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Inspirational Article From
Joanne Lowe

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ALL YEAR LONG

“And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.”

Matthew 2:11 King James Version

Christmas is not until next month yet already the stores are putting up decorations and having sales. How it would make the heart of our precious Saviour to rejoice if instead of the stores promoting their sale items for months, they would promote His birthday. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if everyone who decorates for Christmas would only put things up that points others to Jesus?

Many people are already doing their Christmas shopping for presents. I heard a person make this statement “I’m going to do my shopping now so I don’t have to do it all at the last minute”. Oh dear friends, how sad it is that we have come to the place where Christmas is just another day we must get through. Many times I have heard people say this “If I can just get all of my Christmas shopping done, then I can rest until I have to do it all again next year.”

Christmas has become so commercialized. It is more about buying gifts than it is about worshipping Jesus and giving thanks to our Heavenly Father for the gift of His precious Son. If we are buying gifts for people just because we feel obligated or because we know they will give us gifts, we should not buy them. When we give a gift to someone, it should come from our hearts. We should want to give them gifts because we love them.

There are parents who give their children toys on Christmas morning and then ignore them the rest of the day. Several years ago when I lived in Oklahoma, I heard this man say “Christmas is the only day of the year that I can relax and watch television without being interrupted by my children because they are busy playing with their new toys.” How sad, dear friends, that people love television more than they do their children.

Then there are some parents who give their children toys on Christmas day and play with their children but then they don’t spend quality time with their children or play with them until next Christmas. Oh they might talk to them for a few minutes, but then they turn the television on and the television becomes the babysitters for the parents. Gift and toys are not a substitute for the time, the attention and the love of their parents. A child needs love and attention all year long from his or her parents.

Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus. It is supposed to be a time of rejoicing, a time of joy, a time of peace and a time of happiness. Our hearts should be singing with joy because of the birth of our Saviour. Yet we get so involved with activities, with Christmas shopping, with baking and cleaning house that we push the real meaning of Christmas aside and concentrate on worldly things. How this must hurt the heart of Jesus.

Please give your children your time and attention all year long, not just on Christmas day. Don’t turn on the television in the morning and go back to bed while the television babysits your children. Talk with your children. Get to know your children. Oh you may know what they like to eat and what their favorite show is but do you know what is in their hearts?

Do you know when your children are sad and hurting because somebody might have said something cruel to them at school? Your children desperately need you to be there for them. In the words of a dear friend of mine “If your children don’t get love at home from their parents, they will look for it someplace else and probably end up in trouble because of it.” Please reassure your children that you love them all year long.

Joanne Lowe
November 7, 2007

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