This year I decided to take a break from all the pressure I put on myself to somehow make Christmas more about Jesus than it actually is. Don't get me wrong I do LOVE Christmas and I LOVE all the ways we can and are able to make it about Christ. There is certainly a beautiful wonder about Christmas and I love that it offers up an opportunity to share, discuss, explore, and experience more of the Savior. But, in the past 3 years I've unintentionally tried to live up to some of the other moms blogs I read (and been inspired by) and poured myself into trying to teach my children all the in's and out's of Christmas and how Jesus is at the center of it all.
Truth is, Jesus is at the center of all we do, not just Christmas, and although it's so precious to consider the birth of the Savior, the Bible does not denote that actual time of his birth as if to remember the day. Because what is truly remarkable about his birth is that he was G-d and Man in one, born of a Virgin and with the intention to eventually bring us to the Father. And, somehow in my quest to make Christmas more about Jesus I was beginning to lose the FUN of Christmas and actually, without meaning to, steering my children away from Him rather than towards Him.
There is a lot of history behind the Christmas we now celebrate and it is wrought with idolatry, sadism, child sacrifice, and mysticism. I want to be very careful not to mix too much with pagan things as I try to raise children who love and serve G-d. But, I fear that if I completely remove Christmas from our life I will not accomplish driving their love for him deeper, rather appear religious and stern.
So, this year was just about making Christmas FUN! Yes, we still discussed what it was all about and who we love and serve in our lives. But, I let myself just enjoy the season, spoiling the children for no apparent reason but just because its fun and we love them (because it certainly doesn't please the LORD or displease the LORD).
It was like I could take a breath of fresh air. I realize I did that to myself. Trying so hard to do the right things for them I (cause I can only speak for myself) sucked all the FUN out of something I remember being so FUN as a kid. Well, enough of that. We LOVE Jesus all the time. We celebrate Christmas 1 time each year. I want it to be FUN, JOYous, and MEMORABLE. No more trying to create traditions that are too difficult to achieve or don't come naturally or aren't age appropriate (we learned that the hard way).
I'd love to make a habit of celebrating Hanukkah which has many more marvelous pictures of our Father's provision and Love. If we can couple Hanukkah and Christmas together I will be thrilled.
All that being said, our Christmas was great. I ordered almost all the gifts on Cyber Monday. We were able to bless some of Justin's co-workers and their wives. The kids drew names and picked gifts for each other. And, we had a great time hanging out with Jarom and Charla on Christmas Eve and my family on Christmas Day. It was just a lovely Christmas.
