The night before Christmas ~ 2011




Are you ready?

Getting ready for Christmas reminds me a little bit of how it is watching engaged  couples prepare for their marriage.
My beloved and I are involved in pre-marriage mentoring at our church.
Occasionally, we see the bulk of their effort in planning focused on their wedding day.

Hours and hours are spent looking for the perfect apparel.
Invitations are selected with care and sent out in a timely fashion so that no one will be caught with previous plans.
Great expense goes into making sure guests will be well fed and treated to a day of celebration.
To be sure that it is all remembered for the rest of their lives . . .
they will have it all recorded by photos and video.

We love seeing them prepare in this way and we pray that it will be a once in a lifetime event.

We hope . . .
that they prepare for their marriage . .
 with the same amount of passion and determination.
It is so easy to focus on one day when in reality it is
the days, months and years ahead require the real effort.

"Christmas" has been in the stores for several months already.
Baking has been stored away in the freezer and our refrigerator is stocked for the next few days.
I have appetizers .  .
and all the ingredients for a full Turkey Dinner.

What about the day after though?

What was all this preparation for if it is over on the 26th?
It is where my heart is the next 364 days that matters most.

If I put all the focus on giving gifts and preparing food and give only a passing thought on the Jesus who came to earth how will I find the Joy and Peace that Christmas cards wish me?


Tonight I will be singing carols.
Tomorrow the little ones will gather around as I tell them the Story of Jesus.
On January 2nd....I'll likely put the Christmas decorations away...
but the Jesus who we celebrate will remain in our home . .
in our conversations  ... decisions .... attitudes
and anything else that make living ...
life.

Joy to the world . ..
the Lord has come!

I wish you a very Merry Christmas!
I wish you  Hope . ..Joy and Peace . . .
I wish you Jesus.


Comments

  1. Merry Christmas!!!! It is a delight to have friends who love the Lord Jesus and live for him everyday of the year.

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  2. So, so true Lovella. What an wonderful role model you are for your children and grands. Merry Christmas!!!!

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  3. That's the best of all...Jesus with us all year long. Blessings!

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  4. Jesus..the whole year through.

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  5. So very true...we do get sidetracked from time to time...

    Many Christmas blessings being sent your way. Get one of those sons to take a photo of you reading to all the grands. So important for them to know the Christmas story early. I still thank you for the Fisher Price Nativity set that you mentioned a few Christmases ago.

    Enjoy the warmest and most love-filled Christmas ever, Lovella and Terry!

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  6. I like the comparisson! It reminds me again of a German Christmas song in which the last stanza talks about Christmas happiness being short as candles burn down and that only Jesus can prepare joys that never go away.
    Wishing your family blessings that remain into the new year.

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  7. It sounds like you're ready - in every way!
    Merry Christmas to you and yours - and may the joy of the Saviour's birth stay with all of us long past Sunday night.

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  8. So blessed by my visit here today, Lovella. Your words will stay with me throughout the season and into the new year. Thank you for that.
    At this point I think I'm ready, but that beautifully made bed of yours looks like where I would like to be for a few hours.
    Merry Christmas to you and your family.

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  9. Sharing Jesus all year long is the very best way to live, Lovella!

    Wishing a very Merry Christmas to you and your family!

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  10. Merry Christmas Lovella and Family!

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  11. Dear Lovella ~ many blessings to you and yours this Christmas and always!

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  12. A very very Merry Christmas to you and your family!!

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  13. What a beautiful post. Wishing you and your family a ownderful Christmas gathering around the table today...and many more Christ-centered get-togethers throughout the year to come.

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