The reason for the season?

With the holiday season right around the corner...sometimes I feel a looming sense of dread.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy visiting with family and friends....some of whom I only see during the
holidays. And nothing gives me more joy than to have my children under my roof...if only for a few
days.

I mentioned this particular feeling to a friend the other day followed by "but I must remember, Jesus
is the reason for the season". At which point she corrected me..."Sweetie, Jesus is not just the reason
for the season, He's the reason for your whole life!"

And then I realized that once again, I've allowed others to define my relationship with Christ. I've
allowed myself to focus on "feeling" not on "doing". If I am not practicing my faith and my joy every day...doing, praying, reading, living, then it's no wonder I feel nothing. As long as my joy is my Christ,
from my Christ, no one can take it from me. I can squander it, as easily as I stop “doing” my faith,
but no one has the power to remove it from my life. For Jesus is the reason I do everything in my life.