Life is all about finding the wonder. Looking for those things which cause you to say, “Wow, I’ve never seen that before.” Well besides the wonders God shows me in my daily, and the joy of watching my children grow and learn, I get a lot of my daily wonder from the pieces of art I create. I know I have a lot to learn as an artist but I also know the pieces I create each day are a wonder to me. I still can’t believe my drawings bring positive comments my way and delight to those who view them.
The Christmas season is behind us and the New Year is fast approaching. During Christmas we focus on the manger scene of Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus but there is one question I still have, “Did Mary remember what the angel told her about her new born son?” That one day He would be the Savior of the world.” Some years Mary and some of Jesus’ brothers come to speak to him and try to convince him to come home with them. It seems Mary has forgotten to that fateful night when the angel visited her and told her about Jesus. The answer to me is no but like the disciples she just didn’t grasp what was going on until after the resurrection of Jesus. It is easy for us to see what is going on some 2000 years later but for us it would have been different if we would have been walking with Jesus.
One of my favorite aspects of the Christmas season are the carols. No I’m not talking about Frosty, Rudolph or Santa Claus is Coming to Town. I am talking about the true carols of Christmas like Away In a Manger, Joy to the World, Mary Did You Know and many more. These are the carols which draw the heart to the true meaning of Christmas. Here is to listening to many Christmas carols on the radio, by soloists or choirs this season. Oh yeah if you like go a caroling yourself.
One of the things at Christmas that can be such a pain is traveling to and fro in order to get home for the holiday. Millions of Americans will hit the roads and the airways in order to reach their destination. The Bible says in Proverbs 19:2 ESV, “Desire without knowledge is not good, and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way.” While being in the presence of family and friends at this time of year is better than any present it is better to be safe in while seeking to get there. Be safe this holiday season.
Christmas trees are usually topped with such things as angels or stars but did you know the origin of the topper. Well, over the years Christians adopted the practice of adding an angel to the top of the tree to symbolize the the significance of the angels who sang at the birth of Jesus. Others added the star in remembrance of the star which shown in the sky that night. While the Christmas tree started as a pagan tradition it has been adopted by many Christians as a way to celebrate the birth of their Savior. Today there are many things placed on the top of the Christmas tree but the holiday which does not happen on the true day of the birth of Jesus is a way of remembering the event.
One of the things that’s such a pain to me at Christmastime is shopping at all the stores. I love working in retail because I love the interaction with all the customers. When I worked retail the only time of year I dreaded was the Christmas shopping season. Not because of the hustle and bustle but because of the attitude of many of the shoppers. Tis the season to be jolly and happy but as Christmas Day approaches the attitudes of many shoppers turns dour. There is something about shopping for too much on a Christmas list that brings out the worst in people. My question when is too much enough? If shopping, wrapping and driving is taking the joy out of the season then scale back and take teh time to enjoy those around.
Back in the day we wrote out our Christmas list with a crayon and a piece of paper. Then the list was placed in an envelope and put in an mailbox to be sent off to Santa. These days children don’t have to go to all the trouble or put in any work to send their list. All they need to do is wrote the list on an electronic device and send it off to Santa’s email. Where is the fun in that? Some have the say idea about prayer. they think all they need to do is send off an email to God and they will get what they want. The Bible does say God will answer our prayers if we just ask. He does, but in His own way and time and many times not as we expect.
Tis the season to watch all the Christmas specials like the Grinch pictured here and all the Christmas movies like the ones shown on the Hallmark Channel, the Up Network and others. Each Christmas season brings one of my favorite Christmas specials “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” In the show Charlie Brown and the rest of the Peanuts gang search for the true meaning of Christmas.
Charlie Brown’s job is to bring back a Christmas tree. The tree he buys is a small sad looking tree and when he puts a red ornament on it the tree bends over to which Charlie Brown yells, “I killed the tree.” This leads me to the underlying message of the while story. No it is not the birth of Jesus, that is the main message the underlying message is this…Don’t get caught up in first appearances. We always judge on what we see but maybe with a little more time and discernment we might discover the beauty we missed at first glance.
Did you ever notice that the wrapping paper seems to always run out before the number of presents. I used to think that each year you had to out do the gift buying from the year before. Then I discovered one simple truth…Christmas should not be about how much is under the tree but about who is around the tree. Christmas comes from the heart not from a box or bag. Remember “The gift is to the giver…and comes back most to him (or her).” Walt Whitman
