A Little Christmas Humbug?

I recently said hello to a friend on Facebook. I didn't even get a chance to ask about Christmas. Her immediate response was that she was running out the door and was putting up a tree she didn't want to put up. I kind of laughed and echoed her sentiments. Her response? "There is NOTHING wrong with NOT putting up a tree..people look at you like there is something wrong with you…maybe you can write a thing on that one."

The writing that follows is my response to her request:

No matter where I go this time of year, whether people know who I am or not, it seems I am asked if I am ready for Christmas. Really? Why do they want to know? Why all of this sudden small talk? Generally speaking, the questions are asking if my house is decorated and if I am finished shopping. Ugh!

If I had to name my favorite holiday, I think I would say Christmas - followed very closely by Easter. I'm not sure if anyone would be able to tell though. I have never been one who loves to decorate, although most years we do join in. It takes a lot of time and I don't feel like I am very good at it.

I enjoy special occasions. I like all the quirky little days that are thrown in just to make life fun - days like the appreciation days set aside for various workers, Sweetest Day, etc. My husband, on the other hand, does not seem to appreciate them like I do. In fact, my days of hoping that he will even consider getting me something for Sweetest Day are over! Long gone! He thinks they are ridiculous - just another day for Hallmark and the florist to make money.

The older I have gotten, the more life experiences I partake in, the more I see that commercialism running rampant throughout every holiday out there. More and more I appreciate the decorating and the work others have done to celebrate the Christmas holiday. But as for me, it is far from important to see the beautiful snow, the wonderful lights, and the nicely decorated Christmas tree. Am I ready for Christmas? Sure, as long as that doesn't mean I have spent a lot of money on gifts or spent hours decorating!

At the center of my favorite holidays is the true meaning behind them. Our Messiah was born and at Easter time we celebrate God's amazing gift explained to us in John 3:16. "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

As we celebrate, we remember our family and friends and love to spend time with them. The combination of Biblical truth and our relationships with loved ones is what truly makes the holiday special to me.

Decorating seems like an extension of the commercialism my husband despises on Sweetest Day. Yet, at the same time, when I start to decorate, it really takes on a completely different meaning. The decorating ceases to be a chore; it quickly becomes a time filled with great memories. You see, most of my decorations (perhaps even all) are gifts received through the years. As I look at each item, I remember each special relationship and somehow the "chore" becomes something almost magical. Christmas music in the background reminds me of the joy and the reason behind Christmas and I am suddenly filled once again by the love extended to us.

Our tree? Well, some people may think our tree is a bit on the skimpy side, but the four of us like it. It is a little, purple, tabletop tree that friends purchased for Becca when she was in the hospital. When Becca saw it set up, she was thrilled and even mentioned that gifts (…gifts? …time will tell…) could go under the table. Perfect. And it is another reminder of love, along with the reminder of God's magnificent gifts of healing and provision.

To my dear Facebook friend who asked me to blog about this topic, I hope that somewhere within this writing you found a small piece of encouragement. It's okay if you don't put a tree up, but in doing so, I hope you were able to find and relive lots of little memories and remember your loved ones too. Christmas should be about being able to find joy - even if that means you have to look hard for it. Somewhere out there, it is there for you to find.

My closing paragraph has been copied from another Facebook friend's status. I thought it was an interesting way of looking at things.

Did you know that the chopping down of the Christmas tree represents the death of Christ and putting it back up again represents the resurrection of Christ. Did you know that the wreaths we hang are never ending circles, that represents eternity? Candy canes were made to look like shepherd hooks and the colors red , Jesus' blood, white, purity. The gifts, represents the 3 gifts the wise men brought for Jesus. So when you are running around trying to get the "perfect gift", stop yourself take a deep breath and remember we have been given the perfect gift, Jesus Christ was given to us to remove all of our sins. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you, Jesus. Merry CHRISTmas!!!

Seasons of Change

As a Toastmaster, you are taught that there are three speeches that take place every time you speak. 1.) The speech you wrote, 2.) The speech you give, and 3.) The speech the listeners heard. The first two are rather obvious, but the speech given and the speech that was heard should be about the same, shouldn't they?

Yesterday, I mentioned that I went to church a couple of times on Sunday. I would think that after sitting through basically an hour's worth of talking, I would have a lot of information that I could repeat. That is hardly the case! In fact, without looking at my notes, there is only about one sentence that remains with me from each sermon. Sad, but true!

Pastor John mentioned that he encouraged people to repent in his Christmas cards one year. He said it wasn't the best received Christmas cards he'd ever sent. (Hmmm…)

Pastor Episcopo said that God is able to forgive us even when we are struggling to forgive ourselves.

Interestingly enough, in both cases the sentences were not the main point of the sermon…more like a passing sentence that stood out to me. However, they are little like little gold nuggets that encouraged me to think and reflect.

Why is it that so many of us struggle with repentance and forgiving ourselves? I think that most people (if not all) have an innate sense of right and wrong. We ultimately respect our Heavenly Father so much that we feel that guilt and shame. Whether or not we choose to acknowledge and accept that may be a completely different story.

For me, it isn't the repentance that I struggle with. I struggle with forgiving myself of my wrongs. Other people can make their mistakes and it seems as though it isn't long before it is water under the bridge. But to forgive myself? Oofda!

How do I work to get better? First and foremost, I need to remember that I am created in the image of God. He loves me with all of His heart and wants the best for me. I need to spend time with Him and in the Bible.

If you are looking for a great passage to encourage you along these lines, try Psalm 103. If you don't have a Bible handy and want to read on the computer, www.biblegateway.com is a fantastic reference. There, you can enter the text you are looking for and choose to read in whatever Bible translation you prefer.

My point today? Choose your words carefully. You never know what someone is going to take away with them. And more importantly, we are living in a time of grace. As we remember Jesus' birth, we can remember the reason He was born. That was ultimately to die for our sins. If God can love us that much, we can certainly feel free to draw near to Him, accept His love and grace, and learn to forgive ourselves as we grow in Christ.

It's Time to Have Fun!

I have somehow evolved from someone who used to love to get out on Black Friday to a person who would much rather stay home or go really late. I discovered cyber shopping last year. (Not that I didn't know about it or had never purchased anything online before; I had simply not joined the masses in these "special" sale days.) Entering into cyber space was wonderful! No lines, just the quiet peace of my home. I find free shipping and don't have to lug all of the packages around. About the only thing I miss is the "exercise" - if you could even call it that!

I have found that shopping online is a fantastic and easy way to comparison shop. This year, I had just a few items that I knew I wanted. Following the advice of more experienced cyber shoppers, I dutifully typed in search queries for coupon codes to enter at checkout. I was successful each time!

One of the stores that had a good price on an item was Macy's. I was surprised to see that of several coupon codes listed, one of them was an in-store coupon for $15. Given the fact that I needed to drive to Appleton anyway and knew exactly what I wanted, I decided to check to see if this coupon could save me even more money than the approximate $10 value of the other coupon code good for my online purchase. To make my long story short, I will simply tell you that I was able to purchase the product in the store for one third of the original retail price! I was even more thrilled when I got the item home and realized that it had even more bells and whistles to it than I had originally thought! My online experience had saved me time and money even though I did end up purchasing the item at the store any way.

Another of my shopping outings today was to a website called www.discountmags.com. I'd seen this website a couple of times via group postings on Facebook. I could not have been happier. I was able to gift a subscription for a quarter of the newsstand price which for this particular publication was substantial! (Fair warning: Be alert! I had another subscription I was going to purchase for myself. It was by far cheaper for direct from the publisher.)

The bottom line is - You don't have to spend a lot of money to find that perfect gift for someone.  Whether you decide to invest time into shopping around or create a gift, just be sure to put some time and thought into it and your gift will be well received. Listed below are some ideas that I have found to be creative, yet inexpensive gifts that are well received. I hope you enjoy the list and have fun with all of your shopping! As you do, remember the truth behind this crazy time of year - Jesus is the reason for the season! Be sure to find time to focus on the most amazing gift that was given to us. For without Him, life would be meaningless.

 

1. A coffee/tea cup filled with gourmet coffees,  teas, candies or a gift certificate to their favorite coffee shop

2. Homemade cocoa  or mocha mix in a pretty jar - sometimes all it takes to decorate a jar is a simple piece of fabric on the top and a pretty ribbon

3. Holiday serving bowl or platter filled with goodies fresh from your kitchen - the container is a part of the gift
4. Homemade mixes with instructions for baking
5. Locally made or homemade items - barbeque sauce, maple syrup, jams, jerky, etc
6. Muffin mixes with muffin pan

7. Set of dish towels and dish cloths
8. Handwritten copies of your favorite recipes
9. Specialty cookbook
10. Journal with personalized inscription inside and a special pen

11. Books or a gift certificate to Amazon so they can purchase an e-book

12. Cards and book of stamps - my friends and I enjoy making cards. We all smile when we receive a card from one another in the mail - it is always blank with a note inserted on a piece of paper so we can reuse and re-gift our handiwork!
13. Collage of special photos - you could even order a photo book or other item with a special picture imprinted on it.
14. Picture frames
15. Movie theater gift certificates
16. Create coupons - good for a night out, a meal made and delivered by you, yard work, snow shoveling, possibilities are endless!
17. Certificate for a personal treat - pedicure, manicure, massage, etc.
18. Nice shirt
19. Fun socks
20. Special soaps, lotions, or candles - be careful on this one. Know the person you are buying for. a.) You don't want to offend them b.) You don't want to purchase a scent they don't like and c.) Some people are allergic to fragrance.

I look forward to reading your comments, ideas and suggestions. The more ideas we pool, the more fun we can have thinking about how to share the love!