Are we having fun yet?

The interesting thing about putting your personal goals into a blog posting, is that people actually hold you accountable. For the past few days I have received numerous e-mails and calls to see if I actually did what I said I was going to do, and stop all “holidaymaker work” on the 13th. I would love to say yes. I would love to say that I am a completely reformed obsessive compulsive holidaymaker. But the sad answer is no. Last night I stayed up writing out Christmas cards until 11:30. Today I went to the mall and the post office. My five year old told me yesterday that getting ready for Christmas is worst than moving. (An experience we all barely survived three months ago.) So here I am 4 days after my deadline and I am still doing all the “stuff” that I think I need to do. I feel guilty about it. Partly because I set a goal of making the season Christ centered and I am still running around like a chicken with my head cut off. But mostly, I feel badly because I am not making this season fun for my kids. Sure we have made cookies, cards and gifts. We have driven around and looked at lights and had devotions at night. But we haven’t had fun yet. I have to admit that as much as I want to get off the treadmill of commercial Christmas frenzy – I have had a really hard time actually doing it. My mother actually shouted at me the other day “YOU ARE OUT OF CONTROL!” She’s right.

Luckily tomorrow I am being shoved off the Holidaymaker treadmill. Tomorrow morning my family heads out on our annual pilgrimage to the Bahamas to spend Christmas with my grandmother. So whatever I can’t get done tonight, will have to wait until January. There are no malls, no post offices, no Walmarts to run to “just one more time.” There is just a beach, four generations of my family and 21 days stretching ahead of us.

It is time to stop the cards, and candies, and shopping and running around. It is time to focus on what actually matters to me - my husband, my children, my extended family, and the coming birth of my Lord and Savior. It is time to have some fun.

Gift Giving Part 4 – The best for last – Happy Birthday Jesus!

Last week at my MOPS leadership brunch, we went around and shared ideas for keeping the focus on Christ during Christmas. My friend Stephanie shared that her family puts a birthday gift under the tree for Jesus. It is the last gift that they open. In her family, it is usually a religious item for their home such as a cross. I loved that idea and I have been thinking about it ever since. This year our family is going to start a new tradition of having gifts for Jesus. The girls and I went to Michaels and purchased a plain wooden box with a hinge top. They painted it red and decorated it with birthday and Christmas themed stickers. On top, I glued a piece of scrapbooking paper with Matthew 25:40 written on it, which says, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." From now until Christmas, we will put a drawing inside the box that represents each thing we do for those in need this Christmas season. Our five year old has taken on the job of doing pictures for each of the gifts. As of now we have drawings of two angel tree children we donated gifts to, one child who will receive our Operation Christmas Child box and three children in Africa who are receiving school uniforms. The last of these gifts is the most beautiful to me, as Sarah (age 5) emptied her piggy bank of her birthday money to buy them through her Awana club. She amazes me! I can't wait to see what else we come up with between now and the 25^th.

On Christmas night we will open the box, lay out all the drawings and wish Jesus a Happy Birthday!

 

 

Gift Giving part 3 - The Jesus Storybook Bible

Of all the people you buy gifts for, kids are ones who will tell you exactly what they would like to receive. So buying for kids is not that hard. Unless you actually want to buy them something worthwhile. That is really quite challenging these days. My favorite gift to buy for children is a book. Maybe because it is my favorite thing to receive, but I really believe books can have a lasting impact a child, where a toy never will. This year I am giving the book The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones. Our family received this book a few months ago and it is nothing short of amazing! Now I could diverge on a very long litany of why I love this book. Let’s just say that if a book could have a fan club, I would be the president. I tell so many people about this book, I should make up pamphlets to hand out. It would save me a good bit of time. I love, love, love this book!

I know that you probably have several children’s bibles and bible stories. You’re thinking your kids don’t need another Christian children’s book with such stunning insight as “Mrs. Noah kept things clean.” (yes, we have a book that says that!) So what makes this book so fabulous? It's summed up in the book’s subtitle, Every story whispers his name. What does that mean? This except from the introduction describes it beautifully,

“There are lots of stories in the Bible, but all the stories are telling one Big Story. The Story of how God loves his children and comes to rescue them. It takes the whole Bible to tell this Story. And at the center of the Story, there is a baby. Every Story in the Bible whispers his name. He is like the missing piece in a puzzle ­­– the piece that makes all the other pieces fit together, and suddenly you can see a beautiful picture.” (pg 17)

Children (and adults) learn that Noah isn’t just a man in a boat, nor is Jonah just an unfortunate man who spent time in a whale – the reader learns that all of the stories of the bible are interconnected telling the larger story of God’s love for us and His plan for our salvation. If I could, I would throw out our church’s Sunday school curriculum and just read kids this book. It is that wonderful!

Okay enough of me, Sally agreed to join us for a little blog chat. Welcome Sally!

WS: You have written many bible storybooks, what made you decide to write one from the perspective of “every story whispers his name”?

SLJ: I saw the need for a Bible that was different. It's very hard to retell the Bible stories well and the pitfall many children's Bible storybooks fall into is that they dumb down the stories. They do this, it seems to me, in two ways:
Firstly, they dumb down the language and patronize children. Thinking that by talking down to the child they are making it into a children's book. But of course children are far smarter than that. Far smarter than we give them credit for. I love what Madleine L'Engle said, “When I have something important to say I put it in a children's book.” I don’t see why you shouldn’t speak to children as you would adults—who just happen to be small ones. They may not understand every word. Some things may be above them. But this lets children stand on tiptoes. And the effect is like water on thirsty ground.
The second way children's bible storybooks patronize and dumb things down for children is by hammering down the entire Bible into one long lesson in obedience. Almost like Aesop's Fables, each story becomes a lesson so you can fix your behavior and be a better person. The disastrous and inaccurate conclusion that a child is likely to draw from this: be good so God will love you.
I know I did. And I grew up in a wonderful christian home and came to faith when I was very small, but for some reason I somehow missed (as I think many of us do) the true heart of the Bible. It wasn’t until I was an adult—and under the wonderful teaching of Dr Tim Keller that I started to see what I’d missed it.
I thought the Bible was a book of rules filled with rules on how you should behave (or you would be punished) and a book of heroes you were supposed to copy (be brave like David so God will love you like David, don't run away like Jonah, etc.).
The Bible does have some rules in it (they show how life works best). But Bible isn't mostly about what you should or shouldn't be doing at all, it's about God and what God has done. And the only true Hero in the Bible is God himself. (The Bible does have some heroes in it but most of the people in the Bible are not heroes at all—they are people who mess up all the time!)
Because the Bible is not book of rules or a books of heroes, the Bible is most of all a Story, a Story that runs like golden stream under all the other stories of the Bible: the Story of how God loves his children and comes to rescue them. It takes the whole of the Bible to tell this Story and at the center of the Story is a baby, the Child upon whom everything would depend. And every story whispers his name.
I wanted children to know that God loves them—with “A Never-Stopping, Never Changing, Un-breaking, Always and Forever Love”—to know this wonderful Story of Grace. Because in the end, the rules don't change you. But a Story can.

WS: How did you go about deciding which stories to include in the book?

SLJ: That's a great question. I could only include just over 40 stories. So it's very hard to choose. In a children's storybook bible you have various criteria in choosing which stories to include:
—obviously there are the non-negotiable ones. You need as many of the classic stories as you can fit (Creation, Fall, Noah, Moses, Joseph, Daniel, Jonah, John the Baptist, Paul, etc.). And if you're going to tell the central story of the Bible—the great Rescue Story—you need to be sure to include certain others stories too
—I wanted an approximate equal number of stories from the OT and the NT
—I wanted the stories that are good for illustration potential (e.g. Noah is great, so is Jonah) because this will keep the young reader engaged
—I wanted to bring out the variety in the Bible itself (psalms, parables, healings, teachings, prayers, etc.) so that determined other choices
Beyond that:
—I prayed for wisdom in choosing and I went with the stories that moved me at that moment the most, knowing as Frost said, "no tears in the writer, no tears in the reader"

WS: Any suggestions for parents who want to start introducing the bible to their children?

SLJ: I think the most important thing is to tell them the Story. Over and over. Again and Again. The Story of how God loves his children and comes to rescue them. That needs to be central and first. Children need to know God loves them. Period. It's out of that knowledge that anything changes. I think you should be very careful about applying things from the stories. Yes, of course there are rules and we need them to know how life works best. And yes, there are of course things we can learn from the stories. But I don't think it can be said enough: the bible isn't mostly about you and what you should or shouldn't be dong. It's about God and what He has done. Every story in the Bible is telling a greater story.

WS: In the spirit of my series of gift suggestion postings, what children’s book do you love to give kids?

SLJ: Well aside from my own books (!)—which needless to say all of my friends and relations and their relations are getting—and my latest favorite is HOW TO BE A BABY, BY ME THE BIG SISTER, because it's totally cathartic for big brothers or big sisters like me to see how poor babies are so hopeless at everything unlike them (and by the way, it’s been so fun to see it become a New York Times bestseller and just last week win the NYT Notable Book 2007 as well as the NAPPA 2007 Award)—aside from that, depending on the ages... some of my favorites are; THE FRANCES BOOKS by Russell Hoban, WINNIE THE POOH (the real one not the Disney one); CHRONICLES OF NARNIA; CHARLOTTE’S WEBB by E B White; anything by Charles Marshall or Ruth Krauss or Margaret Wise-Brown.
There are obviously loads and loads more, too many to name… but basically, I suppose I want to give any children’s book that is living—that has a heart and life in it. The book that moves you, makes you laugh, makes you cry, open your eyes to wonder. I know they’re the only ones that I want to be reading. And they are the books I suspect that children will still be reading 100 years from now.

Thank you Sally! Sally has a wonderful website which has more information on her many other books. If you find yourself in a grumpy mood go to her site and watch the Handy Bag Friends movie. It is hysterical. http://www.sallylloydjones.com/. Sally recently recorded three Christmas stories from The Jesus Storybook Bible on Haven Today. Our family snuggled on the couch and listened to them the other night as our advent activity. It was fantastic. You can hear the recordings and read more about her on her blog http://sallylloyd-jones.blogspot.com/2007/11/christmas-story.html.

Gift Giving part 2 …

I am always looking for good gifts for the fellow young moms in my life. Whether they are my cousins, friends or sisters in Christ, these women mean the world to me and I want to give them a gift that is encouraging, useful and just for them. This year I am giving the book Living Simply by Joanne Heim

This summer I stumbled across Joanne's book Living Simply: Choosing Less in a World of More. The first time I read the title, I thought to myself, "I've gotta read that book." Within a week, I had read it and I loved it.

Living Simply is a beautifully written book that speaks to the heart of moms. Joanne speaks honestly about the overly busy, yet often empty, lives that families are struggling with today. She gives clear and simple suggestions for transforming your home, family, friendships and spiritual life. But this is not a self help book. Reading Living Simply is like sitting down to coffee with your girl friend and gleaning wisdom from her funny, honest, and insightful life stories. I have read this book 3 times in 5 months and I am amazed by it each time.

Joanne agreed to join me for a little blog chat. Welcome Joanne!

Wendy (WS): In a nutshell, what does "living simply" mean to your family?

Joanne (JH): In our family, living simply means guarding our time together as a family. We are very deliberate about the commitments we make—especially with evenings and weekends. That means that we have become very comfortable saying no.
Sometimes that means we have to say no to good things. For example, on Sundays we only do things that we can do all together. Both of the girls have said no to birthday parties in the past month, and I've said no to a few open houses or parties that didn't include all of us.
We also limit the activities for Audrey and Emma. It's all too easy to say yes to this, and yes to that—and suddenly the calendar is uncomfortably full. One activity per child is what works for us in this season of life. As they grow that may change, but for now, that's what allows us to complete homework, eat dinner as a family, and get to bed on time.
Living simply is something we do as a family. As a mother, I have a lot of influence. But to make this work, it's something we do together as a family. We talk about what we commit to do—and why.

WS: "Living simply," would be the phrase least likely to describe most families' holidays. What is your family doing, or not doing, this month to keep your Christmas simple and sane?

JH: One of the biggest things we do to keep Christmas simple is to celebrate the story more than the stuff. Don't get me wrong, we love presents! But stuff doesn't last very long—it gets broken, forgotten, lost. The story lasts forever—and gets added to each time we tell it.
Waiting for Christmas morning to arrive is hard—especially for children—so we talk about the story of Christmas each and every day to keep the focus on the fact that Jesus came to earth to be Immanuel—God with us. In the past few years, we've really focused on celebrating Advent—something that makes the waiting fun. We read Christmas stories, we light Advent candles, we put up ornaments on our Advent calendars, we give to those in need, we talk about what it means that God is indeed with us—in everything we do.
It can be hard to balance parents and in-laws when Christmas is just one day. Celebrating the story leading up to Christmas morning is a great opportunity to begin to create your own traditions. As you look for ways to celebrate the story of Christmas, other women are a great resource. Talk to your girlfriends and ask about their Christmas traditions, things they do to celebrate the season, how they've merged traditions from both sides of the family to create new ones

WS: In Living Simply you write about starting to take ballet classes as at age 30. I love the image of you wearing red lipstick and a purple tutu in your spring recital. You ask the reader, "Are you doing things each week that you love to do?" (pg 195) What do you love to do these days and how do you make time to do it?

JH: I miss my ballet classes! I have yet to find a class that meets during the day since we moved to Denver. Though I've found classes that meet at night, they are something I've said no to in order to make our evenings time for family.
So I've found other things I love to do—and put them on the calendar. It's all too easy to put ourselves last when life gets busy. But we need to do things we enjoy—and our children need to know that it's important to play. They need to see us make friendships a priority, to take time to do things we love.
I love to spend time with friends, to wander through antique stores, to sew, to knit, to read.
Block off an hour or two and take some time to do what you love—wander through the library, have coffee with a friend, window shop at the mall. Or stay in your jammies and watch a movie. Whatever it is—put it on the calendar and do it!


WS: You are a crafty gal Joanne, in the spirit of helping each other out with gift ideas – what gifts are you making this year?

JH: I am crafty and love making gifts for people. One of the things that I've done for teachers and neighbors this year is to put together a breakfast basket—mocha mix, pretty Christmas napkins, a loaf of homemade bread. In some of them I've also added an ornament or a gift card or a pot of jam.
The thing with making gifts is that it should be fun. If you're not crafty, don't worry about it and go with something that you enjoy. Buy an ornament and explain why you chose that ornament for that person, give the gift of your time and volunteer at school or watch a friend's children so she and her husband can have a date night. Put together a family movie night bucket filled with popcorn and candy and a favorite movie. Add a game or a book your family has enjoyed together.
Come up with a standard gift from your family—and give that every year. A new movie, a new recipe, a new ornament, a new game, a new book.

Thank you for stopping by The Celebrated Family Joanne.

Isn't she great! If you want to get more of Joanne's tips for simple living, she is currently creating the ABC's of Living Simply. You can down load her tips for free. A new tip is posted each week. Look for the button on the right side of this blog. Joanne posts daily at her blog – http://www.thesimplewife.typepad.com/ . It is a great blog that I always look forward to reading.

Click here to buy Living Simply at Amazon

The big question ...

Every conversation I have had in the last week has included the big question of the season . "What are you giving (insert your kids, husband, mother-in-law, or kids' teachers) for Christmas." So for the next week I am going to post some ideas for simple gifts for your friends, family, teachers and kids. A few wonderful guests will be coming by The Celebrated Family blog to share their hearts and ideas, so stay tuned.

About a week ago I gave out my first Christmas present. It was a gift to myself. I decided to give myself 10 minutes. Ten minutes to be late to everything. Okay, those of you who know me are laughing and thinking " Is that ten minitutes in addition to the 15 mintutes you are normally late?" Well maybe. Maybe I will be 25 minutes late to everything this season. Maybe I will be only 10 minutes late. The heart of my gift is grace. The grace to say to myself, "It's okay. You're doing your best."

Most mornings I run around the house like White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland, screaming "We are going to be late! We are going to be late!" My frazzled kids run to the car and off we go. What a way to start the day. For the next 25 days, we are just not doing that. We are going to linger over cuddles and cheerios. Emily is going to get the time to try to put on her shoes herself. We are just going to be late, and I am going to be okay with that. That is my gift. I can't tell you how excited I am about it. Frankly, I should have given myself this gift a long time ago.

Amid all the Christmas preparations, don't forget you. Is there a gift you should give yourself this year? Whether it's accepting those things that never seem to get done, the permission to say no to the things you don't want to do, or just drawing yourself a bubble bath, I hope you will bless yourself with a Christmas gift this year. When you do, let me know what it is. I'm always looking for good gift ideas.

An article worth reading ..

Many mornings I read three or four stories in the paper, get depressed, and stop reading. Today, I found the most touching story in the Denver Post about the generosity of a young boy. One of the most beautiful parts of the story is that it was written by his dad. You can feel the pride he has for his son oozing out of from between the lines. In this season, when we frequently complain about kids being selfish and greedy, this is great story to help us remember that kids are totally and utterly amazing! You'll be glad you read it.



Click here to read Given from the heart of a young boy by Steve B. Warnecke