Lyndon and I had his dad over for dinner a couple weeks ago (his mom was out of town) and we had a very interesting discussion about 'material wealth'. We were talking about Christmas and how crazy consumerism is--November 1, as soon as Hallowe'en is over, all the Christmas stuff comes out in full force. We move from one holiday or craze to the next, just buying and buying. And it's such an easy thing to fall into! Lyndon and I have had many talks over how we'd like to raise our children, and simplicity, appreciating the small things, valuing people over things, and not chasing material wealth are all things we'd like to instill in our children (which I'm sure is the same for a lot of people:). But I find that so hard in our society today--I fall into it myself all the time, so how can I expect more of my children? We want to make sure that Christmas is truly a time to celebrate the birth of Christ, not a time to see how many presents they can get! I am excited to experience Christmas with my child (and future children) and help them see that Christmas is about GIVING...it all started with the amazing gift God gave us~His Son. I think that we will have all sorts of opportunities to grow with our kids as we learn to value more what God values, than what the world values. If anyone has different ideas of things to do at Christmas together (or any time)to help this along, please share! One thing we're going to do is buy gifts as a family for the less fortunate overseas--from the Christmas catalog where you can buy different animals, or wells, etc. for villages and families that need them. One of the reasons this has been on my mind so much lately, is the way Kallie plays. We have all sorts of toys for her--ones that light up, make electronic noises, one that even speaks all different languages! And yet, two of her very favorite toys are 1. a hanger and 2. a water bottle! They both completely fascinate her--she can watch me drink from a water bottle, watch the water move around, forever! And when she's at her happiest, is when she has the attention of someone who loves her. And of course, for myself, I am absolutely joy-filled when I'm with my sweet Kallie Paige:) (most of the time;) I think there's a very important lesson to be learned here--in the innocence of my child, before she's old enough to be caught up in wanting and wanting more, she's showing me that it truly is the simple things in life that bring us joy:)!!!
4 comments:
It's so true Lauren, I find myself already falling into it with Ethan's toys. I think he needs to have every Fisher Price toy that's for his age, and all the ones that play music and light up.
As I was reading, I was thinking about how we could authentically be celebrating Jesus' birth and the amazing gift He was to us at Christmas rather than the gifts. I think it comes down to us truly loving and being in relationship with God so we are so overwhelmed by what Jesus did for us that we can't help but worship and give Him praise for it. I've been to way too many Christmas gatherings where we feel we "have to" talk about Jesus' birth, but you can tell it's just because we know we should. I don't want to give that message. Anyways, this is long enough, but thanks for the thought provoking post.
Thank you so much for the reality check today! I really appreciate it! Instead of pulling names out of a hat with my brothers and sisters - and buy gifts for one another...we decided to do what you are doing - we pooled our money ($20 each) and are buying something from the Gospel for Asia Christmas catalog! Its SO much more rewarding to give something like that, than to figure out what to get people as gifts who have everything they need! Also, what Rusty and I have decided to do with each child's first Christmas is to sponsor a child through Compassion! That was fun!
Thanks for the ideas girls! I love that idea of sponsoring a child for each of your own children's first Christmas! And Mandi, you're so right about celebrating Christ's birth authentically--I think sometimes we get overwhelmed by everything else Christmas represents in our society, and then Christ's birth isn't as significant. That should be the heart of our celebration.
I love simplicity. Ever since I refocused on my old values it has really made me a lot happier as a person, despite having "less". I'll send you guys a great book, send me your addy on facebook.
Love you all,
Mandy (Brelsford)
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