Monday

Keeping Focused

How do you focus on Christ at Christmastime? It’s important to be deliberate so the materialistic focus of our culture doesn't camouflage the meaning.

Our celebration includes a birthday cake for Jesus--a special time to light candles and express gratitude for Christ.

Some other ways to “stay focused”:
  • Pray for each gift-giver before opening gifts.
  • Buy gifts for the needy (there's many organizations that offer this opportunity—Salvation Army, Angel Trees, local churches).
  • Help serve a meal at the local rescue/homeless mission.
  • Read the Christmas story when everyone can focus on the wonder of it all! (For children, this usually isn't right before opening gifts).
It’s easy to get swept up in the busyness of Christmas and lose sight of the real meaning. We need to be deliberate…to have a plan.

Will you join me today in asking God to help us focus on the wonder of His birth this holiday season?
copyright Gail Burton Purath, 2011
Please leave comments with ways your ideas for staying focused on Christ this week...I'd love to hear and so would other readers.

7 comments:

  1. Hi Gail - I love this. I have been wondering how to go about making the focus of Christmas MORE about Christ than I have done in the past. Great ideas and you have set my mind to thinking.
    God bless
    Tracy

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  2. I have set the alarm on my phone to go off several times a day and have challenged myself to stop, even for a quick minute, to talk to Jesus. Sometimes it is a prayer for what I am doing or who I am with at that time...
    sometimes I simply pause to remember Jesus.....but whatever I do it brings me out of "my" world and into "His"

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  3. I like this! Thank you for sharing ways to keep Jesus in the center of Christmas. My husband and I plan on spending a quiet Christmas morning reading the christmas story and thanking God for what He did for us

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  4. Than k you for this reminder. We should spend time with the birthday celebrant! A blessed Christmas to you and your family! Patsy from
    HeARTworks

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  5. I used to do the birthday cake when my boys were little too! :)

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  6. Great tips. I love to start early with Advent thoughts and devotions - usually at bedtime when I'm babysitting the grandkids late. We always do a story time then anyway so it fits in well and fewer distractions. Have a blessed week.

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  7. It's difficult to focus when the whole world seems intent on buying one more present. When I was a young mother I only gave each child 3 gifts, the number Jesus received. They also of course received many others from other family members. Now I host a Birthday party for Jesus on Christmas. We have a cake with candles and talk about the Christmas story.

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All Scripture references NIV unless otherwise noted.