Keeping Christ in the Center of a Hectic Schedule

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31 (NIV)

Lets' face it. Our lives are full... places to go, people to see, things to do. And now the rush of the Christmas season is officially here. Very quickly, it gets a little more than crazy. Our normal to-do lists get longer. And longer.

  • decorate the tree and house
  • write and mail Christmas cards
  • fight traffic
  • go to the mall
  • buy presents
  • hide presents from the kids
  • wrap the gifts
  • clean the house
  • make travel arrangements
  • shop on line
  • mail gifts to faraway friends and family
  • buy groceries
  • cook holiday food
  • go to Christmas parties
  • go back to the mall for last minute gifts
  • smile and act like we're having fun

After all is said and done, we may throw in a Christmas Eve Service, or read the Christmas story from the Bible on Christmas morning in an attempt to "keep Christ in Christmas." Who can blame us? How in the world do we reconcile our busy lives and the hectic pace of the holy day season with the Reason for it all?

Maybe instead of carving out a special place for Christ, perhaps He could simply be in all of it? A young child has a special toy or blanket or stuffed animal. He or she never goes anywhere without it... takes it in the car, to the playground, in the store, to bed, around the house, etc. If it happens to fall out of sight, everyone has a problem until it's found!

What if we held on to Christ like that? Stuck in traffic? Have a conversation with Him. Shopping for gifts? Ask His opinion. Decorating the house? See Him smiling at our efforts. Sending cards and gifts? Send a little of His love along, too. Lose sight of Him? Stop and refocus until we find Him again.

May we allow Christ to be a part of all that we do during the craziness of this season. It just may surprise us at how different this Christmas will be!