It's Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas

This past weekend I had the chance to go to the "Free World", as I'll call it! It was so nice! There were Christmas Lights GALORE, red beautiful poinsettas, decorations in every store window, and a LIFE SIZE nativity set. I know that the holiday is not all about the lights or the decorations but to not have any or just a few has been hard. I miss making fudge, I miss decorating the house with white lights and fun ornaments, I miss watching the Christmas movies on TBS every day and the holiday window shopping, and I actually miss the crowded shopping malls. It's just different here. There is no preparations for the holidays. I have a little tree with ghetto blinkin colored lights that actually have no rhyme or reason to their flashing. Thankfully I brought a few decorations with me like my starbucks cup ornament.  But this time away from all that has drawn me to the real reason for the holiday. When my friends ask me about my holiday, they already know about the trees and decorations and gifts, but many don't know about the little baby that we celebrate. They don't know that the manger scene that I have on the table is the center of the holiday. It's the whole reason we give gifts, we decorate a tree, we listen to carols and watch silly movies.... yet, most of that doesn't have any thing to do with the real reason- no wonder they are confused and don't know or understand. It's been nice to have a quiet holiday, to contemplate the real reason and the excitement for the day coming. I'm looking forward to Christmas morning when I will sing "O Come O Come Emmanuel, to ransom captives Isreal...."  or "O Come Let us Adore Him, O Come Let us Adore Him, O Come Let us Adore Him, Christ the Lord...." 

This weekend was good, it gave me a taste of the holidays that I miss back in the states but it also reminded me that all that stuff really doesn't matter- it's just about the baby in the center of the stage...