A Few of My Favorite Things: A New Blog Series

I love Christmas. Some who know me well might not think that's true because I'm normally a firm believer in waiting until after Thanksgiving to start celebrating. My desire to not celebrate Christmas when the first Christmas decorations go up in stores in September (yes, that's right, I have been in stores who had their Christmas things out this early) isn't because I'm a Grinch or Ebenezer Scrooge at heart. Rather, I believe that Thanksgiving is an important holiday that deserves full attention. As a whole, I wouldn't describe our current culture as particularly "thankful." I also struggle sometimes with having a thankful heart, so I try to be intentional about not skipping over this holiday in a rush to get to Christmas. But I digress.

Now that we're past Thanksgiving, I'm really excited to be decorating the tree, listening to Christmas music, watching Christmas movies and specials with my family, and enjoying other Christmas traditions that only come around this time of year. With that in mind, I thought I'd do a series of posts entitled, "A Few of My Favorite Things" (yes, very original, I know). In some cases, the lists will be of things that simply help to make Christmas more enjoyable for me and my family. In other cases, there are deeper meanings behind the list.

As with any list of favorites that someone posts for all the Interwebs to see, I expect disagreement and statements like, "How could you possibly like...?" and "How could you not include...?" That's ok. When it comes to favorites, the thing that makes them our favorites is that they matter to us, not someone else. So, disagree with me if you like. I won't be too offended. Feel free to agree with me too. Being right is fun, isn't it?

Hopefully reading my lists of favorites will help you to think through some of the things you love about Christmas. This is a cliché thing to say, but it is very easy to rush through the season. In the end, it could be all about stress, busyness, overspending, and greed. This year, I don't want that to be the case for me, my family, or anyone who might read this. It's ok to give yourself permission to not live in those parts of the Christmas season. After all, when we celebrate the traditional themes of Advent, they include Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. Because of Jesus, we can live each day in each of those.

Next Post: A Few of My Favorite Things: Christmas Movies