5 days til Christmas!

Can you believe its almost here?  Every year it seems to come faster! i remember being little and it seeming to take forever and couldn’t understand why my parents never seemed to complain about it being too slow! Now I know 🙂

Amidst the Christmas busyness I hope you can remember to keep the JOY of it in your heart. Remember how there is so much more to Christmas besides buying presents. I LOVE buying gifts for my family and friends and yes I still LOVE receiving them to. I still have the child like eagerness of wondering what is in that beautifully wrapped gift under the tree. I want to keep hold of that, but never want to lose the deeper meaning and the gifts that money can’t buy. The gift of TIME is one thing. I enjoy being with my family on Christmas, no one rushing off to work or school, no time frame to worry about, just the whole day to spend together doing things together. I enjoy taking the TIME to be with friends over Christmas, the TIME to send Christmas cards to those who are far away letting them know they are loved. I enjoy the TIME to sit and appreciate the lights in my living room when all is dark and quiet, to reflect on the past year and the blessings God has given me. The blessings that are so much bigger than what fits under the tree. I enjoy the TIME to think of creative gifts, ones that speak to my heart, not just buying gifts so that I can check them off my list. I enjoy the TIME to think of who I can be a Secret Santa to this year, who’s life can I add a little joy to.  I enjoy the TIME of listening to Christmas music either in my car, or at home, letting the words bring cheer to my heart. The TIME I take to read Christmas stories as I sit in my lighted living room and the TIME I had taken to read Christmas stories to my girls when they were little. We had and still have enough books to take us through 2 weeks prior to Christmas where at night I would read to them. We usually would end up repeating the books also, to stretch the whole month 🙂 They have such cool children’s Christmas books! Do we still get them out to read even tho they now are teens and do I still add to the collection, well what do you think?? 🙂

I LOVE Christmas songs, so many good ones, but wanted to share one for this post. I am sure many if not all of you have heard it before, but if you haven’t I am glad to introduce you to it. It is about the precious gift of love! The gift of taking the TIME to realize what is really important! I leave you with this song and may it help you use your TIME wisely in these 5 remaining days til Christmas but in the whole New Year also!