Stuff is just stuff!

As Christmas comes upon us I must admit I begin to cringe. I absolutely love Christmas. I love Christmas music. I love putting up the tree. I love that people seem to be nicer to each other. I love decorations. I love baking and making candies. I love it all. But... as I watch our children grow and I watch what they are learning about Christmas and it's true meaning, that is when I start to cringe. Are we teaching them what God wants them to know about Christmas? Not just with our words, but with our actions.

I have struggled the past year with what our children learn about the holidays and why we celebrate each of them. I want our children to be children and have fun. I want them to use their imaginations. I want them to have joy. But what kind of joy are they learning from getting a bunch of presents under a tree? What are they learning about Christmas? What are they learning is the most important aspect of Christmas? If we teach them that Jesus Christ is the reason for Christmas, but then have them receive lots of presents from a jolly old soul, what are they really learning?

When talking to our children about Christmas and presents. I tell them that it is nice to receive presents in pretty packages with bows. There is a great excitement of not knowing what is waiting to be unwrapped. But I make sure when they ask about gifts at Christmas that I tell them we have already received the best gift ever. I tell them that God gave us the gift of his son, Jesus Christ.

This year we will not be exchanging gifts with extended family. The kids will each get a few gifts under the tree, but the day is going to be spent celebrating Jesus Christ. We are not going to celebrate the presents or the commercialism. We are going to celebrate being a family. We are going to spend quality time together.

This past year we have downsize drastically and in doing so we have been teaching our children that they don't NEED all of the stuff that they WANT. We want them to have treasures in heaven, not on earth. We want them to see the blessings in what God has provided. We want them to truly appreciate everything they are given and know that they are blessed. We don't want them to depend on the riches of the world. We want them to depend on God for everything. After all, stuff is just stuff!

..."children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Mark 10:24-25

It is my prayer that my children will grow to love Christmas, however, I pray is it not for the presents under the tree, but for the gift they have already been given.