Show Notes

Holidays can be very challenging. As men we either let it sneak up on us and are unprepared to do anything except rush them; we spend so much time on the social calendar that it hardly seems like Christmas at all; we delegate most of the family holiday part to your wife (she does it so much better than me anyway), or you and your wife can take some time to talk about the holiday and plan. This allows you to be intentional about what you and your family want to accomplish thru this very important Christmas Holiday.

Let’s start this episode by establishing The Reason for the Season and what we are celebrating at Christmas.

1. Celebrating the Birth of God’s one and only son, Jesus Christ. The angel appeared to the Shepherds on the night of Jesus’ birth, “I bring you good news that will cause great joy amount the people. Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord”. Luke 2:10-11
2. Why does Christmas matter? I thought Easter was the most important Holiday. At Christmas, we celebrate who He is and the gift God gave us – His only son. At Easter, we celebrate what he did as the fulfillment of thousands of years of prophecy fulfilled in Jesus Christ. He is the Way the truth and the life and our only pathway to God the Father and eternity in Heaven.There were three titles that the angel used that applied to Jesus:
   1. He is the Savior who delivers us from sin and death. Matthew 1:21
   2. He is Messiah – the human – who fulfills the law and the prophets showing us God’s faithfulness
   3. He is God almighty who entered in human flesh; God and man fused together to pay for our sins and give us eternal life.

   Easter is where we see the fulfillment of the final piece that gives us the victory to overcome the world and know Heaven is our home.

3. What is it about the traditions we use to celebrate the birth of Jesus?
   1. We give gifts because of the incredible gift God gave to us – His son, and the Wise Men also showed the reflection of the gift of the Father by giving gifts to Jesus. 2 Corinthians 9:15
   2. We string lights because Jesus is the light of the world who has come to us. John 1:4, Isa 9:2
   3. We sing Christmas Carols because of the Angels singing on Christmas. Luke 1-2
   4. We decorate Evergreen trees with stars, angels, and tinsel because of the eternal life Jesus makes possible.

What are a few simple (not necessarily easy) steps we can consider to ensure we don’t let Christmas get past us this year?

1. Establish what are you trying to accomplish this Christmas. Something as simple as: This Christmas Season, our family will take time to intentionally focus on the reason for the season. We will take time to ensure we discuss the purpose for Christmas (before Christmas day), what purpose the few intentional activities will mean, and have each person tell how they can participate in the times you plan together on purpose. A couple of ideas;
   1. Time to take gifts to a nonprofit or your church, that will benefit those in need. Do what you can to connect the gift to the recipient especially if you have children, so they see the immediate impact.
   2. Have a family over for Christmas so you can share God’s Reason for the Season with them.
   3. Take time to go look at Christmas lights, go to a Christmas program, etc. Be sure to talk about the reason for the season while you are doing this.
2. Time set aside to make your purpose happen
   1. If you are like me, if it is not on the calendar, it does not happen.
   2. You have to start early – long before Thanksgiving if you are going to get this done.
   3. Determine exactly what you want to do long before you get close to the deadline so you can make room for your purpose and events to happen.
3. What do you need to say NO to so you can say YES and make this happen – if we feel compelled to do everything, we end up rushing thru everything and accomplishing very little towards our goals.
   1. This is the hardest part of the whole journey we are talking about. This is true in life, but especially true in a very busy season.
   2. Do you need to attend all of the holiday gatherings? We all have many invites for sure.
   3. Do you need to take some time off of work to make this a priority?
   4. What can you do in your family so this does not all fall on your wife? No excuses…
4. Plan your budget for family gifts – stick there
   1. For many families – especially during this economic challenge we are in – the financial stress makes you want to avoid buying gifts altogether.
   2. Planning on what you want to buy and for which person is one of the most important elements to stick to a budget. Write down the names, put down your gift-giving plans and shop for the best buy on these items.
   3. Don’t give in to last-minute ideas if you have taken the time to be thoughtful. These last-minute ideas end up costing you hundreds of unplanned dollars you may not have available, and it can take you all year to recover. That is not worth it.
   4. Even if you are not budget constrained, do your recipients need all those gifts? How does it help you emphasize the reason for the season?

Men – this is Christmas not Father’s Day, so your involvement is key to helping your family celebrate the true Reason for the Season.

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The Great Shepherd, by Jim Grassi

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About Wendell Morton

Rev. Morton graduated from Western Evangelical Seminary with a BA in Religious Education and a Master of Counseling Psychology, Rev. Morton was in full-time ministry for 17 years with both small and large churches. He spent four of those ministry years with Promise Keepers. He was the the US representative to PK Canada – serving on the PK Canada Board.

Wendell also spent 23 years in Corporate America. He built and led sales teams that worked with very small businesses and other groups that worked with Fortune 500 companies. He is gifted at helping identifying the next generation of leaders as well as helping those around him being successful.

Rev. Morton has a passion to help pastors and church leaders build growing churches. Having men come alongside the vision of the pastor, build a dynamic team, create a plan, and execute the model of “each one brings one” has been proven effective for more than 2,000 years. This approach is a great way for every local church in North America to grow while helping men better understand biblical manhood.