King David & Christmas?

So many years I end up completely overwhelmed at Christmas.  It seems that every year there are more and more people to buy gifts for, more activities to attend, more recipes to try, more, more, more.  It can get expensive and time consuming and stressful.  But why? 

In a very early morning insomnia-induced prayer session, I was reading my Bible and came across the passage where David is bringing the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem.  Now, if you remember, this was a big deal.  A very big deal.  And how did they honor the occasion?

They brought the Ark of God and placed it inside the special tent David had prepared for it. And they presented burnt offerings and peace offerings to God. When he had finished his sacrifices, David blessed the people in the name of the Lord. Then he gave to every man and woman in all Israel a loaf of bread, a cake of dates,^[a] and a cake of raisins.

1 Chronicles 16:1-3 NLT

David made certain that they did three things to honor this momentous occasion:

1. They presented burnt offerings and peace offerings to God.
2. He blessed the people in the name of the Lord.
3. He presented gifts of bread, cakes of dates and cakes of raisins.

If you're my friends and family, you might be getting worried that you'll be getting fruit cake from me for Christmas!  You won't, I promise!  But I can tell you this.  You will be getting extra prayer this season.  Know that I have purposed in my heart to lift those I love up to the Father with extra care and attention.  And you'll be getting simple, meaningful, heartfelt gifts.

I still plan to have some crafts and fun recipes to show you over the next month.  But also know that my heart is to find simplicity this year, to avoid anything complicated and to really embrace the spirit of Advent, of honoring the One who came, who continually comes and who will come again. As part of that, I plan to do a weekly post on each Sunday of Advent.  I hope you'll join me on the journey.