All in all...

We have come a long ways from a manger in a stable on a quiet night, a child's cry ringing out to break the silence.  Stores start gearing up for gift giving in October, or even September.  We make our lists, we drive up our credit card balances, we eat more than we should, all in celebration of an event 2000 years ago that is all but forgotten in the modern fuss we call The Holidays.

I can't help but think this is not what God had in mind.  We have made Christmas about us, instead of about him.  Today, it is more about our gifts to each other than his gift to each of us.  The focus of our attention should always be on God, because he is the center of everything.  But we are drawn to things of the world, the shiny new objects sparkling before our eyes, which pull us down and take attention off what should be the central focal point.