It's nearly Christmas. Everyone suddenly remembers Christmas is in December, so they're all rushing around trying to buy everything on their list; the traffic is a pain; the stores are crowded. The Christmas spirit is still in people's eyes, and the kindness is still in the air. It's a pretty special time of year! How long will it last, you ask? Probably until two weeks before Christmas. At that point, people blame everyone else for their lack of planning and prioritizing. They push and shove through the stores, blare their horns in traffic and have no kindness left.
Sound about right?
Maybe to help the issue, we should all just cancel Christmas. Hmm... Not exactly the best solution. Right?
Maybe we should try to change our attitudes instead?
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." -1 John 4:7-11
See, when our thought process is focused on "others" we suddenly make time to let other people cut in front of us; we can wait a few minutes in cashier lanes without showing great disgruntlement. We say "yes" to give to charities instead of thinking "I can't afford that" (as we spend hundreds of dollars on items for our children that they don't need).
The very mindset for people around Christmas time is stress and greed. Parents are thinking "I must get my kids the items on their Christmas lists, or they will never forgive me" and kids can only think about what they will get on Christmas morning. A whole lot of thought usually doesn't go into the gifts. Is is "give me a list, I will see how much I can get off of it for you without going even further in debt". Is this not true in most cases?
How many of you have ever received a gift of small (money) value, but it had visibly been given a lot of time and thought? It meant a lot to you, right? A framed picture of you and your spouse, a certificate for "a day with dad" or "a shopping trip with mom" or maybe a hand written letter? These things don't cost anything but time. But, we don't have time do we? So we do our regular list buying and rushing to get them all wrapped. By the time Christmas morning rolls around, we're so worn out we don't hardly enjoy any of it.
How about this year we focus more on "thought" than we do "want"? Maybe we should go to those get togethers we never have time for, to show our friends/family we care about them? Maybe we should find a charity to send toys to or a shelter to send coats/blankets, a hot meal house to send some homemade food to help out...?
Maybe we could just give a few minutes every day to pray for the many families that don't have anything we have. Pray for the lost souls that CAN'T celebrate Christmas in the most wonderful way; those who don't know about Jesus' birth. Maybe WE should make sure we remember that is the very reason WE celebrate Christmas; maybe?
This time of year is all about getting; not receiving. If it were that, Jesus wouldn't have SENT His Son to this earth to be our Savior. Because when we're honest with ourselves, Jesus gift of His one and only Son is drastically larger than anything we can buy someone.
"In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ " -Acts 20:35
We need to think about Him this month. Start out right this December so our hearts will be in the right place to start off the new year.
Here is a great place to help others this Christmas.
A few other places I would recommend checking out if you're interested in hands on love, are Mission Tyler, which also has many things with Church Under A Bridge and Hunger For Love
HE is the reason for this Christmas season, and HIS desire is that we give of ourselves and of our time to show HIS love to everyone around us!
Sound about right?
Maybe to help the issue, we should all just cancel Christmas. Hmm... Not exactly the best solution. Right?
Maybe we should try to change our attitudes instead?
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." -1 John 4:7-11
See, when our thought process is focused on "others" we suddenly make time to let other people cut in front of us; we can wait a few minutes in cashier lanes without showing great disgruntlement. We say "yes" to give to charities instead of thinking "I can't afford that" (as we spend hundreds of dollars on items for our children that they don't need).
The very mindset for people around Christmas time is stress and greed. Parents are thinking "I must get my kids the items on their Christmas lists, or they will never forgive me" and kids can only think about what they will get on Christmas morning. A whole lot of thought usually doesn't go into the gifts. Is is "give me a list, I will see how much I can get off of it for you without going even further in debt". Is this not true in most cases?
How many of you have ever received a gift of small (money) value, but it had visibly been given a lot of time and thought? It meant a lot to you, right? A framed picture of you and your spouse, a certificate for "a day with dad" or "a shopping trip with mom" or maybe a hand written letter? These things don't cost anything but time. But, we don't have time do we? So we do our regular list buying and rushing to get them all wrapped. By the time Christmas morning rolls around, we're so worn out we don't hardly enjoy any of it.
How about this year we focus more on "thought" than we do "want"? Maybe we should go to those get togethers we never have time for, to show our friends/family we care about them? Maybe we should find a charity to send toys to or a shelter to send coats/blankets, a hot meal house to send some homemade food to help out...?
Maybe we could just give a few minutes every day to pray for the many families that don't have anything we have. Pray for the lost souls that CAN'T celebrate Christmas in the most wonderful way; those who don't know about Jesus' birth. Maybe WE should make sure we remember that is the very reason WE celebrate Christmas; maybe?
This time of year is all about getting; not receiving. If it were that, Jesus wouldn't have SENT His Son to this earth to be our Savior. Because when we're honest with ourselves, Jesus gift of His one and only Son is drastically larger than anything we can buy someone.
"In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ " -Acts 20:35
We need to think about Him this month. Start out right this December so our hearts will be in the right place to start off the new year.
Here is a great place to help others this Christmas.
A few other places I would recommend checking out if you're interested in hands on love, are Mission Tyler, which also has many things with Church Under A Bridge and Hunger For Love
HE is the reason for this Christmas season, and HIS desire is that we give of ourselves and of our time to show HIS love to everyone around us!
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