It is almost time to get into the Christmas Spirit

     My family went to see the lights at Charlotte Motor Speedway. They say there are over 3 million lights on display. I will take their word for it because I am not counting them. We drove around on the 3.75 mile course that took us on around the speedway, on the track, in the infield and many other places. We could watch Elf on the big screen as we drove around and listen to it on the radio. There were blinking lights, lights that made pictures, lights that formed moving pictures and lights that just were bright. We walked around the Christmas Village which was not very Biblically accurate but was pretty to look at. We stood under the "snow" and got our picture                                          
took. We walked by the "shops" and feed some animals in the petting zoo. My daughter got to pet a llama and was very excited. I left still not in the Christmas Spirit.
     For over a month my wife has been watching Christmas movies. We have watched Elf, Frosty, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Rudolph, Charlie Brown and Christmas with the Kranks. We have watched some of those Hallmark Christmas movies too. We have seen one about a Christmas card, one about a girl who started dating a solider who gets deployed who died then showed up on Christmas, one about a girl trying to find out who her father was and one about a girl traveling to Seattle but none of these got me in the Christmas Spirit.
     I think I have heard Rudolph, Jingle Bells, White Christmas, Blue Christmas and the Chipmunks Christmas song about a 1000 times each this month. We watched Reba McEntire's Country Christmas and I saw bits and pieces of Pentatonix's Christmas too. I watched some Christmas parades from different places. None of that got me into the Christmas Spirit.
     We put up our Christmas Tree the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. It has 100's of presents under it. We went Black Friday shopping. I have purchased presents online. I have eaten Christmas cookies. I have been to Western Carolina to see the lights. I have saw lights in people's yards and on their homes as I have driven around at night. I even seen the Grinch in my Dad's yard. It made me chuckle but didn't get me into the Christmas Spirit and neither did the other stuff.
     Before you call me Scrooge (like my daughter does) or tell me I need to get me into Christmas Spirit let me share with you my view of Christmas Spirit. I think there is Holiday Spirit and Christmas Spirit and in my opinion most people get the two confused. There is Christmas the holiday of lights, gifts, Santa, Rudolph, Red Rider BB Guns, Jelly of the Month Clubs, wreaths, trees, mistletoe, parades, cookies, Frosty, nutcrackers and Grandmaw got run over by a reindeer. That is the Holiday Spirit most people "get into". That is what Meredith Wilson meant when he wrote, "It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas."  That is what I have a hard time getting into.
     To me the Christmas Spirit comes from Christmas the celebration. Not celebrating at Grandma's house with exchanging gifts and over eating. Don't get me wrong I enjoy the over eating part but that
What is the Wisemen doing there? Where are the shepherds?

is more the Holiday Spirit. The celebration is celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The realization that God sent His only Son to be born in a stable. The angels didn't go tell kings or even to the priest. Instead they went to tell the shepherds. It is them that arrived at the manger not the Wisemen. They came a couple years later. (Don't believe me? Read Matthew 2:9-12) Ok, off my soapbox. Before we can have Easter, (My favorite holiday) we have to have Christmas. Before the death and resurrection we have to have the birth. That is what we have to celebrate. That is why we celebrate Christmas. To me Christmas Spirit is being thankful for what God sent to us that day.
     This past Sunday our Choir preformed their Christmas musical and we were reminded that it all about the cross. That helped me get into the Christmas spirit. Then the children put on their play which reminded us that the Christmas story isn't just some old story, it is the story of the birth of Jesus. How can we get tired of that story? That help me get into the Christmas Spirit. Saturday when we sit around my parent's house and my Dad reads the Christmas story from the scriptures that will get me into the Christmas spirit. On Christmas, when I have my alone prayer time and I get to thank God for sending His only begotten Son  I will be in the Christmas Spirit. I pray that you will be too. There is nothing wrong with you being in the Holiday Spirit and enjoying the lights, music, decorations, movies, presents and other things. Just make sure you get into the Christmas Spirit and celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.


Parting Thought: This year I think we are going to leave Santa hot wings, bacon and Code Red Mountain Dew. He has to be tired of cookies by now.

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