Countdowns

It's that time of  year that kids are all excited.  They are counting down the days until Christmas.  They may make a paper chain countdown where every day they tear off a chain helping them see how close Christmas is.

I'm almost as bad, just ask my family.  To me it's the most magical time of the year.  Everyone knows that the countdown actually starts on my birthday which is exactly 100 days until Christmas.

I have several countdowns in my  house. 

I have a magnetic refrigerator tree.  Starting December 1, I put a new ornament on the tree culminating with a star on the 24th. This was given to me as a gift and I love it.

I have a bugle countdown. This has numbers that you flip every day to count down.  This was also a gift to me.  I have this on my washstand under the TV. 

I have a gingerbread countdown house.  I was so excited when I got this.  It was from Hobby Lobby and marked down half price.  It's pretty big. Every day I open a little door/window counting down the days.

I have a Hallmark countdown nativity ornament.  Every day you change the day and hear the story of the nativity.  This was one of the special ornaments that Gary and I bought one year - we buy a new Christmas ornament every year. 

TV stations do 25 days of Christmas showing different Christmas shows leading up to Christmas.  Some of these are old familiar shows, Rudolph, Frosty, Charlie Brown, It's a Wonderful Life, and some are new movies that have been released just for TV.

This year I was asked if I wanted to participate in a Bible Study - Countdown to Christmas.  Of course I said yes.  This has been a great study. I am really enjoying it.  It's titled Hope In Struggle, Countdown to Christmas. 

So every day this month not only am I doing my countdowns throughout the house I am also doing a countdown through the Bible.  It's a great time of reflection on what Mary and Joseph went through as well as what Jesus went through.

And all of these countdowns are leading up to the same thing - the reason we celebrate Christmas. The birth of Jesus. 

How are you counting down the month of December?  And what are you counting down? The birth of Jesus or the arrival of Santa Claus?