Tis the Season

December...ahhh, what a month!
I am one of those people who absolutely refuses to acknowledge Christmas before Thanksgiving (with the exception of program practices, of course). I cannot get in the mood for the holidays while going past school supplies. I have a hard time reconciling aisle after aisle of spooky, scary Halloween stuff with the Prince of Peace in the next row! My family is conditioned to cringe in fear should I hear one line of "Jingle Bells" before the final slice of pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving Day.
But after the aforementioned final slice.....
On our way home from Thanksgiving Dinner at Grandmother's house, we see who can spot the first decorated house. I start getting the Christmas videos out. I begin playing Christmas music. As the days of December roll on, I bundle up and trudge out for the traditonal Christmas tree hunt. Okay, so it's in the garage, but I do have to move a couple of boxes to get to it!
Sadly, we have had a combination of bad colds/flu and busy schedules, so my grandiose plans to get the tree up and the house decorated before the first weekend of December kind of fell through. I did get the stuff out of the garage, so I'm that much ahead.
Last night was our DayCare Christmas program, the first of many holiday festivities. In spite of some disasterous rehearsals, the play was really awesome. We had about 200 people present. After the play, I shared a gospel devotion and then we had a slide show, followed by refreshments in the fellowship hall. It was a neat evening.
Tomorrow night is the DayCare staff Christmas dinner. Our pleasant, dignified, early childhood educators transform into...well, I'm not sure how to describe it. What's neat is that it's wild, uninhibited fun without the presence of alchohol!
Coming up next weekend: the Live Nativity presentation, which our church is coordinating and staging once again on behalf of the city, and our Christian Education program, which is woefully behind schedule on rehearsals. I'll write more about these things later, but suffice it to say, December is a time of wonder and joy and activity. I suppose I could sit at home all night and wonder about Christmas' regrets. But what fun would that be? Let's celebrate...let's party...let's take a look at the first coming of Jesus!
Ahhhhh, December....what a month!