Day 10: CONFIDENT (+ 12 Ways to Keep Christ in Christmas)

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I hate pushiness.

I can’t stand

telemarketing calls.

flyers left under my windshield.

other people’s agendas thrust upon me.

I’ve walked out of car dealerships mid-contract because I knew if I stayed one minute longer, I’d regret the purchase for the next ten years.

Pushy vs. Bold & Confident

When it comes to my relationship with God, I feel secure in who I am in Christ.

Because of Christ and our faith in Him,

we can now come boldly and confidently

into God’s presence.

Ephesians 3:12 (NLT)

Gone are the days when I felt like a bother. An inconvenience. A nuisance.

At least in relating to God.

But in sharing God with unbelievers?

I feel like a bother, an inconvenience, and a nuisance.

I don’t know how to be bold and confident.

I’m too afraid of being pushy.

A Permission Marketing World

The days of traditional interruption advertising are over. We live in an era of “permission marketing.”

In some ways, has resulted in greater courtesy: the threat of a spam report keeps advertisers from sending me unwanted e-mail.

In other ways, though, it has made people super-sensitive to receiving anything they did not invite.

And although I live in an area that touts tolerance, I often fees as though this “tolerance” ends at the edge of Christianity.

As long as the conversation is about anything other than Christianity, it’s no-holds-barred. But at the mere mention of something Christian, it’s as if I’m shoving my entire belief system down someone’s throat.

And it’s not just a regional issue.

I’ve spent hours listening to the beliefs and rituals of loved ones who practice wicca. But the respect of equal time, or even a willing ear, is rarely reciprocal.

A Season of Confidence

God calls each one of us differently.

This year, I’m hearing His urging to “be bold, be daring” when I’m out and about this holiday season.

I don’t know what that’s going to look or sound like. I’m used to “preaching to the choir” or “feeding his lambs.” I’ve never been a “fisher of men.”

I am aware that my silent witness says far more than my words. So this isn’t about planning ahead what I’m going to say when the cashier avoids saying “Merry Christmas” with a politically-correct “happy holidays.”

This is about who I am, 24/7.

And up ‘til now, who I’ve been 24/7, has been efficient. I have my shopping list, my schedule, and my plan. I’ve counted my time away away from home successful if I’ve gotten everything I’ve needed in the least amount of time possible.

I’ve been courteous to the Starbucks barista…but not kind.

I’ve bagged my own groceries at Safeway…to save time, not offer a helping hand.

I’ve been so afraid of being pushy that I’ve forgotten how to be friendly.

12 Ways to Keep Christ in Christmas (Click here to Tweet this.)

Before I start my list, let me mention that Stephanie Shott has a great blog post at The M.O.M. Initiative called “25 Ways to Keep Christ in Christmas.” FULL of fabulous ideas!

John 15:17 “This is my command: Love each other.” The #1 way I will keep Christ #1 is by living in His love and loving others. Period.
Pray before getting out of the car. I want to be intentional about focusing on being kind, gracious, and loving to the many people who will serve me as I go about my errands.
Ask others about their holiday plans and traditions. I’m less likely to feel pushy if a Christmas conversation is already underway. And listening is the most basic of friendship skills!
“Giving gifts thru Project Angel Tree with Prison Fellowship Ministries helps me keep things in perspective — knowing that God in the flesh has come to set the captives (me included!) free.” (Stephanie Raquel)
“We bake a birthday cake for Jesus and sing Happy Birthday to Him and our church has a PJ Christmas service every year.” (Chris Kramer)
“We put out all our Christmas cards in a basket and use them as dinner table prayer reminders throughout the year.” (Lee Merrill)
“We sponsor a family during the weeks leading up to Christmas and provide gifts for the children and food for Christmas dinner–when my boys were at home we involved them in all aspects of sponsoring the family, including delivering the food and gifts.” (Laura Acuña)
I ask cashiers, “How are you?” At times they may seem down, and I comment, “You seem to be carrying a heavy load.” If they nod “Yes” (and they usually do), I add, “May God bless you.” They always respond, “Thank you.” After that, I will ask how they are and add, “God bless you.” They begin to look forward to that. If I am in a different line, they acknowledge me in some way.
“We fill shoeboxes with treats and treasures for children. Through Operation Christmas Child (Samaritan’s Purse), we are able to share the love of Jesus while providing a gift for a child who may not know that Christmas exists, much less what it is about. This also helps my own children remember how abundantly blessed we are and to be good stewards of our resources.”
“For Christmas this year we are having dinner at our home with just my husband and children. For our family we will go to midnight mass and I will invite friends and family for Christmas eve, but my husband and I have decided the best thing for our children is to have dinner just us. My in laws wil come over in the morning to watch the kids open gifts and then they have dinner at their home. Because of a severe rift in the family I thought the best thing I could do to celebrate Jesus and enjoy this holiday is to stay home, and I’m really looking forward to it. I also hope to find a place where our family can volunteer for Thanksgiving. I want to show our children ages 4, 2, and 7 weeks we have so much to be grateful for and to show them how other people live.”
“We like to bake and deliver to the elderly and widows of our church. We also take trays of baked goods to the police, fire fighters, and ambulance personnel in our town as well as the Senior Living Center staff. We also like to participate in our church special Christmas project. One year it was a local family. Another year it was Operation Christmas Child. No matter what the project or service…if you do it with the right heart, it’s keeping Christ in Christmas.”
“We do Samaritan’s Purse. I love doing this! We also have a Jesse Tree. This year I am determined to FINALLY finish cross-stitching the ornaments, I’m half way there. I like to wear my Jesus is the Reason for the Season pin. I tell others Merry Christmas when I’m out, no matter what they say to me.”

Help this list keep growing! Leave a comment or drop me an e-mail at [email protected], and I’ll keep updating this post.

Your Turn!

How do you balance a desire not to be pushy with the call to be bold and confident for Christ?

In what area(s) of your life do you feel as though Christ as been removed from Christmas: with certain family members? in your town/county/state? etc.

What’s one suggestion you can share for keeping Christ in Christmas this year?

Anything else on your heart!

10 Comments

Anonymous says:

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We do Samaritan’s Purse. I love doing this! We also have a Jesse Tree. This year I am determined to FINALLY finish cross-stitching the ornaments, I’m half way there. I like to wear my Jesus is the Reason for the Season pin. I tell others Merry Christmas when I’m out, no matter what they say to me.

Thank you for the wonderful suggestions today. They were a blessing.
God Bless,
Kim in NC

1. Cheri Gregory says:
  
  at
  
  Kim —
  
  What’s a “Jesse Tree”? I’m not familiar with it. I definitely need to get a Jesus is the Reason for the Season pin!
  
  Glad you enjoyed the suggestions — sure appreciate yours! 🙂
  
2. Anonymous says:
  
  at
  
  You know, I have been at aholyexperience.com this month for their Crazy Joy and she has a link for it http://www.aholyexperience.com/free-advent-devotionals-jesse-tree-book/ I got my cross-stitch patterns from http://www.jesse-trees.com It is a wonderful Advent program that is based on the Bible. You can get free coloring coloring pages. It starts in November. I started this when my 3 oldest were a lot younger, they are now 13, 12, and 9. I also have a 5 and almost 3 year old. I decided that if I was going to do the Jesse tree while I still had young ones I better do it now. I started the cross-stitch ornaments around the time I got pregnant with our 5 year old, so I figured it was about time to finish.
  
  God Bless,
  Kim
  
3. Cheri Gregory says:
  
  at
  
  Kim — Thanks for the link! What a beautiful concept…and what great ornaments to cross-stitch!
  
Anonymous says:

at

We like to bake and deliver to the elderly and widows of our church. We also take trays of baked goods to the police, fire fighters, and ambulance personnel in our town as well as the Senior Living Center staff. We also like to participate in our church special Christmas project. One year it was a local family. Another year it was Operation Christmas Child. No matter what the project or service…if you do it with the right heart, it’s keeping Christ in Christmas.

Kristina

1. Cheri Gregory says:
  
  at
  
  Kristina —
  
  You’ve hit the nail on the head — “do it with the right heart.” I think I need to make signs for my mirrors and doorways that remind me “It’s about Jesus, not you!” or something like that…I can feel so inconvenienced and so annoyed so easily, but I’m also learning to snap out of it when I realize what’s happening! 🙂
  
  LOVE the baking and delivering idea. This is another great activity we can do with our student advisees…invite them to come over for an afternoon of Christmas baking followed by caroling and delivery!
  
renee dambra says:

at

For Christmas this year we are having dinner at our home with just my husband and children. For our family we will go to midnight mass and I will invite friends and family for Christmas eve but my husband and I have decided the best thing for our children is to have dinner just us. My in laws wil come over in the morning to watch the kids open gifts and then they have dinner at their home. Because of a severe rift in the family I thought the best thing I could do to celebrate Jesus and enjoy this holiday is to stay home and I’m really looking forward to it.
I also hope to find a place where our family can volunteer for Thanksgiving. I want to show our children ages 4, 2, and 7 weeks we have so much to be grateful for and to show them how other people live

1. Cheri Gregory says:
  
  at
  
  Renee —
  
  Sounds like you’ve got a great plan in place for avoiding unnecessary (and potentially destructive) stress and focusing on Christ with your family. I wish I’d been this intentional when my children were young and absorbing all the emotions in the house (instead of dragging them around to “keep happy” various relatives while I was a stew of toxic emotions myself!)
  
  Love the idea of volunteering for Thanksgiving. I’ve been made aware of a local soup kitchen, and I think we’ll do the same on Thanksgiving.
  
sandiegodutchjess says:

at

We fill shoeboxes with treats and treasures for children. Through Operation Christmas Child (Samaritan’s Purse), we are able to share the love of Jesus while providing a gift for a child who may not know that Christmas exists, much less what it is about. This also helps my own children remember how abundantly blessed we are and to be good stewards of our resources.

1. Cheri Gregory says:
  
  at
  
  I’ve heard of Operation Christmas Child but I’ve never participated. This sounds like a great project for our group of student advisees to do together!