Creating your own celebrations

Christmas Day and the season of Advent is full of tradition and rituals. The question is, is whose traditions are you following? The joyous thing about being a parent is that you have the authority and freedom to create your own Christmas rituals in your home for your children. It is not always a simple task to create traditions, it does take prayer, thought and some good chats with your spouse.

We all carry with us memories of Christmas from our childhood - some are good, some are hurtful, some inspire, and some keep us in boundage. Mostly these experiences are powerful and emotive. So it takes some careful sifting to work out what do we want to carry forward into our own families, and what do we want to leave behind. We need to recognise that the letting go of some traditions is not a simple task due to the emotional attachment we have with them. We may need pray through and process the "letting go" with a good friend.

Add to this we are in a society that, for some strange reason, goes crazy around Christmas with a startling amount of shopping, sales, decorations, Santa Claus, fir-trees, presents, eating, gatherings, chocolate advent calanders, tinsel and more. Ironically in the midst of this frenzied preparing and feasting, very little of Jesus is reflected. (I  recently tried to purchase a toy nativity set and found that most toy store assistants gave me a blank look, but went on to offer me a handful of Christmas related toys that had a whole lot to do with Santa but very little to do with Jesus). In creating our own celebration of Christmas we need to prayerfully decide what we want to include from our society's traditions, and how to explain to our children why we have chosen not to include the rest.

Shaping our own Christmas is not just about keeping what we like and discard the rest, it is also about creating something brand new. As we push into to understanding more of Jesus, more of His justice and love, we may find we are inspired to add to our Christmas season something that is so Holy Spirit inspired that we don't know of anyone else who is doing it. How exciting - so be open to the new things that may be birthed in your heart. I encourage you to share them with us moms as it will only add to the richness of our celebrations.

Jesus's said that His burden is not heavy and that His yoke is light - this provides us with a great promise to take hold of as we look to mould our family's Christmas celebrations. It does not have to feel like hard work. God wants to show us how.

One mom shared how she and her husband had been praying about their Christmas and had specifically asked God to show them What does God want Christmas to look like in their home? and the also sought God specifically on How they could redeem Christmas in their own lives and home? What an inspiring testimony of how God has been answering them with verses that give guidance, and by dropping inspiring ideas in their hearts and minds. God loves it when we are intentional about Him, and seek to live our lives in line with His best for us. When our hearts are yearning for His way, He does not delay in sharing His thoughts, ideas and strategies with us. And what a joy this is, because His way brings LIFE!

There is no ONE right way to do Christmas, no formula and no script. There is room for you to be Holy Spirit inspired, to use your talents and creative gifts to make this season LIFE giving for your family and to celebrate with your children the wondrous gift of God, Jesus.


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AND REMEMBER:
If you are on Facebook, make sure you join our Moms 4 Justice group where those of us who were at the meeting have committed ourselves to inspiring each other during the Advent Season. Each day one of us will post some reflective thoughts or verses that can help us all focus on the real meaning of Christmas, or inspire us to pursue social justice in this season of festivity, or something that we can say or do with our kids that will help them better understand Jesus and Christmas.


Follow this link to go to the facbook group of Moms4Justice