Reality has hit. Thanksgiving is over. We are three weeks… three weeks away from Christmas! Oh my, gosh, where did the time go? I got so carried away with Thanksgiving that I did not realize Christmas was so close. With Thanksgiving so late in the month this year Christmas just kind of snuck up on me.

I noticed several towns had their tree lighting ceremonies before Thanksgiving this year, but I just thought they were over achievers. The same is true with some of the neighbors and other folks I know in the community having their decorations already up outside.

But, none the less, the Christmas season is ever upon us. Are you ready?

I started making a mental list of all I have to do to get ready. Let’s see, of course, the outdoor decorations. I need to get the lights up on the house. Then I need to get the inflatable Snoopy, Woodstock and the Christmas tree. There is the inflatable snowman, also. And last year I added something new (just can’t remember what). Now that the outside decorations are taken care of we can’t forget the decorations for the inside. Is the tree a pre-lit artificial one or should we do a real one? Where did I put the decorations from last year? Are they in the garage or the barn? How elaborate do we go? Do we just decorate the whole house or just the living room and dining room? Do we need to get any new decorations?

Then there are the Christmas parties. I have a Sunday School class party. Then there is the youth party and a children’s party at church, too. Oh yeah, our Association’s Christmas Party for pastors and staff is very first. Jill and I want to have a come-and-go Christmas at the parsonage. I almost forgot, my brother and sister want to get together with our families for a Christmas party, too. (I think I need to sit down.)

What about Christmas gifts? I sure can’t forget the gifts. I need to buy for the kids. The grandbabies are always fun, and this year we have the younger two (Harper and Koa) both a year old now. There are cousins, friends, neighbors and of course, the wife!

Where are we having Christmas this year? I guess I should figure that one out. Will we have Christmas at my house? Maybe my daughter will host it. Jill’s sister had Thanksgiving, so she probably won’t want to have it.

What will we have to eat…turkey, ham or both? Will we smoke it or oven roast it? Will we have stuffing, and will it be bread or cornbread? Maybe we should just have finger foods. Or, maybe we should break tradition and have a Mexican, Italian or Ha-waiian?

And there is more! There is the Christmas Parade in town, the Candlelight Service at church, the children have their program the same night, and I would like to go to Honor Heights Park to see the Garden of Lights, as well as Rhema’s lights in Broken Arrow.

These are all things, legitimate things to do to get ready for Christmas. But these are only the externals that we do. What about the internal? The spiritual? What do you do to get ready for that? You see, Christmas is not decorations, dinners, parties or presents. Christmas is so much more.

Linus told Charlie Brown the best answer to the question, “Does anybody know what Christmas is all about?” in the show Charlie Brown Christmas? Linus quotes from Luke 2—The Christmas Story. We try to make Christmas about the all the external things. It is not. Christmas is in the heart. You can’t create Christmas or bring Christmas. Christmas has already happened. It’s already come with the birth of Jesus Christ. God came down to man as a baby in a manger, born of a virgin in the small town of Bethlehem of Judea. Jesus fulfilled all the Biblical prophecies by being born the way He was.

Getting ready for Christmas? How do we do it then? First, remember what Christmas is… the birth of Jesus as Messiah. Second, make the birth of Jesus the main thing. Keep Jesus at the center of it all. It is not about a man in a red suit riding in a sleigh delivering presents. No, it is about Jesus in a manger. Thirdly, we need to remember all of what God did, sending His only Son to be born, was because of love. That is right, love, God so loved the world as John 3:16 says. God loved us so much that rather than have us separated from Him, He sent His only Son, not just to be born, but to live and then die (on a cross) for our sins.

Finally, look past all the external of Christmas and listen to what Linus told Charlie Brown. Christmas is about an inn keeper, some shepherds, and a choir of angels with a message, and the story ending up at a manger.

Getting Ready for Christmas, Bro. Tim