"Christmas at Jon's Place"

Christmas this year was a good one. Probably even one of my favorites to be honest. As most of you know, I actually chose to remain here in Milwaukee -- by myself -- rather than journey 300 miles up into Minnesota to be with family. It's not that I don't love my family, I just wanted to form a few of my own traditions this year.

I was actually looking forward to the solitude too. Scott had left with his sister, Diana, to spend the holidays with his aunt in Small Town, Wisconsin. That left the quiet apartment to me for the evening. And since my sister (who lives an hour north of Milwaukee) had taken a Christian witness trip out to California right before Christmas, as her gift to me, she left her car to use while she was gone. (Pretty thoughtful gift too I might add!)

So, Christmas Eve I decided to make use of that car, and headed down to the local Blockbuster to rent a Christmas movie. I had my sights set on "The Family Man" starring Nicholas Cage. As it turned out, since I was not yet a "Blockbuster member" I filled out the required information, got my rental card, and found out they have a policy providing a new member's first rental for free. So, not only did I have my sister's car for my use this Christmas, I also got an excellent Christmas Eve free movie rental to go with it!

When I returned home, I made a tasty meat and potatoes dinner, curled up on the couch with the beautiful warm blanket my mother had given as a gift this year, and watched "The Family Man".

...I chose to avoid the Christmas Eve service at my church, knowing full well how packed it would be with one-time church goers visiting only to see their children present the Christmas Story. That, and I knew no one involved. So I stayed home.

Christmas Day, however, I got up, and once again made use of my sister's car to attend the Christmas Day service. Predictably, there were far fewer people in attendance. As usual, though, the service was excellent, including the surprisingly wonderful choirs my church has been blessed with. After the service, I returned home, happily pondering the real meaning of Christmas.

During the rest of the day, I remained in my apartment. I turned on some Christmas music, did a little reorganizing of files, worked on some art, and made some fresh cookies. It made for a wonderful day, filled the apartment with that drool-worthy aroma of fresh-baked warm chocolate chip cookies, and allowed me to just sit back and relax, thankful for all that I have been blessed with in life.

When Scott returned from visiting with his aunt later in the evening, he invited me to join him for a trip to a local cinema -- his treat. After much deciding, we opted to see the film, "Fat Albert", a remake based off of the popular 1970's animated television series hosted by Bill Cosby. It proved to be an entertaining watch. And although Scott ended up being a bit more critical of it than I was, I was more than happy to just smile and nod.

By the time I turned in for the night, I was content. Christmas isn't about what you get or the days of planning what to give others. It's about life, love, friendship, and thankfulness for the simple things we often take for granted.

It's just a shame that we only devote one day a year toward celebrating these things. It should be a year-round affair. Christ's love and sacrifice in our place should be something we treasure every day. Afterall, it is becasue of that sacrifice that we are even here in the first place.

So, remember to be thankful this coming year. Regardless of what your station may be, there is never a shortage of blessings in your life. Think simple, and remember the words of 1 John 4:19, "We love, becasue He first loved us."

Have a blessed New Year all! Until next time,

Your happily blogging friend,
-Jon
posted by Jon at 11:33 PM  I   I  0 comments