You’ve had that dream, right? You know, the one where you fall. Maybe it’s off the ladder, over the cliff, or out of a plane, but you know the dream. That nightmarish feeling of hopelessness as you plummet toward what will certainly be your swift, yet painful demise. That’s where we’re at folks. Plunging headlong into a freefall that ultimately ends in the abyss that is…

Christmas 2016

Ok, maybe it’s not that bad, but I do think it wise to give myself some goals for the holiday season. It seems like just yesterday; we were watching those last few seconds of 2015 run out. Another year come and gone. Just yesterday. But here we are trying to figure out where to put all the leftovers from our Thanksgiving feast and heading headlong into that weekend that consumers (and retailers) live for—Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Honestly the lines have gotten a little blurred on what that all means anyway. Stores are opening on Thursday afternoon now in an effort to attract a little additional business that will make them profitable for the year. So, what do we do? That day to come together as family and friends and celebrate the blessings of the past year has become more of a strategy meeting than a celebration. It’s like we’re storming the beaches at Normandy. We scour the ads. We lay it all out on the dining room table. Schedules, lists, supplies, and flight plans. All strategized while we eat traditional Thanksgiving fare prepared in a non-traditional way—Bob Evans. What happened to the celebration of our blessings?

I say all that to say this. Hats off to companies like REI who have enough sense to realize that we are giving up our souls in search of satisfying our lust for materialism. REI has offered #OptOutside in lieu of Black Friday. Understanding that material possessions mean nothing if you have no one with which to share them, REI is encouraging its customers and employees to take the Thanksgiving season and spend it with friends and family doing something outside. Find an adventure—make some memories. I love a good sale, but seriously people.

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone and now we are in an all out freefall into the Christmas season and the end of another year. Between Christmas programs and open houses and company coming and shopping it’s a non-stop cacophony of insanity that could sidetrack even Mary and Joseph from focusing their attention on what really matters. I love all of the festivities and traditions but it does require some effort and self-discipline to partake in the celebration without getting sucked into the hedonistic, black hole that Christmas has become.

When it comes right down to it, the only one I can keep from lusting over what toys and gadgets I can’t live without is me. It starts with me as an individual. If I’m to refocus the energy of those around me towards others, it will by example. So here are just a couple ideas I am working on to help me this Christmas season.

It is called Christmas for a reason. It seems an oversimplification, but is important for me to remind myself of this every day…several times a day. Is what I am doing helping to spread the good news that Christ is born? Is my attitude about reflecting the joy that comes from knowing a Savior was born to redeem mankind? The whole season is meaningless without Christ.

It has been said that we willingly go into debt to buy things we can’t afford to impress people we don’t even like. In what world does that make sense? I hate the feeling that I’m buying gifts for others simply to fulfill the obligation of buying them a gift. We are so blessed as a society that others seldom really need anything and rather than feeling gratitude they are more likely just to feel an obligation to buy you something you really don’t want or need. I don’t like that feeling and I certainly hate the thought of making someone else feel that way. I mean, that’s quite possibly how you felt obligated in the first place. And round and round we go. The only real winners in that scenario are retailers.

I like to get gifts—I like to give gifts. But gifts are not the only way of showing others that we love them. I want to challenge myself to show love to my friends and family by spending time with them…by serving them. I want to spend more time and less money. They are both commodities and both have value. But giving time is giving of myself. I want my friends and family to know they are valuable to me and any gift beyond their friendship is unnecessary. Let’s make some memories this Christmas season…they will be more cherished and, quite possibly, last longer.

Go do something with your friends and family—at least your friends who are like family. Take a hike. Have a snowball fight. Go sing some Christmas carols for an elderly home-bound person. See if you can’t make a memory of a lifetime!

Mike