December 5

It's a tradition in our house (as is in many houses across the US, I'm sure) to decorate for Christmas over Thanksgiving weekend. After Thursday's big meal, of course. I have lots of Christmas decorations--thanks to my mom starting me early. I love getting boxes out and looking through everything that has been packed away for the year. It's like a pre-Christmas gift opening.

I have pyramids from Germany, ornaments from Sweden, handmade crafts from when I was a child, and some of my favorite--ornaments given to me by students over the years. My favorites are the ones that have the student's name on them. It helps me remember.

I love finding a special place for everything throughout the house. My favorite decor goes in the most prominent places. Some things appeal to me more one year and then not so much the next. I don't even have a place for all of it, so sometimes it just goes right back in the box.

One of my favorite decorations is the creche set my mom has bought for me over the past few years. It has all the main char- acters-- Mary, Joseph, the Wise Men, shepherds, sheep, donkeys, camels, and of course, baby Jesus. There's an angel above and a light to illuminate the scene. And, of course, it has a wooden manger to put it all in. Wrong, I know, but I like it all the same. I know that the Wise Men may have come months or even years later and that Jesus was more likely born in a cave, but it's a 3-dimensional representation of the greatest love story. And it's displayed prominently in my dining room. (Not a great picture, but at least you can see what it looks like)

I sure wish I had more courage to display Jesus more prominently in my life the other 11 months of the year. It seems that from December 1 to December 25 it's politically correct to talk about God, Jesus, Christmas (although that is becoming less and less true these days). But what if I spoke up more often about him at work or in the grocery store line or showed more patience with my waitress at the restaurant? (See my blog entry, Service Opportunities, about this) How could God use me to impact a lost soul?

How can I open my mouth today to show others God's love, given to us in the flesh through Jesus?

What would I say? What would my actions look like?

What prevents me from giving Jesus a prominent place in my home and heart and life all 365 days of the year?

"Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my father in heaven" Matthew 10:32