Teaching Our Kids About Gifts

Christmas gifts that is....

Sometimes I really struggle with Christmas traditions. I feel caught in the middle of keeping the traditions that give connection to my family history and what seems like an ever-escalating commercial approach to this holy day. So, whenever possible we try to draw out spiritual, Christ-centered meaning to our traditions.

Today was a chance to teach about gift-giving.

Merritt and Mason finished their shopping for our family today. Some $5 gifts for mom and grandma, a couple of handmade gifts for dad, and something for Molly too. They really got into the selection process and it was great fun. Then this evening, we wrapped the gifts, placed them under the tree. And in the glow of our multi-colored twinkly-lit tree, we sat down to read. We read the book, Jacob's Gift by Max Lucado.

The story is beautifully crafted by Max Lucado. It is about the young carpenter who ends up building the manger in which Christ is laid. As the story unfolds, the young carpenter's teacher explains to him that just like an earthly father is pleased when his children receives gifts, God is pleased when His children receive gifts.

This opened up wonderful conversation about why we buy gifts at Christmas; about God' generous gift at Christmas; and, our conversation eventually lead us to the topic of giving to people in need. The boys decided to do a few things in this area. They decided to give some of their piggy bank money to their Compassion International kids, to use some of that money to buy gloves for the people who live in the tents outside of PetsMart, and to use some of the fleece in Rhonda's craft bin to make make scarves for them too.

We were able to talk about how giving gifts to God is worship and connect the dots between service and worship. It was a very rewarding family holiday evening. I think this process will become an annual tradition, reinforcing this incredible message for years to come.