THOUGHTS ON CHRISTMAS

Hello Once Again Diary

Do I make this a regular thing or just wing it for now? Humm. I will have to think on that one for awhile.

Yesterday I babysat Alex for about an hour in the morning while Rob Snow Blowed for me. Then in the evening I babysat for about 2 hours while they went to a movie. I hadn’t seen him all week and he had to be in a extra good mood. I love him to pieces. He is so sweet and cute and cuddly now and just makes my day. What a blessing it is to have Grand children.

(Thank you Jesus for giving me such a beautiful gift in my old age.)

Today I have to get busy. Up till this morning everything seemed manageable, but this morning for some reason I am in a bit of a panic. When I think of all I still have to do and the little amount of time, I think, I will never get it done. But then I think "O.K. Girl, take it easy, one thing at a time. So what if the floor isn’t exactly the cleanest, or something isn’t just right. The idea is getting together with people you love and want to spend time with - not a home inspection. So take it easy and enjoy what you are doing." So that is my plan. Enjoy the day and clean as I go.

I wanted to get a new outfit for Christmas, but when you are my size, it is not exactly the easiest thing in the world to do. First of all it is to "get out shopping". Then it is finding something in my size. Then when I try things on, I become so depressed I end up giving up. So most of the time I am defeated before I even try. I can live with getting and wearing hand me downs. What the heck - it is a lot cheaper that way and no depression set on by looking into dressing room mirrors.

Anyway, clothes have never really been my thing. As long as I am covered and comfortable. I do not believe in the old saying that the suit determines the man. I also do not believe in the saying "You get what you pay for". I have found over the years that if you are careful and diligent, you can get a lot more than what you pay for and get good quality to boot. It just takes a little more work sometimes.

I guess I would be what you call a very low maintenance type of woman. Don’t need a lot to keep me happy. Just lots of hugs and affection. I love heart gifts rather than splashy money gifts. Don’t give me a gift if you feel you HAVE to. I would rather not get anything than get a "NEEDED TO GET YOU SOMETHING" gift. My daughter and I were discussing this last night.

She is of the opinion that it has all gotten so commercialized etc. I agree to a point but then I think it is still what each individual makes it. Sure it is Jesus’ birthday and we all know that. (Well some of us more than others) So with that in mind, what would Jesus have us do? Jesus believed in celebrations. The Jewish people had many celebrations. So, what should we as Christians do? Can we enjoy this time of celebration or should we be all somber and Holy?

So what is the intention? We honour Jesus’ birthday. So how can we do that? By honouring our families and enjoying their company. I believe that Jesus would want us to Celebrate Christmas as a time of Families getting together and loving one another. That is the greatest gift we can give him.

If you have Jesus in the right place in your heart, I don’t think that Christmas or any other time of year is going to change what you feel inside and what you believe. So with Jesus in his proper place in your life, the next thing you have to do is make sure you have your family at the right place in your life.

In this fast paced world with so many things to do and places to go and restrictions on time, it is nice to have a time to look forward to each year to just celebrate the family and share with others of the good fortune we have had in the previous year.

My Christmas shopping begins in January. I always have my family on my mind whenever I go shopping or to garage sales or second hand stores. Whatever comes along I think "Humm, maybe my daughter would like that" So I might buy it and put it away till Christmas.

Why put it away you might ask? Why not give it to her right away? Well, I have found out that people like to "give" more than receive (most of the time) So giving gifts for no apparent reason doesn’t seem reasonable to some people. Some people can accept gifts at Christmas but have a hard time accepting gifts at any other time of the year.

But then there is MY joy in giving. I love giving gifts and will give gifts throughout the year as well. I like to listen throughout the year for hints as to what the people I love might be wanting or needing. I like to give gifts that are more of the "want" type than the "Needing" type. You can go out and buy your own needed gift but when can you ever get those gifts you really want but never get around to buy yourself. So to me, Christmas is like icing on the cake. That’s when you get those extra gifts - sometimes unneeded but loved just the same because you know the person was thinking about you and caring.

Anyway, I think I have said enough for today. Have a great day and if I don’t get back to you MERRY CHRISTMAS.