A quote in an article we recently read started us thinking about how we celebrate Christmas and what, or who, we should focus on: "Our family is going to celebrate Jesus this year in a manner worthy of a humble Savior who was born to two teenagers in a barn and yet still managed to rescue humanity." It is very easy to get caught up in the commercial side of Christmas these days, even without being greedy. It is even hard for me as a parent not to want to buy our kids everything they could possibly want! But do I remember every single gift that I have ever gotten for Christmas? No. (Although there have been some great presents, don't get me wrong!) Do our kids need an enormous pile of gifts under the tree? No. (Want-Need-Wear-Read will be good!)
We want our kids to have a meaningful Christmas. To make special memories and to keep/start traditions (decorating the house with dada and momma, the advent calendar, the Holidazzle parade, watching Rudolph the Rednose Reindeer - kids just watched it this weekend with Mrs. L and loved it, Christmas pj's, and Christmas programs at school and church). But overall, to know the reason we celebrate Christmas and how huge a gift that God gave us when He sent His Son, Jesus, to be born...to teach us...and to ultimately die on the cross to save us from our sins. Without Christmas we would have no hope. And when the reason for Christmas is taken out of our hands, suddenly the pressure is off too. I can't make it a perfect Christmas for my kids or for S or for myself - Christmas is way bigger than me. But what I can do is share the story and the love and the meaning of Christmas and it is ok if one day of the advent calendar is missed or if I can't make handmade gifts for everyone. Because hopefully we will all be focusing on Jesus and not on whether or not the Christmas cookies get burned or even made at all!
Phew! What a lead-in to the 3 photos that I wanted to share today!!
One of the things that Steve and I want to do with the kids this year is give. And have the kids have a part in the giving whether it be choosing where to send money, or what we could do for some someone. And fortunately one opportunity was laid in our laps from school: Operation Christmas Child. Students were invited to pack a shoebox for a child in another country who would not get a gift otherwise. We watched videos about the program and saw some stories of children who have received boxes. G was especially touched by these. That night before bed she told me "Momma, I am thankful for our family and that we can have presents and that we can give presents to people who can't buy presents themselves." And so we headed out to Target to pack plastic shoeboxes with school supplies, hygiene items, new socks, and toys and fun things for some boy or girl in their age category (we let G, W & C each pack a box). Then they wrote notes to their new friend who would get this box on the back of a photo of the kids. We brought them to school during a special chapel where the kids were encouraged to serve others at school, in their community, and in the world. (Besides Operation Christmas Child, they introduced another global project the students will be working on in the next couple months...I'll share more about that later.) Our kids were all excited about helping others and we hope that these things will begin to instill a lifelong servant attitude in our kids.
2 comments:
Love! (Of course I do!) Also, love the new header. Your babies are SO big! :)
Also, did you do the slavery footprint she mentioned in the article? Eye-opening, for sure.
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