"You'll shoot your eye out kid."

If you've ever seen A Christmas Story, you're familiar with Ralphie's quest for a Red Ryder BB gun. Even after a disappointing visit to see Santa Claus, who is credited with this famous line from the movie, Ralphie continues his quest.

One of the funniest things about Christmas time to me is observing kids watch TV. I realize that this statement seems a bit strange, but humor me for a minute.

Let's say a family is watching Frosty the Snowman. During the commercials, the kids begin saying things like, "Mom! I want that for Christmas!" or "I bet Santa will bring me that for Christmas!"

Then comes the dangerous part: Christmas shopping.

Everyone wants to find the "perfect gift" for all of their friends and loved ones. I use the word dangerous, because people are hardcore about Christmas gifts.

 For the past five years, I have gone Black Friday shopping. It's true that the first weekend of Christmas shopping has some of the best deals. However, some of the craziest things happen on this night.

Maybe the retail market is injecting some kind of drug into turkeys that promotes lunacy? Or is it the hormones the government already adds?

Anyway, the point is that some people will do ANYTHING to get what they want.

Including:

--Camping out for days to be first in line

--Stealing things out of other people's buggy

--Stampeding into the store once it's open

--Breaking in a line where people have been waiting for hours

--Bringing a gun into the store

Why do things like this happen?  The reason is that somewhere along the way the true meaning of Christmas has been lost.

And it's our job as Christians, as Judson women, and as spiritual leaders within our school, work, and family to remind the world of God's ultimate purpose.

God put his gift on the tree, not under it.