Christmas got a little lost in all the Chinese craziness this year.

I had all of my Christmas shopping finished and all the gifts wrapped and tagged before we left for China.  This past week I was really glad I had done that.  We had prepared the boys that this Christmas was going to be different, calmer, less stuff than years past.  They were amenable to that.
We decorated the small tree.  Played the merry carols.  Ate the festive cookies.  Read the wintertime stories.  Worshiped with others on Christmas Eve.

My lament...."It doesn't feel like Christmas."

What does Christmas "feel" like exactly?  Did Mary and Joseph "feel" like it was Christmas?
Do the persecuted Christ!ans in Ch!na "feel" like it's Christmas?
How should I "feel" when I really contemplate Christmas?

What have I been trying to drill into my children for the last 9+ years?

As Ann Voskamp writes, "The parent must always self-parent first,
                                           self-preach before child-teach..."

CHRISTMAS ISN'T ABOUT GIFTS, TREES, MUSIC, LIGHTS, COOKIES!!!
CHRISTMAS IS ABOUT JESUS!!!

Christmas doesn't "feel" like anything!

Christmas is Jesus!  Immanuel!  Which means God is WITH US!  With ME!
And this year, maybe more than any other, that gives me a WONDERFUL feeling!!!
I can't do this newly-adopted-child-transition thing on my own. I MUST have God with me--Immanuel.

Aahhh....I finally got it!  THAT is what Christmas should "feel" like.
This self-sermon I must record and replay year after year.

Christmas could be in May, could involve popsicles and roller skating, could have "Row Your Boat" as the theme song and it wouldn't/shouldn't change the "feeling" of the celebration.

We celebrate Christmas ONLY because God sent Jesus to be with us, to be like us, to love us...forever.

"She will have a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which means "God is with us."
Matthew 1:23

All they wanted for Christmas were their two front teeth--
neither of them got 'em

Great grandma Sally--this is her 97th Christmas! 

Post Script:  
I am not making any value judgements on people who enjoy the festivities of the holidays.  I enjoy them too!  I have missed out on them this year in many ways.  I've never had a holiday season in which I was so removed from our cultural celebrations of Christmas.  This year, this season, has given me pause to think through my beliefs and "feelings" on Christmas and I share with you here what God has been graciously teaching me.  
I am also mindful this year, as never before, of our brothers and sisters in China who celebrate Christmas every year without any of the glitter and pomp that we have here.  They must rely daily on Immanuel as they are faced with opposition and persecut!on for their faith.