To Santa, or not to Santa....?

Every year at Christmastime, we're bombarded with Santa Claus, elves, reindeer, and everything else North Pole-related. Kids are promised mountains of gifts from the jolly fellow, just as long as they keep themselves off of the naughty list. Santa appears at the mall, on television, and on every other Christmas card we receive. There's only just one problem...we don't "do" Santa Claus in this house. Now, don't get me wrong; we have nothing against jolly old St Nick, and his likeness can be found in more than one spot in our home each December. But, we don't teach our children that Santa is real. For many, we're simply being ridiculous, silly, or even mean. And, as usual, I'm pretty sure there are some who brush off our "weird" child-rearing as crazy religious. But, before you form your own opinion of our Santa-less Christmas, I'd like to explain our reasoning. (And, please note that these are our own personal reasons for our family. If you don't agree, or if you want to do Santa with your own kids--that's totally fine with us!)
The first reason that we don't teach our kids that Santa Claus is real is because he isn't real. Yes, there was a historical figure named St. Nicholas, of whom our present-day Santa Claus was originally modeled, but that's not what we're avoiding. When they're older, I'll have no problems at all teaching my boys about St. Nicholas. I do have a problem telling my children anything that is simply not true. (No Santa, no Easter Bunny, no tooth fairy...these kids have got it rough, eh?) When I was pregnant with Nathaniel, I worked in a daycare, and I saw parents and workers lie to young children regularly. The lies were usually "little, white lies" about insignificant things, and were often told simply to make the child do/not do something. This annoyed me to no end because I simply didn't understand the point. Why not explain the truth? Why not take the time to think of a promise that you really can fulfill? I swore to myself that I would never lie to my own kids. And, I haven't. (Okay, I did one single time....and I felt so terrible about it that I apologized and told him the next morning!) Honestly, it hasn't been hard at all. Sure, I guess sometimes it would be easier to lie, but telling the truth really isn't that hard. Even to little kids. I just don't think I could intentionally deceive my children about something without feeling guilty. Even a fun something like Santa. It has nothing to do with their potentially being crushed and sad when they learn the truth; but it has everything to do with my wanting to teach my children that we only tell the truth. And, the best way to teach is to model.

.....................................(^ image from here.)

The other reason that we don't do Santa with our boys is that we want to teach them the real meaning of Christmas. Yes, I am aware that you can teach a child about Santa AND Jesus. But I know that children of a very young age do not have the capacity to understand the difference between make-believe and reality (Example: the millions of kids who do believe in Santa). Jesus is reality; Santa is not. As children grow older, they begin to distinguish the difference, and they do that by listening to their parents. If I tell Nate that Jesus is real, he believes me. If I told him that Santa was real, he would believe that too. Still not a problem? Here is where my problem lies....eventually, children who do believe in Santa learn that he is not real. Why, at that point, should they believe that Jesus is real? If they have been misled about one, why should they think that they weren't about the other? Again, I'm not saying that it isn't possible for a child to believe in Santa, and then grow up to understand that Christ's birth is real. I am simply saying that the belief in Santa as a child could have the potential to introduce doubt about Jesus. I do not want to ever, ever be the reason that my children might doubt God.
Even at their young and tender ages, we are fostering their believe and trust in God--and, I pray, only in God. The one single thing that I want more than anything else for my boys is for them to have a very real and personal relationship with Jesus Christ as their Savior. For now, Nathaniel knows that Christmas is Jesus' birthday. He knows that we celebrate to remember the baby who was born in a stable, and he knows that God sent his son so that "whoever believes in the Son has eternal life". He knows about Santa too. He knows that Santa is pretend, and he knows that Santa is a fun game that many people like to play. He has books about Santa, and we even have a few Santa Claus ornaments on our Christmas tree. He's been instructed not to spoil the Santa "game" for other children, and as far as I know, he hasn't. He does, however, know the truth about Santa AND about Jesus.
Someday, when my boys think about making the decision to give their lives to Christ, I don't want either of them to have any speculation or doubt about Jesus. From the beginning, they've been taught that Jesus (unlike Santa) is very real, and very important. That is why we don't do Santa in this house. We're not anti-Santa, but we are very much devoted to Jesus Christ. Santa's role in our Christmas is only a small one, much like a tree or a gingerbread house or gifts. The main focus of this season is not a make-believe Santa or gifts or cookies or carols; it is God's greatest gift to mankind: His Son. Merry Christmas!


(^ Nate enjoying both a reindeer AND Santa with any deprivation or hesitation!)

Keeping Christ in Christmas...

It's gonna be a Christmas to remember...

It's the Christmas season, and I've been extra determined this year. Extra determined to get my shopping finished early, keep the house relatively clean, stay on top of the baking, spend lots of quality family time, and to have an extra super duper holly jolly December! So far, I've done a halfway decent job of keeping up with the "chore" part of the season, but I'll admit that I haven't quite been enjoying it. Our Christmas preparations have been more of a hassle than a joy, and I hate that. It seems as though even the extra special Christmas family events that we've planned have been....less enjoyable than I'd hoped. Our hunt for the perfect Christmas tree, though an overall success, was racked with inconveniences. The house is decorated, but it took almost a week to complete--and I spent more time scolding the boys for touching than encouraging them to help. Gifts are almost all wrapped--but, I did them as quickly as possible during naptimes. And, even our Christmas movie & pizza night last night had a bit of a damper when I realized that I forgot to add yeast to the pizza dough! (Thank goodness for an awesome husband and delicious carry-out pizza!) It just seems as though I'm doing alright with the Christmas preparations...but can't quite get myself into the holiday spirit.

I've simply felt overwhelmed with the whole idea of Christmas. My daily to-do lists aren't bad, but the mere thought of everything I've planned in my mind for the perfect Christmas season is a bit much. I've been more worried about finishing up everything ahead of schedule, and less worried about spending quality time with my family. To-do lists and chores are not the things of which the Christmas season is supposed to be about, yet so often that's exactly what we make them.

Yesterday, I realized something that I knew all along--Christmas isn't about whether or not the kitchen cupboards have been cleaned, or whether or not laundry is caught up. Obviously, I knew that, but sometimes it's easy to forget. Christmas is all about a little baby who came to earth--not in a spotless house to eat Christmas dinner with his extended gift-giving family, but in a cold, dirty barn, where his first-time mother likely labored alone. He came to this damaged and cruel world to save us, not just to tell a cute story about a baby in a manger or to start a holiday about cookies and gifts and trees.

My worrying and nagging about silly preparations aren't going to help anything. (And, of course, the preparations will be finished--we still have 9 days, after all!) I began thinking about this time last Christmas, and how incredibly imperfect, yet completely perfect it was. My preparations were far less than my idealist planning, yet my perspective was changed. I realized that my perfect Christmas doesn't necessarily mean that everything is done; it simply means that we're together as a family celebrating His birth. A few days ago, Levi caught a little cold--one that seems to have no other symptoms than a nagging cough when he's laying down. As much as I cringe every time I hear my baby hacking in his bed, I am truly grateful. I am thankful for this cough that reminds me of last year--when my perspective was altered, and I knew that all we really needed for Christmas was family. I am thankful for an amazing God who loves us enough to send His Son, and who loves me enough to remind me when I most need it. I am thankful for my sweet, healthy family. And, I am thankful for the joy that is Christmas preparation--no matter whether I finish or not, there is joy in readying for the celebration of our Savior's birth!


It's time now to get into the Christmas spirit--not only to make cookies and wrap gifts, but to truly remember the true spirit of Christmas. It's time to revel in the awesome LOVE that God demonstrated when he sent his one and only son to save us. It's time to stop worrying, and start trusting! Merry Christmas!!

No. 2 Pencils for Christmas? In August?

As you know, annual Back To School sales are in full swing in stores right now! Every year, the end of summer sales make me want to run out and buy crayons and pencils and pink erasers and glue sticks and spiral notebooks. And, a lunchbox! And, hey, while we're at it, I'll take a couple of Lisa Frank folders too! But, sadly, the only one who is going back to school from my house these days is a fellow who claims that his only needs for the new year are a file folder and some new posters of France. Erg.
If you're in the same I-wanna-buy-school-supplies-because-it's-almost-September-but-I-really-don't-have-a-need-for-any-of-it situation as I am, I've got an exciting secret to share! Right now is the best time to buy school-related things to stuff into your Operation Christmas Child box!! The boxes aren't due for a few more months, but buying school supplies during major sales (now!) is the frugal thing to do!

If you're not familiar with Operation Christmas Child, I'd love to share a little bit more with you. Operation Christmas Child is an organization that collects millions of shoe boxes full of small gifts from generous people around the world (like you!). Donations are collected ($7/box), and the boxes are shipped to countries where they are needed (so far, OCC has reached 125 countries!). The boxes are distributed to children who are living in poverty--who, most likely, will not receive any other Christmas gifts. Each child who receives a shoe box also receives a copy of a book called The Greatest Journey (printed in his/her own language), which contains a 12-week discipleship program to teach them how to become followers of Jesus Christ.

Operation Christmas Child is a ministry that has been close to my heart for many years. I highly encourage you to take advantage of this easy opportunity to bless a child across the world this holiday season. If you have children in your life, get them involved too! This is a fun way to teach kids about giving and loving their neighbors--even the ones who live on other continents! By the way, if you make your $7 donation online, you receive a bar code to place on your box, and then you are able to track your box to its destination. Fun--and an easy educational opportunity! If you are interested on helping Operation Christmas Child with their ministry this year, now is the time to get started! You can click here to learn how to pack your box. Collection Week this year is November 18-25, so there is still plenty of time to put lots of thought and love into your box-packing. (But, like I said, NOW is a great time to start shopping!) If you have any questions about how to pack or donate your box, I would be glad to help you out in any way I can. Happy "school" shopping!

A Mother's Love...

Eric and I stood in front of our church family today, and we dedicated our boys to the Lord. We promised to raise them in a Christian household, to teach them about Jesus, and to serve Christ through our jobs as parents. We promised to do all of the things that we've planned to do since we became parents--but this time, we promised in front of a lot of people, and more importantly, in front of God. This dedication is something that we'd *meant* to do for months after Nate was born. And after a little over a year, we figured we might as well wait a few more months to make a family of four event. So now, nine months after our little Levi joined the family, we have finally done it. We've publically dedicated both of our boys back to the Lord. A baby dedication is not a baptism or a guarantee, but rather a vow (on the parents' part) to train up our children in the way they should go (Proverbs 22:6).
I have been reading about Samuel's mother, Hannah, recently (1 Samuel 1&2). Hannah's willingness to very literally give her child back to the Lord convicted me a bit. If she was willing and able to give Samuel, who was the very desire of her heart--her son!--back to the Lord (1 Samuel 1:28), I should be willing to do the same. No, I'm not taking my boys to church to live there and be little assistants to the pastor in a modern day version of Hannah's Samuel. Why? Because that's not what the Lord has asked of me. But, if he does, I should be willing to let them go. These sweet boys of mine who are the most precious things in the world to me are not entirely mine. They belong first to the Lord, and then to Eric and me.

Our children are precious to us. They are the most important gifts that we'll ever receive, second only to our salvation through Jesus Christ. I once read a blog entry that discussed idols in today's world, and it really made me think. It seems that we often bypass the second and third commandments because they're the ones that we're sure we don't violate--no other gods before Him? Easy peasy; I've never even seen a golden calf statue, let alone considered bowing down before one! But, the gods of today's world are different from those of the Old Testament--or are they? An idol can be anything that we love more than God. Anything. Money? Friends? Material possessions? Our own children?!
Now, hold it right there--our kids can be our "gods before" HIM?! Yup. Anything we love more than God. Anything. That aforementioned blog entry discussed how children are the only idol that is commonly "acceptable" in the modern church. And, by "acceptable", I'm not talking about acceptable to God, but rather "acceptable" to us, the sinful humans. And, that's just not cool. God has made it very clear that we are to have NO other gods before Him--not even our beautiful babies, who are precious gifts from Him. We love our children very much, but we must be careful that the love we have for them does not overshadow the love for our Saviour. I'm not saying that you necessarily need to love your children any less, but rather that perhaps you should examine your relationship with your Creator. Are you giving Him all of your heart AND soul AND mind?
As parents, our jobs are huge and busy and never-ending. But, there is only one way that we're going to be the parents that HE designed us to be, and that is by putting Christ first in our lives. Strength for those sleepless nights? Patience with the toddler's tantrums? Wisdom during the scary teenage years? There is NOTHING that our God cannot handle, and with His help ANYTHING is possible! We were designed to praise, honor, and worship Him in all that we do--even me as a stay-at-home mommy. It is my job to show my boys what a real relationship with Christ is, and, oh what a job! The best (and only!) way to do that is to demonstrate it in my own life. As many hopes and dreams as I have for my two little ones, I have only one real desire for them--that they both grow up to be godly men who have a strong faith in the Lord. I want their relationship with Christ to shine so brightly from their lives that it easily overshadows anything else. Sure, I want them to grow up into happy and successful men who have everything they've ever wanted--but more than that, "I [will] have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in truth" (3 John 4).

Happy Mother's Day!!