Christmas Traditions Worth Starting

When I hear the word Tradition I get an uneasy, uncomfortable feeling.  Besides making me think of that horrible Barbara Streisand movie (sorry ladies, I’m not a fan), the word Tradition makes me think of boring churches, old colleges, and mistakes that I repeat constantly.  For instance, it’s a tradition that I must stub my toe on the frame of any door when walking through the house at night.  If I’m not careful, I can turn the word tradition into something bad, and yet it doesn’t have to be.

As the parents to three kids, my wife and I are the people that create memories (or traditions) for our kids at Christmas time.  We consider ourselves the chief memory-makers in our house, and part of the responsibility means that I start traditions for my family.  For example, for the past three years we have honored the Advent schedule throughout December.  We will light our candles, and more importantly take time every Sunday leading up to Christmas looking forward to the birth of Jesus; and his eventual return to earth!

We have also started a tradition of…

To read the rest of this blog post visit my friend Cody Winkler at www.codywinkler.com.  I’m guest posting over in his corner of the blogosphere, and I’m sure he’d love to hear from you!

Choosing to Give

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This year my family has chosen to give one of our gifts to someone in need.  I’ve written about it in years past, but every year we have given our kids three gifts a piece; yet one of those three gifts is given to somebody in much more need than us.  In years past we’ve made contributions to Charity:Water to build a well, and last year we bought a goat through Heifer International.  We do this to show our kids that with all that we have to gain at Christmas, we have that much more to give.  The best part of all is that they don’t protest one bit!  They love that we do it, and start asking and pondering what we will give weeks in advance.

This year we have chosen to make our small gift to the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund through Compassion International.  We have sponsored a child through Compassion for almost two years now, and trust the organization of Compassion International to do amazing things with the little we bring to the table as a family.  So this weekend we watched this video as a family, filled out the online forms, and prayed as a family for those in desperate need in Haiti and those there helping them.

You can choose to help Haiti as well.  Take time to click the image below to find out how you can Help Haiti this holiday season.

What’s in the Bible Contest Winners

Last week I played one small part of the 12 Questions of Christmas Blog Tour promoting the What’s in the Bible? DVD series that is out in stores now.  Check out www.whatsinthebible.com for all the greatness of these DVD’s.  I love, love, love them and I’m sure you will too.

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I promised then that I would be giving away 4 (count them FOUR) DVD’s to those that tweeted and/or commented on this blog posts with a Christmas Memory.  The comment section was filled with some great memories, and it would be worth you going to read them to get yourself in the Holiday spirit.

The winners of the contest were:

@SilverVinePhoto

Joy

@jordzak

Gordon

I’ll be in touch with each of you shortly to get these wonderful DVD’s into your hands as soon as possible.  Thanks also to Random.ORG for taking the complications out of picking a winner!

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Contest Winners

Thanks for playing along and for sharing your memories with us at jonathancliff.com.

 

What’s In the Bible? Christmas Tour

This is video 12 of 12 in the What’s in the Bible? 12 Questions of Christmas Blog Tour. Check out www.whatsinthebible.com each day to find the location of the next video in the series.

Ian asks a final, important question.

What’s in the Bible? is the new 13-DVD series from VeggieTales creator Phil Vischer designed to walk kids and families through the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. DVDs 1-4 (Genesis – Ruth) are available now. Check out www.whatsinthebible.com to learn more.

I know, I know…But Jonathan.  You don’t like puppets!  Why are you linking to this?  First of all, I’ve clearly written in the past that I’m only against BAD puppets.  The What’s in the Bible? series is genius.  It’s funny, educational, and funny.  My kids have been fans of Jelly Telly in the past, and now they love the WITB DVD’s just as much.

WE have some winners!

Visit http://www.jonathancliff.com/2010/12/whats-in-the-bible-contest-winners/ to find out who won what, and see if you were one of the lucky winners!

The Gift of Community

The following is a special message from my good friend, Michael Chanley.  Of course, everyone considers Michael to be a good friend.  He’s somebody special with a burden for those that work with kids.  Whether you’re a paid staff member, a volunteer, or somebody with just past experiences; you’re invited to participate in the discussion everyday over at CMconnect.org!

The online community for children’s and family ministry has changed dramatically in the last two years. Social networking has transformed our ability to connect online.

There really is no reason to be a silo.  There is no reason to do ministry alone.

CMConnect is just one small piece of the vibrant online community. Facebook, twitter, and the blogosphere have all played major roles in the revolutionary way we are connected to one another. Additionally, traditional print sources, like Children’s Ministry Magazine and K! Mag, continue to change and adapt to equip the community. Then, there are the conferences… micro-conferences are springing up everywhere and new regional events. The conferences, traditional media, and online community have together transformed our ability to refine our talents.

However, there are still many out there doing ministry alone. They struggle week to week not knowing how to answer the problems they face in their ministry. They have no broader community to draw encouragement and wisdom. They share our passion; yet, they are disengaged.

Will you help us reach them?

This December, I’d like to challenge you… give the free gift of community.

Here are some ideas on how you can engage with the broader kidmin and fammin community:

Read more about giving the free gift of community in this post from Wayne Stocks.

Catch up on the latest from CMConnect Radio.

Visualize your global children’s and family ministry and add yourself.

Support our free community with a donation and please click the ads from our sponsors.

Thanks for all you do… it is a huge honor to be able to serve you and your church through this ministry.

// Michael Chanley, cmconnect.org