It's beginning to look alot like Christmas! Yes, the weather still says spring but the calendar is pointing to Christmas. Thursday's newspaper definitely looked like Christmas with all the sale papers. The rush is on for the perfect gift even for people we may find imperfect. I got out Thursday to make a hospital visit. Afterwards, I went up to the bookstore in Longview. It is open most of the day on Thanksgiving. What I witnessed was something I still cannot quite put into words. When I pulled into the parking lot there was a long line of people outside the electronics store. The line stretched to the clothing store next door. People were sitting in chairs or were wrapped up in blankets. There was even a pickup truck in line with a tent in the back. This was around 7:00 at night. My best estimate totaled about 50 people in line waiting on something. The first thought was the store was one of those that would open on Thanksgiving evening for awhile. Later I found out this line of people were waiting through the night for the store to open nine hours later! These people were so determined to get the early bird special that they were prepared for an overnight stay on the walk. This is something that I read about before but never saw with my own eyes. Grown men and women were so earnest in their shopping they would pay the price before ever making a purchase. I wonder what it would take to keep them away from the very reason for this holiday? We will plan our shopping but leave out time for being with our Lord. We will study the sale papers yet not know the amazing history of the nativity. We will rejoice when we get just the right gift yet never ask if we are using our spiritual gifts. Are those shoppers wrong or weird for their behavior? Or are we as followers of Jesus just not sharing a similar zeal for the heart of the holidays?

Bro. Trey