This time of year always finds my "to do" list longer than at any other, and I often wonder if I will get everything done by December 24. The shopping, cooking, cards, decorating, and entertaining (to mention a few) usually find me totally exhausted by the time Christmas actually arrives. I think it's a "woman thing."
For centuries, since Mary had her first contractions in a Bethlehem stable - Womankind has felt compelled to labor through the holiday season. Now I admit, my guys will climb the ladder to hang the outdoor lights (in exactly the places I tell them.) And my husband has always stayed up with me past midnight Christmas Eve to wrap the gifts (the job I usually put off). But for most moms, the largest share of holiday planning falls onto their shoulders.
Our home, as does many of yours, radiates Christmas! Twinkling lights, evergreens, keepsake decorations, delicious smells and wonderful seasonal sounds permeate the premises. My sons thoroughly love the Christmas atmosphere of our home during the holidays, and it is their enjoyment which spurs me on year after year. That, and my desire to instill in them warm memories and family tradition.
My annual "bake-athon day" is one to which they all look forward. They stay clear of the kitchen but relish the smells and tastes that come from its corners. Even if much of it is given away within a few days, there is still plenty more for them to snack upon. Everyone has their favorite goody, and again, I occasionally garner short-term assistance from one faction or another, as nuts, chocolate, sugars and cereals are transformed into delectable treats!
Getting the mail during December is one of the best parts of the day. I revel in the daily delivery of holiday greetings and give each Xeroxed letter my undivided attention. Eager to learn the news of friends we rarely see (and only hear from annually), I soak up the paragraphs and smile at the changes I observe in the photos they share from those of the previous year. If time permits, I'll compose our family greeting during the season - but more than one year has found us sending "non-seasonal" greetings at alternative times of the year. Yes, Christmas letter-writing is another "chick-job."
Shopping for "the perfect gift" becomes more difficult each year. I mean, how many perfect gifts can there be out there that we can - A.) Find? Or - B.) Afford? When my boys were smaller and would ask for something in a department store, I'd tell them to "wait for Christmas," then make a mental note of what they had asked for. One son, upon opening a couple small Christmas packages, literally made my day by saying, "You know what I like, Mom? You buy me things I forgot I ever wanted." As they grow, their wish lists contain bigger and more expensive items, yet how often the smaller, more thought-after gift scores the same high level of satisfaction? Of course, the chore of balancing the gifts and budget (keeping everyone "equal") adds to the stress level; but what do you expect? After all, gals, we are the "heartbeat of the holidays."
We strive to create a "Bedford Falls" atmosphere while being careful to maintain "balance" - keeping Christ at the center of most activities (including church programs, special services and charitable giving). And I've tried to scale back and "stress less" over what gets done. So what if we don't have a turkey dinner on Christmas Day? Everyone likes tacos! I get the basics covered; we work up to the last and what's left undone is left undone. Christmas will come whether we are ready or not.
The past couple years have brought home to me another thought. How does God's Word tell us to celebrate Christmas? Well, not with Santa and reindeer and credit cards and exhaustion, you might say... but the truth is, it doesn't tell us to celebrate it at all. All of the holiday festivities are man's ideas (carried out to great lengths by women!). Interestingly, we've been commanded to watch for the return of Jesus but never once told to commemorate His birth. Do we look forward to His Second Coming with the same exuberance we demonstrate when observing Christmas? Open your Bibles and see how many fewer references there are to the Nativity as compared to the Return! We literally knock ourselves out "preparing" for Christmas - but unless our hearts have "received" Him - we've made no preparation at all for His return.
We will likely continue to celebrate and enjoy a Christmas full of the warmth and tradition with which our culture has come to equate it. But if you really want to glorify God, why not practice the goodwill of the Season throughout the year? Feed the hungry - give a drink, (of Living Water maybe) to the thirsty and visit the lonely... because it is then that you "do unto Him." Remember Him, as He asked us to, by sharing the bread and the cup of the Lord's Supper... until He comes again. The manger was His beginnings - and the cross is our beginning. His death, resurrection and return are what our Christian faith is based upon. Don't let those things get lost in Christmas wrapping.
I wish you all a blessed Christmas and urge you to relax and not "stress out" as the day draws near. Above all, if you haven't already - prepare room in your heart for Jesus. He is the Reason for the Season, and He's coming back... Will you be ready?
For centuries, since Mary had her first contractions in a Bethlehem stable - Womankind has felt compelled to labor through the holiday season. Now I admit, my guys will climb the ladder to hang the outdoor lights (in exactly the places I tell them.) And my husband has always stayed up with me past midnight Christmas Eve to wrap the gifts (the job I usually put off). But for most moms, the largest share of holiday planning falls onto their shoulders.
Our home, as does many of yours, radiates Christmas! Twinkling lights, evergreens, keepsake decorations, delicious smells and wonderful seasonal sounds permeate the premises. My sons thoroughly love the Christmas atmosphere of our home during the holidays, and it is their enjoyment which spurs me on year after year. That, and my desire to instill in them warm memories and family tradition.
My annual "bake-athon day" is one to which they all look forward. They stay clear of the kitchen but relish the smells and tastes that come from its corners. Even if much of it is given away within a few days, there is still plenty more for them to snack upon. Everyone has their favorite goody, and again, I occasionally garner short-term assistance from one faction or another, as nuts, chocolate, sugars and cereals are transformed into delectable treats!
Getting the mail during December is one of the best parts of the day. I revel in the daily delivery of holiday greetings and give each Xeroxed letter my undivided attention. Eager to learn the news of friends we rarely see (and only hear from annually), I soak up the paragraphs and smile at the changes I observe in the photos they share from those of the previous year. If time permits, I'll compose our family greeting during the season - but more than one year has found us sending "non-seasonal" greetings at alternative times of the year. Yes, Christmas letter-writing is another "chick-job."
Shopping for "the perfect gift" becomes more difficult each year. I mean, how many perfect gifts can there be out there that we can - A.) Find? Or - B.) Afford? When my boys were smaller and would ask for something in a department store, I'd tell them to "wait for Christmas," then make a mental note of what they had asked for. One son, upon opening a couple small Christmas packages, literally made my day by saying, "You know what I like, Mom? You buy me things I forgot I ever wanted." As they grow, their wish lists contain bigger and more expensive items, yet how often the smaller, more thought-after gift scores the same high level of satisfaction? Of course, the chore of balancing the gifts and budget (keeping everyone "equal") adds to the stress level; but what do you expect? After all, gals, we are the "heartbeat of the holidays."
We strive to create a "Bedford Falls" atmosphere while being careful to maintain "balance" - keeping Christ at the center of most activities (including church programs, special services and charitable giving). And I've tried to scale back and "stress less" over what gets done. So what if we don't have a turkey dinner on Christmas Day? Everyone likes tacos! I get the basics covered; we work up to the last and what's left undone is left undone. Christmas will come whether we are ready or not.
The past couple years have brought home to me another thought. How does God's Word tell us to celebrate Christmas? Well, not with Santa and reindeer and credit cards and exhaustion, you might say... but the truth is, it doesn't tell us to celebrate it at all. All of the holiday festivities are man's ideas (carried out to great lengths by women!). Interestingly, we've been commanded to watch for the return of Jesus but never once told to commemorate His birth. Do we look forward to His Second Coming with the same exuberance we demonstrate when observing Christmas? Open your Bibles and see how many fewer references there are to the Nativity as compared to the Return! We literally knock ourselves out "preparing" for Christmas - but unless our hearts have "received" Him - we've made no preparation at all for His return.
We will likely continue to celebrate and enjoy a Christmas full of the warmth and tradition with which our culture has come to equate it. But if you really want to glorify God, why not practice the goodwill of the Season throughout the year? Feed the hungry - give a drink, (of Living Water maybe) to the thirsty and visit the lonely... because it is then that you "do unto Him." Remember Him, as He asked us to, by sharing the bread and the cup of the Lord's Supper... until He comes again. The manger was His beginnings - and the cross is our beginning. His death, resurrection and return are what our Christian faith is based upon. Don't let those things get lost in Christmas wrapping.
I wish you all a blessed Christmas and urge you to relax and not "stress out" as the day draws near. Above all, if you haven't already - prepare room in your heart for Jesus. He is the Reason for the Season, and He's coming back... Will you be ready?
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