Tag Archives: decorating for Christmas

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Every Heart Prepare Him Room

Many of us have spent lots of time recently decorating for Christmas, making cookies and other special goodies. We prepare our home inside and out with festive decorations. If you are like me – the ornaments and decorations hold many special memories themselves and getting them out and on display reminds me of happy times in years past.

I can’t give an accurate account of the amount of time I spend in holiday preparations, yet it is significant.

We sang my second favorite Christmas carol at our church service today – “Joy to the World”. The chorus includes these words – “let every heart, prepare Him room…” A friend, Kathryn Boyer, shared after worship that God had convicted her about that phrase. Was she preparing room in her heart for Jesus? The baby born of the virgin Mary. The promised Messiah. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

The Holy Spirit nudged me – no, it was more like a jab – and challenged me to consider the condition of my heart. Was there room being prepared in my heart for Jesus? Amidst all my decorating, baking, planning and preparing for Christmas was my heart ready for Jesus – the very reason that I celebrate Christmas???

What does it mean to “prepare Him room”?

  1. My first thought on this is making space in my busy schedule. Am I so busy I put aside prayer, Bible reading, worship, and/or fellowship? I must prioritize my time with Jesus.
  2. I must not let my preparations for Christmas push my relationship with Jesus – whose birth is why we celebrate Christmas – aside.
  3. Instead my very preparations should themselves “prepare room”. I can use decorations that celebrate the birth of Jesus and point to the reality of His birth.
  4. My baking and cooking can bless others by showing them love and care.
  5. Jesus wanted us, His followers, to share His love and meet the needs of those around us.
  6. Inviting others to share our celebration of Christmas is inviting Jesus. Jesus taught us that if we serve others, we are serving Him.

Preparing Him room in our hearts requires us to be intentional with our thoughts and actions.

Jesus tells us, His followers in Matthew 6:19-21 –

9 “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

The Amplified Version explains the meaning this way – “where your treasure is, there your heart [your wishes, your desires; that on which your life centers] will be also.”

If my celebration of Christmas centers on how amazing my lights and decorations are, how many dozens of cookies I can bake, or how stressed I am with all the grandchildren coming, I am NOT preparing room for Jesus. One step into eternity my collection of holiday china won’t mean a thing.

I desire to center my celebration of Jesus’ birth by preparing my heart to honor and worship Him. “May every heart prepare Him room.”

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Preparing for His Appearing

when they appear in spring …

This time of year I am preparing the places in our native plants area for the spring.

To prepare these places, I remove any debris that has fallen from trees and heavy leaf matter. I clean up all around, and then put a light, protective layer of leaves covering the soil where the trillium, trout lily, mayapple, bloodroot, lady slipper, and Solomon’s seal will appear come spring. As those leaves rot, they feed the soil which benefits the plant growth.

Doing this preparation work will allow these wildflowers to flourish, and it also allows the new growth to appear without the old dead stems and leaves diminishing the beauty of the new growth. Heavy leaf matter and large pieces of tree branches could prevent the new, tender shoots from pushing through when it warms up. This work does not show immediate effect like weeding and pruning do, yet over time its results show the value of the work.

Technically, it isn’t even winter yet, December 21 is that day, but it sure feels like winter. It was 21 degrees this morning and the frost on our deck table was white and thick. In years past, I waited too long before preparing for the emergence of our wildflowers. The flowers came up and when I began to clean up the leaf matter and sticks so the plants had room, I inadvertently damaged the young, tender shoots. There is no set date for trout lilies or bloodroot to emerge. They are usually the first wildflower to pop up along the edge of our yard and are the sign that the mayapples, trillium, and lady slippers will soon follow. Their appearance is determined by the weather, when it gets warm enough, the plants emerge – then bloom.

So, to allow the native plants their full growth potential, I must do the preparation work long before there is any sign of the future blooms.

Our Community Women’s Bible Study is studying the book of Revelation. I have been reminded that in Revelation John urges us as followers of Jesus to “be prepared” for His second appearing. This week, like many of us, I have been preparing our home for the arrival of Christmas. I have put up a tree, strung some lights outside, and gotten my mother’s Christmas china out. All these preparations celebrate Jesus’ first appearance on earth.

What have I done to prepare for His second coming?

Revelation 16:15 in the Amplified Version says –

15 “Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is he who stays awake and who keeps his clothes [that is, stays spiritually ready for the Lord’s return], so that he will not be naked—spiritually unprepared—and men will not see his shame.”

So, I don’t need to decorate my house or clean away leaf debris to prepare for Jesus second coming. As my friend Patti Harper said when we were reading this verse – “We need to be awake – aware – and attired.

Awake – realize that Jesus is coming AGAIN

Aware – that no matter what is happening around me – God is faithful

Attired – clothed in His righteousness, Jesus paid the price for my salvation

During these days of cold weather and darkness all around us, may we share the light of Jesus. His Light shines brightest in darkness. May our “hearts prepare Him room” as the beautiful carol “Joy to the World” reminds us.

Then we will be prepared for Jesus appearing.

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Let Our Hearts Prepare Him Room

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I have spent a significant amount of time this month preparing rooms. I usually wait until December 1st to start decorating, partly because I need to prepare the rooms to decorate. I love having family here over Thanksgiving, so there is a lot to clean up.

I don’t want to decorate dust bunnies.

What I enjoy most about decorating for Christmas are the memories. We have many “tacky” yet priceless ornaments that our children have made. Some have pictures on them which are especially fun for the grandchildren to see. “My mom looked like that?”

Preparing the rooms causes a flood of memories to sweep over me.

Where is the food?

The idea of “room” denotes two thoughts for me.

  1. room – a physical space defined by walls
  2. room – a space, place

One of my favorite Christmas Carols – Joy to the World – has a line that says – 

    Let every heart prepare Him room…

As this line repeated itself over and over in my mind I began to think of the meaning of those words.

How do I prepare room in my heart?

I thought about how I prepare the rooms in my home.

  • clean out the dirt and mess
  • put out clean sheets and towels
  • fill the room with pleasant smells
  • decorate the room so guests feel welcome – like a favorite book or toy

This parallels what I must do in my heart to prepare my life to receive Jesus.

  • clean out the sin by asking forgiveness and repenting  – I John 1:9
  • put on the robe of righteousness that Jesus gives – Isaiah 61:10
  • worship, show love – these are a sweet fragrance to God – Ephesians 5:2 AMP
  • fill my heart with God’s Word, write His words on my heart – Proverbs 3:3

Once my heart is prepared, Jesus will live in me through His Spirit. I must be intentional about preparing to receive Jesus  – just as I am intentional about decorating rooms in my house for Christmas. An artist friend, Sheila Atchley, posted yesterday that “We can only give to others what we first OWN for ourselves.”  YES!  Only that which is in our hearts. Are our hearts prepared for Jesus?

Isaiah 9: 6-7 says –

6 For a child is born to us,
    a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
    And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 His government and its peace
    will never end.
He will rule with fairness and justice from                                                                                           the throne of his ancestor David
    for all eternity.

Let our hearts prepare Him room.

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