What would it take for you to say No?

I know that some of this is a function of getting older.  I have seen 64 Christmases, and I remember probably about 55 of them.  I understand that as I age I want things to be simpler and require less fluff and to focus more on the important stuff.

I also think that some of this is a function of my call as pastor, which as you know, came later in life. For 15 years I have been the one in charge of multiple services, often in multiple locations, with multiple 'absolutely necessary' traditions.  I know what it is like to recruit folks to be a part of the great Christmas Eve extravaganza when their response is....I am so busy shopping and baking.  I just want to sit and watch on Christmas Eve. I have never understood families who insist on gatherings that make it impossible to attend worship.

Furthermore, I am by nature a 'less is more' kind of person.  I dislike excess....and believe me, I define excess quite broadly.  I prefer less running around, fewer 'must do' activities, fewer 'must have' presents and the pressure of finding gifts for folks who don't need anything but who are very particular about what you get them.  I like white lights on the tree, and a simple family dinner.

Therefore, I find it easier to say No than most folks.  When I realized that I was receiving Christmas cards with just someone's name in them, PRINTED! and no message.....and I was often sending back exactly the same thing, I stopped sending Christmas cards.  There isn't a Christmas card contest somewhere that I have to win.

When the children came along and cash was far from plentiful, I found it easier to say No to in-laws of every stripe.  We simply couldn't afford presents for every version of relative out there and so we reduced and eliminated.

After several years of trying to produce a wonderous Christmas Eve dinner, I discovered that my children much preferred familiar food, eaten by candlelight.  They called it 'a feast' and my life was simplified.  We could get to evening worship without great stress to me, and therefore to everyone else.

We could focus on what was, and is, and will always be, the important center of Christmas: the birth of Jesus.  We can embrace the peace that Jesus promises to bring to our world.  We can rejoice in the very quiet fellowship of family and friends.

NO was the password to a different celebration of this holy time.  We could give to those without.  We could buy a goat or a sheep or books for children.  We could invite someone to share our meal.

What can you do to recapture the holiness of the season....all season long....into the new year?

How could you live out the great promise of life that is Jesus and put behind you the world's definition of holiday celebration?  What kind of joy awaits you?

What would it take for you to say No?