Traditions and Things

And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” (Revelation 21:5a NLT)

Every CHRISTmas can last more than just one day, if you so choose.

Traditionally, Christmas is thought of as a one day holiday. We spend weeks preparing for it and end up celebrating it in about four to six hours. However, if you follow the church calendar, the next twelve days encompass the feast of Christmas, which culminates on January 6th or Epiphany.

Over the years, I have kept many traditions with our family. Baking cookies, decorating the tree, our Sunday Advent devotions, praying over and buying special gifts. And one of my favorites being the early morning time with Jesus on Christmas day that often led to last minute ways to tie His birth into our gift exchanges. But all of these traditions have ebbed and flowed over the years.

Since we were away this Christmas, we weren’t really practicing very many of our traditions. Over breakfast, I suggested to Les that celebrating Christmas on the boat could be a new tradition. To which he replied, “Let’s just try new things.” Such freedom. Traditions serve their purpose, but we don’t need them to survive.

Sometimes traditions trick us into thinking we belong to this world. But in reality, we are transients. We are moving toward the One on the throne who is making all things new. Oh, how I want to live with this future in view.

As we continue to journey into the new year on Intuition, I’d like to spend the next twelve days taking a different approach to my meditations. (I honestly don’t know where this idea came from, except a prompting of the Holy Spirit.) I am thinking about contemplating the days leading up to the cross.

In some traditions, followers of Jesus walk through a meditation called the Stations of the Cross to prepare their hearts for Easter Sunday. I noticed there are twelve stations, and I have twelve days! So, why not weave these two observances together?

I hope you will join me, as the Spirit leads you. I will continue to chronicle our journey, as another strand of this cord that seems to be coming together as we close one year, and move towards the new.

How do you plan to spend the next twelve days?

We definitely feasted today. Today’s photo gallery is full of foodie pics.