Christmas time is here. Just ask my son if you don't believe me. He told me that he would help get out the boxes of holiday decorations today. Turns out that what he meant is he would assist me in finding his boxes of Christmas stuff. He left the other boxes for me to handle. Soon comes the time to take down fall decor and replace it with the tinsel and holly. My hope is to still make Thanksgiving more than just another day before shopping. It appears that my efforts are failing with him. But we will just keep trying at least until Friday morning.

Did you know there are stores who are advertising their opening times as early as 3:00 in the morning? Who in their right mind gets out in the middle of the night for shopping? Odds are the stores will be dangerous enough in the light of day much less with sleepy people rampaging the aisles. This action may be good for the economy but can it be healthy for human beings? Also, are you aware that some people are already staking out places in front of stores for the Friday morning economic crusade? I will not judge anyone's behavior but some actions may leave room to question sanity. Should you be one of those who are getting up to shop when most people are asleep do not feel the need to honk. Go and enjoy yourself. Perhaps you will be the wiser for knocking out your gift lists early.

Sunday begins the church season of Advent. It marks the time of preparation that leads up to Christmas. I try to utilize the calendar along with the resources for this time. We will start on Sunday by taking a look at the second arrival of Jesus in order to prepare our heart to celebrate the first one. We know the date of Christmas yet many people are often scrambling to finish getting ready up to the last minute. Stores are often crowded with people in the midst of panic trying to find a present before it is too late. I confess to getting out in stores on Christmas Eve to watch the action. This can be especially satisfying if you are finished with all of your plans. The point of this is to say that we can know the date of Christmas yet still not be ready for Jesus. Amazing is one word to use when that happens. Tragic may be the best one of all.

We will suffer the crowds in our shopping yet avoid being with God's people during the season. It may be we spend lots of money on presents while neglecting to remember just what the true gift is all about. Carols can be sung without noticing the powerful message about our Lord within the music. We can even promise to do better this year than the last one. Just think about making time to experience God's gift during these next few weeks. Then do something out of the ordinary to make this time count. This is my first Christmas wish for you.

Bro. Trey