T'is the Week Before Christmas...

Maybe your a little like me. Way back at Thanksgiving I made a plan. I even bought all the goodies to make my plan work. I made cute little bags for a “countdown to Christmas” activity with my kiddos. I listed out twenty-four things to put inside. I pulled out my Christmas devotional that spans December and its matching set of daily ornaments. I placed them all ready to get rolling in December.

December first came. And went.

And now, here I am on December seventeenth and I haven’t so much as cracked the book. The matching ornaments sit wrapped in the cellophane (despite owning them for 3 Christmases) and the tree is empty as can be.

I feel like I have failed. I want desperately for Christmas to be about Christ and not the busy days and weeks. I think I keep good tabs on not getting swept away by the retail side of the holiday (the space under my tree is bare, too!). But I still get caught up in the activities and commotion of the season. And I leave little time for focusing on the miracles of His birth.

Sound like you?

Let me tell you this- you are not failing! Many women (especially mommas!) have trouble balancing time for personal devotion with the requirements of the season. I am certainly one of them!

So, what do we do? As we approach this final week before Christmas we also tip-toe toward free time. Maybe your shopping is done, or maybe you are just beginning. Maybe the plays and concerts have passed. Maybe your kids are soon to be out of school. Or maybe your chaos is just ramping up. Whatever the week ahead holds for you, can you find 10 minutes a day to take a peek at the birth of Christ?

Beginning on Monday, and for 5 consecutive days, you’ll see a post from me. We will look at the 5 visitors in the epic birthday of Jesus. It will only take a few minutes each day. The goal is not to bog you down or give you one more thing to do, but rather to give you a chance to spend a few minutes of this incredibly busy week to mimic Mary. Luke 2:19 tells us that in the middle of Mary’s journey she stopped to treasure all these things and pondered them in her heart.