The holiday season is soon upon us. Turkey. Football. Family. Christmas cookies. Vacation from Work. Family. Putting up the Tree. Pie. Family. Christmas Music. Christmas Gifts. Family.
Oh, and Jesus.
One of my favorite things to do this time of year is to take a seemingly normal holiday conversation and take it down a rocky path to a specific person that everyone often avoids: Jesus. It is particularly fun to do this with total strangers and extended family members that already think I'm weird.
Here's an article for some ideas about sharing the "reason for the season" with your family, friends and others. Click here for the article.
(Sidenote: Is Jesus REALLY the reason for the season? More on that later).
Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Christmas, Take 3: Coming to Terms.
I really like Carolina Liar's song Show Me What I'm Looking For. Though you grammar sticklers might agree it should be more appropriately titled Show Me For What I am Looking. Most people would probably agree the song's been way overplayed on the radio, thus becoming annoying. But I don't listen to the radio, so I don't consider it overplayed at all. Actually, you probably have no idea what song I'm talking about, as Carolina Liar is a secular rock band that isn't that famous.
Which leads me to my point (finally!): Carolina Liar has another song called Coming to Terms. I like that one, too. They are may not a super appropriate band for a christian to enjoy listening to, but I like them. Most of the group is originally from Sweden. And I love other Swedish bands too, so I'm not surprised- Ace of Base, ABBA, Roxette...I'm on a tangent again...
The real point: their song Coming to Terms helps me explain my most current feelings on the topic of Christmas and the holidays. This is the third time I've blogged about Christmas this year, and I'm, cough cough, coming to terms in the same way Carolina Liar describes it:
I’m coming to terms
I’m starting to learn
This ain’t all it’s cracked up to be...
It’s never as easy as we believe
Ok, so I took out one line of the chorus above, but it fits. I put way too much pressure on myself, immediate and extended family, friends and my church in making Christmas an amazing, memory-filled holiday that exceeds my expectations every single year.
It's just one day. Yes, it's full of family traditions, it's a celebration of the birth of my Savior, and it's the most important holiday to a large segment of society.
Do I love Jesus as much at Christmas as I do other days of the year? Does a bigger tree than last year mean I love Him more than others?
Once in awhile I see a movie or hear someone talk about the "magic" of Christmas. Putting aside our differences and grudges to come together as family is a sweet thing. Being nice to others, even loving our enemies, is great. How wonderful to give of your money, possessions and even your time to help those in need.
But those things are filth compared to the power of majesty of Jesus Christ- who I will worship, honor, and glorify, as much as I can, every day.
Which leads me to my point (finally!): Carolina Liar has another song called Coming to Terms. I like that one, too. They are may not a super appropriate band for a christian to enjoy listening to, but I like them. Most of the group is originally from Sweden. And I love other Swedish bands too, so I'm not surprised- Ace of Base, ABBA, Roxette...I'm on a tangent again...
The real point: their song Coming to Terms helps me explain my most current feelings on the topic of Christmas and the holidays. This is the third time I've blogged about Christmas this year, and I'm, cough cough, coming to terms in the same way Carolina Liar describes it:
I’m coming to terms
I’m starting to learn
This ain’t all it’s cracked up to be...
It’s never as easy as we believe
Ok, so I took out one line of the chorus above, but it fits. I put way too much pressure on myself, immediate and extended family, friends and my church in making Christmas an amazing, memory-filled holiday that exceeds my expectations every single year.
It's just one day. Yes, it's full of family traditions, it's a celebration of the birth of my Savior, and it's the most important holiday to a large segment of society.
Do I love Jesus as much at Christmas as I do other days of the year? Does a bigger tree than last year mean I love Him more than others?
Once in awhile I see a movie or hear someone talk about the "magic" of Christmas. Putting aside our differences and grudges to come together as family is a sweet thing. Being nice to others, even loving our enemies, is great. How wonderful to give of your money, possessions and even your time to help those in need.
But those things are filth compared to the power of majesty of Jesus Christ- who I will worship, honor, and glorify, as much as I can, every day.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Christmas, Take Two.
This was a big week: the first blizzard of the year snow, showing winter is seriously here to stay. I'm lining up the final Vespers set for the semester, and I've been searching for a good handful of Christmas hymns to finish off with.
I love this time of year. The Christmas spirit is in the air. Vacation is in sight. NFL teams have worked out the kinks and really start to shine. I even enjoy winter- at least the beginning of it. (And when there is minimal wind!)
Lately, I've felt like the Grinch. I did my Christmas shopping; my gifts were the first ones wrapped, even before the tree was set up at home. I bought candy canes several weeks. My cupboard is bursting with sugar cookie ingredients and festive cookie cutters. N*Sync and Point of Grace Christmas CDs have been promptly rotated from the back of my cd collection to the front.
For some reason, this year feels different than others. Maybe I'm finally growing up. I feel like a kid who found out Santa Claus isn't real this year.
I looked up 'Christmas' on wikipedia and there I learned that the letter X (chi) is the first letter of Christ in Greek. The similar Roman letter X has been used as an abbreviation for Christ since the mid-16th century. Therefore, Xmas is often used as an abbreviation for Christmas. People freak out that the X is taking Christ out of the holiday.
And that word: holiday. I love saying happy holidays. It's not that I want to be politically correct. I'm just too lazy to say "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year." I think that's actually what a lot of people mean when they use that word. Could it be that when people extend a happy holiday greeting.
I wish I knew a Jew. I wonder if I would wish them Happy Hanukkah because that's what they celebrate, or a Merry Christmas because that's what I celebrate. Why is Happy Holidays such a bad thing?
I love this time of year. The Christmas spirit is in the air. Vacation is in sight. NFL teams have worked out the kinks and really start to shine. I even enjoy winter- at least the beginning of it. (And when there is minimal wind!)
Lately, I've felt like the Grinch. I did my Christmas shopping; my gifts were the first ones wrapped, even before the tree was set up at home. I bought candy canes several weeks. My cupboard is bursting with sugar cookie ingredients and festive cookie cutters. N*Sync and Point of Grace Christmas CDs have been promptly rotated from the back of my cd collection to the front.
For some reason, this year feels different than others. Maybe I'm finally growing up. I feel like a kid who found out Santa Claus isn't real this year.
I looked up 'Christmas' on wikipedia and there I learned that the letter X (chi) is the first letter of Christ in Greek. The similar Roman letter X has been used as an abbreviation for Christ since the mid-16th century. Therefore, Xmas is often used as an abbreviation for Christmas. People freak out that the X is taking Christ out of the holiday.
And that word: holiday. I love saying happy holidays. It's not that I want to be politically correct. I'm just too lazy to say "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year." I think that's actually what a lot of people mean when they use that word. Could it be that when people extend a happy holiday greeting.
I wish I knew a Jew. I wonder if I would wish them Happy Hanukkah because that's what they celebrate, or a Merry Christmas because that's what I celebrate. Why is Happy Holidays such a bad thing?
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Christmas.
One year my high school youth group took a trip to a warehouse in Minneapolis to help in preparing shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child. We watched a training video, spent a few hours checking and re-packing shoe boxes, and sorting them out on different pallets. There were thousands upon thousands of shoe boxes crowded all over the open warehouse - it was amazing to see so many gifts from so many people. Thinking of all the kids that would receive these boxes gave me my first vision for what God might be doing around the world (and I would not become a Christian for 2-3 years).
For the last several years I've been putting together a shoe box for OCC, a division of Samaritan's Purse. I love the organization, and the idea that I can help out in a small way that will actually mean something to someone.
This year, I vowed to purchase items for two shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child before I did any of my own Christmas shopping. I found that starting out the Christmas gift giving season remembering those around the world who don't have much really put my personal shopping into perspective.
I love gifts. I love receiving, but I do generally love giving them. I enjoy seeing recipients of my gifts smile when they open the package, and it makes me feel good to brighten someone's day, or to show them how much I love and appreciate them. I can't help but feel at least a little disappointed when I've put a lot of effort into a gift and I don't receive any response from the recipient.
Because of this, I tend to want to overspend on gifts, especially at Christmas. This is the only time of the year in which my whole family comes home to the farm. I always want the holiday to go perfectly, because it's the only time we're together all year, but I think I end up putting way too much pressure on my family. A lot has changed for me in the last year, so I think this Christmas will be quite a bit different. I've come to realize that family is family, no matter our opinions, values, priorities and beliefs. I'd really like to just enjoy my time with them this holiday.
For the last several years I've been putting together a shoe box for OCC, a division of Samaritan's Purse. I love the organization, and the idea that I can help out in a small way that will actually mean something to someone.
This year, I vowed to purchase items for two shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child before I did any of my own Christmas shopping. I found that starting out the Christmas gift giving season remembering those around the world who don't have much really put my personal shopping into perspective.
I love gifts. I love receiving, but I do generally love giving them. I enjoy seeing recipients of my gifts smile when they open the package, and it makes me feel good to brighten someone's day, or to show them how much I love and appreciate them. I can't help but feel at least a little disappointed when I've put a lot of effort into a gift and I don't receive any response from the recipient.
Because of this, I tend to want to overspend on gifts, especially at Christmas. This is the only time of the year in which my whole family comes home to the farm. I always want the holiday to go perfectly, because it's the only time we're together all year, but I think I end up putting way too much pressure on my family. A lot has changed for me in the last year, so I think this Christmas will be quite a bit different. I've come to realize that family is family, no matter our opinions, values, priorities and beliefs. I'd really like to just enjoy my time with them this holiday.