of the box. Yet, looking back, there was something special about slowing down and having that time together. It was the gift of togetherness. That is all that mattered. That was Christmas every year until circumstances of life slowly pulled us apart.

We have circumstances of life that threaten to pull us apart if we don’t remember how to slow down, love to one another, and focus on what truly matters – Jesus. He brings us together. We can appreciate the reason for the season when we work together to build that symbol in our house that truly represents Christmas.

I love all of you my precious CSBC family. Why?  Because WE IS FAMILY. So, I love you with the love of Jesus:

• I pray you have a wonderful Christmas season.
• I pray your churches are successful in sharing the Good News of the Christmas story with all who would listen.
• I pray you bask in the joy of friendships and possibilities with the people you encounter in your life. 
• I pray for opportunities to help heal the wounds of the brokenhearted with the love of Jesus. 
• I pray most of all that you experience the refreshment that comes in the remembrance of the birth of the Christ Child.

May that refreshment embolden you to love one another more, and perhaps reach out and encourage members of your CSBC family more, because the greatest gift we can give back to Jesus is loving one another in His name.

May God Bless You, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year too!

Victor Chayasirisobhon

Your 2021 CBSC President