Countdown to Christmas

By -
Merry Christmas
This is my favorite time of year.  I enjoy seeing the lights, Christmas trees and smelling the aroma in the house as we bake cookies.  December should be filled with joy and delight.  Anticipation builds as we get ready to celebrate the reason for this holiday season-the birth of Jesus Christ.

Normally, what I see in people is completely
 different.

Think about it. God sent His very own Son to be the Savior of the world.  Jesus' birth was a little different.  His mother was a virgin and he was born in a manager which is a feeding trough for animals. Even in that, He was the anticipated Messiah the world had been waiting for.  He was called Emanuel which means God is with us. 

The very presence of Jesus indicated new life. A miracle was performed.

Fast forward to the reality of today, and you will find that most people struggle to find any happiness.  We seem to be more stressed with longer to do lists, gifts to buy, and houses to decorate.  Our delight can easily turn into depression if we don't intentionally choose to remember the reason why we celebrate Christmas.

Here are a few ways I try to bring the spirit of Christmas into my home:

-bake Christmas cookies
-make goodie bags for homeless
-read the Christmas story weekly (Luke 1,2)
-smile when faced with a Scrooge
-attend a candlelight Christmas Eve service
-play Christmas music at work/home
-decorate with lights, ornaments and wreaths
-send out Christmas cards
-pray for those who received one of my cards
-speak the words Merry Christmas to others around me

Whatever it takes, find a way to remember the true spirit of Christmas.  Give to those who are needy.  It doesn't take money to give a gift.  It is amazing how a simple hello or a smile can change the mood of another person.

Stress and anxiety can turn into joy if we receive the Baby in Bethlehem as the King of our hearts! (Posted by Roslyn)

Comments

Post a Comment

Thanks for leaving a comment! We enjoy reading each comment. Stay inspired!

Popular posts from this blog

My Top 5 Tips To Stay Fit Without a Gym!

By -
Image
It's Fun Friday and I'm sharing some great workout tips.  Fortunately I've never struggled with working out (it's the good eating that always throws me for a loop).  I've always enjoyed going to the gym. So you can imagine when I moved to my rural community I was stressed with the fact that there wasn't a gym nearby.  Needless to say, I had to get creative on staying fit.  My business travel schedule, community and church obligations didn't make finding time to work out any easier.  I realized that my creative juices would have to flow on a alternative way to stay fit.  Here are some of my fun, no gym needed workouts: Walk/run intervals through the neighborhood Cardiovascular exercise is the foundation of most of my work- outs.  The light posts in my neighborhood provide a great way to walk & run in equal distance from the back to the front of the subdivision.  I will normally walk, jog, or sprint in intervals between each light post. Jump
Read more

Take A Lesson From Ants

By -
Image
I walked into my house and a portion of my floor was covered with little, black ants.  I instantly knew the kids had dropped some sticky substance on the tile floor. That mess attracted what looked like an entire nest of these little, pesky insects.  They were all moving around in unison enjoying what was probably going to be their lunch or dinner. Ironically on Sunday, a dear friend gave me a wonderful scripture about the lesson we can learn from ants.  Really, I thought, how can I possibly learn anything from something that annoys me so much.  I guess you know where I'm going with this.  There is a lesson to learn from ants about efficiency and productivity.   The ants didn't waste any time moving into action to retrieve whatever mess my boys left on the floor.  Not only that, they called all of their "ant" friends to help them in this insurmountable task. Are you a slacker?  Do you like to procrastinate?  Do you constantly have the attitude, "I'll ju
Read more

I Am Raising America's Most Hated...

By -
Image
BEWARE:  This is not your normal blog post It is not easy raising children.  But raising one of our country's most hated members of society brings more complication into the equation.  Let me clarify for you...raising a black male in America IS scary.  The world easily looks at color on a male as a deterrent to any intellectual ability.  Most men of color are viewed with the ability to only perform one thing - entertainment.  It could be a stand up comedian, singer, runner, actor, football or basketball player. Black males, unfortunately, only see the world through limited lenses.  Other races, ethnicities and gender can view the world with a vast amount of opportunities, but not if you are a black male.  You walk into a room or a packed elevator and people grab their handbags.  You walk next to their car and they lock their doors.  It's the overwhelming amount of negative images that have plagued and are fed into mainstream homes via our tv, social media and newspapers.
Read more