Reframing Christmas

This isn't typical... it's much more beautiful! What if we all took our Christmas and turned it on its head? My friend Amy (my hero) did and this is what it looks like:

[Mat 25:35-36, 40 NLT] For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.' ... "And the King will say, 'I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'

Keeping Christ in Christmas for my family means we make an effort to not "do Christmas" to the extent the world does Christmas. Every single way we celebrate is based on tradition and someone's idea of what Christmas should look like (mostly from a commercial standpoint). If you think about it, what part of our Christmas celebration is biblical? The birth story of Jesus is certainly in the Bible :) But that is about it. Biblical hymns and scripture readings can certainly praise and honor our Lord at Christmas and Advent can sharpen our focus, but how much of that do we experience in the stores and in our online shopping? Santa is worshiped more than Jesus!

Think on this: when we celebrate a birthday in our family, how do we go about it? Do we decorate the house, talk about the person's birthday, have a party, and feast.... and then give gifts in the name and in honor of the birthday person to everyone but the birthday person? Here's another thought... when we celebrate a birthday, don't we try to focus on the birthday person him or her with their favorites, such as favorite meals, favorite restaurants, favorite gifts, etc.?

So, in order to celebrate Jesus' birthday in a way that honors Him, my immediate family started to focus on Him. (And this was NOT easy because Scott and I grew up with a typical American Christmas and we did it that way with our family until 4 years ago.) For us, that means we don't do Santa in order to keep Jesus the focus as the bearer of all good gifts (no images/decorations of Santa everywhere save a tree ornament or 2, no cookies, no list, no reindeer food, no footprints in the fireplace, etc.) We scaled waaaaaay back on the presents that we gave each other (especially the kiddos!). We decided to make each birthday the time that we would have fun with gifts and gift-giving.

This year, we are at our lowest gift total ever: one for each child from Mommy and Daddy and one to each other. (As the primary gift-procurer in our family, I cannot tell you how this has literally changed my whole outlook on this time of year!) On Christmas Day, we get out the charity catalogs in order to give gifts to Jesus. We each spend an amount of money on charity efforts that we choose as individuals. We pray before we open the catalogs and focus on hearing the Lord's guidance as we flip though the pages. World Vision, Voice of the Martyrs, Samaritan's Purse, Compassion International, and Heifer International to name a few....

There is still so much more that my family can do to scale back and refocus! Think about the love for prisoners, orphans, the poor, and widows our Lord wants us to demonstrate. I shake my head when I think of the sadness and neglect these groups experience at this time of year.

Lord, forgive us for creating a season in Your name that excludes You. Help us to focus on you and your heart this year. Guide our focus and shift it to You. Help us not just talk about honoring You at Christmas, but to do and act and serve in Your name. Amen.