Today Greg received a very special acceptance letter in the mail! Congratulations to my sweet hubby on his acceptance to the Master of Theology Old Testament program at Calvin Theological Seminary!
Abbie had a dream come true day to celebrate her 5th birthday. She got to meet real live penguins (she's obsessed with penguins), for dinner she had a candlelit Italian dinner (just like when Daddy and Mommy have a "Stay-at-home Date"), and she received the Dollhouse she's been wanting for years. So blessed to give Abbie such a special 5th Birthday Celebration! Last night I arrived home to discover we had no heat or hot water, so this morning I called Slomin's and they came around 1pm to repair our boiler. We are so grateful to God because apparently the running boiler spewed oil out all night and we could have easily had a house fire. Praise God for His protection! This morning Christian and Abbie decided that the best way to stay warm was a dance party! I'm so blessed to have such fun kiddos! Isaac wanted to get in on the dance action too! :) We got 10-12 inches of snow with a low of 2 degrees today! May not be much to my Midwest friends but it's a big deal out East. Christian and Abbie were such hard workers today shoveling snow with Daddy. :) Last weekend our family went to Hicks Nursery to visit Santa, live reindeer, and lots of Christmas decorations. :) We Can Reject It, We Can Receive It, Or We Can Redeem It. “It's the most wonderful time of the year! With the kids jingle belling and everyone telling you ‘Be of good cheer.’ It's the most wonderful time of the year.” As stated in this class Christmas song by Andy Williams, Christmas is often said to be the most wonderful time of the year! No other time of the year is filled with as much excitement and gleeful expectancy as Christmas, and no one seems to enjoy the season more than children. It’s a time when we celebrate our Savior’s birth, spend time with family, enjoy wonderful food and treats, and receive lovely presents. Christmas is a time for making memories. But Christmas can sometimes be a confusing time for children in Christian homes. At church and hopefully at home they hear about the birth of Jesus Christ, but at school and in stores they are taught that the focus of the season is Santa Claus and presents. As Christian parents we felt challenged to be sure we were keeping Christ and Christian values the focus of our Christmas celebrations. We wanted to be intentional about how we spent our time during the busy month of December, and we wanted to make sure that we were focusing on the four values we want to emphasize to our children at Christmastime: 1) family, 2) giving/serving, 3) learning truth, and 4) Jesus Christ. I've written before about Redeeming Easter, Redeeming Halloween, Redeeming Thanksgiving, and Redeeming Santa Claus, and today I want to share how our family has chosen to Redeem Christmas. I am passionate about Christian family's redeeming holidays! By this I mean that we should neither reject our cultural traditions nor blindly receive them rather we should redeem them by looking for ways to incorporate the gospel message into our family holiday traditions. ![]() Advent Calendar Today we would like to share with you how our family keeps Christ and Christian values the focus of Christmas. Our family has an advent box – each day December 1-24 has a small box labeled with that day’s number. Advent calendars are available online, at Target, or you can simply make one yourself using inexpensive paper chains or another method. Each day on a small slip of paper we write down what activity we will do together as a family to celebrate Christmas. This allows us to be intentional about how we spend our time during the busy month of December, and ensures that we are focusing on the four values we want to emphasize to our children at Christmastime: 1) family, 2) giving/serving, 3) learning truth, and 4) Jesus Christ. For a list of Advent Calendar Ideas for Christian Families, check out our family's current and past advent calendars by clicking "Advent Calendar Ideas" under "Categories" on the right --> ![]() Family The first value we emphasize at Christmastime is family. Christmas is a time when we intentionally spend time having fun and bonding together. To emphasize our value of family we have the following Christmas traditions:
![]() Giving/Serving The second value we emphasize at Christmastime is giving/serving, not getting. At Christmas it’s easy for children to focus on what presents they will be getting for Christmas. Our culture tells us the best part about Christmas is receiving a large pile of presents on Christmas morning, but God tells us that true joy comes from giving and serving others, not getting. To emphasize our value of giving/serving we have the following Christmas tradtions:
![]() Learning Truth The third value we emphasize at Christmastime is learning truth. There are so many wonderful, true stories to be shared at Christmastime.
![]() Jesus Christ The fourth value we emphasize at Christmas time is Jesus Christ.
As the Christmas season rolls around, what things will you choose to emphasize as a family? Will you let the month of December slip past wondering where the time has gone, or will you be intentional each day in making sure you are focusing on 1) family, 2) giving/serving, 3) learning truth, and 4) Jesus Christ? Let’s be intentional about keeping Christ in our Christmas celebrations, and always remembering that Christ is the reason that Christmastime is the most wonderful time of the year. |
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