We've heard lots of great stories about how some of our church families are rethinking the way they celebrate Christmas.
We'd love to start sharing those ideas with one another. Let's encourage one another by sharing the ways God is moving us to deeper worship and a more Christ-centered expression of Christmas.
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I look forward to hearing your stories...
Heya Scott -- at our house, we are going with the idea of getting three gifts for the kids: a need, a want, and a surprise. I wouldn't say that the kids were super jazzed about it, but they also get why, and there has been less resistance than I though. We'll let you know how it turns out.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to let you know about the ways the kids in Sunday school have been taking part in the Advent Conspiracy. During one of the children's messages, you encouraged the kids to go home and find 12 or 13 toys to give to children who may need them. Well, kids have been going through their things and so far Mrs. Witler and I have taken 4 car loads of toys to the Salvation Army. These toys will be used at a special Christmas Store where parents can come in and choose presents for their kids. These kids may not have gotten a special gift, if it weren't for the generosity of the kids at our church. Our last collection of toys will be this Sunday, December 14th.
ReplyDeleteHi, Scott-- friend of Melissa's here. As our family has searched for a way to make Christmas more meaningful, we have adopted another family this year, and we're doing the 12 days of Christmas anonymously for them-- just a little something every night to let them know someone loves them and is thinking about them. We secretly drop it off on their door step, a plate of cookies, a loaf of bread, or some such, ring the doorbell and run. My kids are having such a blast with it, thinking about what we can bring them every night. They want to bring little tokens of love to everyone we know. It's really helped them to focus on others and what Christmas is about, instead of focusing on themselves and what they want.
ReplyDeleteThanks for such a great blog and helping us all remember what it's all about.