Advent activities

Hope you've had a great first week of Advent :) I also hope that you have found a devotional to study with your family during the Christmas season. (If not, let us help you find one!) Here are a few ideas for your family as you continue to celebrate Advent:

• Create your own Advent calendar..it's not too late! You just might have to play catch up. Get small envelopes for each day leading up to Christmas and have your child decorate each envelope. Get little trinkets or stickers to put in each day. As they get their 'present' out of the envelope, have them say one thing they love about Jesus.
• Think of short but fun activities you could do with your children each day. Activities like making Christmas cookies for your neighbors or even donating extra clothing to Samaritan's Inn are great ways to bond with your children. These are easy ways to be able to talk about Jesus being the reason for the season.
• Go to the library and read some Christmas books. There are some suggestions in this month's Loop (hint, hint). Ask your children to retell you the story and take that opportunity to teach them the significance of Jesus' birth.

Any other suggestions for ideas or activities? Feel free to post a comment here or on our Facebook page.

Praying that you have a blessed time with your family and your Heavenly Father!

Why Advent?

Depending on what church you went to growing up, you may have not celebrated Advent during the holiday season. So it begs the question, "Why celebrate Advent?"

Advent means 'coming' or 'arrival'. The spirit of Advent is waiting the arrival of the coming Messiah. Jordan found a wonderful Advent study that you can do with your family. It has references to the Jesus Storybook Bible as well so your children can participate. This is a great way to study the birth of our Savior and create the sense of anticipation for His return.

To download this study, go here. Thanks to Christ the King Presbyterian Church for this great devotional.

Check in and our Facebook page for more ideas as we continue to celebrate Advent!

An Idea for Your Christmas Cards

There are plenty of ideas to be found for recycling or reusing your old greeting cards. Use them for gift tags next year, make them into tree ornaments, fashion them into table place cards, the list goes on. They are so pretty and it seems like such a waste to throw them out.

But what about all the family portraits we receive? The ones where talented photographers captured our "natural moments" so that friends can see our love of the outdoors? So much time and energy were placed into the making and sending of these photo cards. Here's a quick and easy project that will give you an easy lesson for your children.

Go to your favorite mega-store and purchase a small photo album or scrapbook. Place all the photos in this book and then label them with the names of the family members. (Don't worry if you have to cut the pictures up, you were going to throw them out anyway.) Now use this book daily (during breakfast, family worship time, kids devotional time) and pray for one family each day for the year. Next Christmas, replace it with a new one. What a great way to help teach your children to pray continuously, without ceasing.

Follow-up: Wisemen

Story: How we worship Jesus

Fundamental Truth: God is in Charge of Everything

Making it Real:
The angels sang to worship Jesus. The wisemen brought gifts. The shepherds sat at the baby’s feet in worship. Why did these people worship this child and why do we worship Him still?
When we worship God, we are making Him famous. We are putting Him in the most important place in our hearts. We are saying that He is better than anything else and our heart belongs to Him. We worship Jesus because He is God’s Son and by His death He made a way for us to be with God forever. We worship Jesus because He is the only way to God and because He is the reason we have hope and joy and purpose.

Making it Stick:
Grab your camera and go on a photo scavenger hunt with your child. Take pictures of different ways we worship God. You can take pictures of church buildings, Bibles, books, music, etc. But also help your child think of different ways you worship or different things you do while you worship. You can take pictures of someone cooking or cleaning, working at a job, eating, taking care of a child or loved one, etc. Talk through each of the pictures and how you can worship in each instance. Put together an online album or print the pictures out and make a journal with pictures and descriptions.

More than lip-service

I was having a conversation with a mother who was concerned her son understood the true meaning of Christmas only enough to repeat it back to her, but not in a way where he truly believed it. She said he knew all the right answers but she could tell he was still more enticed by the presents and parties than the celebration of Christ's birth. What do we do when our children know the right answers but don't own them? How do we make the truths of Christmas more than just knowledge?
Truthfully, I'm not sure. But just like in evangelism, we must trust the Lord to cultivate belief. You can teach your children all the right answers, but it is God who changes their hearts to love.
I've written before about the importance of sharing your own story as a method of evangelism. Let me encourage you to take a similar approach when teaching your children about Christmas. Don't stop at explaining what the birth of Christ means to the world, tell what it means to you. When you talk about the difficulty surrounding Mary and Joseph's lot, explain how you would have felt were you in their place. When you describe the angels' song of celebration, relay how you would have felt were you in the field with the shepherds.
Give your child a glimpse into your own love for Christ as it relates to the Christmas story. Share what it is about this time of year that stirs your heart to worship and that excites your faith and increases your joy.
Catechizing your children is not a bad thing. But don't rely only on question-and-answer methods. Use Scripture and your own testimony to teach your child why Christmas reveals the Father's deep love for His children and His plan to redeem them from sin.

Follow-up: Advent Week 3

Story: Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem

Fundamental Truth: The Bible is God’s Perfect Word

Making it Real:
It seemed like everything was working against them! Mary and Joseph had to overcome a lot of obstacles in their young lives. They found themselves having a child before they were planning to, before they were even married. They knew people wouldn’t believe that this child was from God, so they had to deal with what everyone would say. They had to travel from home and have the baby in a town where they didn’t have a room to stay in! And that was just the beginning … What can we learn from this part of Mary and Joseph’s story?
Mary and Joseph show us how to trust God even when it’s hard. We can learn what it looks like to obey in times of pain, confusion and fear. Mary and Joseph could have done things that would make their lives easier, but they chose to obey instead, and because they chose obedience, they were a huge part of the great story of Redemption. And it’s probably a safe guess to assume they were both one hundred percent glad they chose to walk the hard rode of obedience instead of taking the easy way out.

Making it Stick:
Spend some time with your child looking at his or her baby pictures. Tell your child stories of how you got ready for their birth, what you did prepare, how you felt as you prepared. Talk about how you found out you were going to have baby and what you did to celebrate. Talk about how Mary and Joseph found out and how they felt. Talk about how different it must have looked for them to go get ready for the baby, what they did, what people said, etc.

The Hard Truths of Christmas

As we attempt to teach our children the truths of Scripture, may we not neglect the hard truths. The Nativity story is full of pain, scandal and shock. Look at just a sample of some of the facts surround Christ’s birth:

• Mary was an unwed girl who became pregnant.
• Joseph would always carry the stigma of a man whose bride was pregnant before she was married.
• The parents of Jesus were lonely, poor and unknown in Bethlehem.
• King Herod planned to find and kill the child once he heard of His birth.
• Mary and Joseph had to flee to Egypt to escape the plans of Herod.

Depending on your child’s age (the older they get, the more they can comprehend and be exposed to) be honest and forthright about the actual events surrounding the birth of our Forever King. Because, interwoven amidst the unmarried mother, the poor, outcast shepherds, the murdering king and the fleeing family, there is the beauty of a world redeemed. Amidst the story of shame and scandal, there is a greater one of grace, humility and mercy. Miracle after miracle overshadows the ugliness of the fallen world.
In the context of a story we might otherwise try to protect our children from hearing, they can see and understand how "God works all things for the good of those who love Him," (Rom 8:28) and in so learn to trust the Lord during hard times. After all, if Mary and Joseph could worship in the midst of all they were going through, so can we!

Carols & Hymns

One of the most unique aspects of the holiday season is the music. As children grow, they come to know and love the Christmas Carols and Hymns that surround the season and associate them with fond memories, special activities and meaningful traditions.
I encourage you to talk through some of your child's favorite Christmas Carols. They often convey very deep, very sweet theological truths that unless looked for or explored, may be missed by you and your children. So talk through the lyrics to Silent Night, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, O Come All Ye Faithful, and other favorites. Even secular carols can communicate the excitement of the holidays and provide a transition to talk about the spiritual.
So take some time these next few weeks to talk about the words we are singing, and, like always, let me encourage you to sing with your child often and loudly, and in so doing convey a joyful worship to our King!

Follow-up: Advent Week 1

Story: Jesus is Coming! The birth of Christ foretold

Fundamental Truth: God is Good

Making it Real:
When sin entered the world, everything changed. God’s perfect world became imperfect. God’s very good creation, people, became lost in their own sin and separated from God. But God is good, and from the beginning gave us hope that sin would not win. For hundreds, even thousands of years God gave us clues about Jesus. Why didn’t God send Jesus immediately after sin came into the world?
The whole time that God waited to send Jesus, He was preparing His people to receive Him. God was making us ready for the promised Rescuer. God was showing us why it was necessary that Jesus bridge the gap to God. He was showing us how we can never be good enough to get to God alone. He was making us see that there is no other way, no other hope, but Jesus Christ.

Making it Stick:
Make up an easy recipe with your child. Have them choose a few ingredients for the recipe and blend or cook the ingredients together. After you’ve tasted what you made, have your child change 1 or 2 of the ingredients and cook again. Talk about how each ingredient is unique and adds to the taste. Talk about how if you change one thing, the result is different. Talk through how God gave us very specific prophesies that all resulted in Jesus and His saving work.

Advent Calendar

A few days ago we talked about the importance of Advent as a season of preparation and expectation. We have now put together this online calendar to help you initiate some traditions and customs into your family and to help guide you on ideas on how to instill the true spirit of Christmas into your children's minds and hearts.

Have a blessed holiday season!

Advent & Traditions

Advent is the season preparation, of expectation. The month preceding Christmas is a time of excitement and anticipation. Under what better circumstances can you initiate traditions and customs into your family that both celebrate and teach your child to value the birth of Christ?

When a child notices something out of the ordinary – an advent wreath, Scripture hung on the wall, a story told over a candlelit dinner – a parent has a unique and engaging opening to tell about the story of Christ. Establishing traditions with your family that will cause your child to take notice and ask questions is a powerful way to gain a hearing, and not just an obligatory ear, but a curious inclination to know and understand the reason behind new practices and activities. Anytime we can peak a child’s interest for spiritual things, we want to take that opportunity. This Advent season, I encourage you as a family to establish a new tradition that is rooted in the gospel story and will be an engaging exercise for your children and provide you as parents with the opportunity to worship as a family and to share with your child the reason behind the celebration and reverence of the holiday season.

Possible new traditions:

• Sunday night Advent story – each Sunday preceding Advent, gather as family to retell in part or in whole the Christmas story. Give 1 small gift a week.
• Carol Songs – sing traditional Christmas carols with your children before bedtime, but explain the words and meaning of the songs. Choose songs that talk about the birth of Christ and worship of Him.
• Nativity Scenes – make a new Nativity scene every year out of paper, cookies, clay, etc. Use this time as an opportunity to retell the Christmas story.
• Christmas Invitation – make an invitation inviting a friend, neighbor or family member either to Church or to a special family dinner. Include part of the Christmas story on the invitation. Deliver it by hand and retell all of the Christmas story to the recipient.