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I'm not so sure that the Friday after Thanksgiving is the craziest day to be at Wal-Mart. It may actually be the day after Christmas. Especially if you're engaging in that time-honored tradition of exchanging gifts that you don't want for stuff you actually do.

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There's no sugar-coating it, retailers are running pretty scared this holiday season. A tanking economy could very well make their greatest fear come true, people spending less this Christmas.

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Believe it or not, that glorious moment will come - when you slump in your chair and proclaim exuberantly, "My shopping is done!"

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It's amazing what a difference two little words can make. For example, "I do," "You're fired," "You're expecting."

There are two little words in the Christmas story that can make the difference in where you spend eternity. I'll leave those words out first. "Today a Savior has been born, He is Christ and Lord" (Luke 2:11). Now listen to it with the two life-changing words, "A Savior has been born to you."

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It was my wife's loneliest Christmas ever. She was in college and there was no money for her to go home, and she was one of only a dozen students on this empty campus while everyone else was home.

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Babies change everything! Just ask that carefree husband and wife who just became Daddy and Mommy: diapers, bottles, lots of mashed peas. Call it the "baby revolution!"

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My wife has Nativities all over the house this time of year. And our two-year-old grandson loves arranging and rearranging shepherds, sheep and wise men. But most of all, he loves Baby Jesus. He'll just reach into the manger and hold Him in his little hand and then he tenderly kisses Jesus.

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OK, call me a relic, but I just can't do the whole fake Christmas tree thing, OK? I'll gladly battle the needles and the sap any day to be able to experience bona fide branches. Why settle for a knockoff when you can have the real thing?

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Christmas morning isn't quite as much fun if you miss the small print on that toy "batteries not included." It looks great, but it's powerless to do what it's designed to do.

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Our kids will all be home this Christmas...whatever it takes. More than any day of the year, Christmas is about being home.