Merry Christmas!

Have you finished decorating the tree? Baked Christmas cookies (and eaten them too, I hope)? Visited your relatives? Wrapped presents? Cooked Christmas dinner (or will soon)?

Even more than that, perhaps you've spared a few moments to write a poem or the next chapter in your novel. You may have made time to read that book that you borrowed from the library three times...the one that you never quite got around to finishing. Maybe you researched a pesky place name that you never were certain you got right in chapter five.

I hope, no matter how you've spent your holiday season thus far, that you've been able to do something truly heartwarming. It may be just sitting still beside your now-decorated tree and absorbing the magical atmosphere. For me, I made Christmas ornaments for my older relatives by painting and decorating wooden snowflakes. It could be as simple as watching "Charlie Brown's Christmas" once again. For each one of us, there is something special that will warm our hearts--that will make us, however briefly, just a little bit happier. I pray that you will find this joy over this Christmas.

Now, with Christmas only two days away, it's time once again to be reminded of what we are celebrating. After all, we all know that holidays are about more than simply presents and packages and trees and lights and vacation and leisure, as delightful as all of these things may seem. Sometimes a gentle story in a child's voice is the best reminder of what we truly celebrate:

May God bless you abundantly, and may you may be a blessing to others during this season. Merry Christmas!