Beech Tree News Network

My pastor mentioned the Christmas spirit in his message Sunday. The idea that we are kinder and more generous during the Christmas season is probably true. The Christmas spirit brings to mind Little Big Town’s song “Better Man” (written by Taylor Swift) where it says, “I just wish you were a better man.” Wouldn’t we all like to be better people?

Many people have expressed their thoughts about the Christmas spirit. Some of those are listed below (http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/christmas-spirit; http://www.inspirational-quotes-cafe.com/inspirational-quotes-for-christ... http://www.christmas-quotes.org/christmas-spirit/):
•    I wish we could put up some of the Christmas spirit in jars and open a jar of it every month. -Harlan Miller
•    My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that? -Bob Hope
•    For many of us, sadly, the spirit of Christmas is "hurry"…. -Burton Hillis
•    The way you spend Christmas is far more important than how much. –Henry David Thoreau
•    One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas day. Don't clean it up too quickly. -Andy Rooney
•    Christmas is not a time or a season but a state of mind. To cherish peace and good will, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas. -Calvin Coolidge
•    He who has no Christmas in his heart will never find Christmas under a tree. –Charlotte Carpenter
•    At Christmas, all roads lead home. -Marjorie Holmes
•    The thoughtfulness and goodwill messages from loved ones brighten my Christmas day. -Lailah Gifty Akita
•    God put Santa Claus on earth to remind us that Christmas is 'sposed to be a happy time. -Bil Keane
•    Christmas Day is a day of joy and charity. May God make you very rich in both. -Phillips Brooks
•    The Christmas spirit - love - changes hearts and lives. - Pat Boone
•    Peace on earth will come to stay, when we live Christmas every day. -Helen Steiner Rice
•    I truly believe that if we keep telling the Christmas story, singing the Christmas songs, and living the Christmas spirit, we can bring joy and happiness and peace to this world. - Norman Vincent Peale
•    The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other. -Bill Vaughan
•    The spirit of Christmas is - and hopefully always will be - about goodwill and generosity to others and peace on earth. -Nick Rahall

Each year in December, we witness the Christmas Spirit around us and within us: that desire to help others. As Harlan Miller said, it would be nice to capture it in jars to open later. Someone said that true love is a reflection of God's love. What better time to reflect His love than when we celebrate Jesus’ birth? And I like to believe that we all want to be better men and women.