My aunt and uncle smoked cigarettes and had a full bar in their basement. There was a refrigerator completely dedicated to bottles of any kind of ice-cold soda you could ever want! And we could help ourselves! They had both a full-size pool table AND ping pong table! And we could watch the football games sitting on their cozy furniture on their COLOR TV all day long! This was in the 1960s and 1970s and I didn’t know anyone cooler than them!

I wanted to be just like my aunt when I grew up! She was an executive secretary, and my mom was a homemaker. My aunt wore smart business clothes and mom wore stretch pants. Aunt Janet was thinner, my mom a bit more plump. Mom wore curlers to bed on Saturday night so her hair would look nice for church, and my aunt got her hair done weekly at a salon. My dad was a farmer; handsome, but quiet. My uncle always drew attention when he walked into a room and was very boisterous!

As an immature child, and even a teenager, I couldn’t discern that what I had was way better!

My cool, smoking aunt died of lung cancer. My uncle died of Cirrhosis of the liver. My cousins were estranged from each other up until the death of the youngest one in a tragic drunk driving accident. The things that made their lives seem so fun, ultimately destroyed them.

My aunt was raised in a Christian home and was a believer and yet her family slowly drifted out of the light and into darkness because it didn’t LOOK like darkness. It looked like a whole lot of fun and freedom, and as it was celebrated in that basement every Thanksgiving, it’s what I thought I wanted!

Matthew 5:14-16 says “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.”

Scripture warns us that Satan “masquerades” as light. It will seem bright and shiny and very much like that fun basement did to me as a child. But it will ultimately destroy us. Satan can’t live in the light, and he doesn’t want you to live there either!

We Christians can’t shine a light to lead the captives out of the darkness if our lights are becoming increasingly dim in this dark world. How do we re-charge?

I believe we must be as intentional about putting our spiritual lives on a charger as we are about doing that with our cell phones. And Christmas is a perfect time to re-charge our spiritual batteries! Christmas is a story of longing fulfilled, but sadly, it can instead become a frenzy of gifts, parties, decorations, and spending money we don’t really have. But it doesn’t have to be that way!

We are about to enter the season of Advent-which simply means “arrival” or “coming.” This year Advent is from December 1-24 and the theme for 2024 is “Follow the Star.” Now THERE is a true light!!

Are you afraid to follow the Star? Would you have to leave behind some of the time-consuming traditions that your family and friends expect of you? What would it look like if you lived without the fear that someone would love you less if you didn’t perform to their Christmas expectations and instead, intentionally and daily follow that Star to Bethlehem and worship like the Angels did? And what if your family followed YOUR light as you journey there?

Beyond Christmas, what would it look like to live your entire life without that kind of fear?

What would it look like to take your faith to the next level? I can tell you that it looks like, feels like and IS true freedom and real peace! That’s what Jesus brought us when He came as a baby to that manger all those years ago.

Jesus is the STAR of Christmas! Follow Him and let’s light it up this Advent Season!