Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays!

Today is one of those days where I woke up apparently looking for countless ways to piss off the religious spirit.

Merry Christmas gets some Christians in a tizzy.

Happy Holidays gets some Christians in a tizzy.

Happy Hanukkah get people asking you if you’re Jewish.

And for the overcoming survivor community, sometimes just seeing christmas colors can activate programming  that can cause a significant impact of them from an inner healing perspective.

I’m not going to open up that conversation today, but December can be a challenge in many different aspects for many different walks of life.

As for the should/shouldn’t question that’s on the heart of many believers right now, I’ll share my journey with the Christmas Celebration thing. Take my sharing as an idea, not as a hard rule. Your walk is your walk. Your intimacy with Yeshua is yours to own and steward. 

In 2017 I donated all my Christmas decor… pretty much anything that was affiliated with the holiday and the celebration.

We didn’t celebrate any modern western holidays for several years only focusing on Hebrew roots holidays and with that a ton of legalism and man made rules. Rebranded religion. I call this the pendulum swing. When you’ve been in one camp and see an entirely new perspective, usually there’s a swing. 

Here’s the thing though. We don’t need a pendulum to swing  in the opposite direction. We need a plumb-line to anchor us into alignment with truth.

In 2019 I had an encounter with Yeshua, Father God, and Holy Spirit. I was taken to a winter cabin with a massive hearth and huge fire. Yeshua was outside with others (angelic?) having a snowball fight. He was totally acting like a big brother you found completely safe and admired. When I arrived, he threw a playful snowball at me that landed right on the surface of my coat, but melted into my heart. I realized I had forgotten play and fun around winter time.

Yeshua went with me inside the cabin after that.

When I walked in, Abba God was sitting on a huge sofa and motioned for me to come sit by him and enjoy the fire from the hearth. Off to the side was Holy Spirit making cookies and hot cocoa.

As I recall, it *felt* like picture perfect Christmas, but I don’t remember if there was pagan decor (holly leaves, trees, red/green, Nordic symbols to Odin/Jupiter).

I came away from that encounter recalling Colossians 16:2 which also gets into food choices, sabbath observance, and certain holidays.

God’s redemption can permeate through all of it and our co-creating intention (free will) to partner with God’s goodness is highly powerful and impactful in every season. That doesn’t mean sweep your convictions under the rug.  For me, this had to do with working out ones deliverance with Awe of God and with reverence for His power. The entire heart posture of considering releasing the tradition of Christmas indicates reverence and submission to God’s Kingdom. At the same time, the heart posture of engaging Joy and celebrating King Jesus is also an honorable heart posture. 

Personally, our family doesn’t do Santa or elves etc. But we do give gifts to family and loved ones while enjoying those kinds of festivities with joy and gratitude for our community.

Friendly Reminder that:

Joy is strength – winter is usually a time of increased illnesses.

Laughter is medicine – we need to stay emotionally light due to the shorter days and less Vit D. 

Community is a safety net that keeps us from isolation – winter can be long and isolating for so many. 

It’s also a time to remember that some of these celebrations can be highly triggering for cult loyal alters/parts. Mercy in this season is vital for healing.

So wherever you land on the topic, blessings of The King to you and your family. May you know the Light of the World and truly engage it.