making christmas about jesus...

i think i may have mentioned the great calvary chapel we went to on vacation in cleveland. it was a great church. and full of lots of large families. :0) while we were there, there was also a baby dedication for a little baby named sean/shaun/shawn michael. (i feel bad because i forgot what spelling they used!!) anyways. i talked to s's mom, carole for a long time that day. and also found out she blogged. it was fun to meet another blogger on  my trip!! her and her friend have a great site, women and apologetics, and carole's last post was about making christmas about jesus and i just LOVED it!! so here is the post::

By Carole


"Does it seem that the Christmas trees, Santa Clauses, elves, snow flake stickers, and all the stuff is hitting the shelves earlier this year? Or maybe I'm just growing tired of the continuous commercialization of this sacred holiday. One thing is obvious Christmas is no longer about Jesus Christ. It's about hedonism and idolatry, worshiping material possessions while paying homage to the jolly red-suited man.

We need to reclaim this holiday for ourselves, and not give into the cultural pressure that so easily entangles us.

I'm not suggesting we protest. Nor am I even suggesting that we voice ourselves among the secular community. They cannot and will not celebrate Christ, why should we make them? They do not know Him, but we know Him. I think we should quietly follow what we know to be true, teaching our children to believe in Christ, not in Santa Claus; learning to love giving rather than receiving, singing praise instead of jingle-bell carols.

Let us do the one thing that is needful this Christmas and sit at the feet of our Lord, rather than the base of the tree. Let us open His word, rather than dozens of presents, and let us worship Him and Him alone.

Merry Christmas in Christ!! May the Lord show you every spiritual blessing you have in the heavenly places with Christ, that is greater than any earthly gift. "

i just love the post. it speaks volumes to me. and i pray that i can teach my children the 'importance' of christmas. not the gifts...but THE GIFT. as a family we've decided to not 'do' santa. one of our reasons for choosing this is our choice to not lie to the kiddos. and anyway we looked at it santa is a lie. and the big reason is that we want them focused on what christmas is about...jesus christ's birth.

maybe some people can 'do' santa and still focus their kids on jesus' birth, but we've just decided to not do that. to not have them focused on some 'fat man' in a red suit. i don't know how it would work with little kids anyways, i mean is it easier to tell them about a precious little baby being born to die for their sins? or about some guy who will bring them presents if they're good?

i want them to be good because it's what jesus wants. not what 'santa' wants. i want them to have respect and be nice and all those other good things, because it's what jesus wants. not because it's what 'santa' wants. because jesus is around all year, santa is only good for a few months at best. i want them to know that jesus is the one who truly sees you when you're sleeping and knows when you're awake. jesus knows all. not some santa guy.

those are the things i want my kids to know. so i do my best to share those things with them.

i'm off now to sweep my kitchen floor and the bowl my caity just broke into a bagillion pieces. oops!!