The Christmas Spirit

8 days till Christmas, are you in the "Christmas Spirit"? What is the most important part of Christmas to you? As I'm sure many of you are doing, our family is in full swing with all the different things we do at Christmas. There's the local organization, People In Need, that we work with every year on grocery bagging day. On Saturday, 2700 bags of groceries to feed more than 500 families in our county, were bagged for delivery the next day. Our family rings bells for the Salvation Army. We also take part in "adopting" young children through a friends business that are in need and providing a Christmas for them. I'm not telling you everything we do and I'm certainly not sharing these things to brag. I'm just saying, our family gets really busy this time of year and these are a few examples.
I really don't think our family is much different from many that we know. We all get wrapped up in the activities surrounding Christmas, but sometimes we allow ourselves to get "wrapped up" {sorry, I know..not funny} in them that we forget why we celebrate Christmas. No, I'm not going to preach a sermon. I'm just saying, that I hope Christmas isn't for you, all about the things you get. I hope it's a time of gathering with family, a time of peace, enjoying the company of good friends, sharing a meal with someone you know or even a stranger. I hope that it's a time where you can share the love you have for others and that they too will return that love.
For younger kids, Christmas is a magical time. Enjoy that time with your kids or even someone elses kids. I know my kids have provided many lists of the things they want for Christmas. The lists seem unending. But the reality is, these are all just things, objects of their affection, even if it's only for a short time. Kids tend to have short memories when it comes to the positive things but they remember the negative things forever. Actually, I think many adults are the same way.
As I think of all the things that are important to me, I've decided this year that the thing that I want most for Christmas, is that our children would love and care about others more than I. Barb and I try to do our best as parents to model this, but we are flawed and we know it. We don't always do and say the right thing and it seems that's when they {our kids} chose to pay attention. {It's usually me more than Barb, I'm just saying!}
So I found this little quote by Pam Brown I thought would be appropriate to share.
"We expect too much at Christmas. It's got to be magical. It's got to go right. All of the Feasting and Fun. The perfect present and all of that anticpation. Here's a thought, take it easy. Love's the thing, the rest is tinsel."
Merry Christmas, and may the love that comes from that little baby in a manger 2000 years ago, embrace your hearts as you in turn share it with others! That's the view from my stand.