The Meaning of Christmas

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

The Meaning of Christmas

Thanks so much for making the time to take the time to stop by for a little word of encouragement today! Even though this season is just about over, it’s never too late to be reminded of “The Reason” for this season! Wouldn’t it be a better world if we could keep the spirit of giving that we all seem to catch this time of year going all year long…and I don’t mean material gifts! Come on in for a few words from my heart to yours!

It’s not about the presents under the Christmas tree,

But the presence of love we feel from friends and family

It’s not about the shopping that we feel we must do,

But about the gift that’s already been given freely to me and you

The gift is a gift that money can’t buy

The birth of Jesus was for you and I

It’s not about making alist and checking it twice

And buying gifts for the naughty or nice

The reason for this season isn’t about all the debt and stress

It’s a season to offer simple gifts, such as patience and forgiveness

Or maybe a fit of time for one whose time is running out

A meal for a family in need to encourage hope where there is doubt

Or maybe someone needs a helping hand to accomplish a tedious chore

And don’t forget your lonely neighbor down the street or right next door

Oh, if we would take the materialism out of the season

And in its place remember that The Christ in Christmas is the reason

We could try and keep the Christmas attitude all year through

By simply treating others as yo’d want them to treat you

So when we say Merry Christmas to you and your family

We’re wishing you Jesus; that’s real prosperity!

Merry Christmas, from my heart to yours

Evinda

Nana Holds from Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Welcome to Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power and welcome back to more of Nana Holds, a series started almost a year ago now. It’s been almost a month since the last entry for this series and we left off during the beginning of the 2012 Christmas season! Wow, where has all the time gone? I can’t wait to catch us up to the present in this series and share with you all that God is continuing to work through it as He continues to transform me in these Nana Holds moments. Grab your coffee and come on in.

We found out about three weeks before Christmas that Bryce was going to get a three-day pass for Christmas, so George and I began preparing Bryden for his Daddy’s visit home. “Bryden, Daddy gets a little vacation from his big job so he’s going to be coming home for a few days and we’re going to get to spend Christmas with him.” He understood “daddy’s coming home,” and we began to count down the days.

As the weeks turned into just days before the anticipated homecoming, we made plans for Bryce’s three-day home pass which began at 12:00 noon the Saturday before Christmas. Since this was to be a happy and joyous time for everyone, we thought we’d treat us all to “The happiest place on earth, Disneyland,” which is exactly where we headed the day we

Christmas 2012

picked him up.

What an experience, to see the happiest place through the eyes of a child like I had never done before. Oh, sure, I’ve taken my son when he was little but that was years ago when I was a control freak and much to worried about all the what-ifs instead of learning to be in the moments and soak up the happiness, even if just for the day.

Well, Disneyland was another do-over for me. When we finally made it into the park – OMG, was it ever crowded – we moved ever so slowly among the crowd and I tried not to feel so suffocated. We hadn’t even been inside twenty minutes, and hadn’t made it very far, when all of a sudden, Disneyland personnel began to rope off Main Street. It was time for the Christmas parade and we were just in time.

We weaved in and out of the clumps of people to a place that had a porch with enough room for all of us to stand, that is, Bryce, Bryden, Papa, Nana and Jene. That’s where we stopped to watch the complete parade, another experience I have never experienced! As many of the famous childhood characters came by on their various floats made up of their favorite things and places, Bryce put Bryden up on his shoulders. From my perspective, he had the best seat in the whole parade, and from the look on Bryden’s face, he was right where he wanted to be with who he wanted to be with.

When Mickey and Minnie Mouse came dressed in their Christmas clothes, their whimsical joy pulled a smile from Bryden and his eyes began to twinkle like only a child’s can. I watched as he stared somewhat captivated by Goofey and Pluto, and in awe at Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, childhood characters he hasn’t met yet. Cinderella’s ethereal beauty rendered him still as he waved back at her, returning her parade-like wave that he just knew was for him. He waved at the little toy soldiers, the chipmunks and many other characters that had slipped my mind in my adult life.

Each time I saw a new character, I’d point: Bryden, there’s so and so and then I’d hurry and get my camera ready, turning my glance first to the character and then to him, hoping to capture all of what he was experiencing. There was so much to take in that he was actually speechless as each of them danced their way down Main Street, but his awe-inspired silence ceased as soon as he saw someone very familiar to him. I’ll give you a hint: it wasn’t Santa!

Join me tomorrow for more Nana Holds moments

Evinda

Nana Holds!

P.S. Join Steve and me for another talk radio segment on breaking free from co-dependency. We are currently talking about empowerment, which is vital to the breaking-free process. If you can’t join us at 1:00 Pacific time, just click on this link when you can and you will land in our show where you can download to listen at your convenience.www.blogtalkradio.com/Chicklit-Power

Nana Holds from Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Welcome to Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power! By the time you read this, I should be back home from Cabo and ready to write about the moments as well as some fears that were conquered, but that’s for next week! Let me just say thank you so much for allowing me to share this powerfully transforming series with you. I hope you will pass it on, especially to anyone you know who is having to parent their children’s child/children. Grab your coffee and come on in.

So it’s almost Christmastime and this year I didn’t start decorating until the second week of December. In years past, I’ve begun as early as the day after Thanksgiving – I had that much stuff and needed to get an early start! But I’ve received several life-changing revelations about the whole CHRISTmas season and have finally reached a very happy balance as I strive more and more to give and practice the true gifts of the season: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Anyway, Bryden went with his mother and her parents for his monthly two-night visit, and then went to see his grandmother up north, so he was gone a little over a week. While he was gone, George and I had the most fun we’ve ever had decorating the house for the season. There truly is something about having a child to experience this season with that brings out the child in us. George used to dread, and I mean dread decorating the yard, so much so that he pays someone else to do it, and only because he knows how much joy it brings me. Don’t you just love a house all lit up and festive?

At George’s insistence, we got a couple new yard decorations to add to what we already had, purchases that were motivated by the gift of Bryden. It took our guy who does it three different sessions to get them all up in a way that wouldn’t blow all the fuses! But oh, how beautiful it was. We were so excited for Bryden to come home and see the front yard! In fact, we couldn’t wait so we texted a picture to Michelle to show him!

Every tree twinkled and every section of the front yard lit up with animated deer, a bear from the North Pole, signs galore, and finally, snoopy dressed like Santa, placed in the center of the yard inviting joy and peace. I’m giggling as I remember the Facebook posts and messages I received from people who had driven by and been struck with joy by the twinkling scene playing out in our front yard.

The inside looked every bit as magical. The staircase looked ethereal with two types of garland, bows and lights. On the fireplace stood a handmade wooden pole painted with Christmas motif adorned with brass hooks to hold the little boxes with numbers that invited us to count down the days before Christmas.

I spent hours and hours and I don’t think I have enjoyed myself this much in a long, long time. As a matter of fact, I can emphatically, unequivocally say I haven’t enjoyed decorating this much since my son was little. OMG, I just got the goose bumps! Here is another example of restoring what the locust has stolen: precious times of decorating with and/or for my son as he got older and went the wrong way! Whew, that was a good one.

Anyway, we couldn’t wait for Bryden to come home. I will never, ever forget the reward of it all that came bursting from his little heart out to me when he saw it all: “Nana, you did this all for me?”

Oh, the joy of transformation . . .

Evinda

My Christmas Wish for You – From Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Happy Christmas Eve to you and thanks for joining me for our coffee break today! I hope you enjoy my Christmas card made just for you! Grab your coffee and come on in and ponder these words. I pray they resonate in your heart and help you with perspective in the Christmases to come.

It is not about the presents under the Christmas tree, but the presence of love we feel from friends and family
It’s not about the shopping that we feel we must do, but about the gift that has been given freely to me and you
The gift is a gift that money can’t buy; the birth and death of Christ was for you and I
It’s not about making a list and checking it twice and buying countless gifts for the naughty or the nice
The reason for the season isn’t about all the debt and stress, but a season to offer special gifts such as forgiveness
Or maybe a gift of time for one whose time is running out, a meal for a family  to encourage hope where there is doubt
Maybe someone needs a helping hand to accomplish a chore; yes, these are the kinds of gifts that give on forever more
Oh, if we would take the materialism out of this season and in its place remember redemption is our reason
These gifts come freely to and from those walking in His Spirit; they outlive materialism though the world doesn’t hear it
The gifts of Love, joy, peace, patience don’t ever need a reason;
nor does kindness, gentleness or self-control have to have a season!

May the gifts of the season guide you to and through the new year!

   

Merry Christmas
Evinda