It\u2019s beginning to look a lot like — well, both. Thanksgiving and Christmas are currently sharing the stage like two headliners who showed up to the same concert. And honestly? It’s okay!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just last week, I wandered into Hobby Lobby (dangerous territory for anyone with a pulse and a credit card), and there it was: Thanksgiving marked down 75% off — while Christmas had clearly moved in — aisles and aisles of everything Christmas. If you\u2019re a late decorator, consider this your friendly reminder: run, don\u2019t walk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Time for confession, dear friends. Our home? Fully decked. Inside, outside, upside-down \u2014 we are Christmas-ready. I may very well be the first in our neighborhood to fire up the twinkle lights. If loving Christmas early is wrong, I don\u2019t want to be right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But here\u2019s what I\u2019ve learned: it\u2019s not really about when we decorate. It\u2019s about why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both Thanksgiving and Christmas invite us into the same heart posture \u2014 gratitude, kindness, generosity, joy. One season thanks God for His blessings; the other celebrates the greatest blessing of all. In truth, these holidays and holy days hold hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So yes, I\u2019m happily aboard the early — Advent\/Christmas express.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thanksgiving ushers us into remembrance \u2014 for warm homes, family hugs, answered prayers, second chances, and mercies new each morning. And then, like a gentle hinge, it swings the door wide open for Christmas \u2014 for nativity scenes, carols, candlelight, and that miraculous moment when heaven bent low and placed Hope in a manger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I set out my favorite nativity scenes, I\u2019m reminded all over again:
Christmas isn\u2019t just a day — it\u2019s a story too big to fit into 24 hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The One who hung galaxies chose to come close. The One who named every star chose to be wrapped in cloth. The Almighty became Emmanuel — God with us. God with me. And God with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So if someone says, \u201cIt\u2019s too early for Christmas,\u201d let\u2019s smile graciously and whisper, \u201cNot for me.\u201d Because gratitude and joy were never meant to be seasonal. They\u2019re meant to be lived, breathed, shared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s never too early \u2014 or too late \u2014 to celebrate the Hope of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
#joytotheworld #Christmas #Thanksgiving<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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