The season is upon us! The holidays are here. Snow falling and the lights glittering. Extra smiles and warm wishes. Gift giving. Yummy food and celebration.But this lovely season is more than that. For me, this time began with nothing special or overly "Christmasy". I didn't make any big holiday travel plans or giant shopping trips or even attend any extravagant Christmas parties. Christmas Blend at Starbucks came out, menu boards at restaurants have added ingredients such as pumpkin and squash and pecans and chocolate to their items, and retail stores have flooded the shelves with red and green...everything. The weather turned cold, it even snowed already, and winter actually arrived. Somehow we humans are conditioned to make certain associations. Colder weather= end of the year= holiday season= shopping= busyness!= parties= travel= family= memories= etc, etc, etc (you fill in the rest). Distraction from the celebration of Christmas is inevitable, but for some reason this season I feel it more than ever. It is not necessarily from the things mentioned above, but it is a distraction that I suffer from because of my own lack of focus and intention. I do not live a life right now that is full and busy. I am not one of those people who has crammed a bunch of things into my calendar. I lived part of that when I was in college, and I will probably do it again someday. But, for the season I am in, it is not how I live. Therefore, the things I do and the events I participate in are, for the most part, my choosing. This shouldn't be an excuse for me to be selfish and lazy, but a reason for me to be intentional. I do have the time to pour into my friendships. I do have the time to read and grow my mind. I have the time to be disciplined in my work, exercise, and studies. This year the Christmas season has reminded me of how much I take for granted the life that I have. I have found that I take it for granted because I have not fully attributed it to the King.
It all clicked this year. This is a celebration of the greatness of our God. This is a celebration of the birth of Christ, our Lord. I choose to celebrate this, this year. This came last week in a very simple way. I was listening to Christmas music when I suddenly stopped and realized that there was something about Christmas that should effect me personally. It's like I had been celebrating the season from afar. I had been attending a party that wasn't my own. I didn't know who was even hosting it or what it was for. Sure, I wore the right clothes and said the right things and fit in just fine, but at the end of the party, I wasn't sure how to tag the pics (FB). Parties are different when you are there for a purpose. Recently I discovered this in full form: a toast! I have begun to introduce a toast whenever I find the opportunity is appropriate (which in my mind is often). I toasted Lindsey at her party a couple weeks ago. I toasted to her life and friendship and the memories I have with her. I toasted my friend Jacki and her beautiful new baby boy when we went out with two of her friends last week. I toasted her life and the miracle of birth and what a beautiful friend she is. I raised a toast at Thanksgiving to my family and everything that we share together. I toasted at my friend Tallulah's wedding for the blessing that she has been in my life and to her marriage. What I like about a toast is that it reminds everyone the reason for the celebration. It is a salute. It is a shout-out. It is a praise. It is thankfulness, victory, and love. It is a deep, sincere reminder that the people around are precious and the fellowship is scared.
And this is how Christmas should be for us as believers. It is a toast of the greatest kind. A magnificent reminder of Christ's life and what He did for us. A salute to His power. A shout-out or declaration of His strength. A praise to Him our King. An utterance of gratitude for the mercy and grace He gives freely. A celebration of victory over death that He conquered on the cross. But most importantly it is the recognition and acceptance of the God's love, His Son Jesus.

I know that Christmas has not always felt this close to me, and I pray that I do not see it as only warm thoughts or trite sayings. So when you repeat the words you've sung for years and you hear Luke 2 and you light the candles once more, raise your glass and toast to your King, born to save and redeem you.