Focusing on JOY (Jesus, Others, Yule)!
What is yule? According to Webster’s 1828 Dictionary: It is the name anciently given to Christmas, or the feast of the nativity of our Savior. Let us keep the JOY in Christmas!
Friday, we will turn our calendars to December 1; eleven school days until your children are dismissed for Christmas break. Have you begun your Christmas checklist yet? Do you get a little pit in your stomach just thinking about it? If you have ever watched a hamster run on his little wheel, do you feel the same as December approaches? Let us step off the wheel together and acknowledge the baby in a manger as the Lord over our to-do lists.
I love 1 Peter 5: 7 which says, “Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” Just as you want your little ones to come to you with their fears and worries so that you can ease their little hearts and minds; likewise, our heavenly Father wants us to do the same. The word “casting” is related to the Greek verb used in Luke 19:35, referring to Palm Sunday when the people of Jerusalem threw their garments onto a colt for Jesus to ride. It describes a deliberate action of setting something down and leaving it there. And here is the key: do not pick it up again!
Let us give our cares and “to-do lists” to Jesus and leave them with Him, trusting Him to show us how to prioritize our tasks and how to spend our time and money. One of my favorite names for Jesus is Immanuel (God with us). Jesus was God with us that very first Christmas. That baby in a manger born over 2,000 years ago was the incarnation of Holy God.
As you prepare for Immanuel’s birth, it is nice to institute certain traditions - be intentional about what matters to you and your family. Growing up in Indiana, my dad owned a Christmas tree farm. My brother and I worked several weekends cutting down trees that shoppers selected for their very own. If I recall correctly, the trees ranged in price from $2.50 - $7.50; even then, it was a bargain. My dad’s heart was always bigger than his wallet. He instructed us to wad up the cash and put it in our pockets. I remember him coming to check on us on those cold, wintry days. We would sit in his truck, warm up, and then get back to work. Even now, I recall to mind seeing families walk through the evergreens looking for their perfect tree. What floods your heart with joyful memories at Christmastime?
I know one family who reads a Christmas picture book every night during December. Another decorates a miniature tree with “Adore”naments (twelve names for Jesus represented by tiny ornaments). Our grandchildren will be arriving from Africa in time to continue this tradition! Do you trim the tree together? Do you listen to Christmas music as you drink hot chocolate by the fireside or firepit? Warning: drinking hot chocolate at nighttime will be detrimental to little ones’ sleep. Do you select an outreach project as a family? Do you bake Jesus a birthday cake?
No matter what your traditions are, keep them front and center and schedule them on the calendar today. Then, when something tempts you to displace family time, you can respond with a gracious “No,” which is a big “Yes” to your family! The best gift you can give your family is a calm mama, a Jesus-focused home, and your presence as you direct your children’s hearts toward the baby in the manger, the birth of “God with us,” planned before the foundation of the world.
