Making the most of Christmas
“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.” Actually, it has been looking like Christmas since October. Store aisles are filled with Christmas decorations, gift ideas, new toys…
and we are overwhelmed with the pressure to buy, buy, buy… No wonder our kids are obsessed with every new item on the market. Their Christmas list keeps growing and so does our frustration with their endless cries for more. But before we blame our children for their materialistic views of the holiday, let’s check our own attitudes.
- How is Christmas looking for us?
- Have we opened up our Bibles yet and read the Christmas story?
- Have we personalized and journaled the meaning of the Christmas story for us?
- Have we stopped to ask God with whom we might share the Christmas message?
- Have we stopped to thank God for the gift of His son for our sins?
- Have we talked about Jesus as much as we have talked about Santa Claus?
- Have we reached out with a gift- not for our friends- but for a needy person whom God loves and died for?
- Have we placed the nativity scenes around the house where conversation takes place?
The key to helping our children get the right perspective lies is our attitude as adults. Children take their cues primarily from those things that are of greatest interest to the adults in their lives. This year, let’s give our kids a new definition of “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.”