\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 With Thanksgiving over, now we begin the countdown to Christmas.\u00a0 There are so many things to take care of; shopping, wrapping, cooking, party planning, the church Christmas play, and sending Christmas cards.\u00a0 Plus, the array of festive Christmas cookies that everyone expects you to bake, frost and decorate.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Even if you manage to avoid the Black Friday crowds, there will be crowds from now until Christmas.\u00a0 So many gifts to buy.\u00a0 So many people to see.\u00a0 So many places to go.\u00a0 And, of course we must maintain a wonderful holiday spirit through it all.\u00a0 We get so caught up in the hustle and bustle, that we forget what we are celebrating.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Christmas is meant to be a day set apart to celebrate the birth of Jesus.\u00a0 He came as a little baby in a manger.\u00a0 He was surrouned by barn animals and smelly stalls.\u00a0 They couldn’t even find a small corner in the inn where our Savior could be born.\u00a0 We all know the story with the cows and sheep sharing the barn with the most precious gift that was ever given to the world.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The angels sang, “Joy to the World” and “Glory to God in the Highest”.\u00a0 They rejoice in the coming of the Lord.\u00a0 They sang of “Peace on Earth and Good Will Toward Men”.\u00a0 They experience joy unspeakable and full of glory.\u00a0 We speak of Christmas dinner, Uncle Joe’s bad attitude, presents, presents, and more presents.\u00a0 What has happened to us?<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We have taken our focus off of Jesus and placed it on ourselves.\u00a0 We want more ham and sweet potatoes, more presents, and to win the arguement with Uncle Joe.\u00a0\u00a0 Let’s hurry through the gifts without knowledging the giver.\u00a0 Let’s fight over the best seat to watch TV all afternoon or better still take a nap.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What would happened if we changed Christmas back to its original state?\u00a0 No shopping, no wrapping, no cookies, no parties, and no stress, would be the norm.\u00a0 We could exchange small tokens of love with friends and family; a jar of homemade jam, a crocheted rug, a hand made birdhouse.\u00a0 And we would talk about Jesus and sing about Jesus, and tell stories about Jesus.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What would happen if you only bought one gift for each person on your list?\u00a0 Or better, yet, make them a gift.\u00a0 My niece always makes me her special peanut butter fudge.\u00a0 I would rather have that than anything she could buy me.\u00a0 I’m no good at making fudge and hers comes out perfect every time.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 How can we tone down the commercialism of the holiday?\u00a0 How can we recapture it’s true meaning?\u00a0 When will we realize what are the important things in life?\u00a0 Let’s make a real effort to KEEP CHRIST IN CHRISTMAS.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 With Thanksgiving over, now we begin the countdown to Christmas.\u00a0 There are so many things to take care of; shopping, wrapping, cooking, party planning, the church Christmas play, and sending Christmas cards.\u00a0 Plus, the array of festive Christmas cookies that everyone expects you to bake, frost and decorate. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Even if you manage to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":420,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,27],"tags":[42,46],"class_list":["post-782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-encouragement","category-news-or-feature","tag-choices","tag-holiday"],"yoast_head":"\n