No Mas Christ In Christmas?

I'm taking the time out to remind you (and me!) to slow down enough to keep Christ where He belongs: Right smack in the center of our Christmas.

We're in the hustle and bustle time of the season, where gifts need to be wrapped, Christmas dinner needs to be planned, our houses need to be spiffied, etc, etc. Pressure is high (blood pressure!!), time is limited, and Christ can get bumped to the waiting list, or worse, ushered out of our thoughts all together.

I personally still need to:

Wrap gifts
Clean house (it's a wreck!)
Finish grocery shopping
Make my portion of Christmas dinner
Finish up some secretarial duties
Attend Christmas Eve service

Where is Christ, exactly, in that list that cries "Go, go, go! Faster, faster, faster!"?

Where is Christ in all the Santa talk? In all the commercials we are bombarded with that scream at us to shop, shop, shop, buy, buy, buy!? In all of the programs we must attend, for fear of hurting the feelings of someone we love and care for?

I Corinthians 10:13 says, Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Shop to the glory of God? Prepare food and clean toilets to the glory of God? Give gifts to the glory of God? What does that look like, exactly?

I think it's simply having a heart of service in whatever we do. Service to people, yes. But ultimately service to Christ. He came to serve, and we should strive to serve Him in return.

That means, when you're cleaning the toilet, have a heart of joy, not a heart of inward fussing about how nobody ever helps you with housework.

It means when you shop, don't spend more than you have, and come Christmas morning, give your gift in light of the gift that Christ has given you by coming to this earth, dying for you, and giving you that ultimate gift of eternal life. Your gift to others should be a natural outflowing of your thankfulness of His gift to you.

And it means preferring others above all else. This includes how perfect the food turns out, how picture perfect the house is, and how straight the bow on your gift is.

**Lifts egg nog filled goblet**

So here's to keeping Christ in the forefront of our minds, to welcoming more and more of Christ in our Christmas. And to rejecting the cry of our country and society that says "No Mas Christ in Christmas!"

Let's keep Christ in our Christmas!!!!!

~Brenda