this post has been flipping around in my brain for days.
and i've been waiting for the TIME to give it the ENERGY i desire.
but it hasn't happened...so i'm just putting this out there before another hour goes by.
i've already heard so many attitudes about the "Christmas season" around me...
*very few seem excited about it
*i'm deep in "water4christmas"...and that makes the whole thing a little more meaningful to me...but i still have the rest of my family to care for and they might not be quite as into "clean water" as i am :-)
*many people seem overwhelmed/stressed...ALREADY! it's not even Thanksgiving yet!
*some are very "bah-humbug-ish"...saying we make Christmas too materialistic, etc, etc, so we just shouldn't do ANYTHING at all! no TREE. no GIFTS.
here's my humble little opinion:
unfortunately {or fortunately...i'm not sure} Christmas is kind of 2-fold.
YES...the WHOLE POINT is that we are celebrating the moment when Jesus {GOD!} came to Earth {from His throne in Heaven} to die on a cross to pay the penalty for MY sins so that those that believe in Him can be saved from the eternal consequence of DEATH for those sins and INSTEAD live in HEAVEN with HIM!
BUT...it's also about the season...the memories...the music...the tree...the lights...the food...being with family and friends...traditions...i am SO thankful to have grown up in a family that made the TRUE reason for Christmas VERY clear.
but we also had many special traditions during the Christmas season that didn't necessarily "focus on Christ's birth" but made Christmas the amazing, full, memorable season that it is for me.so...it was special.
but at the same time, it wasn't all about gifts.oh, this is going on too long.
why can't i say this concisely??basically, i feel like there MUST be a way to truly celebrate the birth of Christ...and also capture the JOY of the Christmas season for ourselves AND our children.
right?as always, i think it's all about balance {as always!}
we can't have TOO many gifts...or TOO many traditions...or even give or "do" for TOO many charities...or else we will lose the JOY.
4 comments:
That was such a good video!!
Like your thoughts too. I savor the memory making and family traditions of the season as well. You're right, too much of anything is too much!
loved the video last year, and loved this year's version too. and of course, your thoughts weren't bad either! ;)
yeah...it's already beginning...
yeah, jim ran AC last year in his minst area, and this year the rest of the big church is getting involved. we're big fans. big...of the AC.
can't wait.
but this year we're calling it "all i want for christmas" because some people think that AC is just something you do just one year- like some brief series versus consistent, major overhaul. i mean, for churches to even sit by and not make strong statements about commercialism and consumerism eating us alive? yeah, that's a problem.
so, i love ac. they give reason to where to repurpose christmas, versus some lame list of don'ts. and i can't wait to get into it.
your kids are going to have really, really neat memories. precious and deep. one day those kids are going to be remembering how hard you worked as they lean over their own projects late at night and into the morning...
(frankly, that sounds a lot more like proverbs 31:10-31 than a lot of this junk i read :)
enjoy the season as it begins...
awesome...
The AC started at our church (wow...)...so humbled to be able to sit with these people...
they just showed this at church this morning, and I had goosebumps all over---amazing message. And Brian and I have been talking ALL day about this very thing...traditions, joy, sharing, loving and instilling these things to our children--wow :) so very special!!
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