'Tis the Season To Feel Inadequate?

WOW!  Can you be-lieve it is December 4th??  I sure can't.  Especially since we are having unseasonably warm weather here in Missouri.

It was in the 70s this past weekend.  Still in the 60s today and supposed to be warm through the end of the week.  We've had no snow.  No ice.

Now don't get me wrong, I am NOT complaining.  But really, for Missouri, this weather is weird.  Then again, we've had weird weather all year long.

It kind of makes it hard for me to get into the Christmas decorating mood.  But, other folks don't seem to have any trouble.

I follow several blogs.  Or maybe I should say I "subscribe" to a lot of blogs.  I get an e-mail when they post.  Well can I just say that these folks aren't have any trouble getting into the decorating mood, because their houses look like MAGAZINES!!!!  Feast your eyes on THIS!!!

Now let me give credit where credit is due.  These are NOT my pictures (not that you would EVER see anything like this at my house)!  I believe each of the pictures has the name of the blog on it.  The pictures are from Thistlewood Farms and At The Picket Fence. 

Some of these houses have 4 or 5 OR MORE Christmas trees in them and they are all lit up like the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center.  They have some kind of wreath on every door, interior and exterior.  Their mantles are decorated to the hilt.  Every flat surface has some type of ornament or decoration on it.  And lots of the decorations are, get this, HOMEMADE.  And I don't mean homemade in a NEGATIVE way.  I mean in a BEAUTIFUL CUSTOM MADE WAY.  Even the bathrooms were decorated for the holidays!!!

And this time of year, that old green-eyed monster can creep up so easily.  It is hard sometimes to look at these beautiful blogs and not feel just a tiny bit inadequate.  My house, at its best, looks absolutely NOTHING like these blogs.  I don't have that many decorations.  I don't spend that much time or money on decorating.  And when I look at those blogs, it sometimes makes me feel like I should.  It sure makes me WANT my house to look beautiful.

Now listen.  DO NOT get me wrong.  I LOVE LOOKING AT ALL OF THOSE BEAUTIFUL HOMES ALL DECKED OUT FOR CHRISTMAS!  I admire the ladies (and gentlemen) who took the time and effort and money to make their homes so beautiful.  I'm not knocking them one little bit.  Frankly, there are times I wish I put a little bit more effort into that kind of stuff because it is just gorgeous.

I'm just reassuring you, that if your house doesn't look like that, you are not alone.

Guys, I'm here to tell you I don't have my Christmas tree up.  I haven't even drug the box up from the basement.  One year, just a couple of years ago, I didn't even put up a Christmas tree (gasp!).  Yes, I do think I will get the tree up sometime in the next couple of weeks.  But I can assure you I have VERY LITTLE in the way of Christmas decorations at my house.  I don't do any decorating in our bedrooms, or the bathrooms for that matter.  I will put the tree up in front of the front door, and I have a little sleigh my mother-in-law made for me years ago.  I do have a few decorations I put on my fireplace mantle, but I can assure you it looks NOTHING like the mantels I've been seeing on blogs. 

I haven't sent out Christmas cards yet.  To tell the truth, I haven't even ORDERED them yet. Plenty of time (hehehe!!!)  I have done some shopping, but I haven't wrapped a present.

But I can assure you today that Christmas is about one thing, and one thing only.  The birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  As Luke wrote centuries ago: "Behind, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people.  For unto you is BORN THIS DAY, in the City of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord!"

Again, I'm not saying that putting up a tree or decorating your house is wrong.  I really LOVE looking at beautifully decorated homes.  I wish I lived in one.  But don't let yourself feel bad if your reality doesn't live up to someone else's highlight reel.  Because its not about the tree, it's not about the decorations, its not about gifts.  It's about the Reason for the season.  The birth of a baby, in a stable.  A baby born to be a King.  Born to be crucified for your sins and mine.  To pay my debt and your debt.

So this year, if your house is beautifully decorated, then GREAT.  Good for you!! Please post some pictures so I can admire it.  And if your house isn't beautifully decorated, then GREAT.  Welcome to my world!!

Just don't let yourself feel inadequate.  Enjoy the fruits of other people labors and RELAX.  And if you START feeling inadequate, then just come over here to Down On The Farm . . . and you'll feel better!  You are probably MORE ready for Christmas than I am!!