Merry Christmas, District 1! The holidays are a wonderful time to celebrate with family and friends, exchange gifts, and eat Christmas treats. For those in the military, first responders, or essential workers who are unable to be with family and friends during this season, thank you for your service. Almost every community in District 1 hosts holiday events throughout the month of December from Christmas pageants to soup suppers, and I’d encourage you to join me in exploring the wide range of offerings throughout our region.

Christmastime also means we are just a couple of short weeks away from the start of the legislative session. You can rest assured that I will work to protect the freedoms of all Nebraskans, promote rural economic development, and push to further cut property taxes. My next column will preview what we might expect from this upcoming session.

Although the challenges of these past three years might make it challenging to have holiday cheer, there is still an amazing reason for celebration. The true joy of Christmastime has never been the gifts around the tree, but rather, something far more valuable– the birth of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.  

“…[D]o not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2:10-14).

Merry Christmas, District 1.

As always, I welcome your input on issues important to you. Follow along on my Facebook and Twitter pages, both entitled “Senator Julie Slama” for more updates, or contact me directly at Senator Julie Slama, District 1 State Capitol, PO Box 94604, Lincoln NE 68509-4604; telephone: 402-471-2733; email: jslama@leg.ne.gov.