As the calendar propels us thru these final months of the year, taking us right smack into the fast approaching ‘holiday season,’ we must hold back and remember where our hearts lie. Even though we have come to that time of the year when all of the stores and advertisers scream at us to join the frenzy, to abandon ourselves to the chaos and join in the frantic rush to fill our lives with excess and celebrations. As a Christian people, we must pause and recollect our calm. We must aim to maintain our sense of peace, while focusing on true reason for the coming season; the fact that God was made Man, in Christ.

This year, the season of Advent begins December 1st, just a few short days after Thanksgiving. Yet, if you walk through any of the shopping malls or big box stores… the ‘holiday gift buying season‘ is already in full swing. It seems that the time between All Hallow’s Eve and Christmas continues to shrink… pulling us… thrusting us into the mad dash of ‘holiday’ shopping, and all the worldly notions that go with it.

Every year, Thanksgiving gets glossed over, almost forgotten... as the retail giants tempt us into spending what we don’t have on things we don’t need. We are prompted to believe that we have got to buy into all of this or somehow we are failing. It’s as, if  we don’t join in, we have done something wrong. And for many of us, these nagging doubts chew away at our peace. Unsettling the peaceful quiet of our souls. And this my friends, is no way to approach the coming holy celebrations.

As we make our preparations for Thanksgiving, let’s not forget to approach God with a thankful heart… He is, after-all, the source of everything that is good. We must strive to maintain a sense of humility and peace within our souls. We have got to stop measuring our worth by the values of a world gone mad with greed. Don’t lose yourself in the measure of man… for that is not what we were created for… Have a heart filled with gratitude for all that the Lord has given you… that is what is a good. Even when it doesn’t seem so good…

It is a hard battle to remain focused on what really matters, when the world is trying to tempt you away from your ultimate goals. Maintain your regimen of prayer and keep your faith at the center of all your preparations. And contrary to what the world tells you, giving your heart to the Lord and living for Him, will give you true happiness and joy. It may sound a bit odd and seem like a radical idea, but it can be done… And as Christians we have got to stop being a part of the secular world. We’ve got to decide to maintain our sense of  prayer  and even when our days get crammed with activities and distractions, we have got to maintain our sense of the Lord… maintain our sense of the Sacred.