Joy in the Season

I've been more than a bit delinquent in my recent posts.  There has been so much living life with Olivia, that I haven't done a very good job at pausing to capture them.

 

I do want to be intentional for a moment.  We have entered the season of Advent.  In a few short weeks, we will once again celebrate the birth of Jesus.  It is really easy to get distracted by the Hallmark movies (love them!) and the constant promotion of "the greatest" toys that everyone "must" have.

 

Being a first-time mom, and the mom to a child who has never experienced a Christmas season like happens here in the US, I have been thinking and praying about how can I make sure that she understands that Christmas is all about Jesus, while not taking away from some of the other fun that our society has introduced to this time of year.

 

One of the things that we have done is a family Advent devotional by Pieces of the Promise.  This was created by another China momma and her husband.  The Advent devotional is the first one, but they have others in process to be used throughout the year to draw our children and families closer to Jesus.  We have LOVED it.  It starts with reading from the Bible (which Olivia reminds me from her AWANA verse: "God's word is truth."), then follows with some discussion questions, and comes to close with putting together puzzle pieces.  Each day there are additional pieces of the puzzle that are added and will come together to create a beautiful picture of God's love for us.  Throughout the time we pause to pray for God's love, guidance, and understanding.  This has been a sweet time for us.

 

 

 

And then there is the question of Santa Claus.  I know some who try to just eliminate him from Christmas.  I didn't want to do that because, I'm a fan.  What I'm not a fan of is how he has become the sole focus for some people.  So we have been feeling (and praying) our way through this.  It is hard when every checkout clerk asks, "So, have you been good?  Is Santa going to bring you lots of presents?"  We have taken the approach that Santa Claus (Saint Nicholas) was a priest who originally travelled and gave gifts to those who were in need.   The Santa Claus that we see and hear about now, is one of his friends and likes to share.

 

This past Saturday we went to a Christmas Party for Central Ohio Families with Children from China.  Santa was there.  Here is what she told me, "I like Santa. He is my friend. He gives presents to kids who don't have any. He makes Jesus happy because he shares." I love that she looked at him funny when he asked what she wanted him to bring her. Didn't occur to her to ask. She says that Christmas is Jesus' birthday and he is the one who should be asking for birthday presents. I love her heart and sweet faith!  You should hear the plans she has for Jesus' birthday cake that we are going to be making...

 

 

Yesterday we watched "Santa Claus is Coming to Town."  I remember watching it every year when I was little.  How fun it was to watch it with fresh eyes.  I saw new things in it this year.  I hadn't remembered that Kris Kringle was an orphan, did you?  He was left on the doorstep of the Kringle family with only a little charm with the name "Claus" on it.  The Kringle family welcomed "Kris" into their family and loved him as their own.  I loved that part of the focus of Santa's story was him taking from the abundance of toys that the Kringles had and his desire to share them with the children who had no toys.  I also loved that in this little movie that it talks about (and shows images of) Kris travelling by night to deliver gifts like the Wise Men did many, many years ago as they brought gifts to Jesus.  This movie which lives in the secular world has many overt references to Jesus as the real reason for the season.  Seeing Santa and Jesus in the same movie reinforced to Olivia that "Santa is Jesus' friend.  He likes to share.  Sharing makes Jesus happy."

 

Did you know that if you drive down a bumpy road - like in German Village - and sing the Hallelujah Chorus, you can have crazy laughs?  We do now.  Whenever we are heading down to Children's Hospital, we always seem to arrive early, so we detour through German Village.  Olivia loves to look at the brick buildings, pretty gardens, and now to sing, "haaaaaallllllleluuuuuuyah...." 

 

Finding joy in the season doesn't require lots of money.  It doesn't have to mean scoffing at or ignoring all of the ways that Christmas is being celebrated around us.  What it does mean is spending time to plant and reinforce the real meaning of Christmas in the hearts of those we love so that His joy can be found all around.

 

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!  May you feel, enjoy, know, and celebrate the birth of Jesus!

 

 

(And thank you to my amazing friend Amy for capturing some great shots of me and Olivia!  Amy is one of those I look to as a model of how go be a Godly mom.  She is phenomenal and is in the process of bringing Esty home from China!  Read about their great family and adventure here!)