Last Updated on March 21, 2018

I’ve spent a lot of time down in my basement recently in an attempt to get rid of stuff.  I have a lot of stuff.  I have a lot of Christmas stuff.  I think I counted about 8 boxes and 3 shelves of Christmas paraphernalia.  That’s nuts!  At first I couldn’t help but think that there was no way I needed so many Christmas decorations – after all I don’t live in a mansion.  I mean, really, who needs that much stuff?

Apparently, I do.

Lately the focus of my free time has been to organize and purge my house of all things unnecessary.  It’s taking forever – partly because I have no time and partly because there are so many things to sort through.

This Christmas stuff – well, that’s a different story.  I’ve thought in the past that I would whittle it down to a couple boxes and maybe one shelf.  That simply isn’t going to happen.   We all love those decorations.  Emma loves the lights.  Peter loves the little houses.  Elizabeth loves the tree decorations.  Allison loves the nutcrackers.  I love the books and music.  Zach… well, he’s seventeen.  He happily puts up with it all.  Those things are our way of celebrating.

I want to be the frugal gal in most things, but not Christmas.  Goodness, Jesus came!!!  It’s time to party!  I’m talking big ole party.  I’m talking invite the neighbors, eat some cookies, turn on some lights, blast some music, and enjoy this life that we have!  This life… this life of mine… it isn’t what I thought it would be at this point, but it is good.  I’m blessed beyond measure. I say that a lot because it’s true.

And, Christmas.  Well, Christmas is my Savior coming to love on me in the biggest way possible.  Christmas is my God loving me extravagantly!  My response – celebrate extravagantly!  Give God the glory for this life – this difficult, overwhelming, exhausting, frustrating, not-what-I-wanted life.  This life that in the midst of all the difficulties is still stuffed full of blessings.

Sue Birdseye is an author and communicator who shares the adventures she has on her unexpected journey of single parenting. She went from the typical “picket fence” kind of life to being a single mom to five beautiful children. She has learned what it means to be totally dependent upon the Lord and how beautiful that dependence is.

Her change of life circumstances has led to a passionate desire to encourage and bless other moms no matter their life circumstances. She has been active in her community as a foster/adoptive mom and public school teacher. She has also been part of her church’s worship, discipleship, women’s, and children’s ministries. She is an avid book reader, a game night hoster, and an early morning writer. Her book “When Happily Ever After Shatters” is the story of how God stepped into her life and the lives of her children just when everything seemed to be falling apart. She hopes that her writing will encourage, bless, and maybe even make someone smile.

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3 Comments

  2. You are so right! Thank you for the reminder that yes, we could all stand to be less extravagant, maybe not put ourselves into debt just to give lots of gifts, but we should definitely be VERY extravagant in celebrating that God sent his one and only son to die for us, just because He wanted us to be in HEaven with him. Praise God! That is where the extravagance belongs! Bring out the tinsel, the stockings, the shiny bulbs and twinkling lights. We need a lot of CHRISTmas, right this very minute! 🙂

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  3. Thank you, sweet Sue, for shedding a new light on all the dazzle of the holiday season. Thanks to you, I can only smile to see houses decked out in exterior lights, trees weighed down with cherished ornaments and mantles crowded with holiday decor, knowing that the incarnation of our Lord is being proclaimed and celebrated. God bless you ALWAYS, dear sister! Love you, Daphne

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