This year life is so much more hectic … right?  😀  Probably not. However, this season in retail is draining my energies and the time I have extra at home is used in preparing for my daughters and their families arrival.  I will have ALL my grandchildren in December as well as extended family.  We have a family wedding in which my three grandchildren are ringbearer and flowergirls.  My doctor is starting my injections of Synvisc in both knees.  Hectic, it gets worse every year.    It is easy to get caught up in all the preparing, the business.  I did want to share thoughts that I have every year during this time and forgive me but, I am reposting a favorite yearly blog “CHRISTmas is Coming”.  For those of you that missed it … I hope it gives you something to think about and share.  For my long time bloggers … it never hurts to remind ourselves.  God bless you as you all prepare this season, remembering the reason.

Sometime in October the Christmas  merchandise started arriving at our store.  We were in a major remodel of the store.  Hectic, confussion, total mess at times.  Walls torn down, painters, electricians … and the store remained open.  Finally finished it was time for Christmas.  The tree was pulled out from storage for display, the signage set and before you knew it November rolled in and so did Christmas.  Working in a Christian store at Christmas is a plus.  Christ is in CHRISTmas in our store, unlike the Mall.

I love to get my exercise by walking the mall and try to go there to walk when I can.  CHRIST is not in CHRISTmas at the mall.    I saw the tired and grumpy;  tired parents tugging along grumpy children (or worse, totally ignoring them).   I would like to have a ‘freeze’ button where I could freeze scenes and make people stand back and look at themselves.

As Christians we are the Light in the world.  At CHRISTmas time we should remind all we come into contact with that the Reason for the Season is CHRIST.  I remember writing Starbucks when they came out with their Holiday Blend Coffee and Target and WalMart over the Salvation Army ringers not being allowed, and their associates being instructed not to say Merry CHRISTmas.  Both changed their policy.   Christians need to take a stand and stand together.

As I continued to walk the mall I saw many sad sights.  I love CHRISTmas paper, but Hallmark had no CHRISTmas paper.  It was all holiday wrap, festive and bright but, missing the true Light.  No nativity paper, no Rejoice the Lord is Come, not even any Angel paper.  Being the stinker I can be, I asked the Hallmark clerk where her CHRISTmas paper was.  She pointed to the holiday paper and I said, “no, that’s not CHRISTmas paper. It’s holiday paper.  I want paper that is about the true gift.”  You see someone challenged me to make a difference every chance I could during the holidays and I decided I am.  I may be politically incorrect, but, I figure the louder they are, the louder I will be.  Let’s shout to the world that CHRISTmas is coming.  We already started the CHRISTmas season and I have at least six weeks to use CHRISTmas as an open door.   I have decided I am going to say Merry CHRISTmas to everyone; I am going to thank every person that says Merry CHIRSTmas to me.  I am not buying anything that says Holiday instead of CHRISTmas.   I am not buying into the Xmas slogans that subtly take out CHRIST from CHRISTmas.  (That was the a  ploy of marketing people several years back.)  I am going to make a conscious effort to keep CHRIST in CHRISTmas as I move about my day-to-day activities.  I am going to smile and enjoy the season that celebrates  my Lord and Savior’s birth.   I will ask children I meet if they know whose birthday it is that we are celebrating.

Answer you phone with Merry CHRISTmas, change your voice mail message.  Let’s flood the market.  They can, so can we!  Roll down your windows and play CHRISTmas music at the stoplights.  😀  Yeah, we can do it too!

And then on December the 26th, I am going to start celebrating CHRISTmas everyday and recognize that CHRIST sacrificed His place in Heaven to come here on earth and sacrifice His life so that I might have life in Heaven.

So here I go … Merry CHRISTmas!  Let the reason for the season be known and make sure your children and grandchildren know as well.