Whether Christmas is your favorite time of year or a season you dread, there is a way to have the best Christmas ever. The Christmas season, in its truest sense, is a time when people around are preparing to celebrate Jesus’ birthday. In order to stay focused, we have to practice leaning into the beauty of small moments within the season - pausing to consider the symbolism that is all around us and allowing ourselves to be caught up in the glory and power of a King who laid down his life for the ones he loves. Let’s take a look at three common Christmas decorations and what they represent. First, the star tree topper symbolizes the Wisemen following the Star looking for the newborn King. Next, the angel topper represents the whole host of angels that filled the sky when Jesus was born. And finally the candy cane - the red stripe reminds us that Jesus’s blood was shed for us; the white stripe symbolizes the purity and holiness of Jesus; and the shape of a shepherd’s staff reminds us that we are not alone. The symbolism of the candy cane alone holds the promise that God has always been with us in our past, our present, and is our future hope. The best Christmas comes from what’s happening on the inside...not the outside! When Jesus is the anchor for our Christmas celebrations, we really can have the BEST Christmas ever.

Luke 2:8-20 (NIV)
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Isaiah 1:18 (NLT)
“Come now, let’s settle this,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool.

John 10:11 (ESV)
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

Revelations 1:4 (TPT)
From John to the seven churches in western Turkey: May the kindness of God’s grace and peace overflow to you from him who is, and who was, and who is coming, and from the seven spirits who are in front of his throne,