Christmas Wish List

Anxiously waiting in line to finally get a turn to sit on Santa’s lap, whispering into his ear exactly what we hoped his elves were making, promising to behave for mom & dad, then proudly marching off with a candy cane and new coloring book---all of which led to an eager expectation for what we might find under the tree Christmas morning! Oh, the annual trips to see Santa!

I was reminded of these trips to Santa’s Workshop this last weekend  while spending time with my two young cousins. They’ve written to the North Pole, sat on Santa’s lap at the mall, and have their wish lists memorized! Seeing the spark in their eye as they began to share about the elf that has visited their house already and the carrots they were going to set out for the reindeer…i couldn’t help but yearn for that same kind of excitement again!

The philosophy in our house that we ‘strictly’ abide by is “If you don’t believe, you don’t receive.’  Yet it has been years since I have sent  a letter off to the North Pole or agonized over what exactly it is that i want for Christmas.

Though a wish lists is not really a part of our holiday traditions any more, there is a different kind of wish list that i have poured over for hours.

 It’s a Wish List to God.

At the last gathering for Student Mobilization (the campus ministry i’m involved in-- www.ksustumo.org) we created wish lists to be asking God for focused on the last part of the semester, then for the coming year.

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.   ~Matthew 7:7

Initially, you would think creating a wish list for God would be easy. Right? Then you get staggering reality that we ask so little of God. We ask for a tub of popcorn, when He owns and wants to give us the entire theater!

My personal wish lists has been revisited, revised, and will be an ongoing creation, but here’s some tips to get us started on creating our own Wish list. This is a slightly revised version from the experts at ehow.com

Creating a Wish List 101

• 1.) Determine why you’re making a list…are you going to use it?
• 2.) Be specific.
  • How many people do you want to share the Gospel with? Who, by name, can you invite to a bible study? What exactly do you pray to have a conversation with your parents about?
• 3.) Broaden your scope.
  • Think of personal relationship with God, your family, people you work with, world we live in, etc.
• 4.) Back everything up with scripture.
  • ex: Invite 3 girls to SMC (www.smc2011.org)
  • For where 2 or 3 come together in  my name, there am I with them. ~Matthew 18:20
• 5.) Post it where you will be reminded of it often.
  • On the bathroom mirror, on your dashboard, by your bed, in the cover of your bible, etc.

Wish lists to God are so much more fulfilling than any wish list we created as a child. As we dream and imagine with God we rediscover the child-like excitement that we once had. We too can experience the same kind of excitement that the shepherds felt on the night of Jesus’ birth thousands of years ago!

When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, "Come on, let's go to Bethlehem! Let's see this wonderful thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." ~Luke 2:15

O’ Christmas Tree

Christmas music, snowflakes, peppermint mochas, Christmas   movies, and school breaks are few of the highlights of December! But for myself it’s quite possibly more exciting to decorate the house for Christmas than it is Christmas day as we rush to open gifts.

There is so much anticipation as all of the boxes are taken to their designated room of the house, carefully opened, and  flown to the side as the beautiful decorations are pulled out.

Christmas music is streaming from the iHome and a Christmas mug brimming with coffee is always within reach as Mom and i transform our home into a Christmas wonderland.

The very best part while decorating is the Christmas Tree. There is still just something so magical as the lights are plugged in and the whole tree lights up a dark room with ornaments, garland, and an angel on top twinkling

Homes and stores full of trees always mesmerize me. Each with different themes, sizes, and colors---and I can’t help but think about how our own lives can be illuminators like Christmas trees are.

When we see a Christmas tree in a home we can begin to hear some of the story of which that family tells with their life. It’s kind of humbling when you think that a simple Christmas decoration can begin to tell the history of a home.

If our lives were Christmas trees-let’s just say a good solid 8 ft. tree sitting in the family room next to the fireplace—how would it look?

The basics: What color of lights? What style of ornaments- handmade or purchased? Popcorn garland or gold beads? Would it be a bright colorful tree---one welcoming kids to fall asleep underneath? Or a Victorian tree so perfect people fear breaking a bulb if they get too close?

Granted, this thought process does seem more like a 4th grade art assignment to be taken home to mom & dad, but it does begin to question a few things.                      

                                                                                                                         How would people describe us?

Do others see us as loving, cheerful, and giving?

Does our lifestyle align with what we expect from others?

Going along with the old saying, ‘do our actions speak louder than our words’?

What kind of fruit is our lives producing?

Who would people say we are following?

As we are given some time now to enjoy family and be reminded that Christ’s birth is the real reason for the celebration, may we question and perhaps reevaluate what our lives are portraying.

In the same way let your light shine before all men, so that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.    ~Matthew 5:16

Christmas isn’t about giving gifts. It’s about giving love. Giving a love that shines so brightly that it could only have been ignited by a small child in a manager decades and decades ago.