Happy Holidays to You and Yours

There's just something about the holidays that makes my heart smile! Unlike most of the religious world, we don't celebrate Christmas as a memorial of Jesus' birth, or even a celebration of his birthday. That's because we remember Jesus every first day of the week during the Lord's Supper. That's when we think about his birth, his death, his burial and his resurrection. But, that doesn't mean we don't like Christmas or enjoy the holiday season. In fact, Christmas is one of my most favorite holidays of the year.

Today, we worked for several hours bringing joy to countless little ones. My husband played Jolly Old St. Nicholas at the local Wal-Mart. I'm not sure if he was as excited for the opportunity as I was when I agreed that he would do it, but I think once the kids started lining up he really enjoyed himself.

Some of the kids asked for a lot of things like unicorns, dragons, and sharks -- maybe they will grow up to be writers! Others, asked for electronics and army men, some even asked for bubble gum, an alarm clock and a trash can. All the kids were so happy because they got to spend a bit of time with Santa. Today these kids got to live a little of the holiday magic, and so did their parents. Sometimes I wondered who was more excited the kids or Mom and Dad. There were even a few adults who had to get their pictures taken with Santa.

I know there are some people who don't like Santa Claus, and that's okay. You don't have to. We've always told our kids that Santa lives in your heart and he is that feeling you get when you think of the holidays. They also learned at a young age that the man you see on the street wearing Santa's clothes represents Christmas and the man the world calls St. Nicholas that lived a long, long time ago.

My three have always understood that there was a man and a legend of Santa Claus, and we've adopted that into our Christmas celebration as a time to remember to give to others and treat people the way God would have us to treat them. Even though my kids grew up understanding that Santa lives in your heart and not the North Pole, they have always loved Christmas, and we all still believe in Santa Claus. We always will.

Today, while I was ringing a cowbell and holding an overstuffed teddy bear pointing the way to the Christmas land, I thought about all the things that make Christmas time so wonderful. The more I thought about it the more I realized that the things that mean the most are not those that glitter and sparkle, or have that new electronic smell. It is the people around me, and it is my family and friends that are the best gifts I can ever get.

It is also you, dear reader, that is a wonderful gift. You who spends your time reading the things I'm posting, and raising your hand to tell me you want to be a part of the Church of Christ Women Authors. Words cannot express what it means to me to know that you are there reading these words, supporting authors and telling your friends about this work, and listening to the YouTube channel. So, I want to say thank you for everything that you've done for me by reading this blog. I've gotten to know so many wonderful people this year that I otherwise would have never met, and that has been a true blessing.

I hope that you find yourself in a good place today, and that you can look at your own life and see the blessings that are in it. As you go about your day, remember that every good and perfect gift comes from God. Thanks again for everything. I look forward to hearing from you in the comment section below, oh and if you want something for Christmas, maybe post it down there. It seems I've got Santa's ear this year!
--Susan