I hate to do this to you, but after reading some thoughts in the two14sw blogging network on Christmas, I feel like I need to add some of my own.

First I need to apologize to Jason, because last night I left a comment on his blog that was mean, and I am sorry. I felt without thinking - a mistake I make a lot - and I just want to say I’m sorry. Sean and Jason both had some good things to say, cynical or not. I was kind of turned off at first and a little horrified that anyone could hate anything about Christmas =). I would keep using a simile from the Grinch, except I haven’t seen it in a long time.) But after giving it some thought, there is a lot of truth in your “cynicism”. The rush of buying and selling makes a lot of people totally forget what the whole thing is about, if they ever really know or care in the first place. Its all about me, at Christmas, and I’ve been seeing dumb shirts and slogans everywhere that prove most of the world doesn’t give a care about the real Christmas. The whole Santa thing is a convenient excuse to forget all about God and Jesus Christ and the whole point of gift giving; although it might have originated from something right. When Sunday school teachers and other sort of stereo-typed lets-go-to-church-so-we-can-say-we-did-it-and-maybe-we’ll-be-good-for-the-next-year stuff do all their typical Jesus-is-the-reason-for-the-season-lalala stuff, its not usually right (Jesus IS the reason for the season, but if when people say it without meaning it just to be religious or whatever that’s when it’s not right). Jake (my brother) read the comment I left and strongly disagreed, but after I listened to him for a minute I think I got the message that it depends a lot on what your experience has been. He thinks “Christmas carols” are a totally different thing that I do, has different memories, and other opinions (be they seriously critical or not :P), and I just forget about that fact sometimes. Other people have different conceptions of Christmas than me =).

I am super blessed. The older I get the more I realize it. When I was really little my parents started using Christmas to teach me about the Lord, about Jesus, about why we give gifts and the whole point of the joy of the “season”. They told me Santa was fake, and I was the kid that made the other ones cry when I told everyone I knew, probably =). I remember wonderful times, with my whole family sitting around the living room by candle light and singing “Christmas carols” like Away in the Manger, Angels We Have Heard on High, Silent Night, We Three Kings, O Come All Ye Faithful and others. It always blew me away that everyone knew all the words, and it gave me a special feeling to think of that ‘night’. Now I know it is because that night, the one that all history hinged on, the focal point of literally all time, in a sense, was one like no other. The people who were there were blown away, and thrust on their faces, because suddenly they were able to see God’s glory, in a little baby. When I was thinking about this, I thought about how some of those “Christmas carols” (the ones about Jesus) are a little cheesy now, because they are so old and so very well known and widely used. But I guess the whole thing was a little cheesy to Christ. He had to give up a lot, shrink down extremely small, for us to be able to begin to grasp just a little of Him. Even the original wonder of Christmas is such a small fraction, I remembered. The whole Santa set of ‘carols’ are just silly. Although maybe there’s a grain of truth in there somewhere, I totally see how my brother thinks they are ridiculous (those ones are his idea of Christmas carols). The other set, such as Deck the Halls, White Christmas, Winter Wonderland, 12 Days of Christmas, Jingle Bells, ect. are mostly silly too. But I think of them as songs to sing when you are happy (to hum in the mall and whistle on walks and make a nuisance out of yourself with to your siblings), when you are just happy for a change in season, happy to see snow or bundle up or remember fun winter memories. But I was wrong to just assume everyone thinks like I do, and especially to forget that I am seldom right =). I love Christmas. I love the lights, the snow, giving and getting presents, making cookies, spending time stuffing my face with family, and yes, singing a different set of songs and ones that are special to me, on Christmas eve. I used the simile of a little child, and it was a good thing to remember that for a little kid Christmas is about themselves. I know I was like that for most of my life ( 8 or 9 out of 13), and am still like that in ways I’m trying to get over. But I’m blessed to be able to change every year, get a better perspective every year, and to grow closer to God thinking about his love that should throw me on my face like a shepherd surrounded by angels!

I’m glad to be able to blog my feelings to you guys. It is cool to have a youth group that can share their ideas and thoughts, and by agreeing or not agreeing, I am at least stretched in my thinking. Heck, like I said on Kristas new blog post, blogging rocks because you say whatever you want whenever you want to, and if someone doesn’t like it all they can do is leave you a comment telling you so!