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Christmas
is such a wonderful busy time of year. There are
always friends
and relatives to visit, parties to
go to,
gifts to buy, lists of thing to do! When you
have children
and all the things that go along with trying to please
everybody, sometimes the true meaning of
the holiday somehow gets lost in the shuffle.
We
have four children and when they were growing up we
wanted to instill in
them what Christmas was all about.
Sometimes that is difficult
when the world around us is
focusing on a fat man in a red suit. I
have absolutely
nothing against Santa Claus - my children believed
there
was a Santa just like other children. In fact, I think the
spirit of giving and wonder and awe that a child sees in
Christmas is
wonderful, but we must also teach them
what the true meaning is.
"An
angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone
around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them
"Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be
for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to
you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a
baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
~Luke 2: 9-12~
One
of the traditions that we started when my children
were small was "A Stocking For Jesus". One year we
made our stockings out of felt and glitter and ribbon.
When we had made all six of them and still had supplies left
we decided to make one for Jesus. When the children asked
what Santa would put in it, I told them that Jesus doesn't
want gifts from Santa, He wants gifts from us. So together
we decided that when we hung our stockings, we would
also hang one for Jesus. Every time we thought of
something that we were thankful for, we would write
a little thank-you note, and stick it in the stocking.
Then on Christmas day, after eating a festive dinner,
we would pass the stocking around and take turns pulling
out the notes and reading them out loud.
This
has grown every year, to the point that as soon as
Thanksgiving dinner is over, we get out the stocking
for Jesus and it is the first Christmas decoration up!
When a friend or family member visits, we ask them to
give a gift to Jesus. My children are all grown now, but it
is a tradition that continues. No one ever signs the notes
and when the whole family gathers together for Christmas
dinner, we all look forward to passing the stocking around.
Would
you like to leave a gift for Jesus?
I decided to continue the tradition here at
Our All In All. Please feel free to leave a
thank you for Jesus, or just a praise of love.
God Bless you all and may you have
a wonderful Christmas!
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