Ahhhhh - the silly season is here!

Well, it almost snuck up on me - the "silly season!"  But, hoorah - I caught it in time.

No rant this year on the historical weirdness of the season - No rant on materialistic nature of the whole thing.

What I want to say is that I encourage all of you to ficus on what we are celebrating.

Make Thanksgiving a time of thanks.  Sure, it's not one of "our" holidays but it is a good time to really stop and make a list of what we do have to be thankful for - beginning with God's grace.

Yeah, many of us are struggling and well, we are worried about the things we see happening in our country and the world.  but I think most of us are just a wee bit anxious about things like food and clothing and shelter...... work, income and stability.

But we can not let these concerns overshadow the plain and main things of our faith. We do have things to be thankful for - maybe not what we used to have - maybe less than we used to have - but still, our God is faithful to provide.

Christmas----Mmmmmmm - the great gift giving Olympics.  Maybe this year we can find better things to give.  Maybe we can get together with other struggling believers and have a pot-luck (stone-soup).  Maybe we can visit folks and give them our prayers.  Maybe we can look around at what we do have and don't use or need and find someone who can use it or does need it.

You know the minority at the birth of Jesus were the rich guys.  Everyone else were just folks - imposed upon by the Roman government - forced into a census for tax purposes and having to deal with a big interruption to their daily struggle by a whole other struggle.

Sound familiar?

I encourage you all to focus on the greatest gift - that we have chosen to celebrate this time of year.  Find new ways to celebrate, commemorate and acknowledge Him and His coming into the world - to die - for us.

Don't make this time about things or even family - make it about Him.

There's a chorus that I think that we need to sing to ourselves much more than we do:

Turn you eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth
Will grow strangely dim
In the light
of His glory and grace

Look to the One who is the only source of our provision.  Humbly and thankfully remember why He came and what he accomplished - and what He sustains for us and in us.

Redefine the silly season in terms of it's true meaning and flee from the imposition of the world on "our" celebration/remembrance.  Say "No!" to the world and "Yes!" to Him.

Or - do like I do and just let it pass -

For you parents - I pray for you.  this is a special time for children - even though it's been twisted by materialism.  I pray for you that you will be free of the condemnation of the world that creeps into our hearts and minds when we can't "do" for the kids like everyone else does.  But perhaps this is a time to change and begin to teach them how "wrong" the world is in its manner of celebration and that what we celebrate is not the same thing.

It's is a tough time and in tough times like these is seems even - well - tougher.

It is past time for us all to draw closer to Him and to flee the world, the flesh and the devil - maybe that's what we can give those we love.