Keeping Christ Center...

It seems that every year it becomes more difficult to filter out the things that distract our hearts and minds from the true meaning of Christmas. There are so many things that compete for our attention--parties, decorating, shopping, sales, guests, meal planning and preparations.

So how do we keep our focus on the tiny baby in the manger? And how do we teach our children to look past the things that distract us from the Savior?

One way to keep our focus on Jesus during this season is to ask God to make us others-oriented.
One Christmas, we hosted a Christmas dinner for anyone in our church who had no one to spend Christmas with. We had families and singles with no extended family in the area, a friend from Japan who was working in America for a few months, and a family who was leaving town that day. Everyone brought dishes to share. The fellowship was sweet and the laughter was loud. The hours around the table were filled with good conversation. After all of our guests had left and the kitchen was cleaned, we realized that we had never opened our gifts! As a disclaimer - we only had one child at the time, and he was a baby...so I'm pretty sure this would not have happened with our full crew of four kids who are fully aware of the gifts under the tree!

As we race toward Christmas Day, ask God to show you how you can serve others. By serving others, we become God's hands and feet. And you just may forget to open those gifts under the tree. ~ Adrea Thomas