Are you ready for Christmas?

 "She wrapped him in clothes and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn."                                                                                                               -Luke 2:7

"Are you ready for Christmas, yet?"  I hear the question everywhere I go.

Yesterday was decorating day at our house.  The tree is up, has water, and it isn't falling.  The lights twinkle and the ornaments are all hung and out of the reach of little hands.  The angel is on top.  Scout the Elf has been on the move in the house for a week and the kids' Christmas lists have been made.  The Christmas dinner menu has been chosen, and shopping trips have been planned.  Cards have been ordered.

 With Manheim Steamroller blasting from the CD player, today is cookie baking day.  This is no small task with four kids under the age of 9, (it's a magic trick how quickly dough disappears without me noticing) but the cookies are out of the oven and not burnt to a crisp.  I am exhausted, but all seems to be falling into place. 

The reality is the phrase "hustle and bustle" isn't just a saying, it is the way of the land in most households.  We scramble to prepare for the holiday.  Whether you are the most organized person in the history of mankind or the least organized person (like me), chances are you have an idea of what Christmas will look like for you and your household.  You will be prepared when the 25th comes around. 

Or will you?

We spend so much time and energy getting ready for Christmas, but how much time do we spend getting ready for Christ?

Every morning for the last four days, my daughter, Sofie, has awoke and shouted, "It's Christmas Eve!" only to be disappointed with the daily, "Not yet," from Mommy or Daddy.  She is excited.  But do you know what she's excited for the most?  Jesus' birthday. 

Don't get me wrong, I love the joy of the season.  I treasure the days with family, the thrill and excitement of present giving, the classic movies and, dare I say, mistletoe moments...I am right there with the rest of the world.  But this year, as I prepare for the holiday I love, I am making sure that first I prepare my heart.

Like Sofie, I am ready for the celebration of a birth...a birth that saves me every single day of my life from myself. 

What do you want for Christmas this year?  What if I said that you could have the gift of comfort when you feel sad, the gift of strength when you are weak? Of love when you are lonely, or support when you are scared?  A light in the dark and peace for your stress.  Life when you are dead.

You would say, "I'll take it!"  And I would say, "Accept it, it is already yours for the taking."

Have you prepared your heart for that? 

Make room in your life, this Christmas, for the gift the birth of Jesus gave you.  Talk to the Giver, receive the gift for the first time or again and again, be thankful, be faithful, be grateful...and prepare your heart for the birthday celebration of the baby that gives you life when you are dead.  Make room in your inn, and not the stable.  Prepare your heart.