Merry Christmas!

Christmas... my favorite time of the year! It wasn't always that way, however. I was actually the epitome of all things "Grinch". I didn't exactly hate the holiday, I just refused to celebrate it. I felt it was a holiday created to make the rich richer and the poor poorer. I felt it was all one big tactic to get people to spend everything they had (and didn't have) to create this illusion of a special Christmas for their children. Yeah, I was one of "those people" and I had no problem expressing how I felt to everyone I came into contact with. I, quite frankly, got on everybody's nerves. Nobody wanted to hear how I felt about America's favorite holiday. I boycotted Christmas three years in a row. I refused to spend money on pointless decorations, toys for my kids that would be broken by New Year's, and don't even get me started on Santa Claus! I was just done. At the time, my kids were too young to realize I had stolen Christmas from them. My Christian friends and family didn't understand how I could boycott a holiday that has been reserved to celebrate the birth of Christ. I didn't understand how they could celebrate a holiday that had pagan roots and really had nothing to do with the birth of Christ. In fact, it was celebrated under a different guise many years before the birth of Jesus Christ. But then God showed me something bigger.

He showed me that Christmas, along with every other holiday, is what we make it. It could be something bad or it could be something good. I could be one of those people who stopped at nothing to grab a low priced gadget on Black Friday or go broke buying material things to make myself feel good; or I could use this holiday to enjoy my family, create new family traditions, serve in my community, and most importantly, I can use this holiday to point attention back to Jesus our savior. In all that we do, Christ must be the center. My choice to boycott Christmas definitely didn't point non-believers to Christ and I actually missed the opportunity to create special memories with my friends and family.

To those of you who are self-proclaimed "Grinches", instead of boycotting or opposing this holiday, use it to do something for others. Use Christmas to spread love and the joy of giving in your communities. Use it to create memories that your children will remember for years and years to come. And most importantly, use this time to honor Jesus who selflessly gave His life for all of us. He was blameless and without sin yet he paid the ultimate price for our wrongs. If nothing else, make room for Him this Christmas. Many blessings to all of you and "Merry Christmas" from my family to yours!