Favorite Verse

As a mom, Luke 2:19 has been a favorite verse of mine for many years: "But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart."

This verse comes at the end of Mary's Christmas.

Her Christmas was much more eventful than any of mine. But every Christmas I find myself pondering all that went on during the days leading up to and including Christmas and that has proven to be the best time of Christmas for me.

"Ponder" means to "consider deeply, think deliberately...to ruminate".

So Christmas is over...what are you pondering?

There was one Christmas when my kids were really young that I tried a new tradition. I hadn't put alot of thought into it ahead of time and it flopped. Unfortunately, I had invited some friends to share my new-found tradition and I was embarassed that my lack of planning made the whole experience a waste of time. I pondered that in the days that followed. It helped me sort out what could have worked, why I wanted to do it in the first place and whether it was something I should pursue in the years ahead.

I know that what Mary pondered were thoughts that were much more eternal in nature. She pondered that fact that her baby was born to change the world.

But as a mom building my home, I have found that treasuring and pondering all that goes on in my home also has eternal value. It is when I don't ponder what I am doing or what I have done that I lose sight of my purpose as a mom.

Now that my family has grown, my pondering consists of feasting on the memories. I treasure up all that has gone on in the previous years to make my family what it is today. I realize that I need to ponder how to celebrate Christmas now as grandchildren become center stage.

Take some time this week to highlight Luke 2:19 in your Bible. Write 'MOM' beside it. Treasure and Ponder just what took place this Christmas in your family and in your heart.

What God Wants for Christmas

I thought I would share the last poem in a scavenger hunt game we play every Christmas Eve day. I found this game What God wants for Christmas a few years ago at my Wal-Mart, and it has quickly become a family favorite. It is by Family Life and can be found at www.familylife.com. We choose to make a scavenger hunt out of the boxes and the girls use clues to find the pieces of the nativity scene we have hidden through out the house. It leads up to the last box, which contains a small mirror so that when the child looks inside she sees her reflection and realizes that God wants her for Christmas. Here is the poem we read after they find the final box:

What God wants for Christmas? Now here’s the surprise

In box number seven, where it’s been disguised

Peek in the box, for so long you have waited.

What God wants is you-the one He created!

“Me?” you ask. “Why is this so?”

“I cannot wrap me and put on a bow!”

No, you cannot; but what you can give

Are the choices you make in the life that you live.

God wants you to know Him and love Him within,

And this is called worship, an offering to Him.

To do this, trust Jesus, who died in your place

When you didn’t deserve Him-that is called grace.

Pray now and offer your life and your heart.

Say, “Jesus, I need You. I’d like a new start.”

Forgive me today for the sins I’ve committed

So one day in heaven I will be permitted.”

When you pray this decision, the heavens rejoice

That you have made worship of God your life’s choice.

God wants you to know Him, so choose every day,

To love God and thank God and give Him all praise!

So as you spend your Christmas Eve and Christmas day with those you love this year, remember the real reason behind this season-Jesus came to earth for you! Celebrate the most wonderful gift that was ever given.

Merry Christmas to you and your family!

LOVE...at Christmas

If I decorate my house perfectly with lovely plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights, and shiny glass balls, but do not show love to my family, I'm just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing gourmet meals, and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime, but do not show love to my family, I'm just another cook.

If I work at the soup kitchen, carol in the nursing home, and give all that I have to charity, but do not show love to my family, it profits me nothing.

If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes, attend a myriad of holiday parties, and sing in the choir's cantata but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child.

Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the husband.

Love is kind, though harried and tired.

Love doesn't envy another home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.

Love doesn't yell at the kids to get out of your way.

Love doesn't give only to those who are able to give in return, but rejoices in giving to those who can't.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.

Love never fails. Video games will break; pearl necklaces will be lost; golf clubs will rust.

But giving the gift of love will endure.

I Corinthians 13 Style by Sharon Jaynes

A family favorite

I am going to share a recipe that Barb shared with me years ago (I am hoping she has not shared it on the blog before, but if she has it is worth repeating)! It has become a family favorite at our house. I will just warn you that if you make this it will not last long. . .it is so very yummy!

Frosty’s Favorite:

3c. corn chex

3c. rice chex

2c. cheerios

2c. stick pretzels

2c. dry-roasted peanuts

12 oz. MM's (I like Reeses Pieces better)

16 oz. almond bark

Mix everything but the almond bark in a large bowl. Melt the almond bark in microwave according to direction on pkg. Pour over cereal mixture, stirring gently until mixture is well coated. Spread mixture on waxed paper-lined baking sheet and refrigerate (I just let it cool on the counter). When cool, break into pieces. Store in air-tight container in frig. (it's usually gone before I need to store it!).

I have motified the recipe slightly because I could not find some of the ingredients in the right amounts and I am not one to use 3 squares of left-over almond bark. So everything is the same except the following:

5 cups cheerios

6 cups pretzel sticks

1 lb bag of Reese Pieces

24 oz almond bark (I think the Plymouth Pantry brand is the best-I find mine at Walmart)

Enjoy!

Sugar Plums?!

Remember that line from "The Night Before Christmas?":

"While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads"

Did you know that sugar plums are candy that are made of sugar and shaped in a small round or oval shape. So what kind of sugar plums are dancing in your head this Christmas?

I have a whole notebook that I keep nothing but Christmas recipes in and all these recipes 'dance' in my head as I take the notebook out the day after Thanksgiving. Several of the recipes have been passed on to me from a generation or two ago! They are probably my favorite because I can imagine them being served to my relatives even before I was born.

I have baked hundreds of cookies in Christmases past, but these are my kids' favorite:

Wheat Thins
Chunkie Peanut Butter
Chocolate Bark

Spread wheat thins with peanut butter. Press another cracker on top, making a sandwich. Dip into melted chocolate bark. Tap off excess chocolate and let the cookie/candy harden on a sheet of wax paper.

Who knew? Really, their favorite?

Somehow this recipe doesn't seem like the kind of recipe I thought my kids would have 'dancing in their heads' after all the intricate cookies I have baked. Yet these cookies are the cookies that are most requested at my house.

Ask your clan what they like best and share a recipe or two with us this week.

Gift-giving in our family

One quick follow-up from yesterday’s post. I should have clarified one thing. I do love the snow. I love a white Christmas. I love looking out at the snow from my warm home. I don’t even mind driving in it, but I do not like to “play” in the snow. Skiing terrifies me, sledding is a close second and I hate cold, wet snow going in my boots or up my sleeves. I think that is why I felt the need to post what I did yesterday. I truly felt like I put myself in my girls’ shoes. They wanted to “play” in the snow, and I set aside how I felt about it to enjoy a moment with them. I think that is what being intentional is all about. I had so much fun because my daughters were having fun. I also wanted to share because I think I needed the reminder to live in the moment-to not be preoccupied with my to-do lists. I want more days like yesterday!

Onto my thoughts on gift-giving. . .

I think I referenced this in an earlier blog post, but early on in our marriage we decided to not go overboard for any holiday or birthday as far as gifts go. This was a harder transition for my husband than myself mainly because he grew up in a family that bought nothing throughout the year but on Christmas they went all-out. We decided we wanted to be a family that gave things throughout the year. We wanted to spend the time and money doing things as a family like going out to eat, to the movies and buying things when we wanted them (and had the money for them). We have carried this philosophy over to when we had children. We do ask the girls what they would like and go off of their lists (we sit down and talk about what they would like to put on their lists so I try to do some directing). Sometimes we are like Barb and choose to buy another gift they haven’t asked for because we think they will just love it (like this year I found a small “real” sewing machine for my 8-year-old daughter on sale. She loves to sew with me and I think she will love this gift, but it was not asked for). We also decided to purchase one larger gift and then round it out with a few smaller gifts. We try to buy the same number of presents for each girl as well. We do end up buying a lot of the same gifts for each girl since they really love playing the same things and we have found they love opening the same gifts. That really makes it easy for us. I also try to purchase small gifts throughout the year that I think they will like for their stockings. I have stopped buying their bigger gifts throughout the year since at their ages they change their minds so much, but finding small things for their stockings are easy. I also purchase a pair of new jammies that they wear on Christmas Eve when we open a gift for the family, a puzzle or a new game and then we spend time playing or doing the activity as a family. I guess my basic philosophy is I want my children to experience the joy of giving and getting gifts, but I do not want it to be the main focus of our celebrations. I love the time we spend after opening presents eating breakfast and playing as a family.

deviating from gift giving for a day. . .

Well, Christmas has arrived in Minnesota (My apologies to those that may be reading in a warmer state)! I spent most of my morning outside with my 3-year-old daughter making snow angels and attempting to shovel the blowing snow since our snow blower died. I know I will not be popular when I say this, but I love the snow! I really can’t imagine living in any other state, especially during the holidays. Don’t get me wrong, I am not a huge fan of bundling up the kids day in and day out, but the look on their faces when they got up this morning is worth it all. Imagine, for a moment, being a child again. What would you feel like if you woke up with all this fresh white stuff to run in, taste on your tongue or slide down? As adults our worlds get so busy with all of our to-dos that we can miss the unbelievable beauty that God has created-the snow! I know I was supposed to talk about gift-giving today, but I am going to let that wait until tomorrow. . .for today-I challenge you to go be a kid again with your children. Push back all those thoughts and reasons why you shouldn’t go outside and jump in. Call your kids, bundle up and have fun! May you enjoy this beautiful winter day that the Lord has made-we will rejoice and be glad in it!

Gifts to Give

I've shared before that in our family we used to give 5 gifts to our kids at Christmas.

A gift to hug and love (doll, stuffed animal)

A gift to read

A gift to play with

A gift to encourage an activity (sledding, skating, sports)

A gift of artistic expression (crayons, clay, glue and paper)

This worked great in the developmental years of the children. It gave me insight as to what my kids really were attracted to. It helped them develop an interest in areas they may not have had an interest in.

As they got older, they began to express what they wanted. My husband and I would have lengthy discussions as to whether we would buy them what they wanted or what we felt they would like and need. That was tricky as they got older. We finally settled on giving gifts that were worthy of giving.

Sometimes it was what they wanted.

Sometimes it was what they needed.

Sometimes it was what we thought would be valuable to them once they received it. We would introduce them to a new sport or hobby and it often became their favorite gift.

Christmas was spread out over the year for me as I evaluated what my kids were attracted to and what I felt they could use more exposure to. It was a time to connect with their desires and focus on their strengths and weaknesses.

18 days before Christmas isn't the time to delve into what your kids might benefit from this Christmas, but it is a time to commit to this idea. Decide that next year you will know your child well enough to choose a gift of value for them. A gift worthy of giving.

It will put Christmas into the right perspective for you and your family. God's gift to us that first Christmas was just what we needed.

Gift Giving

Did you know there is an art to gift giving? I heard a woman talk about it once and all the dos and don'ts of gift giving made me tired.

It got me thinking, however. Why do we give? Maybe that is the only question we need to be mindful of this season.

Are we giving to reciprocate a gift?
Are we giving because we've given to that person every year?
Do we give gifts of equal value not thinking about the intrinsic value in the actually giving of the gift?
When you give gifts to your kids...do you give the same number of gifts to each child?

Lots of different ways to look at giving and hopefully we can share this week ways that we give in our families.

I think the most valuable gift to give is yourself. Either in service or words or time. The person receiving the gift knows that the giver is really giving something priceless...themselves!

When my kids were young, I had them give small presents or at least a card of thanks to their teachers, sunday school teachers, piano or trumpet teacher, babysitters and anyone else in their lives who gave of themselves. Whether that person was paid or not wasn't the issue, the point I wanted to make with my kids was that these people were in their lives and gave all year long. Christmas was a good time to give back with a word or small gift of thanks.

As a former teacher, I learned that giving consumable gifts were always appreciated. A small set of cards with postage stamps, packets of cocoa or tea & a mug, or a small edible we would make along with the recipe. Avon and fragrances were usually over-done as a gift and I tried to avoid that. Don't focus on the gift as much as WHY you are teaching your kids to give.

Getting your kids involved in giving gifts at a young age will help balance the insatiable desire to GET gifts. They will see the thought that goes into selecting a gift. They will know why they are giving and will understand the work or money that goes into gift-giving. As they get older they will appreciate receiving gifts even more and will be able to express their thanks in a genuine way.

As you head to the mall this week, be mindful of WHY you are buying for the people on your list and count your blessings that they are in your life in 2009!