Where does the term black friday come from? There seems to be some confusion to its origin ranging from a famous clerk named, Mr. Black to traffic jams in Philadelphia. Personally (my wife too) we stay as far away from Wal-Mart and the mall as possible on this day. Crazy doesn't even begin to cover it. If you are one of those shoppers who venture out at 3 a.m. to get those great deals on that something - you don't need God's favor, you need and extra platoon of angels to protect you! So for your benefit I am including the following link for your benefit. FYI - Some of these are online deals only! It's the least I could do!
Now that holiday season is officially here! Let's look at a few things that can make this season better!
- Traditions - Tradition is a great thing if it gives something back. Don't just do something, "just because." When Christmas becomes a ritual is devalues it's quality of faith. Put your faith in Jesus back into Christmas!!
- Gifts - Re-examine why you give gifts. Obligation? Expectations? Guilt? All of these are real reasons why people give gifts to one another. I would suggest that you sit down and determine who you are going to give to, why you are going to give them a gift, what you are going to give them and how you are going to give it! Gift giving is suppose to symbolize the gift of eternal life that Jesus has given to us. How is your gift going to help people see that?
- Faith - I recently saw a cartoon where one guy is holding a sign that says, "God is going to destroy this world." He was facing another guy whose sign said, "Jesus loves you." Then the guy holding the Jesus sign said, "We need to talk." Using Christmas as a way to force feed Jesus to others has never and will never work. But using Christmas as a means to show the love of Jesus in real and practical ways does work.
-People - Find a need and fill it. Make the gift more about them than you. If they need food, Christmas should come early for them. If their kids need school clothes, time to go to the consignments shops. Jesus meets needs as we are His hand extended to a world that needs to know He loves them.
- De-stress the holidays. - I said this in a previous post, but it needs to be said again. Make it more about people than the process. We appreciate all the time spent in the kitchen, shopping and decorating. But most people would prefer to have some of what is most precious to you. Your time.
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