Cleaning my house heart for Christmas

Let me be very clear. I love Christmas. I am not a Scrooge. Sure, I pester Ron Burgundy about the enormous excess of lights and decorations while he feverishly competes with the disordered electrical chaos of Clark Griswold every year, but I also know that's one of the pleasures he finds in the Season, and that it really isn't about "the lights" so much. He considers it a gift to the many who drive by with ooohhs and aahhhhs. (But please, this year, can we put the manger with Sweet Baby Jesus next to Mary and Joseph rather than among the reindeer???)

I really do love Christmas.

And the peace that's supposed to come with it.

But...

I stress over some of the baggage the holiday season brings, and I don't like the fact that the passion of the celebration has moved from the manger to the mall with multiple stops in between. Black Friday. Massive gift lists. Overeating. Time constraints. Getting the house ready (as in the yearly cleaning). It just takes away from the passion of how I intend to celebrate the birth of my Savior better this year.

I'm getting some perspective.... old habits die hard.


Tea today: Green with Chinese flower