Ahhhh, It's Christmas

Ahhhh, it's Christmas... a time for joy, family, love, generosity, sacrifice, and giving. I love this time of year because it brings everyone together; those who are with each other constantly, those who are dear friends, and even those who we only see on such occasions... Christmas has so many cliches and, though we know it's supposed to be about celebrating the birth of Jesus, is it really what we are looking at? I often wonder what it would be like to celebrate Christmas in a different time. A time when there were no cars, no electricity, everyone lived far from each other, and the Christmas presents that were given to one another took time, effort, and love to create. They weren't store bought, there was no comparison between who bought the best gift or not, there was no such thing as last minute, hectic shopping...it was just... family and giving. What do you take Christmas as, really? What goes through your mind during Christmas? Do you spend it with extended family? Or do you spend it with your immediate family? For my family, Christmas is always a huge deal. We go up to Northern California to where all our family lives and spend days visiting family and friends, eating lots of yummy food, and buying presents. Christmas is a time for reflecting on the good things in life, on the happiness we find in loving Jesus, and in being with the ones we love. What if it were like this all year round? What if we went through life, living every day like Christmas was just around the corner? Not exactly the eating lots of food and buying lots of presents part, because then we'd all be fat and poor, but what if we always walked in the spirit of Christmas? Where we tried our best to be happy all the time, to enjoy those who are around us, to pay particular attention to the things they care about, to give a gift to someone we love once a week to show them that we care about them and are thinking about them. If we lived like we do during the holidays all the time, I think we would be much happier people. I challenge you, don't let the ending of Christmas be the end of your happiness and joy as well. Be as happy and carefree for the week after Christmas, as well, and I guarantee you will be much happier because you'll be living in a way that is pleasing to God. :)

#foodforthought