Its the most wonderful time..

It's the most wonderful time of the year! My heart is so full of happiness, peace, love and a deep desire to be better. A desire to love others more deeply, more sincerely. A desire to serve more people, a desire to serve my King and proclaim of  His Son's life to all I meet.

Isn't this really the best time of year? I love all the music, the decorations, the food, the spirit of Christmas everywhere. 

It's that time of year where we're kinder and happier. 

I've been pondering and searching more and more since Deacon was born. Pondering on how to have more Christ in Christmas. I love the gifts and all. Well, kind of. This year I've really hated the idea of someday having too many gifts or the idea of my kids expecting gifts and forgetting Christ. Forgetting the real meaning of Christmas, you know? 

I just can't stop thinking about it, so much that I even thought, let's just not do Christmas. Let's not do any gifts then there's no expectation, no focus on such things. But I'm really not a Scrooge at heart. I just want Christmas to be about love, kindness, service, and mostly about Christ. 

I want it to be a time of growth, a time where we reevaluate our devotion to Him and try harder to be like Him. I want the whole year to be like that.
Why can't it always be like that? Why are we so quick to get busy, to do our thing and mind our own business? 

So I guess really, I want to do a little bit better this time of year, so that every year, our year will be better. Baby steps right?... :) 

So after talking with Brett and pondering, we decided we will do Christmas, but we want it to be mostly about Christ and service.

We decided we're doing 12 days of Christmas service. 12 acts of service throughout the month, as a family, that will have us focused on being Christlike. After every service, we put an ornament, or a gift under the tree, something. We haven't hashed out that detail yet! Then on Christmas Day we open the gifts and remember what we did. :) 

We also want to start a fund starting January, a Christmas budget- put some money aside every month so that next Christmas we have enough money in there to really make a difference. We want to give someone Christmas. Each year, find a family in need and as a family, but them gifts and things and deliver it on  Christmas Eve :) 

All this planning has got me all kinds of happy. Like a little girl, I love Christmas! I love traditions and I love these traditions were starting. This is what really makes me happy, feeling love for others and being with my family. Its all that matters!

Christmas isn't about all the presents under the tree, those are just the icing on the cake. Christmas is about the Savior of the World who was born all those years ago. The babe in Bethlehem who changed history, who gave us eternal life and a way to get back to him. 

That's why it's the best time of year, because we can feel His presence near.