Decorations for Christmas

As I continue discussing the parts of the nativity scene, specifically the stable, I think it's really important to discuss decorations.  Don't get me wrong.... there is nothing I love more than to "dream" of my house looking like a Hallmark Christmas card or Hallmark movie, but I often find myself completely worn out and just throwing things out at the last minute!  I am very guilty of riding around at night and looking in windows to critique Christmas decorations... I love to see what others do!  One of our old neighborhoods had the leg lamp from The Christmas Story, and I have left that at the top of my favorites list since then... of course I would NEVER have that leg lamp, but I do love to see others decorate with it.

And the tree in the picture... it's there as a tease... I found it on the internet.... it looks like something Ben would have brought home to me when he was little and had an axe to chop down trees... he was nice enough to cut down a dogwood one day and I told him the axe was mine from now on!  He wasn't concerned with anything but cutting the tree down... didn't look at the thickness of the leaves... the height of the tree.... the shape of the tree... just knew he wanted a little tree to decorate for his room.

So... what do decorations have to do with the stable?  EVERYTHING.... As we prepare our hearts for this Christmas season, we don't need to be so bogged down about the decorations.  If God wanted us to decorate every inch of our homes and have 14 trees all over the house... don't you think he would have made the manger scene a little more fancy?  I decided a few years ago that I was miserable at Christmas because I thought I needed to have a tree in every room.  I have limited my decorations now to the elves all over the den, a Christmas tree, and a "golf" tree!

Remember to be simple... Everything about Jesus's birth looked simple, but it was oh so wonderful... as you begin to think about decorating.... remember where Jesus was born... it was simple... remember the night of his birth... it was a simple... remember the reason for the season... how many times have we heard it?  Be like Ben... Be like the night Jesus was born... Be simple and don't let yourself be overwhelmed and not leave room for Jesus.  Make sure you leave room for Him... every day... every hour!