Holidays with Jesus #4 by Stacy Duplease of Stories by Stacy

Blog Post #4 of the Holidays with Jesus Series of books
Book #1: Thanksgiving to Christmas
Written: 29 November 2009, Sunday
Posted: 30 November 2009

THANKSGIVING
I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving.

GREETINGS
Good day to you. I hope all is well with you and if not, I'm grateful you're finding solace with God in this blog and blog posting. May your hearts and minds be comforted. If you are suffering in any way, please let me know so I can pray for you. Send me an email to: stacyduplease@storiesbystacy.com or add a comment at the end of this blog. If you want me to add it to my prayer requests on this blog, tell me to do so.

If this is the first time you've read this blog, I hope you go back and read the other three. You can find them in the ARCHIVES of this blog on the right-hand side of this blog about halfway down the page.

HOLIDAYS WITH JESUS: THANKSGIVING TO CHRISTMAS

INTRODUCTION
Today marks the forth day after Thanksgiving and I pray that you had a blessed day and are still feeling grateful. However, realistically speaking, for a lot of people, the holidays aren't the joyful time of year between Halloween and New Year's Day. Rather, Thanksgiving and Christmas can bring pain. They can be a reminder of what you don't have. Moreover, because of the negative emotions and connotations the holidays can conjure, we may want to try to forget them altogether.

That's why I have written this blog and will turn it into a book on the subject. It's for those who love the holidays and those who would prefer to forget. Additionally, for those who love the holidays, do we love them for the right reasons?

This blog and book is to help us focus on Jesus all year long and to evaluate our faith and where we stand. It's to help us get to know Jesus even more and is meant to help us follow the Lord and the Word. After all, we are nothing, and our lives are nothing without Jesus being in them and without us being in the Word (the Holy Bible).

KEEP READING
All of the blog posts that I do for this series will eventually be put into book form throughout the next two years (preferably over the next year and a half). Therefore, please sign up as a follower for this blog and/or keep checking it because I will try to do a posting on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Some days will comprise of multiple. I will always label it and you can always find it that way, in the blog archives, or use the search engine that I have on this blog on the right-hand side of the page about halfway down the blog page.

BIBLE STUDY, REFLECTIVE QUESTIONS, PRAYER, & LIFE APPLICATION
This is meant to be a Bible study as a whole. It will also offer Reflective Questions, Prayer, and Life Application. I will also include some stories to help make you think and learn how to apply the Bible, an ancient text, to your lives today. Additionally, I hope it helps you to develop a passion for the Word, for Jesus and God, and for prayer.

LET’S GET STARTED
Grab your journal or notebook, along with a pen and a mug of your favorite drink and let’s get started.

THANKSGIVING TO CHRISTMAS
The focus of the first book in the “Holidays with Jesus Series” is on making the shift from Thanksgiving to Christmas. We’re going to look more at Jesus Christ than on Christmas. After all, the reason for the season is He—not presents, not stress, not missing anyone or anything, not wishing things were different, not on the fact that you don’t have money, the should’ve been’s or could’ve been’s. or anything else of the sort.

The Christmas season is supposed to be about JESUS and Him alone. Period. End of sentence, paragraph, and story. If you don’t like Christmas, then maybe this is why. Your focus is on the insignificant.

If you love Christmas, is it because of the parties or the gifts? Both are good. However, is Jesus the first focus and priority you and your family have?

My family, for example, no longer gives gifts on Christmas. We give what we would have spent on one another to charity, instead, and on the people who can’t afford to have Christmas. I’m not saying that for a pat on the back. No, no, no. But, we got tired of the stress it brought and wanted to enjoy one another. This brings true joy. We got rid of the stuff that doesn’t really matter—the stuff. After all, we all have what we need. Why collect more stuff? It clutters.

Jesus is to be the focus. Nothing and nobody else truly matters on this day, but Jesus.

REFLECTIVE QUESTIONS
What can you do to focus on Jesus for the holidays and not on what you wish for but can’t have, or what was and never will be again?

Who is Jesus to you?

How can you celebrate His life?

What can you do to be more Christ-like?

TOMORROW
Tomorrow, we’ll look at the ancestry of Jesus.

By Stacy Duplease
of Stories by Stacy