Yes, Dear Friends, Christmas really is the most wonderful time of the year…
I don’t know about you, but I must confess…
I love the Christmas season & everything that goes along with it…Even the hustle & bustle means that it’s bursting with life!
Sure, it can be too busy, & too commercialized, & too far removed from the real meaning, but those are things that we can change, if we put our minds to it. It’s called; Commitment!
No one can make my Christmas too busy, but me. Sure, I usually become as weary as anyone else, but, somehow ti’s different at Christmas. It’s okay. I don’t see how we can just shut things down so that we’re not busy. Then, we become bored, and / or lonely. Not much fun!
I was raised in a Christian home where Christ was King & my daddy made celebrating His birth hoot! Lots of fun!
Even the stories he told, over & over, made me feel warm & safe. I knew that he was poor when he was a kid, because he would always tell us ~ “When I was a boy, the only thing we would get for Christmas was an apple & an orange, & if times were really good, a banana to boot.”
Now, let me tell y’all something at this point… I like fruit. I really do. It’s good for you…But I like toys! Ain’t nothing wrong with toys! I’m just saying…
But, I must concede that something has happened to the ambiance of the season. You know, the sights, the sounds, & “the carols being sung by a fire.” To me, that’s the good stuff! Important, necessary. Non-negotiable stuff, if you want to have a good and Merry Christmas.
For a long time, I kind of joined in with the religious crowd who seemed to have penchant to shut down the joy of Christmas; No Santa Claus, no exchanging of gifts, no Christmas tree with lights… No tree at all for that matter. The date was wrong, and all the commercialization was wrong, so we just sat in our dreary little worlds and mocked the unrighteous ones who were enjoying themselves to the hilt. Good grief! No wonder they didn’t want what I had. I didn’t want it either! Yet….for a while, I played the role of Mr Grinch ~ and played it well.
Sure, we do a lot of things wrong, but celebrating Christmas on December 25th, is not one of those wrong things. Telling a five year old child that there is no Santa Claus is not building up the Kingdom of God. The thought 
of Santa Claus doesn’t mess up their minds, nor cause them to disbelieve in Jesus. I’ve been in full-time ministry for forth-three years, and I have counseled hundreds of children with various behavioral & emotional problems, but I have never, not once, had to counsel with a child who had been “messed up” because they believed in Santa Claus, or hung stockings on the fireplace mantel. Notta one! Zip!
So as for me, I’m going to enjoy every moment of Christmas I can, & then wish for more!
The truth is; Jesus is the reason for the season, so enjoy it, & follow Him!