Monday, December 10, 2012

Partners in Parenting


Partners in Parenting

“What’s all the Fuss?”

Before you even begin to read this, let’s set one thing straight:  I love Christmas! 

We had a family Christmas party over the weekend.  It was about an hour and a half drive to get to it.  Before going, we went to church, but we were given strict instructions not to be late because dinner was going to begin at 6pm sharp.  It was understood that we should dress nicely for this party.  We were to be ready for a family picture when Santa came to the party with gifts for all the kids.  We were to have one gift for a male and one gift for a female in order to play a gift-giving game for the adults.  I could go on, but I won’t… As the time for the party approached, I remember thinking to myself, “OK, let’s not mess this up:  drive up north, go to church, don’t be late, dress nice, bring a camera, bring all our gifts, fuss, fuss, fuss!  I just wanted to go hang out with family and have fun.  Why all the fussing about so many things?  Maybe it’s because all the fuss is worth it.  If it is worth celebrating, it is worth fussing over!  I am reminded that celebrating Jesus’ birth is a really big deal!  Jesus presence in the world is a big deal! Christmas is about celebrating Jesus’ birth, not all the other things we fuss over.  Even an unborn baby knew what a big deal Jesus’ birth was:  Mary enters Elizabeth’s house and greets her, then…”When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped [John the Baptist] in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.” Luke 1:41

Christmas is festive!  It is a time to celebrate!  There are lights, trees, decorations, get-togethers, etc., and I enjoy them all.  We make a big deal out of Christmas, and the more I think about what Christmas is and what it is not, I realize that Jesus is worth “all the fuss!”  Merry Christmas!

Family Discussion Points!

What Christmas things does your family fuss about?  What don’t you fuss about that many families do?

What are the competing messages, people, etc. associated with Christmas?  Does Jesus win or lose in that competition in your home?

Where and when will we worship as a family this Christmas?

No comments:

Post a Comment