JW and Christmas

I have a co-worker who is a Jehovah’s Witness. He does not celebrate Christmas, and it got me thinking. He is not extremely vocal about his view, but when asked, he will tell people that he doesn’t celebrate Christmas. I have never heard him explain why he does not to someone, but I’m sure he would be ready to if necessary.

The real catch here is that he still buys his kids gifts during winter break from school. The logic is that of a caring parent, in that he doesn’t want his kids to feel bad when they go back to school and everyone else is talking about what they got for Christmas.

But really, if you are not celebrating Christmas, and then still getting your kids presents, aren’t you just celebrating secular Christmas? Really, if you look around, there is a LOT of secular Christmas. Santa, Christmas Trees, Miniature lights…where was any of that in The Bible? Sure, some of the theme could be interpreted in a Biblical light. God gave a gift to the world. Everlasting light. I can see those themes. But really, the Holidays just bring stress and consumerism to a whole lot of people. I’d love for there to be a revival of the reason for the season. I pray for that.

But back to my friend. The second thought I had was that maybe he uses this as a tool to share his faith with others. Yes, it is in a very subtle way, but just maybe. And if someone asks him why he doesn’t celebrate maybe it gives him an open door to share his beliefs. The lesson Christians can take away is that maybe WE should do a better job at making opportunities to share our faith. And then when the door is opened, we need to walk through it, and explain why we do the things we do and act the way we do. We need to pray to God to open the doors, and to help us see the doors that are open. Then we need to walk through them.

Technorati Tags: Christmas, JW, Outreach

LED CHRISTmas lights

So the newest trend in Christmas lights this year is LED Christmas lights. They are pretty cool – they look like old-fashioned strings of lights, and are Waaaaay energy efficient. An article in the local paper recently pointed out that 600 of these lights, running 5 hours per day for 30 days, will cost approximately 56 cents. Total. Compared, as the article says, to running the same amount of traditional lights for the same time – at the price tag of $23.00. Wow. No wonder my electric bill is so high in December and January.

But of course – my analytical nature came in. These bulbs are great, they use very little energy, and i imagine that they hold up better in storage because there is no glass on the bulbs. But, they cost a lot more. A recent trip to the store priced out a strand of 600 conventional type bulbs for $16. Right next store were the fancy new LED lights – 100 for $18. Yikes! So for 600 lights, you will spend $92 more for LED bulbs. And it will save you $22.50 in energy costs.

Hmmm – so what’s the ROI? Assuming you are buying new lights anyway, just over 4 years at the 5 hours for 30 days run time. Could be more or less depending on how much you are in the holiday spirit . So overall, would I pre-pay 4 years of electricity to save on the fifth and succeeding years? Well, assuming the lights hold up at least that long. This year, I’m gonna have to say no. Too much upfront cost, and I have A LOT of lights to replace. Maybe in a couple years, when the price comes down a little, and I have more disposable income for this type of thing.

Technorati Tags: CHRISTmas, Christmas Lighting, Analytics