Christmas Traditions that Teach Our Children Pt. 3

Part 3 of 4

In two earlier blogs I began to share with you some ways to make your celebration of Christmas a joyful time, instead of a period of tiresome, meaningless rituals that have little to do with the birth of Jesus the Christ and leave you an exhausted, bundle of raw nerves. You and your kids need to refocus on Jesus first. Then you can properly . . .

Focus On Others
1. Emphasize that Christmas is a time for giving, not getting. Teach your kids how to be generous toward God by giving to others:
a. As a family, help to serve a meal in a soup kitchen on Christmas Day.
b. Let the kids help to make and serve a special Christmas meal in your own home to which you invite homeless people, or neighbors who have no place to go for the holiday, or people from your church who have no family in the area--single people, elderly adults, or foreigners and aliens residing in your town.
c. Visit someone in a nursing home or a children’s hospital on Christmas Day.
d. Bake cookies for neighbors, shut-ins, or service people (the postman, garbage collector, etc.), considering dietary limitations, such as those of diabetics.
e. Send a money gift to a Christian organization that deals with world or national hunger, housing for the homeless, etc., in the name of someone on your list who is hard to buy for. Have your children write a card to the person in whose name you made the gift, explaining what your family did in that person's name.

2. While your child is still young, teach him/her about personal generosity that reflects God’s generosity to us. Let’s face it: none of us were born with natural generosity. We learn how to be generous by example and teaching from others.

David and I have some friends who encouraged their young son to select a few of his Christmas, gifts before opening them, to take to less fortunate children. He learned to give. Today, as an adult, he donates time and money to such enterprises as Habitat for Humanity. Several other families have their children give some of their toys that are in good condition to children who have none; or to spend some of their own money to purchase gifts to send to a less fortunate child somewhere in the world.

More to come . . .

Looking for Answers?

I was having my daily Scripture read one morning and came across the following report from Acts 12—verses 5-16: “So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him . . . Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell . . . the chains fell off Peter’s wrists . . . They [Peter and the angel] passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened by itself and they went through it . . . he [Peter] went to the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many were praying . . . and a servant girl answered the door. When she recognized Peter’s voice . . . she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, ‘Peter is at the door!’ . . . ‘You’re out of your mind,’ they told her . . . ‘It must be his angel [ghost]’ . . . Peter kept on knocking . . . when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.

The people had been praying for Peter’s protection and release, but when he stood before them, they were “astonished”!! Did they not really believe their prayers would be answered? Perhaps not.

Often in the midst of trouble we pray fervently to God for our need or the need of someone else. But in that time of calling out to God, do we pray with expectancy? Do we believe our prayers will be answered? Prayers should not be merely well chosen words that have an appearance of faith. We should not be surprised when answers come. We should be thankful and give praise to the one who invites us to pray, guides us in what to pray, and sends the answer at the proper time.

Father, I want to learn from You how to use that marvelous tool of access to your throne room, that which whispers to Your heart, “I trust You.”

Christmas Traditions That Teach Our Children Pt. 2

This blog is part 2 of 4 installments:

In spite of the commercialization of Christmas, there are ways to put Christ back into the center of the Christmas celebration. It may take a great deal of effort to correct old, ingrained habits, but the rewards will be great as you find your energy and enthusiasm increasing instead of dissipating during the holiday season.

Here are some valuable tips to aid you as you re-invest the Christmas season with awe for our wonderful Savior; as you teach your children how to celebrate the incarnation -- the coming of God to earth in human flesh.

Focus on Jesus:
1. Read the Christmas story together as a family at dinnertime or as a part of other family “together” time. Perhaps combine the reading with the lighting of advent candles and read the Scriptures that relate to each candle. This would space out the Christmas story over a 5 week period. Have a different family member read each time from an age appropriate Bible – i.e., a young child could read from a children’s Bible. Talk about why God sent His Son into the world in a human body and follow it through to the cross and the empty tomb.

2. When entertaining guests during the holiday season, both Christians and unbelievers, emphasize the real reason for celebrating Christmas through:
a. singing carols together with someone accompanying on guitar or keyboard; b. sharing testimonies or personal stories from other Christmas seasons;
c. joining in special prayer times for others who may not be having a happy Christmas, such as: our troops overseas, the homeless, nursing home residents, those who have experienced recent personal tragedies, or those who do not know Christ's love; d. reading aloud stories with a Christmas theme;
e. watching videos or DVD’s with Christmas related themes that teach Christian values. Talk about the story themes.

More to come . . .

Christmas Traditions that Teach Our Children Pt. 1

Part 1 of 4 parts

As we approach this Christmas season, we are "life-instructing" our kids about what this most holy day signifies. The old axiom may sound trite, but it’s painfully true that “A picture is worth a thousand words”. We are painting pictures everyday with our lives. How we act and react in front of children results in mental image reinforcing mental image, day after day, year after year. What we say often cannot be heard because of what we do and how we do it. What kind of permanent images are you impressing on your children? What kind of “stuff” for tomorrow is filtering into their minds today?

Children learn through a song on the radio that Santa Claus is omniscient: “He knows when you’ve been sleeping, he sees you when you wake, he knows when you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake!” But do they also know that God is omniscient? That what He sees in our lives is far more important than what a fictional character sees?

How do you handle yourselves during the Christmas season? Harried, rushed, short-tempered, neglectful of your family and your spiritual responsibilities? Do you withhold gifts all year but give more than you can afford at Christmas? Your children are watching and learning what Christmas is all about.

A little girl who was properly taught was asked, “Did you get all you wanted for Christmas?” “No, but it’s not my birthday,” she replied wisely. We need to remember whose birthday we are celebrating and remind others of that truth. We need to focus on Jesus because this day is a remembrance of His birth -- God come in the flesh. Have you carefully instructed your children about whose birthday Christmas really is? We need to teach our young people by word and example that we should give to Jesus on His birthday. What and how we give to each other should reflect our acknowledgement of God's gift to us. There are many ways to teach our children how to properly celebrate Christ's birth during the Christmas season. I will present several ideas in up-coming blogs.

More to come . . .