With six shopping days left until Christmas, many of you may still be searching for that perfect gift; wrapping way past your bedtime; joining the stampede at your local post office; and putting last minute touches on everything from your decorating to your dinner plans to your gingerbread men.

Ahhh! Christmas.

I anticipate its arrival every year with a spirit open to its marvelous story; and I engage midway through its certain presence with anxiety about getting everything done. My most dreaded fear: winding up too exhausted, too spent, and too complacent to thoroughly embrace the message and the miracle of Christmas.

Friends have cautioned meparticularly this year, what with Nicks leukemia and almost-daily three-hour round-trips to the clinic where he receives chemotherapythat this would be a good year to not be overly involved in preparations for Christmas. Not to not do Christmasfor how could a Christian ignore one of the holiest days of the year? But to scale back in the traditional celebrations of the season. And I have. No ladies luncheon at my house (a tradition for the past ten years or so); no dinner parties, either (another favorite tradition); no offering to host a session of the neighborhood progressive dinner party. Some even questioned if we would put up a tree this year! Or go to the trouble of decorating!

Our tree went up several weeks ago, as did pinecone-studded garlands and candle lights in every window. And my Byers Choice carolers, handcrafted Saint Nicks, and folk art angels have been lovingly set out throughout the house.

For Christmas comes regardless of ones circumstances. And we need to celebrate it.

But the one thing that friends most cautioned me aboutwith my best interests at heart to be surewas to foregone gift-giving this year. That taking care of our son need be our highest priority and that everything else could, and should, fall by the wayside. The friendly advice was purely cautionary: dont wear yourself out. Go easy this year. No need to shop, to wrap, to ship, to deliver. Forget the trouble of wrapping paper, gift tags, Christmas cards, and photos. Standing in line at the post officewhatare you nutz?!?

And it was good advice. Friendly, loving advice. But I just couldnt help it. And I hope you cant either. Christmas is not about acquiring, and we all know that. Christmas is about giving, and weve all heard that, too. No news flash here. But God was generous in His gift of His son, and having fully embraced this truth, I cannot help but give also.

Eugene Peterson, one of my most beloved authors and the translator of THE MESSAGE, said it beautifully: Giving is the style of the universe. Giving is woven into the fabric of existence. (1) In this lavish order of the world that God created, giving serves a central role. God gave away His son, Jesus, for all of us to accept as a gift. And one of the ways in which we celebrate this gift is to give, also.

Again, from Peterson: Giving is what we do best. It is the air into which we were born. It is the action that was designed into us before our birth. Giving is the way the world is. God gives himself. He also gives away everything that is. He makes no exceptions for any of us. We are given away to our families, to our neighbors, to our friends, to our enemiesto the nations. Our life is for others. That is the way creation works. (2)

I give at Christmas because God gave to me. He gave me His son who would take center stage in my life. And celebrating this at Christmas gives me unexplainable joy. Through injury, accidents, and now, through my sons cancer: I give because I just cant help it. My gifts are not extravagant. Not to my friends, certainly. They are always tiny tokens of appreciation for the gift of intimate relationship. And what a precious gift that is! And theyre usually not extravagant to my kids or to my husband, either. The point here is not to indulge in materialistic expressions that stroke egos requiring status symbols or a gimme gimme modus operandi. Gifts are given that say: I love you. Thank you for loving me, too. Here is a small token of that love. Simple gifts.

I pray at Christmas that you model a life of generosity. Not just in your thoughtful gifts to friends and family. But that you practice generosity in your time and in your talents, too. That you sing in a choir because God gave you the voice of a songbird. That you play the violin at your churchs midnight candlelight serviceas are two of my childrenbecause you are able to share developed talent for the enjoyment of others. That you take an elderly neighbor to the grocery storeas does my neighbor, Nancybecause she knows how much it means to her friend to get out and about. That you take dinner to a family in crisisas have more neighbors in our town than I am able to count during these past eight weeksbecause you understand the physical and emotional toll of childhood cancer. That you entertain friends and strangers alikeangels unawarebecause you grasp the joys of hospitality. That you promise to lift up someone in need, because youve witnessed the power of intercessory prayer and know that the time spend doing so for someone else will make a difference this Christmas.

Peterson, the poet, says it best: We dont think we can live generously because we have never tried. But the sooner we start the better, for we are going to have to give up our lives finally, and the longer we wait the less time we have for the soaring and swooping life of grace. (3)

May you be filled with all blessings on Christmas Dayand everydayby giving away.

Merry, merry Christmas!

Carolina

NOTES: Scripture taken from THE MESSAGE. Copyright (c) by Eugene H. Peterson, 1993, 1994, 1995. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

1. Eugene H. Peterson, Run with the horses (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1983), p. 42.

2. Ibid., p. 43.

3. Ibid.

Carolina Fernandez

Carolina Fernandez earned an M.B.A. before working at IBM and as a stockbroker at Merrill Lynch. She left the corporate world to work as a full-time wife, mother, and homemaker.

Coming home to longer hours, harder work, and more demanding relationships left her feeling totally overwhelmed. Granted, she traded one investment field for another which has yielded immeasurable returns heretofore unimagined. Nonetheless, her frustration at her lack of ability in tackling all of motherhood?s inherently difficult challenges pushed her into a nearly twenty year labor of love. Her research in child development, child psychology, social psychology, nutrition, and exercise physiology, along with indispensable insights and experiences gained along the way, finally evolved into ROCKET MOM!

She re-invented herself in the process. She has dabbled in the domestic, performing, and visual arts, undertaking projects ranging from painting in oils to hooking rugs to singing onstage in Carnegie Hall. She has developed strong convictions about the role of the arts in child development; these convictions have shaped the specific strategies played out in the book.

She has a passion for inspiring creativity in people of all ages, from pre-schoolers to rocket grandmoms! Indeed, she receives particular joy in helping moms on the front line as they engage in what is arguably the most creative challenge ever invented: motherhood. To this end, she writes and speaks extensively, and is constantly developing teaching materials in her effort to share the crucial intervention of creative nurturing in developing children. She shares her message via radio and TV interviews; print media; and in speaking platforms via seminars and workshops, lectures and keynotes for pre-schools, women?s groups, retreats, civic organizations and adult education classes. Her soon-to-be-launched cable TV program, ROCKET MOM! will reach thousands of households in the Fairfield County area of Connecticut.

Her newly-formed Rocket Mom Society attempts to meet her mission head-on as she ?encourages, equips and empowers moms for excellence.?

She lives with her husband and their four children in Ridgefield, Connecticut.