This is the devotion my wife prepared for our church Christmas Party tomorrow. (so if you are coming don’t ruin it by taking a sneak peak) 

“I want to paint a picture for you. It’s December 26^th and you’re sitting on your couch. You look around your house and you see the evidence that Christmas did come and go. You see little pieces of wrapping paper that didn’t make it into the big bundles of trash that were carted out and then little Johnny runs in and his hearts broken because his gift card to Game Stop is missing and you tell him to go look in the big bundles of trash that are outside. Then, little Susie comes running down the stairs and the collectible figurine that Grandma bought has been broken. You’re too tired to get out the super glue and so you sit and ponder and your wonder, “Why was it that this Christmas was no different”. Oh, you set out way before Christmas to make sure that this Christmas was Christ-centered. You set out to make sure that this Christmas was going to be different. This Christmas there was going to be less focus on finances and more focus on giving. Less doing, and more being. Less commercialism, and more Christ. But as you sit and you ponder on that December 26^th you realize that this Christmas was no different than any other because, you see, your heart had not changed. Christmas is born out of a heart that is focused on Christ. Christmas literally means “more of Christ”. It’s a time if the year that you set apart, not only with your family and your celebrations, but we are to set Christ apart in our heart… yet here we are.

Well, guess what? God has given you an amazing gift because it’s not December 26^th, it’s December 13^th and you have a second chance. God has given you this gift because HE wants you to have His perspective for the holidays. He has given you this gift, this day to be set apart, to truly make this Christmas a day to remember. It doesn’t matter if you have the most beautifully decorated home. It doesn’t matter if you have the tallest tree with a gazillion lights. It doesn’t matter if you find all the perfect gifts to give and you wrap them so beautifully. And it doesn’t matter if you write a Christmas card this year that is written so well you might actually win the Pulitzer Prize. It does not matter. What matters is your heart. The Bible tells us that the heart is the well spring of life.

I want to share a story with you that happened just today. Earlier in the week I had bought some wrapping paper with a pack of matching bows. Now this paper was extra special because you see, it wasn’t the on-sale wrapping paper. No, this was the nice, expensive, thick wrapping paper reserved especially for special gifts. I had taken great caution to place this paper in a safe place. Well, this morning as I stepped out of my shower my five year-old came bouncing in the room with such excitement. He had wrapped me a wonderful gift and couldn’t wait for me to open it. What he had done was taken a giant moving box that was out in the garage and covered it in, you guessed, my special paper reserved for the most special gifts.

I kept calm and carefully opened this giant box trying to salvage as much paper as I could, but when I opened it, it was completely empty. The whole time Owen is yelling, “don’t you just love it!!”.  I answered in a very exasperated and not so nice tone, “Why in the world did you waste all my nice paper on an empty box?” He then explained that he blew hundreds of kisses into that box.

Sometimes at Christmas we can get so busy and our heart can get so crowded with stress and worry and wonder and the long lists. But it is so important that we keep our heart focused on Christ first and foremost and second, our family. Scripture tells us to, “love the Lord your god first and your neighbor second”.  Who is your closest neighbor if not your family? So I trust that this year you will get intentional about Christmas. I pray that when December 26^th arrives you won’t be left wondering why this year was no different.”