Christmas Thoughts
There are some things I just LOVE about the Christmas & Winter season--the cookies, the goofy hats you can wear to keep your head warm and make people smile, the Christmas lights & decorations (it is amazing how many people go waaaaaaaaay overboard with those inflatable character things!), making snowmen and igloos in your yard (I am getting better at the igloo thing... think buckets and sandcastles... maybe sometime I will post a picture of one I have made) and all the festive music they play during this time of year. Sure, you can get tires of hearing the same Christmas music for a whole month, month and a half, but for me there is just something fun about it. Like the other day going shopping with my little sister and belting out "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" at the top of our lungs as we drove to and from the different stores. Now I can't help when I hear that song to smile and think of her and that memory. (we love jamming out in my car-- and with the hula girl it makes it even more fun because she dances right along)
Anyway, just having a moment of nostalgia today. I know for some the holidays(I'm counting Thanksgiving thru New Years) can hold a lot of painful memories... but for me they hold a lot of good memories. Fun family times, Christmas trees falling over, visiting the local nursing home each year and singing carols by accordion (yes, my mom's parents made her learn how to play), staying up all night with friends on New Years and being so tired the next day I thought I would hurl (I am NOT an all nighter person). Honestly I could really care less about what I get, after-all, it's not about that anyway-- or at least it shouldn't be.
For me, Christmas is about remembering the real reasons Christians celebrate-- Jesus Birth-- and just loving others. Kinda putting actions to the two greatest commandments-- Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and your neighbor as yourself. We don't really need a bunch of holidays to remind us to do this(be thankful, love others, not be so selfish etc) but I guess it is helpful to a bunch of fallen humans who tend to forget all the time (think about the people of Israel-- God was always having them set up monuments and markers, or having them do something to help them remember and event or a time when He was faithful to them).
So how are YOU doing this holiday season? Have you been so caught up with Christmas shopping and holiday "business" that you have not left any time for God in your everyday schedule? (I know I'm guilty of this one myself) Have you been more focused on what YOU want for Christmas than on what you can give or do for others around you? Especially those who have little and are hurting? How can you put action in to loving God and loving others?
Just some thought to ponder as you chow down on yet another frosting & sprinkle covered cookie.









































Thanks for calling me up at work. Thanks for doing Taebo with me when you are home from school. Thanks for chilling with me at Barnes and Noble. Thanks for riding your bike around the neighborhood or taking a walk to the library with me. Thanks for showing me geeky things on the internet. Thanks for letting me debate you even when you know I am wrong. Thanks you guys. You've made my life what it is... and I wouldn't have it any other way.







