It's CHRISTmas Time, again...

Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" Luke 2:8-14 NKJV I've come to the conclusion that I love everything CHRISTmas represents, yet hate everything it has become. There was a time not long ago, a far more innocent time in the life of our country, when Christ was part of CHRISTmas. Churches, Town Halls, city parks & private residences put up manger scenes to pay tribute to the birth of Jesus. People joyfully wished one another "Merry CHRISTmas!" without any thought to political correctness. No one thought it offensive in any way that the message of Jesus' birth was part of the CHRISTmas story. After all, the United States had been founded as a Christian nation, built on Biblical principles and the Ten Commandments were the basis of our laws. Then one day someone stood & said we shouldn't pray in school and Christians sat back while that became the law of the land. Suddenly, someone said they were offended by the mention of Christ in CHRISTmas & the greeting should be changed to "Happy Holidays" to be more inclusive of other religions & non-believers as well. Again, Christians sat back & let it take place. Then someone said, nativity scenes shouldn't be part of CHRISTmas because they represented a "Christian" holiday & America is now home to many people groups & ethnic groups & many from varying religious backgrounds--besides, America is no longer a Christian nation. Once again, Christians sat back & said nothing. That brings us to where we are today. CHRISTmas is now a holiday (no longer a holy day) full of commercialism & greed. Department stores begin stocking shelves and advertising for CHRISTmas right along with their back-to-school sales. Massive multitudes of people line up to get the best bargains & generally act anything but Christ-like in their endeavors to obtain the toys & trinkets their children want. We no longer read the story of the birth of Christ in our homes as part of CHRISTmas. We've simply put GOD in a box, so we can pull Him out when needed rather than living a life of faith and dependent on Him for every breath as we should be. GOD, help us to see our need for You--to turn back to you--to teach our families of you. Forgive us for taking You out of our lives & draw us once again close to You. Show us the need to remember that CHRISTmas begins with Christ and He should be the center of our lives, not only at CHRISTmas but every moment of every day of every year--as long as there is breath in our bodies. Let there once again be peace on earth and goodwill among men... Blessings! Tony