Tuesday 14 December 2010

Spirit of Christmas

There's something again making me want to rant etc! and partly about Christmas ...

Firstly this morning on the radio they were talking about online businesses' orders not arriving before Christmas. They interviewed some couple who had ordered online for their kids' Christmas presents and were now told it wouldn't get to them until after Christmas. There was some comment about "they've always got what they wanted before" so they "didn't know what to say to them". Well, my thought was, it's an opportunity to teach kids they're not always going to get what they want! I don't fully approve of the Santa thing either to be honest. On to something else...

This thought was brought to mind thanks to a blog post I read today, about how unfair it is that so many people are unable to adopt, and therefore lots of orphans are still living in poverty, some maybe being sent to an institution if not adopted. Are THEY going to get what they want? Do they expect it? No. Some will not even understand what Christmas is, and in this country (and other developed ones) kids are just spoiled. They expect to get what they want, without question.

I heard of this song recently too, A Christmas Carol, about a little girl who responds to Santa's question of what she wants with "all I want is someone to take me home". That's what those kids would ask for if they got the chance, and for those here not getting presents in time: It's not the end of the world. You'll get them eventually, but there are some kids who will not ever get anything like that. We've got so many blessings we take for granted, and while I am certainly not perfect either, it's definitely something important to think about.

I will say also that not every child around here thinks only of getting. The local papers have been a bit happier in the past month, with titles like "The true spirit of Christmas". This is about a young boy from up here who has cancer and considers himself one of the lucky ones as he will be home for Christmas. For this reason he started an appeal for presents to be given to the children who will not be at home this Christmas. And of course this has had tremendous support and despite not-ideal weather conditions, everything arrived!

Some people will have an enjoyable Christmas this year; some, through no fault of their own, will not. For those complaining, remember what you DO have. This Christmas, let's think of others and remain happy and cheerful just to have family get-togethers, even if we haven't got all the presents we want.

Saturday 4 December 2010

Walking in a Winter Wonderland....




It's that time of year again: Christmas is coming! As much as I'm sure we ALL enjoy all Christmassy things, I just want us all to remember, firstly the reason for the season: Jesus. Loads of people just don't know and you don't get much mention of Him, or of anything Christmas related, in the pantomimes and everything. I love the pantomime, but we need a good mixture.

And all those people in the poor countries who don't have what we have. I heard a talk from someone who went to Cape Town on mission recently and some things you don't want to know. At the same time, it was also proof that prayers do work, that through those mission people, and us who pray for them, God is changing lives for the better still.

With everything that goes on now I just want us to remember those two things. I think a lot of bloggers have written about those things more so recently.


"Crackers and turkey and puddings and cream, toys in the window that I've never seen. This is the Christmas that everyone sees, but Christmas means more to me. It's somebody's birthday I won't forget as I open the things that I get. I'll remember the inn and the stable so bare and Jesus who once lay there."


On that note, life is good and I don't want to write anything negative just now so .... enjoy the festive season!