Holiday ABC.....

I = Incarnation This is a biggie in terms of Christian theology; the belief that the Creator of the Universe chose to become human and dwell with us in our world. People often like to ask which aspect of Jesus do you choose to emphasize more, the humanity or the divinity? I’m one who lands solidly on the human aspect --- I like and I need a Jesus who sleeps, weeps, gets angry, and is with me as I do the same.

J = Jingle It’s a sound so closely connected to this season --- the sound of jingle bells. So directly tied is the jingle of bells to Christmas that it can have a kind of Pavlovian response as evidenced in my growing-up years. My parents would use the often-heard-yet-never-seen jingle of bells to summon us to good behavior or to bed early on Christmas Eve. To this day whenever I hear the jingle of bells I find myself tucking in my shirt, saying “please and thank you,” and yawning.

K = Kids Their excitement; their eyes wide with the wonder at the lights and decorations; making cookies together; the photo ops with Santa; and the energy of them ripping into their gifts with total joy and abandon. This really is their season.

L = Lists We make them because they work. As a child, either on our own or with the assistance of a parental scribe, we made lists of the toys and treasures for which we hoped to open on Christmas morning. During the busy-ness of the season, adults make lists to keep track of all that needs done and to savor the rush of being able to cross an item off as completed! Of all the lists, the one that worked the best was having knowledge that Santa kept one too, a tally sheet of who was naughty and who was nice ....gulp....thank goodness one could move relatively easily from column to column and hopefully found one’s self safely in permanent marker on the nice side of the ledger.

sj;