It's Christmastime

I refuse to do anything Christmas-y until the day after Thanksgiving, but once it's Christmastime, I'm all in! I love the trees & the lights on the mantle & the smells & the songs. (Have you ever really listened to the words of Christmas songs? The ones we've always known & have sung since we were little kids? They're about Jesus! [Okay, maybe not Jingle Bells.] Amazing really, that those words are played over secular radio every year. I pray that they bring people to a saving knowledge of Jesus!)

If you know me well, you know my middle name might as well be "tradition." My family jokes that if we do something twice, that means we'll do it forever. I do get stuck in my ways. They are familiar & bring back memories while making new ones all at the same time. But every Christmas, God causes us to think about the ways we celebrate. We want Christmas to be about Jesus. So how do we do that? How do we keep our hearts focused on Him during this time of busyness, traffic, & materialism?

I read this blog yesterday & I love the heart that it comes from. I'm so thankful other families can help lead the way in this desire to do Christmas a little differently. Here is a resource regarding the season of Advent. If you have any great websites, please let me know!

It's all a process, & we just want to make sure our hearts are in the right place. What is eternal & what is pleasing to Jesus? We want to do those things! So every year we consider, & every year something changes. Who knows what Christmas will look like for us in the years to come! But it's a wonderful time of realizing that one night, so many years ago, a baby was born who would become the Savior of the world, & one day that Savior will come back again, riding on a white horse, in victory, to take those of us who love Him to be with Him forever. Amazing!!