Tunesday Tuesday & a little something extra.

We starting singing Christmas songs at church a few Sundays ago and while a most of them are familiar to me, there are some new ones as well. I'm sharing with you one that I instantly fell in love with, called Ven a Mi Corazón O Christo. The chorus sings: 

ven a mi corazon oh Cristo (come to my heart oh Christ)
pues en el hay lugar para ti (for in it there is room for you)

 This song reminds me that regardless of the setting we find Christ in, He is available to anyone's heart at anytime if we open ourselves up to Him. 

Setting is especially important for me to remember this Christmas season as I find myself away from home on Christmas for the first time in my life and it doesn't really 'feel like Christmas'. I say that as a phrase because what does it mean to feel like Christmas anyway?? Christmas is a date on the calendar that we set aside to celebrate the arrival, the birth of our SAVIOR. The Messiah who was has come to take the sins of the world, once and for all. This is a HUGE deal. 

So why then, does this not feel like Christmas? Yes, I see Christmas trees in Apartment lobbies, and lights in window shops. Store windows have for weeks now been advertising Felices Fiestas, or Happy Holidays,  but to me this all just says commercialism. I'm looking for the meaning of Christmas here. And don't get me wrong, I have seen signs posted around the city that say JESUS ES NAVIDAD, or JESUS IS CHRISTMAS. I have seen life size nativity sets even. Is that what defines Christmas?

Personally, growing up in the midwest, I'm missing the cold temps accompanied by snow. Missing the Starbucks Christmas cups when necessary (sorry, BA, but I'm not going to get a hot drink when it's 85 outside. Try again in July with the Christmas cups please?). Missing the long drives to work because of ice covered highways. Ha, just kidding there ;) Missing a big Christmas tree with all the presents under it and all the house decorations.

But, when I realized I was missing that last one, I scared myself.

America has so trained us and wrapped our minds to associating Christmas with the Birth of Jesus AND decorations, songs, festive things. But what happens when we strip that all away and focus solely on Jesus. Afterall, without Him, this holiday would just be another day on the calendar.

the largest nativity scene I've ever seen in the heart of downtown

snowglobes without the snow? in BA they are!

shopping malls are ready for Christmas!