If you're anything at all like me, then you've already started thinking about Christmas. The moment we rang in the new year, it was sort of a sinking feeling because yet another Christmas had passed.

For me, Christmas is the celebration of Jesus' birth and a reminder of His gift, His sacrifice. It is also a time of particular love, happiness and warmth. A time when the world feels more at peace...or at least my home town. And this excludes the crazed Midnight Madness shoppers because I'm afraid that some of them have totally lost the spirit of the season...it's in their eyes as they fight for the discount clothes and toys that their kids wanted so badly for Christmas...things that in the long run really don't matter. It's sad to me how at the strike of midnight on December 26, all the good feelings...the joy of the season and all the somewhat unified happiness and peace...seems to melt away as we all sort of return to our "regularly scheduled lives."

So a few things I want to mention as I reflect on Christmas this morning... 
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• The spirit of Christmas can be every day of the year if you keep Jesus in your heart.

• Find one thing that you are thankful for each day. Start a journal of what you're thankful for and share with your loved ones. What are you thankful for? What makes you happy? Believe it or not even those of us in the worst of times--most of us--can find at least one thing to be thankful for. You don't have to be financially wealthy to be the richest person on the planet. 

• If you are able to give gifts at Christmas, it's never too early to start saving your money...or think of creative ways you can do more with less.

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• If you're a blogger, add a Christmas Countdown widget to your website. A great bug-free resource is www.timeanddate.com. They have a place where you can design your own widget (as I did in the right column). Of course there are other widget resources, but this is the one I can vouch for (and it's ad free so that's a bonus).

I found a great poem on a Christian poems website. It serves as a great reminder of the true spirit of Christmas in a unique way. Hope you love it as much as I do.

PS: What does Christmas mean to you? 

Over in a third world country,
A missionary served God well.
The story of salvation's plan
To many people, she did tell.

She especially loved to teach
Those little children so dear.
She had a burden for the lost,
And she had a great mission here.

One of the little girls got saved.
She witnessed to her brother one day.
He asked, "How can I really know
That Jesus hears me when I pray?"

He said, "One day I tasted chocolate,
And I would like to have some more.
I will pray to Jesus and ask Him
For chocolate like I had before."

This little boy then prayed to Jesus
For some delicious chocolate to eat.
His sister knew chocolate was rare,
So inside she really felt defeat.

In America, in a Sunday School,
Joyfully every lad and every lass
Were busy gathering Christmas gifts
To send to that missionary's class.

One little boy brought a chocolate bar.
He brought a big king-sized one.
The teacher was reluctant to send it,
For chocolate will melt in the sun.

They carefully packed the chocolate
In the very middle of that crate.
Then they sent those Christmas gifts.
They didn't want them to be late.

Christmas came, and all the gifts
Were gladly given to every child.
The little brother opened his gift,
And with joy, he really went wild.

"Look, Sister! Jesus does hear
When I get on my knees and pray.
I have a big piece of chocolate
For my special Christmas gift today!"

Little brother went to the teacher.
He humbly got on his knees to pray.
He asked Jesus Christ to save him.
He received Jesus that very day.

So...this is what happens when you mix the "young" and the "old"! Love it! Whomever said young people are immature and old people aren't any fun...well...they really had it wrong. It doesn't matter what generation one is born into. It's about the condition of one's heart and soul. I love this video. And yes, I realize this video has been featured on my website before...I love it that much.

Enjoy!

PS: Perhaps take a few minutes Monday afternoon (when your caffeine buzz has worn off and you're in need of a pick me up) to watch this video...you won't regret it.

I've always wanted to provide visitors with fresh new designs and a diverse range of content...that's why I felt the total makeover was so important. For those who are regulars, you'll notice that literally every page is either new or changed in some way. Of all the improvements that were made, my favorite is the Everything Lyme page. If you have Lyme, are a caregiver, love and support someone with Lyme or are just curious, I encourage you to check out that page. It's in blog format and already has several entries.

Interested in being a guest contributor? Questions, comments, suggestions, critiques? General thoughts on the new website? Contact me. I'd be more than happy to connect with you.

Enjoy!
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