Yesterday I talked about keeping Christ central in our time this Christmas. But after I posted, I realized that I had neglected to answer a very important question that comes up from that: how? How do we keep Christ central at Christmas? Practically, how can we keep Christ central while writing Christmas cards? Or watching Christmas movies? Or singing Christmas carols? How does that work? Well, that's what today's post is: 6 Practical Ways to Keep Christ Central in Christmas.
- Despite this busy holiday season, don't neglect devotions! Time in the Word and prayer is absolutely essential to keeping our eyes focused on the meaning of Christmas. The less disciplined we are to reading our Bibles and praying, the easier it will be for our focus to slip from Christ to the world's version of Christmas.
- Pray for the people you send Christmas cards to. My mom taught me this one. While she writes out her Christmas cards and puts gospel tracts in them, she prays for each family individually as she wishes them a merry Christmas.
- Memorize a part or all of a birth narrative. For my drama class' Christmas recital, I've memorized Luke 2:1-21 to recite. It's been amazing! The more I've been memorizing these verses in Luke, the more I've been meditating on them. I find that I'm rolling them around in my head constantly! I'm meditating on the birth of Christ without even trying. You don't need to memorize 21 verses, but I would encourage you to memorize even just a small portion of a birth narrative. It really keeps your mind focused on the birth of Jesus.
- Get involved in Christmas activities at your church. I know, the holiday season is crazy, but getting involved in Christmas activities at your church is incredibly beneficial! Yes, my dad's the pastor of our church, so I am more inclined to be involved in everything, but I love it! Singing praises in our Christmas choir, making Christmas goodie bags for the kids at Kid's Club, preparing to read Scripture on Christmas Eve, baking a breakfast casserole for the Sunday School Christmas Breakfast - there's loads of opportunities!
- Watch, read, and sing Christmas movies, books, and songs that exalt Christ. That doesn't mean that you can't watch or read or sing about anything with Santa Claus in it or that doesn't specifically mention Jesus; it simply means that we should try to make an effort for our Christmas media intake to be focused and central on Christ.
- Make a prayer chain. This is a family tradition of ours. Starting near the end of November, we cut out strips of colourful scrapbook paper and, on the front, write the dates leading up to Christmas. Then on the back of each strip we write the name of a family or individual. We staple the strips into a chain, and voila! We can count down to Christmas with prayer!
I hope these few practical ways have helped you! I pray you will find many other ways to keep Christ central this Christmas! Happy 17 Days Until Christmas!