10 Things I Love About Christmas

In no particular order...

1. The air is cool and crisp and Chrismassy (the only time of the year where I am)
2. Laughing children, lighthearted conversation with family 
3. Presents and gift-wrapping paper
4. Movie parties with family
5. Playing games
6. Extra-special yummy things to eat
7. Christmas music 
8. The reflection and happy nostalgia it evokes
9. Joy and peace just seem to be easier to hold on to
10. That I get to belong to Jesus and everything else has new meaning!

It's The Simple Things In Life

It's an 'unwind-relax-and thank God for life and time-off' thing around here. It happens over the summer vacation, at special celebrations, and of course for the major holidays like Christmas. I find a crew of family members hunkered down with me for movie marathons which I have started to refer to as movie parties. People are welcome; snacks and finger foods, almost required. It's so much fun.

I love to step back and observe everyone in my domain just having fun. It's heartwarming to see the kids laughing and having fun, to hear the opinions and exclamations about the movie, to see everyone just spending that time there together. Of course, there are the moments when someone has to shout at someone else about their noise level (we all want to hear what's happening in the movie after all), or someone is plotting about how to get the last snack, or someone 'stole' someone else's seating place. But it's life, and it's family, and it's time together. It's very cool.

We had the first movie party of the holiday season yesterday. It was impromptu and we had no snacks...well one of my sisters had one bag of barbecue chips. But it was great. I just loved having them here, on my couch and upsetting my orderly and neat space for a while. A cleanup and/or straightening out process is always necessary in the aftermath but it's so worth it.

You know, before the semester ended, and before my holiday vacation began, I had been guilt-tripping about my social media visits (which did go on way too long when I should have been studying etcetera). I imagined I would be freely and lengthily catching up with the Twitter and Facebook worlds once the holidays officially began for me. Needless to say, from that time exactly, I have had little desire to spend my time browsing social media. I guess there is just some perspective right now. These precious moments and opportunities aren't there all the time. And they end all too soon. It really is the simple things in life that matter most. Simple things make the most authentic and happy memories. We should never be in a hurry to leave them behind, and never substitute them for anything else.

Christmas Expectations

Christmas means more to me the older I get. But I hardly spend it in some unique Christmassy way. It's now a quiet, but satisfying, day for me. Of course there's extra special stuff going on around me and I am fortunate to live surrounded by family members. My nieces and nephews will most certainly regale me with the show of all their new gifts and toys. We will play games and then have a 'movie party,' which is a marathon of family-friendly movies, complete with snacks. There's special lunch and then we find ourselves continuing to snack through the day.

The older I get the more satisfaction I have in simply seeing people happy with the presents I gave them, or that they received. I especially love to see the little ones and hear them laughing often. This really stood out to me last year. It made me grasp just how much God must enjoy blessing us and seeing us gratefully enjoy His gifts!

This year, I'm also focusing in on how much I have to be thankful for. A new year is so close and by God's grace, here I am yet again. He is still keeping me, working in my life, delivering me, and loving me.

This year, I also can't help but think of the fresh tragedy that will mark this season for so many that have lost their loved ones recently. I cannot fathom the grief. There are many others who are very lonely and it becomes more pronounced at this time of the year. Many hate the day because they are continually disappointed....It's so important to be gentle and gracious with the Grinches and Scrooges we encounter during this season.

Christmas can be a very normal day for me if I want it to be. Nothing is expected of me. I have no entertaining to do, no kids to chase after, and no kitchen to manage (though I will be cooking and baking for my parents that day). But I also know that with conscientious reflection on the important things, and with a grateful heart, it is elevated to something much more memorable.

As I get older I think about what the Holiday is supposed to memorialize more now than ever before: Jesus Christ, God's righteousness revealed. That's the one truth we need to make Christmas meaningful no matter what else we may lack. Think about it. Pray and thank God for it. Sing about it. And Christmas joy is sure to rise up and overflow. It's a wonderful thing to be loved by a great God who would reach out to you with His very best, before you even knew Him. Christmas is about God saying to you and me: 'I want to reconcile you to Myself. I love you, and I want you in My household.' That's pretty amazing.

For Christmas 2012 I have simple, but great expectations :)