The Merry Is Up to Me
by Mrs. Cathy Corle
God gave us the gift of His Son, and that’s what Christmas is all about. Not many people reading this would disagree on that fact. God is the Supreme Giver, and we merely follow His example when we give a gift to express love to those we cherish. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (James 1:17) “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” (Luke 11:13) If there is anything you’d like to know about giving, you can learn it from the Lord. “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)
And the similarities and comparisons seem endless. If any of us were to give an extremely sacrificial gift out of our love for someone, to see that gift refused and rejected would deeply grieve our hearts. A gift must be received, not earned or deserved, just thankfully received and appreciated. That is all that the giver hopes for, as well as all that God expects.
Giving a gift is expressing our love. Each person has an individual responsibility to respond to the love that God has for them that prompted Him to be willing to give His Son to die in their place. “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:” (John 1:12) “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
You really can’t say it enough, no matter how often it’s been repeated.
I love to tell the story, most precious to repeat;
It seems each time I tell it more wonderfully sweet.
I love to tell the story for some have never heard
The Message of salvation from God’s own holy Word.
I love to tell the story, for those who know it best
Seem hungering and thirsting to heart it, like the rest.
I love to tell the story, for some have never heard
The message of salvation from God’s own holy word.
I love to tell the story ‘Twill be my theme in glory
To tell the old, old story Of Jesus and His love.
Have you received the gift of eternal salvation, forgiveness, cleansing, and an eternal home in Heaven, by receiving the Gift of Jesus Christ into your heart? If you don’t know that for certain, there is no better time than the Christmas season to receive this most important Gift that God has paid for and offers to you freely. Right now, I hope you will sincerely ask the Lord to forgive your sins and come into your heart if you don’t have perfect peace that you’ve settled that transaction before. He promised, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. ... For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:9, 10, 13)
That’s exactly what Christmas is all about, as well as what the Bible is all about -- the Gospel message. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16) “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved... For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:” (I Corinthians 15:1-4)
So God gave us Christmas, and that in itself is a wonderful gift, the time for celebrating Christ’s coming into this world to live a perfect life and die a vicarious death in our place, to pay for the sin debt that we owed and provide a way for us enter into His Heavenly Home, and for it to be our home eternally, together with Him.
Yes, God gave us Christmas, but the MERRY is up to ME! We not only wish others a Merry Christmas, that’s exactly what we wish for ourselves and those we love, too. If we made a ‘wish list’ about the holiday season, before any material possessions or gifts, I’m sure the top of the list would be filled with words like happiness, joy, peace, contentment, togetherness, closeness, love, comfort, home, belonging...
So I think I’m safe to say that wishes for a merry Christmas are not just my wishes for others, to be sent off in greeting cards. Those wishes are at the top of my wish list, as well, for myself and those I love. But whether or not I’m going to enjoy a merry Christmas and a happy holiday time, or a happy day on any block on my calendar, has more to do with the choices made by me, than the actions of anyone else.
Even though it’s meant to be ‘the most wonderful time of the year,’ for lots of people in this world, Christmas seems to be more of a time of sadness and depression and feeling blue. For some, it’s a feeling of hopelessness that the life and home and happiness they desire is not a reality, at least at this point in time. For others, it’s a sense of loneliness and need, maybe even regret. Perhaps for a few it’s coming face to face with the results of their past deeds, wrong priorities, sinful habits or lack of character.
Whether it’s facing a problem that we know is our own fault, or feeling defeated because of something that is totally beyond our control, the holiday time seems to magnify that sense of loss to even greater proportions. It might involve feeling pressured to attain a fairy-tale level of happiness that doesn’t even exist on this side of Heaven, or the other extreme, coming face to face with some grim reality. I’m sure there can be many different contributors and situations, but private pain is still the result.
“The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.” (Matthew 4:16) Here, in the life and ministry and purpose of Jesus, we find the fulfillment of Isaiah’s Christmas prophecy. “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.... For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:2, 6)
So for us who are the born again children of God, living in the light of His love, the Bible offers hope, peace, light, and love. It has the power to deliver us from unnecessarily suffering through an endless succession of dark days, especially during a season meant to focus on the joy that the Christ of Christmas longs to give us.
I know there are also some people each December who are facing the first Christmas season without someone they loved who is gone now, and I would not, for one second, make light of their grief. But even in that time of sorrow, we have the choice of whether we focus on thanking God for all the days that we had together with them, or only on the fact that we are not together now. We still have choices to make.
Whether it’s on a small scale about some problem or pressure that subtracts from my holiday joy, or on the other end of the spectrum, where it threatens devastation on a much grander scale, I think we all come face to face with choices that will determine our outlook during the holidays, as well as throughout the year. So I invite you to join me in choosing Christmas joy this year.
Focus on having a Merry heart.
A joyful outlook is what makes a merry Christmas, but again, the merry is up to me. The word ‘happy’ in the Bible is synonymous with the word ‘blessed,’ and stopping to realize how blessed I am will surely result in a happier me. “Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the LORD.” (Psalm 144:15) “Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God:” (Psalm 146: 5)
But another word that closely mirrors our concept of ‘happy’ is the word ‘merry’ -- the very word used in our Merry Christmas wishes. “A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance; but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken... All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast.” (Proverbs 15:13, 15)
One of the things that has always stood out to me about this verse is that a merry heart is the cause, not the result. A person who decides to be afflicted, depressed, oh-woe-is-me, is going to have all bad days -- or at least find the bad they are looking for in every day. But the person who chooses to have a merry heart and happy outlook has a continual feast, a constant celebration, a party all the time. “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.” (Proverbs 17:22) A merry heart is beneficial, helpful, and healthy, not just for the people around me, but especially for me. A merry heart doeth good. It does me good first, and then I can pass that on to others.
Merry is a Bible word that’s associated with these definitions: glad, blithe, gleeful, joyful, rejoicing, bright, cheerful. I think that is what we want, but is that what we choose? The first step to a happy heart is to choose to be happy and merry and positive. Don’t be the Scrooge or the Grinch that steals away Christmas joy from yourself! While many things in life may be out of your control, the choice to have a merry heart is entirely up to you.
Focus on what you have more than what you wish you had
It’s appropriate for any day or any season. Count your blessings and demand a recount. Cultivate an attitude of gratitude. If Eve had kept her eyes on all that she had in her perfect marriage, perfect husband, and perfect home, she would have realized how much she had to be thankful for (and how much she had to lose!), and avoided untold heartache and devastation.
Yet the best woman in the best circumstances was derailed when she failed to look at what she had, but instead got her focus on what she thought she might be missing. The devil has never stopped using that trick, because it works every time. On my worst day, I have so much to thank God for and so many blessings in my life. It’s my choice whether I focus on them or not.
Focus on reality, not fairy tale fantasy.
I think Christmas longings are only one of the areas where we, as ladies, are sometimes caught in the devil’s trap of unreasonable expectations. None of us float out on a cloud every morning or live in picture-perfect homes with fairy tale characters. We probably wouldn’t want to either.
But the “American Dream” and the “Picture Perfect Christmas” are just two of the unrealistic goals that can bring disillusionment, disappointment and discontent. Not only does it set us up for certain disappointment, but those kinds of unrealistic goals set us up for failure, as well, and cause us to pile up our calendars and to-do lists with more than one person can possibly handle. It’s a recipe for disaster, right from the start.
This year, let’s choose some realistic and reachable goals and desires for how we can make our family’s holidays happier.
Focus on giving more than getting
If all I’m expecting is the opportunity to give, then I am in complete control of my contentment. But when I entertain expectations, then I’m setting myself up to be hurt or disappointed. It’s true in relationships as well as gifts. If I expect to be treated in a certain way or remembered or honored by someone who is important to me, then when all the pieces don’t fall into place like I planned, I’m the one who hurt myself, not the person who is unaware of what I was secretly expecting.
But if I will keep my focus on giving and loving others, then whatever I receive is an unexpected surprise and blessing, and can be appreciated for exactly what it is and the love that prompted it. It is more blessed to give than to receive, and one of the reasons for that is that giving is never a disappointment, and always heaps up blessings in return.
Focus on the spiritual more than the material.
You’ve heard before that, “The best things in life are not things.” The whole purpose of a gift is to express love even though it may also meet a need. Our kids don’t need the latest toy or game nearly as much as they need us, and they need us at our best, not the left-overs after I’ve given 80 hours a week for a paycheck to buy them more stuff.
Remembering what Christ has done for us in salvation, sharing that good news with those who have never heard, providing our family with a loving home and a happy mom, those count much more than dollar signs. Focus on Christ and the gift of salvation as the reason why we celebrate. If we do that, then even if finances are not as good as they’ve been in other years, celebrating Christmas is unaffected, because it’s not about the price tag, but the love behind a gift.
It’s a good piece of advice: “Simplify Christmas. Just celebrate CHRIST.” Be careful not to let the busy-ness that comes with all the extra holiday events crowd out your time spent with the One who really matters at Christmas time. Protect your Bible reading and prayer time and don’t let it be stolen away by things of lesser importance and value.
I’ve been told that the only person who can ruin my day is me. If so, then it’s also true that the one person who can decide for me to have the merry kind of Christmas that I want to enjoy is also me. The only person who can choose for me to have a merry heart and a happy day and a joyful outlook on life -- yes, that’s me. So today I’m making a choice to enjoy the Christmas season more than ever before.
God gave the Gift of Christmas, yet still, the merry is up to me!
And the similarities and comparisons seem endless. If any of us were to give an extremely sacrificial gift out of our love for someone, to see that gift refused and rejected would deeply grieve our hearts. A gift must be received, not earned or deserved, just thankfully received and appreciated. That is all that the giver hopes for, as well as all that God expects.
Giving a gift is expressing our love. Each person has an individual responsibility to respond to the love that God has for them that prompted Him to be willing to give His Son to die in their place. “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:” (John 1:12) “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
You really can’t say it enough, no matter how often it’s been repeated.
I love to tell the story, most precious to repeat;
It seems each time I tell it more wonderfully sweet.
I love to tell the story for some have never heard
The Message of salvation from God’s own holy Word.
I love to tell the story, for those who know it best
Seem hungering and thirsting to heart it, like the rest.
I love to tell the story, for some have never heard
The message of salvation from God’s own holy word.
I love to tell the story ‘Twill be my theme in glory
To tell the old, old story Of Jesus and His love.
Have you received the gift of eternal salvation, forgiveness, cleansing, and an eternal home in Heaven, by receiving the Gift of Jesus Christ into your heart? If you don’t know that for certain, there is no better time than the Christmas season to receive this most important Gift that God has paid for and offers to you freely. Right now, I hope you will sincerely ask the Lord to forgive your sins and come into your heart if you don’t have perfect peace that you’ve settled that transaction before. He promised, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. ... For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:9, 10, 13)
That’s exactly what Christmas is all about, as well as what the Bible is all about -- the Gospel message. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16) “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved... For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:” (I Corinthians 15:1-4)
So God gave us Christmas, and that in itself is a wonderful gift, the time for celebrating Christ’s coming into this world to live a perfect life and die a vicarious death in our place, to pay for the sin debt that we owed and provide a way for us enter into His Heavenly Home, and for it to be our home eternally, together with Him.
Yes, God gave us Christmas, but the MERRY is up to ME! We not only wish others a Merry Christmas, that’s exactly what we wish for ourselves and those we love, too. If we made a ‘wish list’ about the holiday season, before any material possessions or gifts, I’m sure the top of the list would be filled with words like happiness, joy, peace, contentment, togetherness, closeness, love, comfort, home, belonging...
So I think I’m safe to say that wishes for a merry Christmas are not just my wishes for others, to be sent off in greeting cards. Those wishes are at the top of my wish list, as well, for myself and those I love. But whether or not I’m going to enjoy a merry Christmas and a happy holiday time, or a happy day on any block on my calendar, has more to do with the choices made by me, than the actions of anyone else.
Even though it’s meant to be ‘the most wonderful time of the year,’ for lots of people in this world, Christmas seems to be more of a time of sadness and depression and feeling blue. For some, it’s a feeling of hopelessness that the life and home and happiness they desire is not a reality, at least at this point in time. For others, it’s a sense of loneliness and need, maybe even regret. Perhaps for a few it’s coming face to face with the results of their past deeds, wrong priorities, sinful habits or lack of character.
Whether it’s facing a problem that we know is our own fault, or feeling defeated because of something that is totally beyond our control, the holiday time seems to magnify that sense of loss to even greater proportions. It might involve feeling pressured to attain a fairy-tale level of happiness that doesn’t even exist on this side of Heaven, or the other extreme, coming face to face with some grim reality. I’m sure there can be many different contributors and situations, but private pain is still the result.
“The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.” (Matthew 4:16) Here, in the life and ministry and purpose of Jesus, we find the fulfillment of Isaiah’s Christmas prophecy. “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.... For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:2, 6)
So for us who are the born again children of God, living in the light of His love, the Bible offers hope, peace, light, and love. It has the power to deliver us from unnecessarily suffering through an endless succession of dark days, especially during a season meant to focus on the joy that the Christ of Christmas longs to give us.
I know there are also some people each December who are facing the first Christmas season without someone they loved who is gone now, and I would not, for one second, make light of their grief. But even in that time of sorrow, we have the choice of whether we focus on thanking God for all the days that we had together with them, or only on the fact that we are not together now. We still have choices to make.
Whether it’s on a small scale about some problem or pressure that subtracts from my holiday joy, or on the other end of the spectrum, where it threatens devastation on a much grander scale, I think we all come face to face with choices that will determine our outlook during the holidays, as well as throughout the year. So I invite you to join me in choosing Christmas joy this year.
Focus on having a Merry heart.
A joyful outlook is what makes a merry Christmas, but again, the merry is up to me. The word ‘happy’ in the Bible is synonymous with the word ‘blessed,’ and stopping to realize how blessed I am will surely result in a happier me. “Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the LORD.” (Psalm 144:15) “Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God:” (Psalm 146: 5)
But another word that closely mirrors our concept of ‘happy’ is the word ‘merry’ -- the very word used in our Merry Christmas wishes. “A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance; but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken... All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast.” (Proverbs 15:13, 15)
One of the things that has always stood out to me about this verse is that a merry heart is the cause, not the result. A person who decides to be afflicted, depressed, oh-woe-is-me, is going to have all bad days -- or at least find the bad they are looking for in every day. But the person who chooses to have a merry heart and happy outlook has a continual feast, a constant celebration, a party all the time. “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.” (Proverbs 17:22) A merry heart is beneficial, helpful, and healthy, not just for the people around me, but especially for me. A merry heart doeth good. It does me good first, and then I can pass that on to others.
Merry is a Bible word that’s associated with these definitions: glad, blithe, gleeful, joyful, rejoicing, bright, cheerful. I think that is what we want, but is that what we choose? The first step to a happy heart is to choose to be happy and merry and positive. Don’t be the Scrooge or the Grinch that steals away Christmas joy from yourself! While many things in life may be out of your control, the choice to have a merry heart is entirely up to you.
Focus on what you have more than what you wish you had
It’s appropriate for any day or any season. Count your blessings and demand a recount. Cultivate an attitude of gratitude. If Eve had kept her eyes on all that she had in her perfect marriage, perfect husband, and perfect home, she would have realized how much she had to be thankful for (and how much she had to lose!), and avoided untold heartache and devastation.
Yet the best woman in the best circumstances was derailed when she failed to look at what she had, but instead got her focus on what she thought she might be missing. The devil has never stopped using that trick, because it works every time. On my worst day, I have so much to thank God for and so many blessings in my life. It’s my choice whether I focus on them or not.
Focus on reality, not fairy tale fantasy.
I think Christmas longings are only one of the areas where we, as ladies, are sometimes caught in the devil’s trap of unreasonable expectations. None of us float out on a cloud every morning or live in picture-perfect homes with fairy tale characters. We probably wouldn’t want to either.
But the “American Dream” and the “Picture Perfect Christmas” are just two of the unrealistic goals that can bring disillusionment, disappointment and discontent. Not only does it set us up for certain disappointment, but those kinds of unrealistic goals set us up for failure, as well, and cause us to pile up our calendars and to-do lists with more than one person can possibly handle. It’s a recipe for disaster, right from the start.
This year, let’s choose some realistic and reachable goals and desires for how we can make our family’s holidays happier.
Focus on giving more than getting
If all I’m expecting is the opportunity to give, then I am in complete control of my contentment. But when I entertain expectations, then I’m setting myself up to be hurt or disappointed. It’s true in relationships as well as gifts. If I expect to be treated in a certain way or remembered or honored by someone who is important to me, then when all the pieces don’t fall into place like I planned, I’m the one who hurt myself, not the person who is unaware of what I was secretly expecting.
But if I will keep my focus on giving and loving others, then whatever I receive is an unexpected surprise and blessing, and can be appreciated for exactly what it is and the love that prompted it. It is more blessed to give than to receive, and one of the reasons for that is that giving is never a disappointment, and always heaps up blessings in return.
Focus on the spiritual more than the material.
You’ve heard before that, “The best things in life are not things.” The whole purpose of a gift is to express love even though it may also meet a need. Our kids don’t need the latest toy or game nearly as much as they need us, and they need us at our best, not the left-overs after I’ve given 80 hours a week for a paycheck to buy them more stuff.
Remembering what Christ has done for us in salvation, sharing that good news with those who have never heard, providing our family with a loving home and a happy mom, those count much more than dollar signs. Focus on Christ and the gift of salvation as the reason why we celebrate. If we do that, then even if finances are not as good as they’ve been in other years, celebrating Christmas is unaffected, because it’s not about the price tag, but the love behind a gift.
It’s a good piece of advice: “Simplify Christmas. Just celebrate CHRIST.” Be careful not to let the busy-ness that comes with all the extra holiday events crowd out your time spent with the One who really matters at Christmas time. Protect your Bible reading and prayer time and don’t let it be stolen away by things of lesser importance and value.
I’ve been told that the only person who can ruin my day is me. If so, then it’s also true that the one person who can decide for me to have the merry kind of Christmas that I want to enjoy is also me. The only person who can choose for me to have a merry heart and a happy day and a joyful outlook on life -- yes, that’s me. So today I’m making a choice to enjoy the Christmas season more than ever before.
God gave the Gift of Christmas, yet still, the merry is up to me!
