As Festive Frenzy Strikes Again...

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The calendar pages have flown rapidly by (sometimes threatening to hit you in the face as they pass)
and the first 10 months of the year are a faint blur in your memory. Now you can take a deep breath
Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash
--- and dive headfirst into "The Most Chaotic Time of the Year" (isn't that a song?) commonly referred to as "The Holiday Season". Holidays are such interesting occasions and there are many ways you can spend them, but I will try to summarize the two scenarios that stand out as being most common. (In an attempt to create some diversity among the long list of lists listed on the internet, I have listed the second item on this list first.)

Holiday Celebration #2: Although there is a certain sense of excitement in the air, this is a dreaded occasion almost guaranteed to be one of the most awkward days of your entire year. You rush out of bed on the morning of the holiday and scramble to make the best culinary creation you know how to, but knowing that it will never be as good as your mother-in-law's great-aunt Martha's cooking. You arrive at the designated celebration site and spend the next 6 hours apologizing for forgetting distant relatives' names, and awkwardly trying to converse with relatives you have nothing in common with (there's a reason you only see each other at holidays). Finally, after the football game is over and the dessert you waited for all day is nearly finished, somebody proposes a toast that says something to the effect of "So glad we all made it through another year and here's to the next one". Then everybody makes their way out the door and you retreat to the safety of your car to drive peacefully home.

Holiday Celebration #1: You've waited for this day all year. You're not sure if you're more excited about the holiday itself or the people you get to spend it with. Whether you're celebrating with extended family or just some good friends, this is a day intentionally reserved to spend time with people you ordinarily don't get to see because - let's face it - life just gets busy. An extravagant menu is not required but everybody brings something and there is enough to go around. After dinner you can count on some quality discussion and probably some games (do y'all still play charades or is that just on sitcoms?). Around 7:30pm, whatever was left from dinner comes out of the fridge  to create some semblance of supper. Finally, somewhere between 9 and 10pm, the gathering reluctantly begins to disperse and you begin counting the days until this holiday returns next year.

The holiday season is guaranteed to be a busy one but I hope it will also be a pleasant one for you. I
certainly hope all of your festive celebrations will resemble the latter one. Mostly, I hope that you will
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remember the reasons for these occasions and rejoice regardless of the nature of the celebrations you attend.

As you reflect on the year 2017 thus far, realize that even the difficulties you experienced can be seen as blessings. Perhaps they taught you something that equipped you to take the next step in your life or prepared you to help others with theirs. Maybe your struggles strengthened your faith as you watched God provide for you even in situations where you felt helpless. When you "count your blessings" this Thanksgiving, I'd encourage you to include some of your struggles and disappointments among them. Even if #BestYearEver isn't a completely accurate statement for you, I wish you a very happy Thanksgiving!

And as you move forward into the Christmas season, remember that because of Jesus we can have true hope in His promise of forgiveness from sin, and eternal life (John 3:16-18)! Gifts that awesome should motivate us to rejoice and give thanks regardless of our circumstances! Your holiday cheer might dwindle periodically in the hustle and bustle of the next month, but I hope you will find peace and joy in the midst of it as you consider God's unchanging love.

Whatever celebratory traditions you may observe in this season, take every opportunity to invest in the people you are with, make memories worth remembering, and laugh as much as possible. Oh - and drink lots of coffee! Happy Holidays, my friends!

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