Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I don't know about you but Christmas and Thanksgiving are my two most favorite holidays.  I love being able to spend time with family.  I love getting to see the people I haven't seen since last year.  I love to connect, to relax, to share, and to partake in all the wonderful food.  I love these holidays because if you take the time to reflect on what they really mean, your life changes and you begin to focus back on the things that really matter like family, friends, charity, and living love.

Thanksgiving helps to redirect my heart to Jesus because I would have nothing to be thankful for without Him.  Thanksgiving brings an acute reminder in my heart that everything I have is from the Lord.  My thankfulness runs deep in the satisfaction that I have a good and loving God.  I bask in the loving family around me and the wonderful time and conversation we get to share together.  I cherish the fact that I have so many people who love me and in whom I also love greatly.

Christmas continues the process that Thanksgiving starts of realigning my heart to Jesus.  It can become so easy to get all tangled in the world throughout the year.  Our hearts get pulled in all directions by our spouses, family, jobs, errands, and our desires.  We can become so cluttered by life that we forget about the work that Jesus has done in us.  I know it is a sad prospect but I suspect that many of you have experienced piling the many worries and desires of this world in front of Jesus.  Christmas is my time to purge all of these things out of my heart again so I can see Jesus and the cross clearly again.  It is a time where I can reflect on His life and the sacrifice He made for me just in humbling himself to become a human.

I absolutely love Christmas music.  There are so many beautiful songs that bring so many new and wonderful insights into the birth of Jesus.  I love songs that tell stories of Christ's love in people being lived out authentically at Christmas.  I love to cry to songs such as Christmas Shoes and I desire the iconic white Christmas on the actual day each year.  There is absolutely no place I would rather be than with my family at Christmas.  I have quit jobs because of being hindered from spending time with my family and participating in Christmas programs at Christmas.  I love selecting or creating the perfect gift for someone and watching the joy of them opening it on Christmas day.

We have been given such a great gift in Jesus!  This world tries it's hardest to pull our hearts away from the true meaning of Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Don't get caught up in all the lights, Santa celebrations, and sales that you forget the true reason for the season.  Without Jesus there would be no Christmas.  Without Jesus there would be no reason for thankfulness or Joy.  Without Jesus there would be no salvation or understanding of true love.  Center your hearts on Jesus this holiday season.

Blessings,

Greg