Parenting - All I Want for Christmas Is ....

Christmas has been on my mind a lot recently! I know that isn't exactly a profound revelation given that we are in the thick of the holiday season, but I've been seriously preoccupied this year with the whole notion of how we do Christmas.

I started months ago begging my adult children for their "Christmas lists" so that I would know how to purchase for them. They had trouble getting those lists to me; the response to the question, "What do you want for Christmas?" was generally, "I don't know."

As the actual shopping for just the right gifts commenced, I just got irritated. I love my family, I want to give them "good gifts," but the feeling I had was that these kids have everything they need and a whole lot of what they want. They are blessed to be well-educated and well-employed; those material blessings extend to my grandchild. She really doesn't need yet another toy. This "shopping binge" resembled the feeling I have when I over-indulge in some decadent dessert - it was great while I was doing it, but when it was over, not so much! Too much of a good thing is too much of a good thing.

I examined why I was feeling so Scrooge-like about Christmas and decided it had something to do with what's going on in the world around us - growing numbers of people we know without jobs, people losing their homes, folks without health insurance. You get the idea. I am blessed to be able to actually have the "worry" of what to buy family and friends because I have the means to do so. In light of the real problems others are facing, my angst over gift-giving seems rather trivial.

I know I sound like a real Grinch; I'm not. Once I got into the swing of things, I bought gifts that I do hope my family and friends will enjoy. I look forward to giving those gifts and seeing them opened on Christmas morning, but the best part of the day will be the time we spend together and the memories we create.

But even though I will give and receive gifts and will cherish the time with family and friends, here's what I really want for Christmas. I want to know - deeply understand - what it meant for Jesus to leave Heaven to take the most hazardous journey human beings can take - natural birth - to experience life both as God and man.

I want to understand that Mary and Joseph didn't commit to the romanticized version of the Christmas story we've grown up with, but rather to a life they knew would lead to ridicule from their society and most likely a "you're on your own" birth of their first child in conditions far less than ideal. They may have been visited by adoring shepherds and wise men and angels, but they also had to run from their homeland to live as refugees to protect that child. Mary and Joseph knew that being chosen by God for this most sacred appointment did not mean living the life of privilege; they learned what it means to live by faith, to listen to messengers sent from God, to parent not only as earthly parents but also as parents submitted to God's direction and plan for their very "unique" son Jesus.

I want to be so altered in my thinking about Christmas that I grasp more completely that Jesus came for all mankind, not just those who look like me, behave as I do, have what I have (or more), or are otherwise pleasing to my way of thinking. I want to understand to the point of putting into action that Jesus came to "...save that which was lost" (Matthew 18:11). When Jesus returns, I want to have been found faithful, I want him to be able to put me in with the "sheep" who fed the hungry and gave the thirsty something to drink; who clothed those needing clothing and visited the sick and imprisoned (Matthew 25:31-46).

I am thankful for all my material blessings, but I want to possess a heart full of thanksgiving for the gift of a Savior, for the promise of eternal life. I want to be so transformed in my thinking that every day I will be submitted to serve the One who came to serve. For me, if I can become that person, I will have come to understand Christmas and will celebrate it each day. I will have received the greatest gift ever!

Mary Did You Know - Mark Lowry

Heavenly Father, thank you for unconditional love and your desire to so want us to be restored to your family that you made the ultimate sacrifice - the gift of your son Jesus, his life, that we might be saved and spend all eternity with you. I pray that each day I will celebrate by seeking to serve you and others, to give back for all you have given me.

Parenting - There's a Hole in the Bucket!

I am re-reading Richard Stearns' The Hole in Our Gospel and somehow made one of those strange brain connections to an old children's song "There's a Hole in the Bucket." Now the song is stuck in my head, and I don't think it will stop playing until I do something with those lyrics!

The gist of the song, for those of you far too young to remember it, is a conversation between Henry and Liza regarding a hole in Henry's bucket. Liza suggests that Henry repair the hole by using straw, but Henry says the straw is too long. Liza suggests cutting the straw, but Henry isn't sure what to use to make the cut. Liza recommends he use his ax, but Henry says it's not sharp enough; Liza tells him to sharpen it, he doesn't know what to use. She tells him to use a stone; he counters with the fact that the stone is too dry, so Liza tells him to wet the stone. Well, you can imagine the outcome. Henry can't wet the stone because there's a hole in the bucket; thus, he can't draw water into the bucket and on and on and on.

I have always hated that song! Henry isn't exactly a problem-solver or a creative thinker and really doesn't appear to be too motivated to remedy what, back in the day, was a real problem - he had a hole in his bucket!

Other than the similarities in title, the connection between "There's a Hole in the Bucket" and The Hole in Our Gospel may not be particularly obvious. Stearns believes that as Christians we have a gaping hole that prevents us from fulfilling the purpose for which we are called. In effect, we have the "bucket," our salvation, but it isn't functioning as intended because we fail to make our faith public; too many of us aren't committed to being "Jesus with skin on" so that those who don't know Christ can learn who He is through what we say and do. That's the hole that is making the bucket far from useful.

When Jesus ascended into Heaven, he issued this commission to his disciples: "And He said to them, Go into all the world and preach and publish openly the good news (the Gospel) to every creature [of the whole human race]" (Mark 16:15). If this command had been to His apostles only, you and I may never have heard of the Good News; therefore, we must assume that God intends for all of us who are His disciples to "preach and publish openly" to others just as someone did for us.

As parents, the most important people with whom we want to share the Gospel is with our children. Our children learn most powerfully from us. Actively living our faith before them is critical if they are to embrace Christianity for themselves. Children are like Henry's bucket; we can fill them to the brim with the knowledge and understanding of who God is so that they are fulfilling their purpose and are useful, or we can stand around, wring our hands, come up with excuses for why we can't.

Each of us has a place that only God can fill. If we don't fill it with Him, we will fill it with other things. We will never be satisfied; our "bucket" won't hold water. Our children are just like us. If we don't teach them what should go into their bucket, they will attempt to fill it. Their world (and ours) offers them plenty of substitutes, but there is nothing that replaces the love of God in their lives.

Instead of hoping that our children will come to salvation "by osmosis," let's seal the hole in our Gospel by actively leading them to Christ so that one day we aren't like Henry wondering what to do about the holes in their buckets.

Lord, light a fire under us! Help us to get active in our faith, taking up the cross, following You, and telling our children and others about You. It's not enough to just hope that our children will one day live for You; we must disciple them so they will choose to live for You and in turn disciple others.

Thank You for the opportunity to lead our children to a relationship with You. Amen.