The Holiday Season

I love celebrating Jesus' birth, but hate how the whole season turns into a mad dash.

I love meditating on Jesus, and reading prophesies and Scriptural accounts of His birth, but detest how I get so swept up in the season as our culture defines it that I hardly make time to open my Bible, let alone meditating on anything.

I love shopping for gifts for people, but hate standing in mile-long lines, often with other worn-out and grumpy shoppers.

I love a season that promotes peace and love, but hate how the very business of the season gives me a headache and turns me into a grump.

I love sending Christmas cards and letters to keep in touch with family and friends, but find searching for addresses annoying.

I love Christmas music, even some of the secular stuff, but find by the end of the season I'm not sad to see it go (especially since some radio starts playing it after Halloween!).

I love decorating for Christmas, but hate that I'm so disorganized and can't find my stuff.

I love receiving Christmas cards and letters. I can't find anything I dislike about that.

I like receiving gifts, but hate hate hate how the celebration of Jesus' birth turns into this materialistic greedy and selfish acquisition of worthless stuff.

I like getting together with family and friends, but hate how I can't stop eating at the get-togethers. :)

I appreciate how every year I seem to get through the season with fond memories and happy pictures and good times, but get disgusted with myself when I vow that the next year will be more organized, more peaceful, and better, and I never follow through.

I don't mind Santa, but detest a culture that chooses Santa over Jesus, and kicks Jesus out of His own birthday party any way they can, and increasingly every single year.

I love Christmas, religiously and culturally, and I always hate to see the season end.

But, right now, I'm loving boring January :)