The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

The season of Advent is upon us and it truly is the most wonderful time of the year.  Yes the kids are jingle belling and everyone is telling you to be of good cheer, but there is something more. There is a feeling this time of year that is unmatched by any other.  It’s a season of hope and wonder and generosity of spirit. You know the feeling you get in your stomach when you have so much happiness you can’t hold it in? I like to call it an excitement bubble, and it’s the feeling I get when I see a Christmas tree or a nativity scene.

I have to admit, I am one of those crazy people who starts decorating for Christmas the second the last of the Halloween candy is handed out. It’s not that I have anything against Thanksgiving or what it represents. Thanksgiving is AWESOME in every way and it deserves to be recognized but to me the Christmas season should really start in November. I don’t feel like one month is enough to share and give and feel the way we do when it’s officially acceptable to start preparations for this momentous occasion. After all we are preparing to celebrate the birth of our Savior! God sent his one and only son here to earth as a tiny beautiful baby for us. This is a gift unlike anything you could ever find even at the best Black Friday sale ever imagined. This gift is life changing. I don’t know about you but to me that is reason enough to celebrate. Decorating, being together with family and friends, eating the most amazing food, and giving gifts to those we care about are all ways we can celebrate this season.

This time is also a huge opportunity for us to share the joy we have with everyone we meet.  Remember that excitement bubble and how when you have that feeling you just want to tell everyone why you are so elated? This is your chance to get those feelings out! Seize the day and enthusiastically share who Jesus is and why he was born in the humble manager. Do what he asked us to do, love one another. There are so many little ways to share God’s love: bake some cookies for your neighbors, help a customer at the store reach something on a high shelf, pack a lunch for the homeless man you see every day on your way to work, smile and say “Merry Christmas” to people in line or ringing up your holiday purchases, visit a convalescent home to cheer up someone who doesn’t have any family. The possibilities are endless and it’s the little things that make a big difference.  God gave us the best gift we could ever ask for, the least we can do to say thanks is to share it with others.

Get ready, let your heart prepare him room, decorate and celebrate with all your heart! And as you move through the fast pace of December remember the reason for this season and share it every chance you get! See if you can make this feeling last the whole year through. 

Family Activity:

There are so many ways to make a difference in the lives of others this holiday season. Sit down with your family and talk about some ways you can share the love of Jesus with others. Here are a few more ideas:

• Think of a family you know that would benefit from a meal you could provide (a family who has a sick loved one, a new baby, lots of responsibilities, or are in a difficult situation). As a family plan a meal, make a grocery list and buy all the ingredients. Then assemble and deliver to the family.
• Pick out some of your favorite Christmas carols, print out the lyrics from the internet and walk around your neighborhood or a convalescent home and sing carols (the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear!).
• Write down some inspiring verses from scripture and put together some blessing bags (soap, shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste and deodorant). Keep them in your car to handout to homeless men and women you see in your daily travels.
• Stop by an elderly neighbor’s house and see if they need any help decorating, raking leaves or any other little project your family could assist with.
• Reach out to Olive Crest and adopt a family in need of Christmas presents.
• Go shopping for toys to donate to Toys for Tots. Let each of your children pick out a nice toy for a child that is the same age as they are.

“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this, it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”  Ephesians 2: 8-10

 Nikki Wheatley
Elementary Ministries Director