where are you Christmas?

You may or may not know that The Grinch (Jim Carrey version) is my favorite Christmas movie. I'm not really sure why, other than it's complete quotable-ness.

It feels pretty appropriate this season, as I've been feeling sort of Grinch-ish. I've gotten super frustrated in moments as time speeds toward the big day.

I am completely over the non-stop Christmas music and was the day after Thanksgiving. I love a few carols here and there - but come on - throw something else in the mix!

I got stuck in Christmas parade traffic one day after work last week and wanted to scream! Especially after a man who was lined up to be in the parade started yelling obscenities at me (ok, well it was just one minor obsenity, but you get the picture) for going the wrong way (there was no right way marked!!!!).

And the pressure to have a perfect holiday season is so intense! I feel like I should be buying more gifts, or going to more holiday parties, or putting up more decorations, or eating more insanely bad for me foods.

It's just all so....superfluous (thank you Cindy Lou Who).

And here's the thing - I love Christmas. I love decorating, and baking, and holiday partying, and gift buying. Seriously - I love the rush I get when I find the perfect present for someone I love. Last night I finalized my wrapping plans (which no one else cares about). I've picked my paper, ribbon and tags and last night I wrapped my first present to see what it all looked like together. I was so excited you would have thought I solved the world's hunger problems!

But the excess is getting in the way.

Luckily I have a great husband who is a pretty good preacher and preached a sermon just for me on Sunday (don't tell him I said that). It was the second Sunday in Advent and the message was about preparing the way of the Lord. In addition to being a great sermon-giver, he is a pretty song-picker. One of the hymns we sang on Sunday was Take Time to Be Holy. Every line of the song felt like it was written solely for me in this season. These two are my favorites.

Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;
Spend much time in secret, with Jesus alone.

Take time to be holy, be calm in they soul,
Each thought and each motive beneath His control.

In the moments of frustration over the next couple of weeks, I hope this gets stuck in my head. (as much as I have loved being introduced to this holiday classic)