The best decorations in town

Psalm 93:5 “Your testimonies are fully confirmed; Holiness befits Your house, O Lord, forevermore.”

Deck the halls with boughs of holly!

It’s that season again – the time when stores, houses, and streets are twinkling with lights, strewn with pine-scented garlands, and bursting with the energy of the Christmas season. That is why I visited Wickline’s Garden Center the other day.

Since I am a little “decoration challenged,” I needed some advice on sprucing up the entrance to our office and I was not disappointed. The helpful attendants gave me numerous suggestions and promised to supply all I would need to complete the task. The porch pots sitting by our door will look better than they ever have when I am finished.

We all love this season for many reasons, but the joy of putting up the tree and filling our homes with fond memories and reminders of the Christmas spirit launches us into a month of holiday cheer. The decorations we choose tell a lot about us. Living in an old farmhouse, I tend to stick with traditional ornamentation like white lights in the windows, stockings on the fireplace, and a manger scene on the mantel. Others bedazzle the yard with blow-up figures and hundreds of colorful lights. But what if we thought beyond the typical holiday choices? What if we considered decorating our home after the fashion of the Lord’s house?

Psalm 93 tells us that holiness dazzles His home. The Lord reigns and is clothed with majesty and strength. All that He does and is sets Him apart from sin, and the whole earth is full of His glory. As believers, Christ has made His home in our hearts. Emmanuel, God with us, came to earth and calls us to be holy, just as He is holy. We must make our priorities God’s priorities and His moral standards our standards.

This is hard to do in a broken world, but think about how beautiful and God-honoring our lives would be if we decorated them with pure speech, a loving heart, and a way of life that pleases God. We would be the brightest and best decorated lives on the block. Others would see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven.

How about it? As you hang the mistletoe over the doorway, trim the tree with homemade ornaments, and plug in the last string of twinkle lights, don’t forget to decorate your life with holiness. If you do, you will shine brighter that all of the best decorations in town! — Love Mama

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By Sandra Sheridan

Sandra Sheridan is a Midwest wife and mother of five. She shares her letters to her children with our readers. Visit her at www.VersesFromMama.com.