Christmas Every Day

Making My Home Sing is the theme for Monday hosted by the blog Moms the Word.

Monday begins the final week before Christmas.  As the countdown gets closer, kids’ anticipation rises in the same proportion as their moms’ anxiety.  Most of us are wondering how Christmas always sneaks up on us, no matter how early we begin our plans.  When you’re a kid, it seems as if each day before the holiday is a year; as an adult, each year seems as though it were a day.  We’re thinking, “didn’t we just celebrate Christmas?” and the kids are already agonizing over 340 whole days until next Christmas.

I made cookie dough in October for the freezer. It’s still in the freezer.  I hope to turn that dough into cookies  this week.

I usually have all the stocking items purchased and distributed into labeled brown lunch bags in the closet by the beginning of November.  I will finish shopping for the stockings this week.

I normally have stacks of presents purchased and under the tree before my husband and I do the last minute “big gift” shopping. We will do more shopping than usual this week.

I do have a lot to do, but I am looking at this Monday with peace in my heart.  I am excited about these activities and am reminding myself that I do them because I want to.  I love doing these special things with my kids and for my kids.

As I was teaching Sunday School Sunday morning, my heart was thrilled to go over the birth of Christ with my students, ages 7-9.  I was thrilled to explain EMMANUEL means “God with us.”  The Lord Jesus Christ gave up the glories of Heaven and the fellowship of His Father to come to earth as a baby. He went from the King of Heaven to a baby in a manger. It was for us.  He willingly came to earth to die on the Cross for our sins. 

I know December 25th is not the day the Lord Jesus Christ was born and I know that many of the ways we celebrate the holiday don’t have a lot to do with Christianity. We follow the traditions because they bring us joy, comfort, encouragement,  produce great family memories and are just plain fun.

At the grocery store, a cashier asked us if we were excited to celebrate Christmas.  My husband replied, “Yes, I am excited, but I really celebrate Christmas every day of the year.”  Meaning, we love the American family traditions of Christmas, but as born-again Christians, every day we celebrate in our hearts and minds this glorious Truth – the Lord Jesus came to earth to die for our sins.

Yes, I would love to get everything done on my list of things I think would make this Christmas memorable for my family. But, more than that, I want to instill  in the hearts of my children that Christmas should be celebrated every day in their hearts, as they worship Emmanuel, the God that is with us.