Christmas Conversation #23: When do the excesses of Christmas cross the line from communicating the lavishness of God’s love for us to fostering excess, greed and pride?

by Stacey Tuttle

I hear it all the time.   A couple gets married and discovers that their families had very different ideas about how they celebrated Christmas.  Not just in their traditions, but in the way they gave.  Some see this as an opportunity to be lavish.  And it’s not always that they are just unable to control their spending.  Sometimes it is their heart to communicate the lavishness of God’s love.  They love to give; they love to decorate; they love to fully experience every piece of it. 

The other spouse however came from a more Spartan family.  They took a more …

Christmas Conversation #22: How do you find spiritual refreshment in the midst of an exhausting season?

By Stacey Tuttle

It may be the “hap, happiest time of the year”… but it is also the “biz, busiest time of the year.”  Between holiday parties, last minute shopping, holiday decorating, relatives coming to visit, travelling, cooking, and gift wrapping (just to name a few of the additional activities that find their way onto our to-do list at this time of year)—it’s a wonderful, but utterly exhausting time of year.   

And yet, we are supposed to be focusing on Jesus during this time—one more thing to do for us …

Christmas Conversation #20: How do you deal with Christmas as a joyous family time when family is hard?

By Stacey Tuttle

There are a million different reasons why family time can be challenging. Maybe there is strife in your family, maybe there has been loss, or maybe it’s just simply hard to be all together in a small space for a prolonged period of time when that isn’t the normal routine. Even the best of families are still comprised of humans, and therefore prone to sharp tongues, sin natures, jealousies, moments of impatience…

So, how do you do this thing well? How do you deal with just the …

Christmas Conversation #19: How do you deal with the Grinches in your life this Christmas?

By Stacey Tuttle

Why is it that the Grinch is so comical and adorable, and Scrooge is just so utterly unloveable?  They are both synonymous with negativity and hatin’ on Christmas.  Maybe it’s because the Grinch is green.  Unfortunately, the Grinches in our lives aren’t odd little furry green creatures who speak in rhyme.  We might be able to find something more loveable in them if that was the case. 

But they’re not.  They are more like Scrooge.  They are human and often utterly unloveable.  They are negative, critical and …

Christmas Conversation #18: Should we boycott stores based on Christian principles during the holidays?

By Stacey Tuttle

Yesterday’s question about “Happy Holidays” vs. “Merry Christmas” sparked another question in our minds at SPM.  The debate over the importance of “Merry Christmas” caused some Christians to lead a boycott of stores.  I don’t know if the only point was that they said “Happy Holidays”, but I know that was a large instigator.  We have already discussed the significance of those phrases, so today we want to focus more on the issue of appropriate Christian response to those things which we feel are truly “lines …

Christmas Conversation #17: “Happy Holidays” vs. “Merry Christmas”— Does it really matter?

By Stacey Tuttle

How important are the words we speak?  Does saying Merry Christmas really communicate the love of God?  Does saying Happy Holidays always mean a person is trying to take all things Christian out of the season?  Is saying Happy Holidays more sensitive and respectful to others of different beliefs?

There is power in the words we speak…so how powerful are these words?

They say you should pick your battles.  Is this a battle you think is worth fighting, or one better left alone?  Is it possible that the significance of …