I’m already tired of Christmas music. It must have been the beginning of November when that local radio station (you know which one I’m referring to) began playing nothing but Christmas music. It seems like as soon as I was done chasing the “trick-or-treat-ers” off my front porch, I had to put the Merry Christmas welcome mat out. I’m not sure why people like to push the Christmas season so far forward into the year. I hope it’s not all about money. The rule in my house (which my wife didn’t follow very well) is that there will be no Christmas music until after Thanksgiving. But after Thanksgiving the decorations can go up, the shopping can begin, and the radio can be turned on. But this year my wife and I have been rethinking Christmas. We thought about everything we do at Christmas that has nothing to do with Jesus. Sure, the Christmas tree, candy canes, lights, wreaths, gift-giving and most everything else can be used to remind us of something about Jesus, but we can also do all those things and not think a thing about Jesus. We don’t really do them as acts of worship. They’re just part of our culture. So what if we stripped away from Christmas everything that has nothing to do with Jesus? My wife and I have already changed the way we do gift-giving. We don’t want to teach our girls that Christmas is about getting stuff. They’re going to get a few gifts, but they’re also going to hear the story of Jesus. What if we stripped away from Christmas everything that has nothing to do with Jesus? We wouldn’t be left with much, just the manger scene. And come to think of it, that’s how Jesus came to this earth – not with pomp and circumstance, but in obscurity, in a manger. Christmas doesn’t need all the stuff, all the activity, and all the music. But then it strikes me… Every time my wife turns on that radio station, in between “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” and “I Saw Mama Kissing Santa Claus,” I hear a traditional carol and the simple story of Jesus.