The P'S of Christmas

I love the Christmas season.  From the music to the decorations to the traditional food and fellowship. And I love remembering Christmases PAST  I found this photo recently. My grandma Nesmith was great at arranging flowers.  Much of my childhood Christmases included my grandparents.  And of course Church - and Christmas PAGEANTS - as a participant then a parent and a grandparent. This week I'm a narrator in our church's Live Nativity.  I obviously still love pageants.

And I love Advent. I was first introduced to the celebration of the coming of Christ on the four Sundays prior to the time that we celebrate His birth when my children and I were members of the Nazarene Church.  I always looked forward to the lighting of the Advent candle by a family.  

I also thought the Worship Committee should think outside the traditional family box and ask a single mother and her children to light the candle.  But I'm not bitter.  I guess that calls for rePENTANCE.

Today is the second Sunday of Advent.   For years I have known the second candle of Advent to be the Candle of PEACE  However, I have read several discussions that referred to it as the Candle of Faith.  I've also read it as the Candle of Bethlehem. That works - because it had been prophesied the Saviour would be born in the city of David (which is Bethelem). And once we put our faith in the child who was born in Bethlehem, then we can have peace. So I guess it really doesn't matter if it's Faith, Bethlehem or Peace.  The important thing is remembering that we are celebrating the birth  - of that person - the Son of God - who grew up to be our Savior.   

There have been many Christmases that I had no peace.  And this is coming from a person who has had faith in Christ since I was a six-year-old.  In fact, it was at Christmas time that I made a PROFESSION of faith.

If you read back through these paragraphs I hope you will see a recurring theme -- lots of P's - which - is why I called it the P's (peace) of Christmas.  And of course, it's written by the woman that my nieces and nephews call Aunt P.

All of my Christmases PAST don't make me smile.  There have been many that I had no peace.  However, the best thing I can tell you is that today I have the "peace that passes understanding" and I am most grateful to be able to PROCLAIM that!

PS It's from Philippians (4:6)  just had to find one more P.

                                May your life be filled with enough sunshine

                                  to make you appreciate the shadows