real meaning.....

I am getting tired of Christmas. Not the celebrate Jesus birth, remember the things that are important Christmas. That Christmas, I love, and appreciate more and more as I get older. It is the Christmas of when I leave my front door, and go out into the real world that brings me down.

Christmas time should not mean pressure, but with each passing year it does. The "holiday season" starts earlier and earlier, and every year we seem to have more and more to do. I am reading Kellie's page, and with work, kids, home, church, and all the extras, she sounds frazzled in some of her pages. We are feeling the same way.

Add the "gift giving" part, and it is completely out of hand. I have tried to slow this down in my family, but it seems to fall on deaf ears. I think after this year, I will need to be more stern about it.

Morgan and I have been very blessed financially for our careers so far, and Cassie being an only child has been spoiled by us, along with we spoiling ourselves. Well, now we are trying to take a step back, because we are realizing more and more, we just don't need "stuff", but our prior actions are making it harder to convince others.

My family thinks they all must buy something for Cassie. Well, actually they do not. Cassie has everything she will need for quite a while (again, prior actions by us). We have limited contact with the small family that we have, and with the move, it just adds to the distance, so some are buying for the only contact they will have for the whole year. That is insane. If you must buy something, how about a $10 book or bookstore gift certificate, and a long telephone conversation. She would appreciate it more than most other gifts. Just because she has a Nintendo DS, it does not mean she needs more games. But tell my family about only the book, and you will get eyes rolling from across the country.

I admit, that we were a part of the problem, and did the "spend, spend, spend", and the hustle all over the real meaning of the season. Bigger gifts = Bigger Christmas. That was not the correct thinking. I want to slow down, and enjoy this time with Morgan and Cassie. I can't go back and redo the past, but I can make an effort towards helping with the future. Hopefully, we can get all close to us on board.

I read my first chapter in the Book of John in both my Bible, and the Study Bible my friend, Kellie, gave to us. I am so used to reading my NIV Bible (easier translation) than the traditional King James version, I felt bad at first, but better after doing it because the combination really helped me in the end. I'll probably continue with the "combo" reading until I am more comfortable with the KJV.

Until the next time.....