To Christmas or Not to Christmas

     Today is December 25th, a day most people know as Christmas. Most are celebrating this day, but many for different reasons. I am part of an online group that is Christian based and was deeply troubled by seeing a post on there today. (Yes, I did go on Facebook on Christmas, as that is the only way to communicate to certain people in the family at this point) So, this post was about if people know the roots of Christmas then they have no business celebrating or partaking in it.

     Now, I am very passionate about not mixing ungodly things in with Godly observances, or having anything to do with the watering down of God, Jesus, or anything Christ related. I want the whole truth and nothing but the truth, and I particularly get more passionate the more I see and hear the Truth being butchered, or seeing an image of "Jesus" with his arms around an image of Santa Clause, like they are bros, on the same team, or that Jesus would be okay sharing the one day when many who spit at His name all year long are open to celebrating Him.

     We do NOT do Santa in our house, and that is something for a whole other post, we don't celebrate elves, or what most people do. Around our house you will see a manger scene right on the "mantle" above our T.V. that is the central focus of our house. We have a small artificial tree with a golden star on top, with ornaments and many depictions of Christ related things, like one with Linus that recites the infamous "Behold" verse from Scripture, a manger scene, and one of Mary and Joseph holding the baby Jesus. We do not have Santa, or reindeer, or anything of the like. We have a small nativity scene in our guest bathroom along with a cross (that is up all year).

      Now, the person who posted, and many others from the comments, will state that EVERYTHING and ANYTHING to do with Christmas is wrong because of its pagan roots and that nowhere in the Bible does it tell us to celebrate Christmas. It is true there are pagan roots. There are pagan roots to everything that I know of. It is true that the Bible does not tell us to observe Christ's birth. It is also very true that December 25th was NOT the actual day of Jesus' birth. Many speculate, but there is no exact record of the actual day of birth.

     I get, in part, where the poster and agree-ers are coming from. We are not to partake in ungodly things nor to live as the rest of the world. We are called to be separated, sanctified, and to live in a way that contrasts the world. I get that. But, the spirit of the message did not stop there. It lumped everyone together and, from the comments, stated that anyone who did anything celebratory or in observance of this day was ungodly and needed to repent, basically.

     This is what my family did today: We got up, woke up enjoying our morning together while drinking hot chocolate, then opened our gifts. After lunch we took over some bags of things I had cleaned out and we handed over the donations to a wonderful group of ladies who are part of a program that helps women who have been abused, were homeless, or addicted, to get on their feet and lead them to a path of recovery, all with a foundation of Christ. It is a wonderful and amazing program that I felt led to donate to. My family and I have started a new tradition of BEING Christ in the community. Many of the things donated were not only practical, but things that would hopefully help and encourage them to a deeper relationship with Christ. The lady receiving it was so grateful and said Merry Christmas. We said it back. We also opened our home last night to anyone wanting to come over and celebrate, and will continue to do so in the future. My husband also, as one of his gifts to me, made a generous donation in my name today to a charity/organization of my choice. To the person who posted that message, this would be wrong and ungodly. ???

     I don't share my thoughts in this post because those words by the poster made me feel guilty. On the contrary, I know with firm conviction that what we did today best honored God. I prayed years ago when I first started my journey how God really wanted me to best celebrate the one day of the year that so many around the globe unite to celebrate His birth into this world that ultimately led to the Greatest Gift. He showed me that gluttony and family get-togethers are not it, but actually reaching out into the community in different ways and BEING like Him, BEING His representative, the Salt and the Light, into this world that is growing darker.

    I share my thoughts because the post concerned me that not only were they saying that what my family and I did was "wrong" per their standards, but basically we all should just bury our heads in the sand on this day. I grow deeply concerned because all I see in my head are lights being turned off and the dark getting darker. Like Halloween, we do not celebrate the way the world does. We use these two days as a platform to spread the Light and Love of Christ in a dying world when people are more willing to accept gifts of gospel tracts or to hear about Christ.

     My family and I do not celebrate or worship Santa Clause in any form. Just because we have a tree does not mean we worship it. To me, as a lover of gardening, I see a tree as a symbol for life, and the fact that Jesus ultimately was killed on a cross made of wood from a tree where He made the transaction that gave us a second chance to be with God when we die rather than facing an eternity of rightly deserved punishment in Hell. We have a golden star on the top of the tree to represent the Star of Bethlehem that shone in the sky for Jesus' birth, a symbol of that night and that all Light leads to Him. We have candy canes, because red represents the blood that Jesus shed for us and white represents how His blood cleanses us from our sins once we repent and commit our lives to following Him. The cane upside-down is a "J" for Jesus, and the other way is the staff of a shepherd, also representing Jesus and "the Good Shepherd." Everything that we have around us points us back to Christ. THAT is what we are supposed to do and partake in. Only that which edifies us and strengthens our relationship to Christ. We also watched the Nativity Story, then read Luke 1 & 2, then cut a birthday cake in honor of Jesus as we spent time reflecting on His life on this earth and how grateful we are to Him.

     Yet, to certain people, that is a bad thing. I can't help thinking about the people in the Bible who ragged on and condemned Jesus because He ate at the table with the prostitutes and tax collectors. Jesus didn't sin in order to do that, nor did He glorify their sins. He reached out to them in love. He humbled Himself, reaching out to those that most others would snub. The religious people told Him He should have nothing to do with them. I ask, if He had not, how would they have gotten to know of His love? How would they have SEEN love in action? I take that lesson with me in this encounter online today. I feel sad for those people who choose to do nothing to glorify God on this day. I feel sad for their children who are made to feel shame for glorifying and honoring Christ on this day. I feel sad for others around them who are getting mixed messages or are seeing Christ represented in a poor light because of these people who choose to lump together everyone and cast them out.

     My firm stance on this is that it should be about what and how we celebrate, or WHO we celebrate. Many celebrate Santa Claus. Many their families or children. Many combine idols like Santa or their own families while worshipping Jesus. If a person is solely worshipping Jesus on this day, doing all they can to deepen their own relationships and that of their families with Christ, as well as reaching out and trying to help others get closer to Christ, then THAT is EXACTLY what Christ wants us to do and CALLS us to do. Would Christ really be pleased if we bury our heads in the sand on this day? If we turn off our lights and lock ourselves up just so no one will see us on this day? Or would He want us to shine our lights the brightest, reach out with the most love, and be joyous as we take a day that most do use to worship idols or butcher the True Meaning of Christ and instead use it to solely glorify the Lord. If we are in the right with God, and that is something more personal that we need to hear from God Himself through the Holy Spirit, then it doesn't matter so much HOW we worship Him, but that we DO worship Him.

     The secular liberal media, and atheists want to eliminate the Christ in Christmas, and now I see that professing Christians want to eliminate it all together. To me, it seems like two parts of the same way. I truly feel God calling us true followers of Christ to RISE UP, to let our LIGHTS SHINE, to not grow weary or be ashamed of glorifying Him in ALL that we do, especially on this day. Not all people who celebrate Christmas celebrate Santa. Some people actually celebrate Jesus, the Christ, being born to this earth and all that it means.

    I can't say I blame many for their ill-feelings towards professing Christians. THEY are the ones that make a mockery of Christ. NOT the un-believers, in my opinion and experience. I will pray for them, while I shine my Light on this wonderful day we observe the birth of our Savior into this polluted and depraved earth. Thank you Jesus!


 and,


  MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Alternative Chunky Monkey Ice Cream: Better For Your Health and Taste Buds

Chunky Monkey Ice Cream Alternative

 

     Pregnancy has brought on new challenges. I am currently five months along and still struggling sometimes with being repelled by some foods and finding an appetite, or finding quick-to-make foods that are still healthy and appealing. I faced just such a challenge today. Nothing ready-made in the house sounded the slightest bit appealing to me, and I find I am having difficulty eating the fresh veggies and grains that I used to - Eep - which severely limits my food choices as I try hard to eat non-processed whole foods with limited dairy and meat (and only organic at that). I scoured my Pinterest Pins for food ideas and found this (see pic above) that finally appealed to my stomach.

     The link to the original recipe is here. One of my favorite ice cream flavors pre-health consciousness was Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey. The problem now is that it is so full of added sugars and unhealthy things, particularly dairy (ICK!) and non-organic at that, PLUS it is $5 or more for a small pint. It is no longer in my budget or something I can eat in good consciousness knowing the junk I'm putting into my body. So, I was thrilled to find a healthier alternative and a quick fix, as I was not about to wait around today to make regular ice cream, plus I didn't have all of those ingredients on hand anyways.

     The beauty to this recipe is that it is very likely to have all the ingredients on hand. It only consists of bananas, a nut butter of choice, chopped nuts of choice, and chocolate chunks. I used some bananas I had that were going bad, a healthier peanut butter, chopped pecans, and my favorite chocolate -Enjoy Life Mega Chunks- that tastes like gourmet chocolate and much better than the cheap stuff found in stores. It all goes in a food processor and then it's done. What took the longest was letting it sit in the freezer because I did not use frozen bananas. I recommend using frozen bananas.

    The consistency was more like a frozen yogurt or sorbet and tasted awesome. There was no added sugar, but was super sweet to my taste buds. It is pregnant chick and 7 year old approved. My son loved it and so did I.

    Now, if there is a little more time to play with, it is super easy to make a healthier homemade version of Chunky Monkey Ice Cream also. Just make a batch of vanilla ice cream, swapping dairy milk for almond milk (in my recommendation) or whatever other milk is preferable. Then add already food-processed frozen bananas, chopped nuts of choice, and chopped chocolate. Easy, and there you will have the traditional ice cream consistency, but overall, the alternative mentioned above is just as good and definitely satisfied my craving, PLUS it's all healthy ingredients and VEGAN. Yep, the V-Word. I got nutrients for the baby, no added junk in my body, and my taste buds and stomach are very happy. Success!!!



     Happy Eating and Experimenting!


  ~ The Not-So Starving Artist