This week a friend left a gift bag on my door. Inside were some Christmas dish towels and a cookie cutter. The cookie cutter looked like modern art, and I had to look at it carefully to see that it said, "JOY." I have to make some sugar cookies just so I can eat JOY.
I did not purchase big gifts for anyone this year...I did some special giving --- like massages for co-workers from a massage therapist, a few crocheted items, and some other small things.
Tonight...Christmas Eve...the news anchor reported that we aren't doing so well this year. We, consumers, aren't living up to the expectations of retailers. We're not spending enough. We're not going deep enough in debt. We're affecting their bottom line. Yeah for us!
I refuse to be made to feel guilty that I don't want to max out even one credit card. I don't want to buy stupid gifts that people are going to re-gift or put in the back of the closet. I don't want to worry about whether I will offend someone by not giving them a gift or giving them something they hate.
I refuse to allow anything to keep me from the truth of Christmas. Jesus, the Son of God, became a human being in order to die for the sins of the world. Truth and Life born in obscurity...Power and Glory living among us. And Immanuel, God with us in our midst. That's BIG.
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Sunday, December 22, 2013
What Are You Doing for Christmas?
I was asked that question yesterday. People expect you to say, "Going to see my relatives," or "Hosting friends for a meal," or something. They don't expect silence. "Well," I said, "I think I will just go feed Marvin and be with him for a few hours."
If you know me, you know what happened to me after 11 years in Asia. Christmas changed forever. It would no longer be about decorations, lots and lots of presents, a huge dinner, and going home for the holiday.
I remember the homesickness that surprised me so much the first couple of years in Bangkok. I clung to everything from my past to try to create a feeling of normalcy.
We did eat dinners with friends there and with complete strangers, who happened to be traveling the world, stuck in Bangkok at Christmas. We did buy or make gifts --- simple, inexpensive gifts. Most of all we focused on the homemade nativity scene and thought of what a difference Jesus could make.
When we returned to America, I missed the simplicity of Christmas in Asia. I have even made other people frustrated by my unwillingness to throw myself into the decorating and shopping abyss. I sometimes struggle with church Christmas programs, where the focus is sometimes on the people involved more than in celebrating the Christ.
Oh, I still buy some gifts, hopefully ones that are meaningful. I still attend some functions. I just don't get the nostalgic feelings others treasure.
This year Marvin and I will talk about the Christmas story; we will give thanks for God who became flesh and blood so He could die for our sins, and bring redemption from this life --- of sin, diseases like Huntington's, and pain.
Above all else, Christmas means: THIS IS NOT ALL THERE IS because JESUS CAME.
If you know me, you know what happened to me after 11 years in Asia. Christmas changed forever. It would no longer be about decorations, lots and lots of presents, a huge dinner, and going home for the holiday.
I remember the homesickness that surprised me so much the first couple of years in Bangkok. I clung to everything from my past to try to create a feeling of normalcy.
We did eat dinners with friends there and with complete strangers, who happened to be traveling the world, stuck in Bangkok at Christmas. We did buy or make gifts --- simple, inexpensive gifts. Most of all we focused on the homemade nativity scene and thought of what a difference Jesus could make.
When we returned to America, I missed the simplicity of Christmas in Asia. I have even made other people frustrated by my unwillingness to throw myself into the decorating and shopping abyss. I sometimes struggle with church Christmas programs, where the focus is sometimes on the people involved more than in celebrating the Christ.
Oh, I still buy some gifts, hopefully ones that are meaningful. I still attend some functions. I just don't get the nostalgic feelings others treasure.
This year Marvin and I will talk about the Christmas story; we will give thanks for God who became flesh and blood so He could die for our sins, and bring redemption from this life --- of sin, diseases like Huntington's, and pain.
Above all else, Christmas means: THIS IS NOT ALL THERE IS because JESUS CAME.
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