Monday, December 8, 2008
Joy- Experiencing the real meaning of Christmas
Since our family has expanded to now 22 kids.. I get asked "how do you do Christmas?" I share that besides the obvious sharing of the birth of Christ I try to have us experience Joy...I think that having a sense of joy and experiencing the meaning of Christmas is best done thru a home where joy is expressed thru music, lots of laughter, and the evidence of a "real" faith.So we have lots of lights to represent the light that came to us at Christmas, extra foods and goodies to remind us of the Lord's provision, and opportunities for us to share with others about the love of Jesus... to help build compassion in our hearts... we do giving activities like making shoeboxes for our local homeless shelter, and/or Samaritans Purse. We have them buy/make for each other( a name is picked for them to buy/make for their sibling), placing money in the Salvation Army buckets when we go shopping, baking for others and we listen to lots of Christmas music and sometimes go carolling. We have some straw set aside in a bag in a drawer along with an empty basket on our fireplace mantle. When someone does something for someone the receiver gets to tell that person they can put a piece of straw in the baby Jesus basket... on Christmas eve. we hope there is a nice, soft bed made for the baby by our love for one another... then Christmas am there is a baby placed in the manager basket representing Jesus. On Christmas eve. we give out the creche pieces to the little ones and we reenact the Christmas story with the chosen child doing their part. Then we all go outside ( we have done this in all weather) looking for the baby Jesus like the shepherds. Before this our older kids have made a manger scene by a firepit somewhere on our property.. we go seeking the baby as the shepards did and the wise men. When we find Him we sing carols by the fire.I think that the expression of joy thru gift giving and gift receiving is important at Christmas. There is a balance in all of it but it can be glorious to celebrate Jesus thru gift giving and receiving. I think joy is giving God the glory... we need to be able to express joy in our glory and praise to the newborn King.
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3 comments:
Okay, that is just plain beautiful!
What an awesome expression of what Christmas is all about! LOVE your manger ideas.
Many years ago, we used to go to an interactive play every year put on by a country church called, "Bethlehem Marketplace". It was AMAZING, including Roman soldiers who shoved us in a line to go and pay our taxes. As we wandered through the city looking for an INN, there was talk all along the way of a messiah being born and a pregnant woman who was turned away. The Inn keeper yelled at us that he had NO ROOM now go away, and said, he even sent a pregnant woman away. Then Shepherds come running up and say Angels appeared to them and a baby has been born. We ran outside to see, and there was Mary Joseph and Baby Jesus (a real newborn baby) in a stable, and we all sang Away in A Manger and Silent Night.
I just loved doing that, but the church is no longer doing it. :(
Thanks for some wonderful ideas to bring it home. :)
Beautiful! Instead of straw, we write on a strip of paper each time we have showed love to eachother and on Christmas night we celebrate his birthday making paper chains out of the stips we wrote on-our gifts to him!
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