Christian Retailing

GENI: Making time for what truly matters Print Email
Written by Staff   
Tuesday, 14 December 2010 03:15 PM America/New_York

A message from Geni Hulsey, president of the Church Bookstore Network:

For church bookstore managers and workers, this time of year can come and go without our “feet touching the ground.” It seems once Thanksgiving week comes, almost before we know it New Year’s Day has arrived.

In the midst of taking care of the urgent, it is all too easy to miss the truly lasting things of this time of celebration, so my prayer for you during this season is that you will take time for faith, family and friends.

These are some of the things I find most important at Christmastime:

C is for Christ. He is the centerpiece of this special time of year. Without Him. Dec. 25 would be just another date on the calendar

H is for home. This time of year our hearts turn back to that first place we called home, as well as that place that we now call home.

R is for remembering. One of my favorite things to do this time of year is to look back at old photographs of Christmases past. There are silly things, special gifts, family members now passed and celebrations to be treasured.

I is for illuminate. Christmas is filled with lights—on the tree, around the house and all around the city. But mostly it is filled with the “light of the world.” In a very dark time in our world, Christ comes to shed the light of His truth.

S is for salvation. Because of Christmas and the reason for this season, salvation came into the world. And because of salvation, there is hope beyond this world.

T is for the tree that most of us put in our homes. It also reminds us of the tree that came into the life of Christ as the cross on which He bore our sins.

M is for Mary, the mother of the One whose birth we celebrate; the young woman who nurtured the child who was Messiah. I love the line in the song, “Mary, Did You Know,” that asks, “Did you know that when you kissed him, you kissed the face of God?”

A is for angels, the angels that announced the birth of the Christ whose birth we celebrate. On a clear cool night, I love to look into the heavens and imagine what it might be like to see the skies filled with angels singing “Hosanna.”

S is for shepherds—those who followed. They followed a star to a manger and a Savior. We follow the Savior to the cross and eternal life.

There are so many things that are a part of this wonderful time, and for each of us, there are special people and special times. I pray that God would bring each of you special gifts of peace, love and joy this Christmas season.