anticipation of The Gift

our advent chain is getting shorter and shorter, which can only mean one thing.... it's almost christmas! these past couple of weeks sure have flown by, and i'm sure most of you feel the same way. many of my great intentions for doing special things with the kids have fallen by the wayside, but i've tried to at least talk about the significance of christmas with them on a daily, if not hourly, basis! ethan is really getting the hang of the basics of the nativity story, including the fact that baby Jesus' mother was named Married. and caroline can tell you what the angels sang... "glory...God...highEST!!!!" (my kids LOVE that line... remember ethan last year?!)

the kids experienced round four (yes, round four already!) of presents today as we took a day trip to visit brian's extended family. boy, do these kids have a lot of family that love them and want to bless them with toys!!!!! it seems like they are opening presents every few days, which has caused ethan to beg to open the few little gifts under our tree. i was initially aggravated by his impatient and selfish attitude, but my mom pointed out, "what do you expect?! he's been opening presents for the last two weeks!" very good point. so i've tried to patiently explain that we will wait for these presents until christmas morning, just like God's people had to be patient and wait for the Messiah to come. i know, in some ways, that is a very weak analogy, but i am determined for our kids to think first of JESUS when they think of christmas, not presents. is that a lofty goal? absolutely. is it nearly impossible when they are opening up presents from loved ones left and right? absolutely. but i think they will always have presents to open from relatives because our families enjoy blessing them and watching them open their gifts. no one person goes overboard, but when you add it all up, it's slightly overwhelming! i'm thankful in a way that it is all spread out vs. a truck load of gifts on christmas day. as our children grow older, i know the opportunities to focus on the absolutely amazing gift of Christ's birth will only increase. so as we say a heartfelt "thank you" to all of the giftgivers, i remind myself to not be stressed by the avalanche of gifts. i know that my greatest efforts to "save christmas" in the hearts of my children are futile if i think i can actually do it in my own strength. i pray that over the years, God will use our meager efforts of consistency to open our childrens' hearts to the reality of the Beauty of Christmas.

i will enjoy these last couple of days of christmas, including round 5, 6, and 7 of presents (whew!). and when all the wrapping paper is thrown away, all the little twisty tie things are finally taken off the toys, and all the toys are put somewhere, i pray that the beautiful reality of christmas will still ring in our hearts: Jesus humbled Himself to become "Immanuel, which means God with us"(one of ethan's favorite memory verses, matthew 1:23). He was born so that we might Live.

glory to God in the highest!