“A table tree? For Christmas?” I could actually hear the whining in my voice as I responded to my husband’s suggestion. After all, decorating the tree is something I look forward to every year.

•  The tree is a canvas and each ornament is my paint. In fact, several years ago, I hand painted several ornaments. Okay, not by hand with a brush. I added paint to clear ornaments and swirled the paint around until I had the desired effect and then stored them upside down in an egg carton to dry.
• Each ornament has a story. Decorating the tree is a stroll down memory lane. We even have some antique ornaments and the fact they have survived my handling is nothing short of a miracle!
• The Christmas tree is a perfect tool for sharing the Gospel. Of course, I am not teaching anymore so the opportunity to present the Gospel using the tree is slim. Besides, I used a small tree as my prop when speaking in Awana or in the classroom. (Check out the archives for the Christmas Tree Gospel. I will repost later this month.)
• Decorating the Christmas tree is fun!

Of course, a small tree means less mess to clean up after Christmas and shouldn’t be a temptation for little Alice to climb into the tree.

So why does John want a small tree this year?

In 2011, our Maine Coon,  messed up the lights on the pre-lit tree and John had to fix it.

Last year we bought a wonderfully fragrant tree which did not want to fit into the new tree stand. The result was a lot of sawing and a sore back for my hubby!

We try to recapture the joy we experienced as children on Christmas morning and lose

perspective of the true meaning of Christmas.

• When we put so much time and effort decorating the tree and wrapping the gifts, it is easy to forget the true meaning of Christmas. All that glitter overshadows the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son; that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  John 3:16

So as we enter the season to be thankful and to praise Him, lets keep our focus on Him. After all, He was born to die on Calvary; He was wounded that I might live.  I may have to refer back to this when we go shopping for a small tree – one that is about the size of a manger.