It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

This is my second-favorite time of the year :) My absolute, positive, FAVORITE holiday is Easter, but we'll go into all that at Easter time. However, the Thanksgiving-Christmastime era is definitely a close second!

I love everything about this time of year. Thanksgiving is such a great way to kick it off because it helps me focus on all my blessings in the midst of a season often dominated by materialism and "I want I want I want I WANT!" attitudes. Then, after Thanksgiving, the true Christmas season starts; a whole month of preparation for the most wonderful blessing of all time -- the birth of Jesus. After Christmas we get the excitement of New Years, the wonderful wintery-ness of January, followed by my birthday and by then, Spring is just around the corner and so is Easter! Woo hoo!

Christmastime is just such a cozy, (excuse the cliche...) jolly time of year! Everyone seems happier and kinder and more smiley than usual. The air smells like snow and snowflakes drift down at any given moment and christmas lights shine through the otherwise dark nights and it's cold...oh, how I LOVE the cold! It's hot chocolate time of year, and noses are cold and sweaters and hats and gloves are worn and I just love it, love it, love it!!! I love hearing Christmas songs on the radio and playing in every store in America... I just love it.

I've heard many people complaining about how Christmas starts earlier and earlier each year and why oh why do we have to start thinking about Christmas right after Halloween?!

Well...why not? What's wrong with preparing for a season of joy, blessings and family? Shouldn't a Christmas attitude of happiness and gratefulness be ours all year long?

Now, sure, I could easily write a post about all the things that are wrong with the way Americans view and celebrate Christmas....but I think, this time of year especially, it's important to focus on blessings and joy, rather than complaints and gripes. We live in a society that is constantly pushing commercialism and materialism and selfish attitudes. Last Christmas I was getting ready to leave for an international mission trip, and Christmas sort of flew by in the midst of preparations, worrying and packing. In a way, I missed Christmas last year! This year, I've made the decision that I will NOT allow the world or anything else to make Christmas a stressful time of year for me...I love it too much!! I've got plenty to be thankful for this year, and plenty of joyful blessings to share, and that's going to be my goal this Christmastime -- to focus on the true reasons for the season. Jesus' birth and the many, many other blessings that God has given me.