Keeping It Simple

I am a mom.  I want Christmas to be filled with joy and sweet memories for my kids, but more importantly, I want them to understand what we are celebrating.  Yes, it is the birth of Jesus Christ, but there is SO much more to His birth than that manger in Bethlehem.

And I will put enmity 

between you and the woman,

and between your offspring and hers,

He will crush your head,

and you will strike His heel.

Genesis 3:15

Is that a Christmas verse?  Yep.  Sin had just happened for the first time among humankind.  And God makes this promise, that One will be born of a woman who will crush the serpent.  God is talking about Jesus.  Jesus was born to conquer sin and death on our behalf.  How in the world do we bring these important truths to our eight and six year old sons at Christmas time without preaching them to death?  (Remember the joy and sweet memories part?  Still important!)  But most important, I don't want Christmas to feel like it has one more thing to do.  Ugh.  Teach my kids the truth about Jesus and make it fun and interactive and awesome?  Can you hear my Mommy heart breaking over the fact that I don't have one more ounce of energy to give to this blessed event?  And can you relate?

Enter totally awesome book I found used on Amazon four or five years ago after it was recommended by a dear friend.

This book has family devotions and activities for all the major holidays and some of the minor ones.  For most of them, your family creates a banner of sorts over the course of time indicated.  The Christmas banner involves a felt tree with a larger felt background, hanging on a wooden dowel and decorated with one felt ornament for each of the 24 days leading up to Christmas.

Wanna see ours?

Okay.  Notice the complete lack of fancy felt background and wooden dowel?  The tree is felt, but the first few years we did this, it was green poster board.  And now, I want you to look closer.

The ornaments are paper that has been laminated.  They still say the colors because you are supposed to make these puppies out of felt and those are the instructions.  This is NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN in my world, people.  Ever.  I just copied the pages from the book, cut out the ornaments, colored them, and eventually (after two years of use with a toddler and a preschooler) laminated them.  

And it doesn't matter.  Scroll back up and look at the tree, people.  For each of those ornaments, our family has shared time reading Scripture and being reminded of who this Jesus is.  He is the Alpha and the Omega (Revelation 22:13).  He is the Word made flesh who dwelt among us (John 1:1-2, 14).  Everything was created by Him, through Him, and for Him (Colossians 1:15-16).  These are the truths that matter.  Tacky looking ornaments on a tree with a stump that isn't centered?  Doesn't matter.

At this time of year especially, I need to keep it simple.  The Advent tree, as we call it, has required a little bit of time over the years, but it never once made me feel stressed or burdened.  Worshipping Jesus Christ never should.  Those aren't His tools, folks.  If it stresses or burdens you, it isn't from Jesus.

Case in point:  Erik and I often travel alone for one weekend in December, usually after our Bible Study lets out for the Christmas break.  During that weekend, the Advent tree doesn't happen.  We fall behind.  And it's okay.  We catch up the following week, doing two ornaments a night.  And just to clarify, the ornaments have a special system of delivery and are accompanied by something sweet to put in your mouth.

This amazing Advent calendar was a gift from sister about seven years ago.  I will never be able to thank her enough for it.  Most evenings in December, after dinner, a boy opens one of these doors to discover...

Our ornament for the evening (along with some candy - not pictured).  We read the Bible passage that goes with the ornament (supplied by the book pictured above).  We talk about it using discussion questions found in the same book.  We pray.  We sing a Christmas carol or three, also suggested by the book.  And then we put the ornament on our homely little tree.  Do they behave perfectly during this time?  Nope.  They are sometimes squirrel-like, unable to sit still, only interested in the candy.  And it's okay.

In ten years my children will not remember exactly what gifts we gave them this Christmas or any subsequent Christmas.  They just won't.  The only gift I remember perfectly was the year my church family helped my mom buy me a piano, but that's another story.  Unlike me, my kids are not being raised below the poverty line, so there is little chance that we will ever get them anything that will last in their memories forever.  But I do believe that this goofy looking advent tree and these homemade, highly imperfect ornaments, along with the truths they teach, will last for eternity, despite how simple they are.  Perhaps because of how simple they are.