Harvest Celebrations seem to kickoff the fall/winter holiday season, even though most stores have had Christmas decorations adorning shelves since the close of summer. However, my emotions were a bit mixed yesterday when I turned on my favorite radio station to hear Christmas music! Don't get me wrong, I love the excitement of the Christmas season but as I listened it sparked an unexplained urgency and anxiety.

Actually when I think about it, my anxiety is experienced when I get caught up in a distorted view of the perfect Christmas, annoying Tom Shane ad's and all. As with everyday life, when my focus is where it should be, everything else falls into order.

I once saw a fabulous demonstration illustrationg this thought using a gallon jar, walnuts, and unpopped popcorn. The walnuts represented the important things in life i.e. spending time with God in prayer and bible study, quality time with family, listening to a friend in need, etc. The popcorn represented the busy-ness of the day. Things that demand our attention but are just not AS important i.e. laundry (nothing screams like laundry), dishes (okay maybe the dishes), mowing the lawn and other yard work, etc. When we fill our jar with popcorn, there is just no room for the walnuts, however, if we put our walnuts in first, ALL of the popcorn fits around them.

I love the holidays because it means time off to spend with family. A few years back we started a family tradition of a white elephant gift exchange and Christmas dinner. The "perfect gift" now took on a whole new meaning. Everyone participated in the Christmas meal by bringing a dish, easing the stress of hosting a large family, but the highlight of the evening, was the gift exchange. The familiar phrase, One man's trash is another man's treasure, wasn't always the case at the exchange which made it a complete HOOT! Although everything had to be "newish", sometimes, I noticed, "one man's trash is... well, just that.

One of my "walnuts" of the Christmas season is reading the Christmas story from the bible with my kids. Like all favorite bible stories, sometimes the familiarity overshadows the details... if that makes sense. The details become lost in the familiarity. In looking closer at the complete story in the Gospel of Matthew, chapters 1 and 2 we have the cast of characters, who's actions or inactions affect the course of history.(much like our actions or inactions). We have the familiar: Joseph, Mary, the Magi,who often star in our tabletop nativiy, and then the not so familiar but still important: King Herod, the Pharisees and the Scribes.

Mary- The trust and faith that Mary demonstrated can be found in Luke 1:28–38 In Mary's day, pregnancy outside of marriage was very serious. Mary could have become an outcast in her community or put to death. She chose to trust God with the details. We see her question the angel once, in vs 34 "how can this be?" But that is as far as her questions go, she doesn't ask God what if.. Mary is a woman, more of a girl, who adores God. Her attitude toward him can be found in Luke 1:46-55. Here is a model of a God loving woman, whose obedience to God, blesses the entire world, all who lived prior to all those yet to be born. Much like us when we are obedient to the calling of God in our lives.

Joseph-The trust and faith that Joseph demonstrated can be found in Matthew 1:19 Here is a man that despite his own emotions, thought of Mary 1st. God in His infinite mercy does not allow Joseph to dwell on his circumstance very long, in vs 20, the angel of God instructs him what to do next. Joseph's obedience to God, kept his family safe. As with Joseph, the Lord has mercy on us in our time of confusion, He is the ultimate source of truth.

Herod-Being king, Herod had access to the teachings of the scribes and Pharisees and chief priests. He had all the access he wanted regarding information about God, to learn about Him, to learn what pleases Him, etc. Just like us today, we have all the information we need about God, in our bible. Vs 3 states that Herod was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Like the phrase, "as a leader goes, so does the country." Verse 4 describes Herod’s heart attitude in wanting this important information about Jesus. He earnestly seeks Jesus too, but for wrong reasons, ignoring all prophecies pointing to Jesus as the Messiah. The most shocking of all ia in Herod's arrogance, he thinks he can UNDO WHAT GOD HAS SET IN MOTION (vs 16) The aftermath of his terrible sin is death to all boys 2 years old and younger. A grim reminder that sin has far reaching effects.

Scribes and Pharisees-Very knowledgeable in old testament teachings & prophecies. They taught what they knew, full of head knowledge yet did not actively persue the word of God. The Scribes and Parisees enjoyed their social standing their knowledge and study provided, it was a position of importance, yet they made no attempt to know or apply God’s truth. As Jesus taught the word of God, the Scribes and Pharisees ridiculed and scorned. Their attitude of indifference resulted in passive or active opposition to everything faith in Jesus represented. The result of their sin was inadequate counsel to their king which allowed him to carry out his disasterous plan. Matthew chapter 23 describes Jesus' thoughts of the scribes and Pharisees. Their knowledge and study did not produce wisdom, which can only be attained as a gift from God. How do the “religious” of our day compare? Do we adequately represent God in our thoughts and actions? Do we even fgo to church adn when we do what kind of heart attitude do we bring? Do we know the word of God so when faced with truth we can recognize it? or challenged can we stand? Matthew 7:26 describes building a house on sandy foundation

Wise Men- The Magi were a tribe of priests. These "wise men" acted on the information they had. They did not know exactly where they were going but trusted and followed anyway. They traveled quite some distance not knowing where they were going. In Vs 10, their reaction to the star illustrates their attitude toward God. Their gifts represented sacrificial giving. Gold – gift fit for a king most precious of metals. Frankincense – offered prayer, praise , thanksgiving, Myrrh – used in burial Their character is obvious: they recognized God's voice (vs 12), gave sacrificially, persevered despite the cost, prepared to worship, and were confident in their purpose. As we prepare for the wonderful Christmas season ahead, my prayer for you is that you choose to be one of the more "familiar" of the Christmas story: Josesh, Mary or a "wise men" through obedience and faith, trust, and charity, that you enjoy the blessing of the "walnuts" of your life and as you do, you trust that your "popcorn" will fall into order. Take care and God bless.