It’s two weeks before Christmas and if you are anything like me, you are heavily into holiday preparations and events. This week I have shopped for gifts and groceries, decorated my home, and attended a holiday gathering. As a matter of fact, I just returned from the airport where I picked up our son who had come home from college for Christmas break. Maybe you have been busy this week also–purchasing a Christmas tree, attending a Christmas program at your child’s school or baking Christmas goodies. It’s a joyous, busy time of year for sure and our holiday “to do” list can get quite long. But, in all our frantic busyness, we must not get so caught up in the trappings of Christmas that we miss the whole point of it–the birth of Jesus Christ–a supernatural event that changed the world forever.

Moms and dads, this Christmas season, be sure to focus, as a family, on the true meaning of  Christmas. Don’t miss celebrating the beauty of God’s precious gift to us–the birth of King Jesus in the sleepy little town of Bethlehem so many years ago. There are several ways you can do this:

1. Attend a local church’s celebration of Christmas. Many times church choirs will perform concerts or pageants that celebrate the birth of Christ. It doesn’t matter whether or not you are a member there…they would love to have you.
2. Attend a Christmas Eve candlelight service where traditional hymns and carols are sung in celebration of Christ’s humble birth.
3. Open your Bible and read the story of the birth of Jesus with your family. It can be found in Matthew, chapters 1 and 2, as well as in Luke, chapters 1 and 2. If your children are old enough, take turns reading verses as a family.
4. If you do not have a nativity set of any kind, purchase one. Begin the tradition of setting up the nativity together as you talk about the events surrounding the birth of baby Jesus.
5. Just as the magi brought gifts to baby Jesus, do something to bless others this Christmas season. Take a special treat to an elderly person. Do a service project for someone less fortunate. Go caroling with friends to a nursing home or hospital.

And while you’re at it, why not reignite the meaning of Christmas in your own heart this year by having a personal quiet time where you read and meditate on scripture related to the birth of Jesus. (Matthew and Luke)

Christmas is a beautiful time of year, to be sure–a time for friends and family to gather and reconnect, a time of gift-giving and enjoying delicious food. But Christmas is first and foremost, the celebration of the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Don’t miss it!

“And this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means, God with us.’ Matthew 1:22-23 (NIV)

“While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” Luke 2:6-7 (NIV)