There are so many Christmas videos out and about this year, but this one still remains my favorite.
My family has read through the Jesus Storybook Bible, and it’s become a staple at our Child Dedication events at Trinity. I love, love, love the style, writing, and heart behind this book. If you haven’t already done it, then pick one up for your family this year and enjoy it together as a family for some out-loud reading together!
I love a church that loves families. Living in Lubbock, there is one overriding observation that comes out to you quickly: Lubbock is a family town! Trinity Church fits well right where we are, because we are a true reflection of our community. For almost 50 years, Trinity Church has had great ministry to children, teenagers, college students and young families. Many of those oldest in our church, have raised their families and grandkids right here at Trinity. In fact, it’s something that is often bragged about by those older. You’ll hear them say, “I used to bring my kids here to Trinity, and now my grandkids attend here too!”
While the past is great, it’s the future commitment to families that has me most excited. In 2012 we truly and officially will break ground on a building that’s primary impact will be on those younger than 12 years old. I believe that the Beyond Project will help make Trinity the place for families to be in West Texas. We’ve also undergone an extensive staffing transition over the past year that equips us to reach the family in new and creative ways. From the size of our budget monies, to excellent quality of staff, to the long-term commitment demonstrated over the years; there is no doubt we are a church that values children, teenagers, and families!
This year for the Christmas Advent Season my family is doing the normal Sunday Advent devotional, but adding to that by trying hard to continue the theme throughout the week with my kids. On the first Sunday of Advent we talked about hope. Two kinds of hope; the hope that those felt for a redeemer waiting for Christ to come, and the hope that we feel for everyday since he has come.
Isaiah 60:1 Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
2 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and his glory will be seen upon you.
3 And nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your rising.
We talked with the kids about the differences between hoping and wishing, and kept it short enough that the kids paid attention for most of the 5 minutes. But this year I challenged them to think about HOPE all week long. I’ve reminded them all week before school to be thinking and looking for examples of hope. So this week we’ve talked Star Wars “A New Hope”, we’ve talked about hoping that mom will put cookies in our lunch boxes, we’ve talked about how we hope that it snows this week, and everynight before bed I’ve reminded the kids that we can have real hope in Christ. We don’t have to wish for it, we are given real-life changing hope.
One of the things I found online this week was this great video, which helped illustrate further the idea that we have something inside of us that longs for Hope. See if you can use it with your family this week to start some discussion as well.
As we celebrate another Thanksgiving, it’s appropriate to remember those things we are thankful for. We all do this to some degree, right? If nothing else, we should be thankful for the opportunity to be thankful. But this year, I’ve been challenging those I’m most thankful for to let our thankfulness be a wellspring of life that allows us to give others things to be thankful for. That’s a mouthful, I know. Basically I’ve wanted to let my thankfulness be the things that motivates me to bless others.
This year my family worked together to do something that gives someone else something to be thankful for. We chose as a family this year to enter into the world of fostering care. We’ve seen the worst, and we’ve seen the best of the system. The really strange thing, is that at it’s best…it’s still really hard.
As we drove back from letting the young boy that we’ve had for 9 months reunite with his own family, I was struck with how very thankful I am for my own family. I’m thankful that life hasn’t presented the kind of challenges that forces me to have to reunite with my own kids. I’m thankful that my children were big brothers and a big sister to someone that needed them desperately. I’m thankful that this pain my family feels will be made better by us all being together. Finally, I’m thankful that we get to imagine big things for our family, and act on those things in big ways.
Psalm 105:1 ESV
Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples!
How has your own thankfulness impacted those around you this year?
A few years ago I remember there being a family in our apartment complex that didn’t celebrate Christmas. The real kicker was that they were ardent Christians, and we’re a really great family. They didn’t celebrate it, for reasons that are common. Jesus wasn’t born in December, it’s a roman holiday, etc, etc, etc… The real funny thing was that another Christian family in our complex noticed this family didn’t have a tree or any presents for the kids…and in the real Spirit of Christmas they set out to correct this assuming the family couldn’t afford to celebrate.
They went out and bought a tree, presents, and Christmas food and showed up unannounced at their doorstep to surprise this family with their own “Christmas Miracle.” What was really great, was that the family that didn’t celebrate; never let on with this family as to why they didn’t celebrate. They just took the gift, and celebrated that year.
Well, this year the folks over at “What’s in the Bible?” have tackled this age-old questions of why is Christmas on December 25th? The videos and curriculum are sure to be content-rich; but they bring up an interesting question. How do we approach this sensitive subject with kids and those that lead them in our churches? I mean we do all understand that Jesus wasn’t born on the morning of December 25th, right? We know that the date we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior is rooted deeply in pagan traditions, right?
I personally have learned to celebrate the birth and coming of my redeemer, in spite of the conflict that December 25th present for us; but how do I prepare my leaders to do this in the atmosphere of being honest and forthright with our kids?
Let’s start here:
So I’ve spent time today talking about this great video and curriculm idea from WITB; and now it’s time to give yourself a chance to win some all for yourself! I’ll be giving away a “Why do we call it Christmas? Curriculum Series” DVD, valued at $79.99! And you can enter right now below, and there are up to 5 different ways to get your name in the drawing. Let’s play now!
