God's Heart

The other morning I walked in to Nathan's and my bedroom to find Caleb sitting at the foot of our bed. He had his children's prayer book opened and hugged close to his chest. His eyes were closed. "Sorry, Caleb, if I interrupted. Were you praying?" Caleb opened his eyes and replied, "No, I was listening to God's heart."

A New Kind of Christmas

We have celebrated Christmas in Lesotho since 2006. Before then, Christmas had been my FAVORITE holiday. I loved the cold weather, snuggling in a blanket with a glass of eggnog. I loved the Christmas lights and going out on drives to see the best decorated house. I loved being close to my family and friends and spending time with them. I loved listening to Christmas music on the radio when they started on some ridiculous date like November 1st. Lesotho was such a change for me when we came to celebrate Christmas, that first time and since. In December in Lesotho, it is hot because it is summer time. There is no eggnog in the stores. Nobody decorates the outside of their houses because the decorations would get stolen. We are not close to family. We have made efforts to make Christmas special and have always had fun doing it, but it never felt like Christmas. At some point Holy Spirit convicted me that, if I looked at all the things I loved about Christmas, Jesus was not there. I was in love with the holiday hype, the "atmosphere" of Christmas, but not in love with Jesus. That was a very painful revelation.

Then there was another dilemma: Santa Claus. Nathan and I had talked about this issue for years...should we, shouldn't we... This year Caleb was old enough that we knew his memories were not only taking shape but would be remembered. We thought of ALL sorts of scenarios and alternatives, celebrating Hannakah or the dutch holiday Sinterklaas (Saint Nicholas), but nothing seemed to be the right fit for our family.

One morning in early November the Lord woke me so I decided to steal a few moments with Him alone. As I was reading my bible, my thoughts were flooded with a new way for our family to celebrate Christmas. I began furiously taking notes as the Lord imparted the way our family would honor the birth of Christ. So for Christmas 2010 we began early:

In mid November I began playing our holiday music. I bought and stockings and we set up a very simple and very small tree with colored lights. The children knew something fun and special was happening. Every time Caleb asked what these things were for Nathan and I explained that they were decorations for Jesus' birthday, and that soon we would have a party for Him. Caleb, being totally into birthday parties and singing the "Happy Birthday Song," was super excited.

We spent the entire week leading up to the 25th in celebration, reading the scriptures, and preparing for the birth of King Jesus. Every day we focused on a different aspect of the Christmas story. Day 1 we discussed how Jesus was even in the beginning, creating with God the Father. We talked about creation and the fall of man, and the need for a Savior. Day 2 we talked about the prophets, what their roles were in the Old Testament and how many of them spoke about Jesus's birth. We focused on Isaiah. On day 3 we learned about John the Baptist, who we was, where he lived and what he ate, and how his job was also preparing people for Jesus. Day 4 was Mary and Joseph, day five was about the shepherds, day 6 was the story of the wise men bringing gifts. Each of these days we had fantastic family devotionals where we read the Bible, sang songs, colored and did crafts, and exchanged gifts. On Christmas morning we modified a Keisler tradition and rang a bell to call the children into the living room so we could read the account of the Christmas story from the Bible. We had lunch with friends and then came home to have a birthday party for Jesus. We talked about how Jesus isn't a baby anymore, that He grew up to be a man, how He died on the cross for our sins, how He rose and is alive and is coming back again. It was awesome!

Caleb and Adara had so much fun and learned a lot. At the end of the week they each had their own "Book About Christmas" that they continue to look through even now. Nathan and I both had fun and agreed that it was the first time that it "felt" like Christmas and how it was one of our favorite Christmas's of all time. Amazing how that happens when you make Jesus the center.