christmas ideas for families

Since my kids are young, 3 and 1, we are in the process of developing some Christmas traditions. I really want my kids to look forward to Christmas because it is Jesus birthday and not get wrapped up in the commercialism of the month. So here are some ideas that we will be doing this year, some spiritual, some just for fun.

1) starting the 1st of December I have a calender house that they will open the little doors on and find small treats (like an marshmallow or a chocolate chip), every day will be different. Some may be stickers etc. We will be counting the days until Jesus birthday.

2)we will be having a white Christmas at some point this month(this idea came from my friend Vonna Marcus) Everyone will dressed in white to come to dinner. All the food will be white (bread, soup, maybe ice cream). Name cards for each person will include the word white ("snow white", "bob white", etc.), table cloth and decor will be white.

3) In an effort to avoid commercialism, we will be giving each of our children 3 gifts. The wise men brought Jesus three gifts and we want to tie that into our celebration. Three gifts was enough for Jesus it is good enough for our children.
Children seem to enjoy gifts more when they are not overwhelmed also. There is a movement called the Advent Conspiracy. Check it out, it's all about spending less and giving more and getting back to the real meaning of Christmas.
(If your children are young and you can't get away from Santa Claus, fill their stockings from Santa and give one gift like a family game or something that you can all open together from Santa. Also share the real story of St. Nick)

5)Drive around and look and Christmas lights. Kids love to see all the different decorations and it's free!

6) Find something to involve your children in that is giving to others. We did the Samaritans purse shoe box this year and my daughter and son picked out gifts to fill the boxes and they understood that these were for other children who didn't have as much as them. My daughter got a little attached to the doll she chose but she still put it into the box and said some little girl would take good care of it.

We are also going to give towel sets to The Banquet in Sioux Falls. Each of our family members will pick out their towel set to give, the kids included and then we will deliver them to the Banquet together.

7) an advent wreath (my mom used to do this I think)
Did you know that Advent wreaths were originally used in the home? They did not become popular in churches until the middle of the twentieth century.
I am making one tomorrow using greenery three purple candles (symbolizing royalty) a rose candle and a white candle for the center. Once a week will will light a candle and do a little devotion. Each week we will continue to light the previous candles and a new one.

The First Candle (The Candle of Prophecy/Hope) It symbolizes the promises the prophets delivered as messages from God; promises that foretold Christ’s birth.

The Second Candle (The Candle of the Way)The second candle shows that Christ is the Way. People are lost in sin and Christ is the Light sent into the world to show them the way out of darkness.

The Third Candle (The Candle of Joy)The third candle indicates that the only lasting Joy to be found in life on earth is through Christ. All other joy is fleeting and does not last.

The Fourth Candle (The Candle of Peace)The fourth candle reminds that Jesus comes to bring Peace to both the world and to people's hearts. Without Christ there is no peace in this world.

The Fifth Candle (The Christ Candle or Christmas Candle)The fifth candle represents Christ himself who is born to save people from their sins. It is a celebration of the fulfillment of prophecy as represented in Christ’s birth and hope in the final fulfillment when Christ comes again and Christians join him.

You can say a prayer with each and find a bible verse that goes with each one for a short devotion at dinner, then leave the candles lit during dinner for a calming effect on your kids!

8) Bake Jesus a birthday cake on Christmas and light the candles and sing Happy Birthday to Jesus. My grandma has done this for as long as I can remember.

During December, remember the reason for the season and stop to think, ponder, and enjoy the real meaning!

Life Plan

Do you have a life plan? Does your life have vision, meaning, and purpose?

My husband and I are reading through a book by Dan Miller called 48 days to the Work You Love. In it Dan talks about having a life plan with balance, not only a job. It seems that in our culture we have a large emphasis placed on your job and what you do, rather than who you are.

In one section of the book Dan talks about having success in all areas of your life. He pictures your life as a wheel with the outside being fulfillment of your purpose, mission, and calling (yes we all have this). Fulfillment happens when you have success in all areas of your life. The areas are: spiritual, career, physical, personal development, social, family, and financial.

I used to really struggle with feeling incomplete because I didn't have a "job" so to speak. I am a mother and stay home with my kids, something our society doesn't always value. If we look at life more holistically we begin to understand more of God's desire for us to glorify Him. By excelling in all areas of life in ways that we are uniquely gifted, we glorify God.

How are you doing in all seven areas? Do you spend too much time working so your family suffers? Do you care more about your physical body than your spiritual life? How are you growing personally? Are you learning something new?

One area my husband and I are trying to reach success is financial. We've started to listen to Dave Ramsey and are being encouraged more and more to become debt free. In order to fulfill our unique calling as a family we believe we need to be debt free. More on the topic of debt free living and my experience of that journey in a future post.

I'll close with a quote by Viktor Frankl-
"Life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but only by lack of meaning and purpose."

Lily Story

I heard a story awhile back that I thought was a great picture of our relationship with a Holy God. It is where I got the idea for this blog. This life is a journey and my journey is directly affected by how much time I spend looking upon our great and holy God. He changes me. It is a journey of change. A journey of being more like him. A privilege.

(-source unknown)

The Lily

A story is told
of a little girl
many years ago
in the slums
who saw an object lesson
using a beautiful white lily.
The children gazed upon
and touched the lovely lily.
One little girl
then looked upon herself
and immediately fled
to her garret home.
She used soap she could find,
and did her best
to make herself
more presentable.
The lily had awakened
her desire for cleanliness.
So to look upon
our great and holy God
awakens within
the child of God
the desire to be more
like Him.