Christmas

Christmas is my favorite time of the year. I absolutely love it. The lights, time with family, giving gifts to loved ones, celebrating the birth of Jesus. Our women's ministry at church hosted a "Heart for the Holidays" day this past Saturday and it was wonderful. You could go to different sessions and I chose "Keeping Jesus the Reason for the Season", "Children's Crafts" and "Holiday Baking." Each session was awesome! The crafts and baking gave me some great, easy ideas. I had a delightful time. I got to think though after the Keeping Jesus the Reason for the Season session how easy it is for me to get lost in the worldy Christmas. Worrying about all the different houses to get to for Christmas, trying to figure out what to buy for everyone, getting wrapped up in the lights, decorations.

This session talked about having a plan for our hearts during the holiday season so that we might remember the birth of Christ. The speaker explained that we live in the already and the not yet at the same time. The already is when Jesus was born in a manger, dying later on a cross for our sins. The not yet is we are waiting for His coming again, for God's ultimate glory. Sometimes she said we get wrapped up in our own glory, we make an idol out of the Christmas of the world-presents, Santa, having the perfect Christmas with family and friends. We need to remember that Christmas is about God loving us back, God sending His son as the sacrifice and buying us back from when Adam and Eve fell into sin in the Garden of Eden. We should accept that we don't have it all together, that we are not perfect-the turkey may be dry, the house may not be the cleanest, but will we allow things like this to run our Christmas. Don't let expectations, travel, schedules, pressure, getting everything done, fear of disappointment or anything else get in the way of the true meaning of this holiday season. It's a beautiful time of year and I can't wait to celebrate it with my family and share in the joy of God's son! I know it's early, but Happy Holidays.