Getting Ready!!

It's that time of the year where things get really crazy! I can feel the stress all in my shoulders and neck. I am trying really hard to enjoy the season. I am now on my three week Christmas vacation (I'm smiling from ear to ear)! Those were some crazy last two weeks! I thought I was done with my Christmas shopping, but there were those last minute gift exchanges, potlucks, etc for work and Grace's school.

Now that I am on vacation, I can focus on getting ready for Christmas. We finally put up the Christmas tree last weekend. It took me two days from the time we got it on Saturday morning to the time we finished decorating it Sunday night.

This is the biggest tree we have ever bought. I didn't think we'd have enough ornaments to fill it, but like the feeding of the five thousand, there was enough ornaments.

The kids love the tree. Grace is enthralled with the tree, the lights and the ornaments. We don't have a fancy designer tree. We decorate our tree with ornaments we have collected over the years. It's a homey and family oriented tree.

My challenge to myself this Christmas season is to stop worrying about the planning of it all, the gifts to buy and the money to do all of this with and to focus on Jesus. Our pastor this weekend challenged us to focus more on Jesus' birth and gave us suggestions on what we could to to achieve this. I have decided that I am going to spend time reading the accounts of Jesus' birth in the Gospel of Matthew and Luke.

I am also going to spend time with the kids reading Advent stories. I am already competing with Santa! Grace is being exposed to Santa at preschool and comes home talking about it. When I try to talk about Jesus and him being why we celebrate Christmas, she wants to talk about Santa. Ahhh, so it begins!

I have nothing against Santa, but good is nothing compared to the best. What I mean, Santa is a good concept, but it has nothing to do with nor does it measure up with the fact that Jesus, God himself, was born so that we can be saved from our sin and have eternal relationship with God. That beats the pants off Santa!

So I leave you with this...
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ² (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ And everyone went to their own town to register.
⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

²¹ On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.
Luke 1-21

Blessings!
Beth