“They celebrate your abundant goodness

and joyfully sing of your righteousness.”

Psalm 145:7

The holidays are officially here and it’s time to celebrate!

The Psalmist David understood the power of a good celebration. He wrote in Psalm 145:7, “They celebrate your abundant goodness.” As I was studying that word, “celebrate” I discovered that it carries the idea of “boiling or bubbling up in praise like a fountain. I love that! In other words, in our remembering God’s goodness, joy and gladness are to bubble up inside us and play out in a grand celebration.

Often we get busy and stressed over so many things that we push celebrating to the back burner believing the myth that we can’t take time to celebrate. But that’s a mistake because celebrating is good for us. As we head into December this week, I want to give you three benefits to celebrating.

1. Celebrating helps us remember God’s goodness and faithfulness. It’s easy in the stress and demands of life to forget how good God has been. Through out the Bible, God commands and invites His people to remember and celebrate His goodness.
2. Celebrating lifts our spirits and brings joy. Life can feel heavy. The media bombards our thinking with negativity. Moving from task to task and deadline to deadline is draining. Celebrating helps us fills us up emotionally and return to joy. As we gather with friends and family and reflect on how good God has been, our heaviness is replaced with lightheartedness.
3. Celebrating builds stronger relationships. Family and friends who celebrate together stay closer and more connected through life. Steve and I love getting together with our kids and grandkids and reflecting back on Christmas’s past. Laughing together and joking together builds stronger ties between us as a family. Bonding happens when we celebrate God’s goodness together. Traditions and memories build your family’s history.

Friend, as we move into December this week. Take a few moments to plan your celebrations. Be intentional. Plan now how you will celebrate the birth of Christ. Savor the moments with your family and friends. Enjoy the decorations and the events. Don’t sink into negativity. Recognize that God gives us celebration as a gift to be enjoyed.

I’d love to hear how you’ll celebrate. Leave a comment and tell me about one tradition your family enjoys or one event you’ll attend this Christmas season to celebrate the birth of Christ.