STRESS-FREE
CHRISTMAS
Each year at this time
I try to write about reducing stress at Christmas time. You might think that
is impossible, but we have had several Stress-Free Christmases in the past few
years. I believe you can adopt a few ideas and not be stressed about
Christmas celebrations - that's what it is suppose to be, isn't it? Below are
some of these ideas that I have shared in the past, along with some other
ideas.
READ GOD'S WORD EVERY MORNING
- Starting my day with God's Word seems obvious, but sometimes gets left out.
I need to hear from God & speak to God each day so I am strengthened and ready
to be the mom He wants me to be. At breakfast, we review some of the ideas we
have discussed at our dinnertime family devotions. I hope this will start our
kids' day on the right foot as well. Each of the kids know they are to read
their Bible when they wake up. Of course, some need a little more reminding
than others.
DON'T DO EVERY ACTIVITY
THAT COMES ALONG - This seems quite
apparent, but it took me about 10 years to learn this lesson. Actually, my
wonderful husband helped me learn how to reduce the activity in our lives
during the holiday season. In the past, I wanted our kids to experience
everything available during this season. What was actually happening was I
began to harbor stress and resentment that would usually explode around
Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. (I'm sure none of you have ever experienced
this)
WHICH ACTIVITIES DO I CHOOSE
- What works for our family is to choose 1 or 2 Christmas activities to
attend outside our home. (This year we will invite another family to join us
for Star of Bethlehem, by our friend Rick Larson. We have not seen it in a
few years. We will also go caroling with our church.) Anything else we do
is done in our home. One of the best ways this reduces stress is that I am
not "persuading" my husband to attend one more Christmas activity each week.
He still spends all day working to provide for our family. Consequently, he
is much happier going to 1-2 activities and enjoying our family & friends at
home. We enjoy having others in our home, so we capitalize on this. Our
children help us clean & cook, so our work is reduced and I am not stressed
when our guests arrive.
ENJOY YOUR HOME - I will
always have more activities for us to do than we have time for. This past
Thanksgiving weekend I decided which activities will wait until next year.
(REMEMBER…you can’t do every thing, every year.) I try to choose activities
that encourage my children to think of others, instead of themselves during
the holidays. One of these activities was dropped last year and resumed this
year (flexibility!!!). My kids are selling pumpkin bread and chocolate chip
cookies to raise money for a missionary family we have known for
awhile. We will use their profits to buy "dress-up" clothes for their 2
young daughters.
Our other
activities will include some of the following
- Write our Christmas
letter & mail (hopefully by Monday)
- Baking treats for
Awana leaders
- Take turns shopping
for each other’s gift
- Reading Tabitha's
Travels as a family (We loved the other 2 books in this trilogy and can’t
wait to read this sequel!)
- Stamp & emboss
Christmas cards
- Practicing Christmas
carols on the piano
- Host Christmas party
for the kids’ friends
- The girls will
make a quilt for one of our gifts
- Finish a new
tree skirt
- Babysit for a young mom so she
shop, wrap gifts, clean the house or whatever she needs to do
MAKE CHRISTMAS YOUR SCHOOL
- Drop some of your formal academics and enjoy the season. There are
plenty of math, writing & reading concepts we practice in the activities
above. At our house, we still read aloud each morning and then work on a
Christmas project. With all of our sewing, baking and money-raising, my kids
will have ample opportunities to work on math, finance, art
and communication skills.
DO YOU FEEL STRESSED DURING THE HOLIDAYS?
Take a moment right now and prioritize all the activities available to your
family. Choose the 1 or 2 activities that the entire family can enjoy and
pass on the rest. Enjoy your family being at home.
Have another family over to roast marshmallows and enjoy the fellowship.
Most of all, keep your eyes focused on Jesus Christ. Without His love for
the world, you would not be celebrating the true reason for Christmas.
But God demonstrates
His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ
died for us. Romans 5:8
For by grace you
have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift
of God. Ephesians 2:8
TABITHA'S TRAVELS & BARTHOLOMEW'S PASSAGE -
COMMENTS
Our family
is enjoying our advent book, Tabitha's Travels, this year. As we
read this story, we are learning about what it was like to live under Roman
rule, during the time of Christ's birth. The end of each chapter leaves us
on the edge of our seat, not wanting to stop reading.
Even though I highly
recommend this book and the others in the trilogy, I do not agree with all
of the commentary at the end of each chapter. The author's comments
have already given us opportunities to discuss our theology that is derived
from Scripture. God's Word is the standard we use to determine right and
wrong. I know our family will be looking for verses to say why we don't
agree with all of the author's chapter commentary. If you have had similar
discussions and would like to share them, please e-mail them to me. I would
like to post some of your comments as long as they are supported
by Scripture.
In Tabitha's
Travels, the idea of growing up to be a wife who works behind the scenes
of her husband is not always shown in a positive light. Tabitha wants to do
everything her brothers do. Although I believe that boys & girls have many
of the same opportunities, God did not make us the same. He has given us
roles to fulfill and neither is "better" than the other. What is best is
that we obey God by fulfilling our God-given roles as men and women. If you
are reading this book, discuss with your family the ideas and
conclusions that are communicated in the story and the commentary.
Last year, I made some of the
following comments about Bartholomew's Passage. This
discussion could also be said of the commentary in Tabitha's Travels.
Ytreeide states that "the
price of that freedom is that he (God) has no control over some of the
storms and tragedies we face" (p. 40). Along the same lines Ytreeide
makes the following comment on p. 117.
Many
Christians are fond of saying, when something bad happens, that it was
God's will, or that it was part of God's plan. For some people, this
makes a loss easier to bear, for they think that God somehow has it all
under control. But the truth is, God does not plan or will for us to go
through such tragedies. Sometimes they just happen. No explanation, no
reason. And when those things happen, God weeps with us. He feels the
pain that we feel.
I take exception to
these comments because God is the in total control of all that happens in
this world. If He is not in control, then He is not the Sovereign God of
this universe. Amos 3:6 says "If there is
calamity in a city, will not the Lord have done it?" Of
course we don't like calamity, but I am comforted that God is Sovereign
within bad situations. If He is not in control as it happens, He cannot
be in control to help us through it. Isaiah 45:7 describes God as well.
I
form the light and create darkness,
I
make peace and create calamity;
I,
the Lord, do all these things.
Knowing that God is in
control does comfort me. If He is not in control of every situation that
comes along (good or bad), then I must be in control of situations that
arise. I would much rather trust in an all-powerful God, whose Son arose
from the dead, than tust in myself. As I read Ytreeides comments, it
makes God seems small. It is as if God is up in heaven with His hands
tied behind His back, unable to intercede in every situation.
Even though Joseph
was sold into slavery by his brothers, he knew all along that God was in
control of his life. Joseph endured many hardships before he became
second in command of Egypt. His brothers did an evil thing, but God was
still sovereign in the situation. Once his brothers arrived in Egypt,
Joseph told them, "But as for you, you meant evil against me;
but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day,
to save many people alive" (Genesis 50:20). When we are in
the middle of a horrible situation, we often can't see past the present.
Joseph had 50-20 vision; he kept his eyes on the future knowing that God
works through evil situations to bring about His glory. Throughout the
Bible and church history there are thousands of examples of men and women
who endured evil (not just a bad day) to bring about God's glory. God is
in control, He is sovereign of this world and He can see you through each
and every circumstance that comes your way.
While we want to
let you know about great books, we also feel a need to alert you to
questionable items. In both Bartholomew's Passage and Jotham's
Journey evil things happen to young boys. Both of these books are
fantastic stories which have allowed good discussion in our family. We
hope that it will encourage your family as you discuss the story and the
way that God interacts in our own lives.
FAMILY FAVORITES
The following products are
FAMILY FAVORITES at our house. If you are looking for a unique gift, this
might be it.
MADE FOR TRADE
ar:mft retail 25.00 DEC SPECIAL 20
Our kids love to pull this
out and play as much as Aggieopoly. Travel through a colonial village
experiencing the challenges and adventures of the times. Go from store to
store collecting goods on a shopping list. First player to collect the
required number of goods wins. Unique Features:
- Beautifully illustrated
game board depicts a colonial village.
- Information sheet compiled
by staff of Winterthur Museum describes the historical uses of the objects
in the game.
- Instructions for four
different games included
- Multi-level play allows
game to grow with family
PLAYS THE THING
ar:ptt retail 35.00 DEC SPECIAL 28.00
The
Play's the Thing is the perfect thing for easing pre-teens and teens into
the world of Shakespeare. Players race around the Globe Theatre board
collecting scenes - a plot card, two quotations, and two character cards
that go together - and perform them by reciting lines and answering
questions. Whether you want to act out the plays or be "off stage," The
Play's the Thing is enjoyable to play. There are duels, stage mishaps and
missed cues that add special flavor and fun. Players come away with a
positive attitude toward a very important literary figure.
WILD GOOSE SCIENCE
KITS
My son loves the chemistry
kits because he wants to mix things up and make something out of it. The
following kits are best sellers at our book fairs. I'm sure your family
will enjoy them as well.
Crash & Burn Chemistry
wg:crash retail 29.99 DEC SPECIAL 23.99
Kitchen Table
Chemistry wg:ktc retail 29.99 DEC SPECIAL 23.99
Water
Rocket wg:wr retail 21.99 DEC SPECIAL 17.59
Petri Dish Gooey
Science Fair wg:pd retail 26.99 DEC SPECIAL 21.59
HENTY BOOKS ON TAPE
Our entire family enjoyes
listening to most books by G. A. Henty. Henty is the master storyteller,
especially for boys. Not only do we enjoy his stories, but we always
learn about the historical time period and some of the historical figures
in his books. Some of his books are now available on audio cassette and
CD. Those we still have in stock are listed below.