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‘Cause We Need a Little Christmas…

I was thinking about taking down my Christmas lights today.  Here in Minnesota we have been hit with a very unseasonably warm winter. We are actually supposed to have a high of 48 on Saturday.  Imagine that!  Typically by now we have snow on the ground and the air is so cold that the last thing I want to do is to get outside on a ladder and take down the Christmas lights.

But here is my dilemma: typically once the snow falls it is here til Spring finally arrives.  That means that it is March or April before I can take down the lights.  So practically speaking, it makes sense for me to take the lights down now, while I still can, before the snow arrives.  However, it just doesn’t seem right to take down the Christmas lights on December 29th.  We usually stop turning the lights on once we get to New Year’s, but this just seems a little bit too early.

Yesterday, my son Jacob said that he wished that Christmas lasted for a whole week.  I agree with him.  It seems like Christmas doesn’t last quite long enough.  The anticipation and build up to Christmas takes so long, and then in one day, it’s over.  We were at the mall yesterday and the stores were already moving on to Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, and Easter.  I don’t know about you, but I want Christmas to last.

So this Sunday we are going to spend one more day on Christmas.  Actually, we are going to look at a piece that is typically included in the traditional nativity story, but is often misunderstood.  We will be looking at the visit of the Magi.  Were there really 3 of them?  Were they kings, wise men, or magicians?  Where did they come from and when did they arrive?  Those are just a few of the questions we will be asking as we take a look at their amazing story.  And then we will be asking the question, “so what can I learn and apply to my life from what I find in their story?”  Come on out to The River this Sunday to find out more.

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Is It Christmas Yet?

Can you believe that Christmas is almost here?  It seems like the days leading up to Christmas just fly by.  That is not true for my little, three-year-old daughter.  Makenna is having trouble waiting for Christmas.  She has been asking, “is it Christmas yet?” for the the last month.  And when we tell her how many days are left until Christmas comes, her response is always, “Christmas is taking a long time.”

Of course, she has had nothing to do to get ready for Christmas.  She didn’t have the shopping, baking, planning and preparing responsibilities that her mom and I have had to deal with.  And she hasn’t been at school each day, like her brothers and sisters, counting down the days til Christmas arrives. She doesn’t even really understand the passing of time.  For her, Christmas is just someday in the future and she can’t quite grasp how far away it really is.

And she is so ready for it to come, right now!  She is excited for Christmas.  And that is something I can definitely understand.  Christmas has always been one of my favorite times of the year.  I have always enjoyed the different aspects of Christmas.  I enjoy giving and receiving gifts.  I enjoy the extra time to spend with family and friends.  I enjoy the decorations, and Christmas music, and the Christmas specials on TV.  And I enjoy the time of focusing on the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

When I was growing up, I loved Christmas too, but back then it was mostly about the gifts.  I couldn’t wait for Christmas morning to come so that I could get up and see what I got.  But over the years, my perspective on Christmas has changed and some of the other things have become more important.  Now don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy getting a gift as much as the next guy, but my enjoyment of the Christmas season is much more complete than when I was young.  And that is definitely a good thing.

I was talking with my children during devotions last night about, “what if we didn’t get any presents on Christmas.  Would we still celebrate?”  And we talked about how, even though we enjoy the games, toys, clothes, and other presents that we get on Christmas, ultimately none of those gifts even come close to the greatest gift that we have been given.  And that is the gift of Jesus Christ who came to earth to save us from our sins and bring us the hope of eternal life.  So, even if we received no other gifts at Christmas time, we would still have so much to celebrate.

This year Christmas is on Sunday.  That doesn’t happen too often.  And when it does, we can look at it like it puts a crimp in our plans to celebrate with our families.  Or we can embrace the opportunity to focus on what Christmas is all about and take advantage of the opportunity to celebrate the greatest gift that we have ever received.  This Sunday at The River, we will be focusing on that great gift.  Consider joining us this Sunday, at 9:30 a.m., at 2510 Chaska Blvd., to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

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Nativity Wow Factor

It’s fun to see Christmas through the eyes of our children.  During this time of year as we drive around at night, my children constantly are yelling out, “Christmas lights!  Christmas lights!”  They point out the different beautiful displays that they see along the trip.  But while I still enjoy seeing the lights and other decorations that people have put up, the “wow factor” has kind of worn out for me.  So it’s nice to have the kids around, to help remind me of what it all looks like through their eyes.

You see, it’s easy for us to forget the “wow factor” of the Christmas season, because we have experienced it all so many times before.  And I think we have the same problem with the story of the Nativity from Scripture.  We have already read, or listened to it hundreds of times over the years.  We know it so well that we don’t really even pay attention anymore.  It has lost a little bit of it’s “wow factor” for us, because we already know the story so well.  But in reality it is no less incredible, just because we have heard it before.  And knowing how it all works out from the perspective of the rest of Scripture should cause us to be all the more impressed with what is happening.

Do you ever find yourself underwhelmed at the idea of Christmas?  Do you find yourself unamazed by the story of the Nativity?  If so, then I want to encourage you to come to The River this Sunday.  I will be looking at the Nativity once again, and trying to help us consider just how amazing it really was.  But then we are going to move beyond the “wow factor” and talk about what we can apply to our lives from what we hear.

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I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas

This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend the Chaska Valley Family Theater production of White Christmas.  It was a very enjoyable evening.  For anyone interested, they have 5 more shows coming up this weekend.  You can find more information at www.cvft.org.

The show follows the tale of a couple of army buddies who, after returning home from the war, find themselves helping out their old commanding officer who is struggling to make ends meet at an inn up in Vermont.  They pull in some help from their Broadway pals and put on a Christmas show that packs in a crowd.  The story has some great, memorable musical numbers, including the famous “White Christmas” song from the title.

Julie and I wound up getting to the event a little early and spent some time talking with one of the patrons of the theater.  He talked about how this show will help many people get into the Christmas mood, because he speculated that a lot of people were not focusing on Christmas yet.

I am not sure if that was a correct assessment or not, but even those who may be in the Christmas spirit, might not be focusing on the right things. It is actually pretty easy to get into the traditional Christmas mindset.  It is easy for us to find ourselves dreaming of a white Christmas or thinking about a jolly, overweight man in a red suit climbing down our chimney to bring us gifts.  It’s easy because everywhere we turn at this time of year we find ourselves bombarded with Christmas carols, television specials, and deocrations galore that constantly turn our eyes toward the holiday season.

But if we want to focus on the true meaning of Christmas, that doesn’t happen naturally.   If we are not careful, our entire Christmas season can get eaten up focusing only on the materialistic celebration of the holiday instead of on the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ.

So, how do we get ourselves dreaming about the celebration of the birth of Christ instead of just a winter wonderland?  That’s a good question.  I believe the key is being intentional about putting Christ in the forefront during this time of year.  There is nothing wrong with Christmas shopping, decorating the house, baking Christmas cookies, listening to carols, and watching Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.   But if that is all that we do, then Christ will fade into the background.

One of the things that we do as a family is to spend some time each evening reading an advent focused devotional storybook.  The one we are reading this year is entitled “Jotham’s Journey.”  We have done it before, but whenever we read it again, the children enjoy it.  The story follows the journey of a young boy named Jotham who has been separated from his family and as he gets closer and closer to finding them, he also gets closer and closer to finding the Messiah.  It is a great story that helps us focus our minds and hearts on the birth of Christ.

Another way to help ourselves focus on the true meaning of Christmas is by making Church a priority.  Over the next several weeks we will be focusing on the Christmas message on Sunday mornings.  And this Sunday evening, at 5:30, we will be having a special Christmas party at the church with a focus on the message of Christmas.  If you are free, come on out and join us for a Christmas focus along with food and fellowship.  Let’s make it a priority to focus on the true meaning of Christmas this holiday season!