The Best Gift

The children were excited to participate in our church's Christmas program on December 15th.  We were excited that they stayed on the stage and actually sang the songs. 

 

Asher sang "The First Noel" and the following song:

Is your Heart a Manger? 

Ben & Eddie

Is your heart a manger? Is there any room for Him?

Is your heart a manger? Does it cradle the babe of Bethlehem?

If He came again tonight would you let him in?

Like a modern day Wise Man would you follow the light?

Would the gift in your hands be the rest of your life?

Would you bow down before Him and worship Him as your King?

Is your heart a manger? Is there any room for Him?

Is your heart a manger? Does it cradle the babe of Bethlehem?

If He came again tonight would you let him in?

With the heart of a Shepherd would you go in simple praise?

Following the angel’s song to the place where he lay?

Would you bow down before Him and worship Him as your King?

Ezra did a poem with actions:

 My Christmas Gift

What can I give Jesus, small as I am?  (hands up, shoulders shrugged)

The shepherd gave him a baby lamb.  ("baa, baa")

Three wise men gave him precious gold.  (hands out & faces up, as if handing a gift)

The angels sang of His glory untold.  (hands up to the sky, looking up)

Mary and Joseph gave their loving care.  (move arms as if rocking a baby)

But what can I give?  (hands up, shoulders shrugged)

My heart to share! (hands on heart and then out as if sharing)

The children also sang "Happy Birthday" to Jesus and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas."

The children were able to dress up as any animal or as a shepherd, a king, or an angel.  Our boys wanted to be kings:

 

The message was beautiful.  A beautiful reminder of what is at the heart of Christmas.  A beautiful reminder of how we should prepare our hearts to celebrate the birth of baby Jesus.  A beautiful reminder of how our hearts and lives should reflect the love and life of Jesus.

Lovely Lights

Outside the snow is falling in big, fluffy flakes.  It has been snowing all day, and the undisturbed snow in the yard sparkles.  The house is full of a delicious aroma.  After a two week run of baking sweet treats, it is wonderful to walk into the house and smell roast, potatoes, and carrots cooking in the crock pot. I just returned from picking the boys up from school.  Ezra is looking at books and Asher is busy with homework.  They are excited for an early supper, so we can get out tonight to look at Christmas lights.  It's December 16th, 2013, and we are starting a new family tradition: Rotary Lights at Riverside Park in La Crosse, Wisconsin.  We bundle up, stop for hot chocolate, and then find a parking spot so we can walk through the amazing light displays.

You can check out an incredible aerial video of this year's display at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ons1hSNNF_8&sns=em.

The lights were amazing, but I think the boys' favorite parts were sitting in a huge sleigh...

 

...seeing real reindeer, and dancing to the music.

Messy Memories

Yes, I found another delightful article about the pros of NOT being perfect... Killing Off SuperMom
(You can read the full article by clicking on the heading.) A few of my favorite parts include:

"Here's the thing: Perfection doesn't exist. Perfectionism is purely a mental, alienating, and unnatural state. It causes judgment and makes people feel bad. How can that be "a good thing"? We kid ourselves (and do a disservice to our kids) by thinking anything will ever be perfect. Everyone struggles at some point in life. It is our duty as moms to make sure our kids know that, and are prepared for the hurdles life is bound to throw them."

"I've learned over the years to actively participate in my life; not to just cater it from the sidelines."

"It's time to redefine what being a good wife, mom, hostess, and human being means. I don't want my kids growing up with memories of how clean the house always was. I want them to remember the fun and the love. Who cares what anybody else thinks? You want to make memories in your home. And sometimes when you're making memories, you're making a mess."

A few favorites from Pinterest:

"Please excuse the mess, our kids are making memories."

If you really struggle with messes, abundant Mama has some great advice in How to Cope with Kids' Messes

Visit notsalmon.com for more cute graphics with a happy kids theme.

No, you don't have to be Pinterest Perfect... just be you ;)

A few other sentiments brought to me today via FB friends:


"We are not replicas of each other.  We are not cookie cuttered women.  A Godly Christian home can look a thousand different ways."

"You don't have to be better than everyone else.  You should strive to be better than you ever thought you could be." 

"Beautiful has nothing to do with looks.  It's how you are as a person and how you make other people feel about themselves."

So Sweet

I don't think we found time for this tradition last year with all the moving.  But, this year, we brought back the tradition of decorating a gingerbread house as a family.  Mommy decided to decrease daddy's stress this year and buy an already assembled house that just needed decorating.  In the past, the kids just couldn't wait to get the candy on, and then the house would fall apart.  No problems this year...  Just that they both couldn't wait to get their hands on the frosting tube to embellish the roof.

They had a wonderful time, but the children have decided that next year they want to be even more creative and get a village so everyone can decorate their own house.  Of course, working together this year wasn't without a few disagreements, but in the end they laugh and love each other.

Yes, they are so sweet!













Another tradition: baking lots and lots of cookies.  Of course, some (well, lots) we eat...  But, we surprised our new neighbors by sharing our family tradition of sharing plates of cookies with our neighbors.  This year, Ezra voted for gingerbread men.  He also took these to school for snack on his special helper day, because during the week they were reading Jan Brett books.

 

 

 

 

Selfie of Asher and I dancing to Christmas music, while waiting for the cookies to bake...

Oh no, the gingerbread men are trying to get away!

Asher voted for peanut butter blossoms.  Both the boys wanted sugar cookies, also one of daddy's favorites.  We have tried a variety of sugar cookie recipes, but we keep coming back to this time tested and well loved recipe (that doesn't require chilling the dough either):

 

 

 

I'm not sure which they enjoyed more decorating them or eating them.

 

 

 

 

Everyone wanted more chocolate dreams.  This is another well loved recipe from a recipe book that is falling apart because we use it so much for special treats.

These cookies are amazing while still warm, and we only make them in December.  One of my neighbors asked for the recipe, so I'll share it with you too:

 

A few tips... It will not yield 2 1/2 dozen, unless you make them tiny (smaller than 2-inch-diameter cutters).  Also, we make a double batch of the dough and one batch of the filling.  You don't have to wait too long after melting the filling to use it, but, if you wait for it to cool longer and thicken just a bit, you can get more filling to fit in each cookie.

And, not to forget other "family" members...

No, Lucky, you can't help!

Christmas Starts with Christ

This year we are trying to be more intentional about putting Christ back in Christmas.

Asher, who turned 7 this past September, is an avid reader and has increasingly developed a love of writing and illustrating his own books.  While he is great at decoding and comprehension, we continue to work on spelling when he's writing.  The other day, of his own accord, he was making Christmas crafts... Asher asked me, "How do you spell Christmas?"  It occurred to me that he doesn't necessarily know the definition of mass, since we tend to say things like "church service" or talk about the "message on Sunday."  Also, his question was a great way to facilitate a deeper conversation about how Christmas begins with Christ.

Asher has started piano lessons again.  He was thrilled to play "Jingle Bells" for the family when we had Thanksgiving at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  He has asked to put together a song book of Christmas carols and seasonal songs.  Here is what we have collected so far:
     10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord) by Matt Redmann
     Angels We Have Heard on High
     Away in a Manger
     Do You Hear What I Hear
     The First Noel
     Go, Tell It on the Mountain
     A Hallelujah Christmas by Cloverton
     Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
     Here I Am, Lord
     Is your Heart a Manger? by Ben & Eddie
     Joy to the World
     The Little Drummer Boy
     O Come, All Ye Faithful
     O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
     O Tannenbaum (O Christmas Tree)
     Silent Night, Holy Night
     This Little Light of Mine
     We Three Kings
I know this list is not complete, and we would love to hear other suggestions you may have.

I have integrated these songs, books we have here and from the library, scripture, and other activities I have gathered over the years into an Advent devotional binder for our family.  Nope, it's not comprehensive or perfect.  Nope, we're not great about doing each item every night.  But, it's been a great start to reflecting more and being more intentional about centering on and celebrating Christ.

The children are getting ready for a Christmas program this weekend.  One of the songs asks if your heart is a manger and if there's any room for Christ.  Today, I discovered this beautiful prayer by Renee Swope:

The Manger of My Heart

This Christmas, Lord, come to the manger of my heart.

Fill me with Your presence, right from the very start.

As I prepare for the holidays, and gifts to be given,

remind me of the gift You gave when you sent Your Son from Heaven.

The first Christmas gift was the greatest gift ever;

When You came as a baby born in a manger.

And wrapped like the gifts I find under our tree,

You wait to be opened, to give Your love to me.

Restore to me the wonder that came with Jesus’ birth,

When He left the riches of Heaven and wrapped Himself in rags of earth.
Immanuel, God with us, Your presence came that night.

Angels announced, “Into your darkness God brings His Light.”

“Do not be afraid,” they said, to shepherds in the field.

Speak to my heart today, Lord, and help me to yield.

Make me like those shepherd boys, obedient to your call.

Putting distractions and worries aside, to You I surrender them all.

Surround me with Your presence, I long to hear Your voice.

Clear my mind of concerns and all the holiday noise.

Slow me down this Christmas, help me not be in a rush.

In the midst of parties and planning, I want to feel Your hush.

This Christmas, Jesus, come to the manger of my heart.

Invade my life like Bethlehem, bringing peace to every part.

Dwell within and around me, as I unwrap Your presence today.

Keep my heart and mind on You, Lord. It’s in Your precious Name I pray.

If you click on the title of the poem, you can link to a wonderful reflection Renee Swope has written about having plans for a perfect Christmas and how sometimes, when things don't go the way you planned, things turn out even better than you could imagine.

We continue to talk about our traditions this month.  It has been wonderful to see the children intentionally starting traditions on their own too.  The boys decided together to decorate their bedrooms and to hang their stockings up early upstairs.  Ezra has wanted to start opening presents since they were placed under the tree.  So, the boys decided to give gifts to each other early by putting things they already have in their brother's stocking as a special present. It has been very touching seeing how they take care in finding something they already have that they know is special to their sibling and watching their joy in the giving and in receiving.

We look forward to continuing to celebrate with other family members soon.  Until then, cards are in the mail, but here is a preview:

Rejoice!  May the Lord's light brighten your day, and may His love fill your heart with joy.

Wisdom & Being a Wonderful Wife

I recently reflected on what I’ve been reading about how to be a better mother.  I’ve been encouraged in the past to read about not disciplining children with a downpour of emotions and words, but feeding their roots and building strong children through a gentle rain of discipline.

“The beginning of strife is like letting out water, so abandon the quarrel before it breaks out.”  Proverbs 17:14

“A continual dripping on a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.”  Proverbs 27:15

And, so it is with marriage.  Today I found two wonderful resources for wives.  The first article, 5 Time-Tested Secrets for Keeping His Heart, includes simple steps and scripture to not only capture his heart but keep it.  Elaborating more on item #4 in this article, another article titled  6 Ways to Build Up Our Husbands talks more in-depth about respect.

After reading these two articles (click on the titles above to link to the full articles), I was led to consider the following thoughts and scripture:

But I’m right!

“A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.” Proverbs 18:2

“The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.” Proverbs 12:15

Are you listening?
"My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.  James" 1:19-20 

Acts of the flesh include: hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy.   But, if you can give control over and seek counsel…

The Wonderful Counselor has sent His Spirit to be with us, and “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”  Galatians 5:22-23 

Who doesn’t want to be listened to with love?   
Who doesn’t want careful consideration of their comments?   
Who doesn’t long to be loved unconditionally?   
Who doesn’t need to practice peace and patience?  
But who doesn’t want to rest in a peaceful place and share life with peaceful people?   
Who doesn’t respond to kindness?   
Who doesn’t notice when goodness and faithfulness abide in a person?   
Who doesn’t respond to gentleness? 

Of course, who doesn’t need more self-control?   
“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”  Proverbs 15:1
“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32

Of course, who is perfect?   
“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” 
Ephesians 4:29  
"Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." Romans 12:2
  
Of course, who doesn’t need the Perfect One, the Prince of Peace, the Wonderful Counselor?
 “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:8-9
“…but he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.’ So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9

Call on Him today and be a blessing to yourself, your partner, and others who share your space.