Christmas in Graceland…What’s It Like?

Shopping for Christmas presents is done with joy and a heart to bless instead of sensing it’s another task to cross off list of things to do this month.

There’s time to connect with those I love because I know that’s where the delights of Christmas really happen; face to face over good conversation and a hot drink or treat.

Instead of compulsively “doing” the usual Christmas thing, I allow for new ways that will truly nourish the soul (mine and those I’m called to love).

My sense of completeness and worth doesn’t depend on what I do. It’s based on what Jesus has done.

My heart is full of the truth that Jesus has already filled me with good things; I don’t need another experience or item to make me feel full.

This is what it means for me to turn my mind toward Jesus, His grace, and His kingdom during the Christmas season and away from wrong thinking that entangles my heart and mind.

I’d love to know…

What do you personally consider to be Wasteland thinking and/or Graceland thinking during this time of year?

What do you need to ponder to move from Wasteland thinking to Graceland thinking this Christmas?

There’s really just a few things needed to give ourselves and loved ones a gracious Christmas.

Time set aside, God’s Word, and the Holy Spirit to guide, counsel, and enable us to go forward as He longs for us to.

If you, like me, see a need to re-order your thoughts toward Jesus and what’s true of you in Him throughout the Christmas season, I have a special tool for you to help you turn toward Him. It’s a devotional I wrote titled Beyond the Nativity.

I’m pretty sentimental about the nativity scene. For me, it’s the picture of what is the reason for the Christmas season. I want to go beyond that, though.

Is it possible that people who love Jesus strive so hard to keep the nativity in mind during Christmas that it can become mostly and simply about meditating on and celebrating that one moment of Christ’s birth?

While that is right and wonderful, I hope to go deeper each year by meditating on more than the moment of of His birth. Perhaps you already know the purpose and meaning of His coming. Oftentimes, though, this knowledge stays in the head and keeps us from grasping and feeling in our hearts. This knowledge has the ability to give us great joy throughout the Christmas season. What if we could meditate on these deeper things of Christ coming in the flesh, the incarnation, each week leading up to Christmas?

You can get my four week devotional, Beyond the Nativity, on Amazon for .99 right now. Click the image below!

Each week, I’ll provide a different aspect of the incarnation for meditation: Week 1: The Description, Week 2: The Purpose, Week 3: The Manifestation, Week 4: The Importance and Rewards

Each week’s meditation topic will have five short devotions that will include a scripture, historic nativity art, and one or more of the following: a question, suggestion, and song lyrics to meditate on.

I pray that you’ll be blessed in the weeks leading up to Christmas with whatever tool(s) you use to guide your heart, mind, and spirit toward Jesus. May you be nourished and your mind illuminated as you contemplate the incarnation not just in the manger…but beyond!

Merry Christmas from Graceland!