4:13 p.m. Today's project is to take down our Christmas decorations, now on our third day. Steve and I will probably be at it all week, with a break tomorrow to go to Disneyland and California Adventure one more time before our passes expire on January 7th.
The door, guest bath, mantle and window treatments came down Sunday; last night I removed the stair garland and lights, and returned the living room back to its normal condition. Today, Steve and his caregiver Frank vacuumed up the bits of fake garland from the stairs and now he is taking ornaments off the tree. Prayerfully by the weekend, I'll have put each ornament into its box. Even the remaining cookies were banished to the chest freezer in our garage for sugar 2011's inevitable sugar craving attacks.
Cultural Christmas will soon be no more at the Kruckenbergs'!
No grinch here, but I differentiate pretty sharply between the much-anticipated goodies, gifts, decorations, family celebrations and lavish holiday events of our culture and maintaining the scriptural integrity of the reason Jesus Christ came to earth.
I Timothy 1:15 states plainly, "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners..." Paul adds, "of whom I am chief." That's a statement I can identify with! Before January 6, 1980, I was a very bold sinner, doing whatever appealed to me and quite satisfied, generally, with the way things were going. For a divorced single mom, I wasn't doing too badly, building a career and earning a modest living in a professional setting. To my way of thinking, I was on my way up the ladder of success! But when invited to church one Sunday, I heard an altar call, a light came on, and realized that what I was seeking was Jesus Christ all along, and that following after material matters was just a rabbit trail leading away from the plan He had for my life!
I celebrated Christmas "religiously" the first 28 years of my life as an unbeliever, including caroling with our secularistic Methodist church. Our high school chamber choir visited rest homes with goodies and gifts. I loved it! And may those activities continue in our land, the charitable giving and performing uplifting music that warms hearts. Our family has carried on many of the same traditions.With the exception of leaving cookies out for Santa, Steve's and my Christian family enjoys our tree, handmade stockings, Christmas carols and all the festivities of the season. Our decorations include many more nativity sets than I grew up with, though!
But there is one major Difference! We know WHY we are celebrating Jesus' birth in a most personal way. He saved each one of our souls, He walks with us through this earthly life, and one day will receeve us into heaven, where He sits at the right hand of the Father.
Praise God we live in a land where we can still enjoy Christmas publicly, no matter what the sour-lemon crowd has to say! But let's keep Christmas as a private celebration as well--celebrating the Savior, who, John 1:14 says, "became flesh and dwelt among us."
And who died that we might live!
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