Christmas can be a time of joy and laughter …

Not only do you have the pressures of buying fun and frugal Christmas presents for all of your family and friends, but you also have the pressures of cooking, cleaning, shopping, wrapping, entertaining or being entertained—and in my experience, I’m not sure which of the latter two are worse! Haha!

But all of it adds up to one “Holy-Mother-of-Popcorn-Balls-and-Gum-Drops” sometimes! 🙂

With that said, I don’t want to give you “5 Easy Steps to a Happy Holiday Attitude.” In fact, I don’t ever want to say that Christmas is easy. At least the man-made kind isn’t. And perhaps that’s the problem. This Christmas, I want to step away from the “man” or the “me” or all the visions of sugar-plums-dancing-in-my-head kind of nonsense …

And step toward the One who came to redeem me from this mess—my mess.

So all I want for Christmas is … not my two front teeth (they are quite fine, thank you).

All I simply want is to run to Him—the Christ child, the Holy One, the merciful Savior and King of kings.

Because when I do, I find my deepest desires fulfilled. When I climb up into His lap in sweet, surrendered prayer, there is peace (maybe not on earth) but in my heart. He wipes away my tears—some for the times I’ve blown it and some for the ways others have blown it with me.

He loves us.         

If you don’t get what you want for Christmas this year, then just unwrap His words of comfort, open wide your heart in prayer and try on His warm embrace. And, I promise, you’ll find the perfect Christmas gift!

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6,7 (NIV)

“Thanks be to God for his gift that is too wonderful for words.” 2 Corinthians 9:15 (NCV)

Photo by Metaphoricalplatypus.com (Flickr)