All things Done According to God-conciousness

The end of year is such a rush! The post office keeps me very busy during the package and card season. I'm getting plenty of hours and feel like I'm running my feet off sometimes. Early mornings and fast-paced days just fly by and I find that I have not posted on the blog for quite some time! I am sorry about that. Though I've been trying to keep up on the few blogs I follow, even those have mounted up on me!

As we head into the Christmas weekend we do it with mixed feelings. I truly do LOVE this time of year, having had very fond memories of Christmas as a child and through these blessed married years also. I speak of this season carefully, however, as we have so many DEAR friends who do not celebrate Christmas (and for valid reasons, we do admit).  I recently watched a PBS special on the traditions of Christmas throughout the world. There is a piece of me that really rebels that we have been told (unfortunately by a "heiarchy") when and how we are to celebrate the season that is supposed to represent the birth of our dear Savior, Jesus Christ.  Being quite sure that Jesus was not born in the month of December, and acknowledging that nowhere in the Bible does it tell us to celebrate Christ's birth at all, I still have no problem picking this month to (though quietly and without sounding a trumpet) publicly show forth his advent to the earth.

We went through a period when we truly did not KNOW how we felt about the "tradition of Christmas".  I have come to realize that, if truth be told, I believe that most people would admit that it is a "warm and fuzzy" time of year to them. Perhaps it is not that way to you, but it is to me and I've heard many people express it that way. I refuse to say, "happy holidays", but ALWAYS choose to express, "Merry Christmas" because I do believe that if ANYTHING should be celebrated, it at least should be the coming of our Savior to earth. After all, God did choose to eternally record the angels proclamation of the glorious message to shepherds in nearby fields and Kings came to the house (some time later) and presented royal gifts to the Christ-child. This wonderful event did not happen without glorious recognition.

It is a difficult thing to write about because there are so many readers of this post who do not agree to celebrate Christmas at all and I understand where they are coming from. Many are from heavily-steeped religious backgrounds and are truly offended by even the mention of their once, high-church, telling them that they must "worship" this season. Having not come from a "religious" background myself (as I was just a heathen before coming to Jesus Christ), I did not know the stronghold that a religion could have on a person. We celebrated Christmas simply and it was a family-oriented, love filled time where we really did acknowledge Jesus Christ being born to the earth. I have to say that for me, I am not offended by that.  Lest anyone think otherwise, we have read up on the pagan beginnings of most of the traditions. We actually don't put up a tree anymore, for that reason. We also know what the American tradition has become, WAY too commercialized, etc. I guess that we have decided to celebrate it simply for what it is truly supposed to express to the world. At the same time, I am thankful for a church that does not "throw it in others faces" - thereby forcing individuals to celebrate something that offends them.  There is little to no mention of Christmas at our place of worship, and we are glad of that. What a blessing that we do not have to offend our brother by our "meat", as in Romans 14:17-23. This passage is a blessed teaching on following God according to conscience!

Please know that we respect christians who DO celebrate and those who DON'T celebrate during this time of year. Whatever we do, may it be done according to..."happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth." (Rom 14:22)