Believe it or not, we have been already starting our Christmas planning here at the church. I know that that word brings a wide array of emotions for all of you. (Magic, stress, sadness, happiness, family, love, fun,busyness, expense, planning, etc) Let me give you some time to consider what your children learn from this season. What is the first word that comes into their mind when you say Christmas? My guess is the word 'present' is at the top of the list.
My challenge to you would be to set a plan in place this Christmas season to help them transition in their mind to Christ as the present. How can we share Him this season?
Think about your normal traditions you have and how you can transform them into acts of love in the name of Christ. Change your terminology around to saturate your conversations with excitement about Christ and what He did for us.
Perhaps you have a gingerbread house making ritual. Could you make two and take one or more down to a women's shelter for the kids, or perhaps cookie decorating is your thing. Maybe extra can be made and taken to a senior center in your area. Whatever your tradition, think about how you can share the love of Christ with it. You could add a new tradition to your season if your existing ones are not adaptable.
Start planning now. Think of how you will phrase things and build excitement for the new traditions you are planning. Children take their lead from you. Set out to systematically change that first word that pops into your child's head when you say Christmas.
I would love to hear about all the ways our families are already doing this. Chime in and share.
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