Christmas Time - He, He, He, He versus Ho, Ho, Ho...

It's Christmas time and I really love this time of year!

I love all the preparations for it - taking a photo of our children/family for the annual Christmas card; writing the annual Christmas card letter; planning all the extra events that happen with our family and friends during this time of year; making lists of people I want to buy gifts for and/or send special greetings to; determining how much time to take off from my job in order to help make it a special time for others; and reading in Matthew and Luke about how the very first Christmas took place, so long ago on a cold, winter night in a Bethlehem stable.

I also love all the activities of it - singing favorite Christmas carols throughout the month, not just in church, but also in all the stores while shopping; attending multiple Christmas parties and gift exchanges with family/friends, focusing on delighting others with "presence" versus just the presents; bringing my sweet mother-in-law (and other family members and friends) into our home to celebrate this holiday with us, sharing the joy and blessings that we are experiencing because of this incredibly important time of year; adapting to a slower pace at work, putting that phase of my life into a much lower gear for awhile so that I can focus on what is really important; observing my incredible wife Ellen working harder than normal, filling our house with an abundance of delicious foods/goodies to share with family/neighbors/friends (and unfortunately eating way too many of them myself!); giving gifts to the really special people in my life after doing some relaxed shopping for family members, friends, neighbors and co-workers; and spending time in prayer thanking God for His special gift to the world so many long years ago.

I love all the extras you can do because of it - saying "Merry Christmas!" to everyone because after all, everyone knows it's Christmas time; purposefully smiling at people who appear to be all together way too grumpy during this time of year, telling them with your smile that it's Christmas time and they shouldn't let their current burdens (or even their sometimes self-imposed problems?) keep others from experiencing the incredible joy of the season; surprising people with small, unexpected gifts, telling them with your gift that you value them and wanted to let them know that; exhibiting peace in the midst of a world that has way too much turmoil, just because you know that Christmas means a lot more than just Santa Claus and Black Friday shopping for bargains/deals; and asking God to make this Christmas even more special to you because it's so easy to forget why we celebrate and who this "holy-day" is really all about.

Yes, Christmas is a glorious time of the year! One that I really love.

Several years ago, I shared with my family a way I was taught to speak the truth of the Gospel in 10 words or less. It's a way for us all to understand the true meaning of Christmas (which is all about faith in the revelation of God's Son, Jesus Christ, who was born at Christmas). It's based on some words in I Corinthians 15:1-8, and can easily be remembered by the catchy phrase He, He, He, He. The "He" is Jesus. It goes like this:

He came.
He died.
He rose.
He lives.

It's just that simple! And that's what Christmas time is really all about. That's why I love this time of year so much!

So, this year, I am trying to focus on the He, He, He, He of Christmas versus the Ho, Ho, Ho.

How about you? What are you focused on? Don't miss the real reason for this blessed season...