CHRISTMAS PRIORITIES
What is your favorite food for Christmas? Are you a lover of traditional favorites like spicy eggnog, mincemeat pie, and figgy pudding? Or maybe you prefer more unusual fare like Lutefisk, fromage de tête à l'ancienne (headcheese), or nutty peppermint Tuna Dip?
From candy canes to gingerbread cookies to Dr. Pepper wassail, I love Christmas food. When I was a boy, someone sent our family a huge package of praline candy every Christmas. YUM! My Mother usually cooked ham for Christmas Dinner, followed by pecan and chocolate pie. She also made divinity candy with a pecan on top of each piece. Awesome.
My wife is the finest Christmas cook since the Angels sang to the Shepherds. She makes so many varieties of Christmas cookies it’s hard to know where to start or stop! And the Christmas Dinner is always the delicious best.
Over the years, I have traveled to various regions of the USA and learned to appreciate all kinds of Christmas food. In Dallas, I connected with cherry cobbler smothered in Blue Bell ice cream. In Missouri, there was hummingbird cake. In Kansas, there was red velvet cake. In Milwaukee, there was frozen custard, Stollen, Dominostein, Pfeffernüsse, and Kringle. In Houston, a Christmas meal may include home-made tamales, deep fried turkey, chorizo/cornbread stuffing, and pecan pie with Blue Bell ice cream. You can eat anything if it is covered with Blue Bell ice cream.
Christmas traditions are wonderful. Hopefully, you have made plans to be with your loved-ones this December 25th. Christmas is a time for joy, family, gift-giving, and Blue Bell ice cream. Yards are decorated with lights and ornaments to add excitement to the festive season.
But please don’t forget the reason for the Season: Jesus! The birth of our Savior stands above any tradition or activity. On our front lawn we have a lighted sign that reads: KEEP CHRIST IN CHRISTMAS. This is not easy to do. So many other things can get in the way. But if you really think about it, and consider your plans, it can happen.
Do you have a favorite Christmas Carol that calls us to place the priority on Jesus at Christmas? There are some good carols being sung, and I like to sing them. But no one ever wrote a Christmas Carol based on the words of Jesus in Luke 14:26 (TEV), but maybe they should. Jesus said: “Those who come to Me cannot be My disciples unless they love Me more than they love father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and themselves as well.” WOW! What a challenge for each of us. This Christmas, place the priority on Jesus. Merry Christmas!