John had today off so we decided to get an early jump on Christmas shopping. I always start celebrating Christmas exceptionally early. I've already watched Christmas movies and I listen to Christmas music like crazy. I've even made Christmas cookies and I wear my Christmas socks all the time too. I haven't ever started my shopping early though. I'm the queen of procrastination! This year I thought I would try to start early and hopefully all of the chaos will be finished soon.
So, anyways, we got my parents present marked off of our list. We wanted to get Nathan taken care of but we didn't see any toys worthy of him! It's so hard because I want to get people functional things but also things that require great thought. I truly want all my gifts to be given from the heart! I'll confess, we have so many people on our list to buy for that it's often hard to be thoughtful when you wait until the last minute and cram it all in.
John and I have December birthdays.. Mine's on the 2Nd and his is the 9Th. This makes December even MORE crazy and even more expensive. It's also very challenging because I never know how I should divide his presents between his birthday and Christmas.
We already decided that we're not going to go nuts this year over Brooke's Christmas presents. It all boils down to the fact that she could care less whether we give her a box to play with or tons of toys. Lol! I want her to have a special Christmas but I also don't think that spending hundreds of dollars on her is necessary. She has so many family members that she will probably make out like a bandit on Christmas regardless of what John and I buy for her.
You know, it's so hard to stay focused on God during the Christmas season when there are so many demands that go along with the holiday. I always worry about finances and how much money we're blowing on things. I always stress over what I get people, who I have to buy for, how I will fit shopping in with everything else I have going on, and juggling holiday traffic and crowds. I have to remind myself that Jesus is the ONLY reason for this amazing time of year.
This year I'm thinking a lot about how Mary must have felt when Jesus was born. I really hadn't given too much thought to her before and I believe that being a mother has made me want to put myself in her shoes. I love to picture her as she held baby Jesus for the first time. She delivered the perfect, holy Savior of the world... The long awaited king that was born to set us free. I delivered a fallible human and every month I get all choked up in awe of her birth. I need to feel that enthusiasm and amazement at a much deeper level when I'm remembering the birth of Jesus Christ. After all, He died to deliver me from my sins. I definitely need that to be my focus this season...Not money and gifts.
So, with all of that said, this Christmas I hope to keep in perspective why we are celebrating. Without Jesus, we might as well not even get a tree or presents and we shouldn't even bother putting up pretty lights. It's easier said than done to not get caught up in the materialism of Christmas, but I will sure try my hardest not to!
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