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- Feb 9, 2004
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How Many Days of Christmas? - December 09, 2005
Procrastination is pretty much a way of life for me. I'll probably have to deal with that one of these days but for now I'm putting it off.
Though I confess I'm the procrastinator to end all procrastinators, I still don't get that "partridge in a pear tree" song. Even waiting until the very last minute, when has a Christmas ever been wrapped up in just TWELVE DAYS?
My shopping, wrapping, and mailing Christmas mania usually explodes at negative thirty days or so and counting. That's when the packing peanuts generally replace all my brain cells and I fly from store to store, settling for gifts that take the place of what I really wanted to find. Then I rush around trying to deliver everything in time. So many places to go and things to remember; so little brain peanuts to process it all!
So what happens when our packing peanuts don't fully compute and we're spiraling toward a giant Christmas burnout? Where do we go when we need a breather? We need to go to the Christ of Christmas. We need to seek him in prayer and in his Word. Before making a shopping trip, a trip through the pages of scripture can offer just the equipping we need for a day full of seasonal hullabaloo.
Want a real breather? The Bible is God-breathed. Second Timothy 3:14-17 says, "But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
No need to put it off. Let's get thoroughly equipped for every good work. His Word teaches us eternal truths, shows us where we've gotten off-track in our focus and our actions, and helps us get back on the right track again. Then it goes even further to help us learn how to stay on that right track and accomplish "the tasks God has for us," as The Message puts it: "Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another--showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God's way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us" (2 Timothy 3:16-17, MSG).
I want to be shaped up for the tasks He has for me. As I let His Word become more and more a part of my life, I can become more "put together" and less a procrastinator of those things that are eternally significant. I want my twelve-plus days of Christmas to be spent accomplishing those eternally significant tasks.
And on a less significant note, while I'm talking about "The Twelve Days of Christmas," could I just ask how that can really be a true Christmas song if it lists all those birds, but no turkey?
By: Rhonda Rhea
Procrastination is pretty much a way of life for me. I'll probably have to deal with that one of these days but for now I'm putting it off.
Though I confess I'm the procrastinator to end all procrastinators, I still don't get that "partridge in a pear tree" song. Even waiting until the very last minute, when has a Christmas ever been wrapped up in just TWELVE DAYS?
My shopping, wrapping, and mailing Christmas mania usually explodes at negative thirty days or so and counting. That's when the packing peanuts generally replace all my brain cells and I fly from store to store, settling for gifts that take the place of what I really wanted to find. Then I rush around trying to deliver everything in time. So many places to go and things to remember; so little brain peanuts to process it all!
So what happens when our packing peanuts don't fully compute and we're spiraling toward a giant Christmas burnout? Where do we go when we need a breather? We need to go to the Christ of Christmas. We need to seek him in prayer and in his Word. Before making a shopping trip, a trip through the pages of scripture can offer just the equipping we need for a day full of seasonal hullabaloo.
Want a real breather? The Bible is God-breathed. Second Timothy 3:14-17 says, "But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
No need to put it off. Let's get thoroughly equipped for every good work. His Word teaches us eternal truths, shows us where we've gotten off-track in our focus and our actions, and helps us get back on the right track again. Then it goes even further to help us learn how to stay on that right track and accomplish "the tasks God has for us," as The Message puts it: "Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another--showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God's way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us" (2 Timothy 3:16-17, MSG).
I want to be shaped up for the tasks He has for me. As I let His Word become more and more a part of my life, I can become more "put together" and less a procrastinator of those things that are eternally significant. I want my twelve-plus days of Christmas to be spent accomplishing those eternally significant tasks.
And on a less significant note, while I'm talking about "The Twelve Days of Christmas," could I just ask how that can really be a true Christmas song if it lists all those birds, but no turkey?
By: Rhonda Rhea
