That time of year.

It is the Christmas season. It is the most wonderful time of year. The time of year that sings of hot chocolaty nights...

...filled with crackling fires to make the chocolate taste all the more delicious.

The time of year filled with tiny lights sparkling and winking as if the sky had let stars rain down.

The time of year when troubles seem to melt away (unless you're stressing over Christmas presents...I wouldn't recommend that) and laughter, joy and mirth go dancing about here and there.

The time of year when the air seems to be made of such delights as cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, orange, pumpkin, and apples.

The time of year when, no matter what kind of family you have, no matter how they can drive you crazy at times, you overflow with love for them and want to be with them. The time of year when the smell of a Christmas tree floods your memories with years gone by and lighting it for the first time is like magic itself. Yes, it's the most wonderful time of year.

I have had several people say to me lately that they feel this is also the most selfish time of year. The time of year that sets our children up for thinking only about what they want as opposed to what they can give. The time of year that replaces the true meaning of Christmas, Jesus, with Santa, Frosty, and Rudolph. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that I don't like these characters as much as anyone, but if it's true that we're letting them take the place of Jesus Christ, we have a serious problem. If this is true in my own life, I would rather cast them out than to have Jesus given less glory, because that is all that matters to me.

This is my favorite time of year, I love everything about it. Not for what I might get from others, but just for the beauty and love I feel. For the thought that, Jesus, though December 25th may not be His exact birthday, did come as a tiny baby, He did leave heaven for me, and He did take on human form forever because of His great love for you and I. This is the truth. No matter when He was born, this is the immovable truth. So, this is what Christmas is all about to me, it's not about the gifts, hot chocolate, Santa, or any other representation of Christmas. It is only about Him, but this is how it should be with everything that enters my life, with every aspect of who I am. For as I have said before, I am not my own, I am His. And if I am His then nothing I do can be about me or anything else, it can only be about Him and giving Him glory in all I do, because I love Him so.