Christmas Everyday

Whoa, four posts in one day. I think I need to pace myself. But I saw this and thought I'd like to play along.



The question is, how do we as a family celebrate the true meaning of Christmas?

Well, sit yourself down and let me just tell you!

Since some of my family reads this, I will be honest. Since some of that said family includes a certain college-aged individual who is not shy about calling me out, you can rest assured that I'm not going to whitewash this shindig and try to hoodwink you into believing that we have family devotions every morning, or that we volunteer every week down at the shelter, or even that my six kiddos so altruistically give up their presents each year in lieu of supporting orphans in faraway places.

Nope, none of that.

Here's the lowdown. My big tip to young parents, if you will.

I gave up Advent calendars because I noticed that it totally hyped the kids up and put their focus on getting. One year I made a really cute felt banner with a Christmas tree and 24 ribbons attached to it. I frosted 24 cookies with the numbers 1-24, wrapped them individually, then tied them to the banner. Cute idea, huh? Wrong! I think I had four kids at the time. That meant I had to keep track each day of whose turn it was to untie and eat the cookie. Which meant that I had to also pass out identical cookies to the other 3 in order to avoid mass hysteria. All before 8 AM. Now I love sugar in the morning as much as the next guy, but something seems fundamentally wrong with giving a toddler a frosted Oreo for breakfast. After 24 days of fighting and arguing and "me first" I decided that the advent calendar was the most unChristlike part of my Christmas, so I ditched it and gave it to Goodwill.

Now the kidlets are mostly teenagers or somewhere near that age. They each get their own Trader Joe's chocolate advent calendar, with 24 chocolates weighing in at a total of 1.76 ounces, making each serving about the equivalent of a chocolate chip. And the best part of it is that they can manage the calendar themselves. If they want to open all the doors on December 3 and ruin their Christmas, they have that freedom.

But now, Christ in Christmas...hmmm...how do we manage it?

Well, it's reading a little less of this

and a little more of this.

To be perfectly honest, I don't really try to keep Christ in Christmas. Wha-a-a-a-a-t?

I try to keep Him in every day. It really works much better that way.

This year, as in years past, we are reading this great book. This year, unlike previous years, I will try not to read ahead and finish it on my own and then not be bothered to finish reading it aloud because I am too busy. Maybe this year a certain kid will actually solve the mystery!

In the spirit of Advent, I am crafting handmade ornaments that reflect some aspect of Christ and His Story. These are the first 9. (Get it? Today is December 9; I uncork one each day!)

Then I post about it, in an effort to force myself to actually finish making all 24. Have you picked up that I have a little trouble with finishing things? Yeah, well, my house is a complete wreck too.

Thanks for stopping by! Come on back anytime! (What I love about blogs: you don't have to clean them before people come over.)

Christ in the every day. Consider it.

in which Hobo Kelly doesn't see Lori, AGAIN

Tuesday night is Awana night at our church. Guess who teaches Sparky Council Time? Yours truly!


Last night's lesson was "God Sees Me," hence the Hobo Kelly glasses. Apparently, Hobo Kelly was strictly a SoCal girl, with a brief run in Portland. And apparently I wasn't the only kid in LA and Orange County that was disenchanted with loveable old Kelly because she couldn't see me with her magic glasses. I mean, come on, why couldn't she look in the camera with those goofy glasses and tell me that I had a present under my bed just like she told all the other kids?!

As luck (?) would have it, I still remember that feeling of not being seen, of not being noticed, which was the perfect segue into talking about the One who always sees, the One who sees everything I do, good and bad, the One who sees all the way into my heart. He's the One who knows me perfectly, and isn't that what we all want--to be known and and to be loved?

I told the kids, it's a little scary sometimes to think that God is always watching, especially when we are being naughty, but that only reminds us to be good. But I'm glad that God pays attention to me, and notices when I choose to obey Him even if nobody else ever knows. I'm glad that He sees into my heart and that He knows me so well. And I'm especially glad that He loves me!

Proverbs 15:3
The eyes of the Lord are in every place,
Watching the evil and the good.

1 Samuel 16:7b
God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance,
but the Lord looks at the heart.

Blessings!

Twofer

Annika will do anything to get someone to watch a chick flick with her--even purchase cool shades! Go on over here to see other twofers.