More New Year’s Traditions December 30, 2009

On Monday I shared with you what our family does to celebrate the New Year.  Below are more ideas I found on the internet worth considering:

1. Make a time capsule to represent the past year.  Have each family member contribute a few things (i.e. ticket stubs, photographs, etc.) to place in the capsule.  Pick a date in the future when the time capsule will be opened.
2. Spend New Year’s Day making a family scrapbook that represents all that happened this year.
3. Play “Do You Remember When…”  This is a simple game that is simply sitting together and recounting all the special events of the year.  Take turns around the table until there are no more memories that come to mind.
4. Prepare a fondue dinner or lunch like cheese or chocolate.  It’s sure to be a favorite!
5. Plan a New Year’s family resolution to do together on a quarterly, monthly or weekly basis.  Ask all family members for ideas of what they would like the family to do together in the new year.  After hearing everyone’s ideas make a decision on what you’ll commit to for the next year.  It may be a weekly game night or a specialty regional dinner.  Whatever you decide make sure you stick to your commitment for the year and take lots of pictures.  How fun to reflect back on all these photos next year on New Year’s Eve!
6. Take pictures of each child at the front door to your home.  As the years pass you’ll be able to see how each child has grown and how your front door has weathered the years too.  If you move this will be reflected in the photo as well.
7. Write a letter to yourself.  Have each family member write a letter stating their hopes and dreams for the coming year.  Tuck them away in a sealed envelope to be opened on New Year’s Day the following year.  It will be fun to see what actually happened.  If you want read the letters before sealing them away – or keep them private until the following year.

On behalf of the Metro Moms Blog Team may you have a wonderful New Year’s celebration making memories with your children that will last a lifetime!

New Year’s Traditions December 28, 2009

I love celebrating the New Year.  It’s a time to reflect on the past year and look forward to the new.

A few years ago we started a tradition in our family that has become quite special.  We gather together on New Year’s Day for brunch (usually around 1p), and after our meal I hand out one gift to each family member.  They are opened one at a time.

The gifts?  They are Christmas ornaments I select for each individual that represents what God has done in their lives this year.  There are many advantages to doing this on New Year’s:  1. All Christmas ornaments go on sale after Christmas.  2.  New Year’s Day is one day where everyone has off, but usually there are no scheduling conflicts.  3.  It’s a great way to remember all that God has done in our lives opening the door for giving thanks to Him.

What about you?  Do you have a special tradition on New Year’s Day?  If so, comment to this post and share it with us.  Who knows?  Someone may read your comment and decide this will become a great tradition for them as well?  Be sure to read our blog on Wednesday where we’ll list more ideas for celebrating New Year’s with your family.

When Traditions Change December 23, 2009

It was our first Christmas in Florida after moving from Virginia.  We were out of sorts.

In Virginia we had decades of traditions to work from.  We knew which neighborhoods to visit for a parade of well done lights.  We looked forward to our annual visit to Downtown DC to see the National Christmas Tree and the reindeer, the bonfire and the free hot chocolate.  And we looked forward to Christmas Eve at Mammaw’s and Christmas morning at our house with the craziness and fun of all the extended family.

Christmas of 2000 was just us.  Mom, Dad, and the kids.  We were sad that Christmas Eve.  We didn’t know where to go to find lights or reindeer or hot chocolate.  So we went to find go karts.  We thought doing something completely different and zany would stop the sadness of missing the dear and familiar.  So go kart riding we went!  We laughed alot — not just at the fun of racing each other around the track, but at the complete weirdness of being in Flordia doing “vacation stuff” on Christmas Eve.

But we found out two very special things that Christmas.  First, we love each other.  Really love each other.  We missed Bobi and her family, Mammaw, and Uncle Clint.  We missed the cold, the fireplace, and the spot downstairs where we always put the tree.  But the most important people in our lives were sharing together the laughter of seeing dad’s wild and wind blown hair as he climbed out of the go kart.  We were far away from home and we were lonely.  But those that mattered most were there to do all different things that had no special meaning…which made that first Florida Christmas special in it’s own way.

And, second, we learned again that there is One who never changes.  When God’s providence invades our lives and so much has changed that we no longer have solid ground to stand on, we can be assured that He who set the stars in place and has named each one also holds us in His firm and loving hands.

Are you experiencing unsettledness, change, disappointment, defered hopes?  Is this Christmas going to be “different” for you than Christmases past?  Is there something you hoped to have by this Christmas (a new baby, time with cherished family or friends, a new home to celebrate in) that has been providentially denied?  Then remember that something hasn’t changed and will never change.  In the midst of life’s unplanned happenings, God is sure and faithful and always near.

May the Unchanging One fill your heart with peace as you enjoy both the familiar and the unfamiliar plans He has for you this Christmas.

P.S.  By the way, over the past 5 years Florida has become home and we no longer ride go karts on Christmas Eve.  We haven’t found reindeer and we have to open our windows to cool down the house enough to enjoy the fireplace.  God is faithful.  He uses time to heal broken hearts and bring biblical perspective on how change can be used to draw our hearts toward heaven when we will meet the Unchanging One face to face.

Posted by Sheree in 2006

Special Ornaments December 21, 2009

From a series on Christmas Traditions:

There are many special memories that come to mind when I think of my first Christmas with Todd.  We enjoyed creating traditions of our own, and we also enjoyed implementing those of our families that were dear to our hearts.

The evening that we brought our “first” Christmas tree home is a story we still tell to our children…and to anybody who wants a good laugh =).  We decided to purchase a tree with its roots in tact that could be planted after Christmas was over.  This plan sounded innocent enough, but executing it was a completely different matter.  Trees with their roots packed in dirt are quite heavy =).  Hauling one up to a third story apartment on a rainy evening is an adventure we’ll never forget.  It took four grown men to complete the task!

We planted the tree on Todd’s parent’s property, and looking at it each time we travel home for Christmas still brings a smile to our faces.  It has grown quite a bit these last 12 years and is a funny, but sweet memory of our first Christmas.  Decorating our first tree together is another wonderful story.

Todd handed me a box and a note on that memorable evening.  The note conveyed his excitement about sharing one of his family traditions with me…his wife =).  Each year his parents had allowed him to purchase a new tree ornament to be collected so that he’d have something to put on his own tree when he got married.  1994 was the year….and I was the blessed recipient of a beautiful collection of ornaments.  What a memory!

We have carried on this tradition with our own two boys.  Our tree is filled with many unusual, fun ornaments that represent well the character of each of our children.  Todd and I still collect an ornament each year as well.  You will find everything from racing cars to angels on our tree…and usually 2 or 3 ornaments on a branch until I quietly and unobtrusively rearrange things a bit=).

I hope some day my boys will have the joy of handing the wife God has chosen for each of them a special box filled with cherished childhood Christmas ornaments, and that I get to see how beautiful they look on their tree!

Posted by Michelle in 2006

God Used Santa December 18, 2009

I grew up with Santa Claus.  He was probably my favorite person for the early years of my life.  I received gifts from him on Christmas morning and I thought he was the cutest person in the world.

It was Christmas Eve 1961 and my brother and I were in bed for the night.  I couldn’t sleep…neither could he.  Suddenly he ran into my room whispering, “Sheree…get up…Santa is here!!”  I was scared to death.  If Santa was here I certainly wasn’t going to go and actually look at him!  What if he saw me?  What if he punished me for spying on him by taking my presents?  But Randy grabbed me by the arm and insisted we tip toe down the steps.  I remember feeling like my heart would beat out of my chest.

He was there!  I couldn’t believe my eyes.  And he had brought the two-wheeler I had asked for!  It was the most exciting moment of my life.  But then he turned his head and I noticed how much he looked like my Uncle Ray!  Same round face.  Same big nose.  Same big belly and large hands. What in the world was happening?  Was my Uncle Ray Santa Claus?!?!?

That night fleeting thoughts I had refused to let sink in were confirmed.  Santa Claus wasn’t real.  That’s why he looked a little different every time I saw him.  I remember feeling a little sick to my stomach that night.  I remember having thoughts in the years following that I wouldn’t let mychildren believe this lie.  Besides, JESUS was the reason for Christmas. I no longer loved Santa.  In fact, I didn’t like him at all.

Perhaps this girlhood crisis made me want my children to know the One who is real and who no one can impersonate and who will never disappoint.  My parents did a wonderful job teaching me about the true meaning of Christmas.  Yet Benny and I decided to let our children know from their youngest ages that Santa was cute — but not real.  We have no pictures of our children sitting in his lap.  And when then 5-year-old Josh told the children next door that he wasn’t real (even after we had told he and Jaime that this was our secret and to please not tell it to other children!) we were very apologetic when their mom expressed her great disappointment in our son.

But, frankly, even though we were genuinely sorry for his disclosure a part of our proud, self-righteous hearts were kinda glad our son had taken a stand for the real meaning of Christmas.

Your friends and family may celebrate differently than you do.  Maybe your holiday traditions are more “spiritual” than others or you feel their purchases are excessive and rooted in worldliness.  Or perhaps you feel superior to others because your holiday traditions are much more “unselfish” and other-oriented.  Please don’t repeat our mistake by allowing self-righteousness to invade your heart. Perhaps their traditions and spending are completely fine with the only One who truly knows the hearts of men.

God used Santa to expose my self-righteousness, and He has been faithful to continue to use other situations over the years to continue to do so. (Like the more recent Christmas when I had the proud thought that someone I knew sure was spending a lot of money on extravagent gifts for their children…as if it was any of my business!) Is there anything He is using in your life this year to expose sinful attitudes toward those who celebrate differently than you?  If so, the conviction of this sin may be a priceless gift to you — and to me — this Christmas.

Posted by Sheree in 2007

God Came Near December 16, 2009

“It all happened in a moment, a most remarkable moment.  As moments go, that one appeared no different than any other.  If you could somehow pick it up off the timeline and examine it, it would look exactly like the ones that have passed while you have read these words.  It came and it went.  It was preceded and succeeded by others just like it.  It was one of the countless moments that have marked time since eternity became measurable.

But in reality, that particular moment was like none other.  For through that segment of time a spectacular thing occurred.  God became a man.  While the creatures of earth walked unaware, Divinity arrived.  Heaven opened herself and placed her most precious one in a human womb.

The omnipotent, in one instant, made himself breakable.  He who had been spirit became pierceable.  He who was larger than the universe became an embryo.  And he who sustains the world with a word chose to be dependent upon the nourishment of a young girl.

God as a fetus.  Holiness sleeping in a womb.  The creator of life being created….

God had come near.

He came, not as a flash of light or as an unapproachable conquerer, but as one whose first cries were heard by a peasant girl and a sleepy carpenter.  The hands that first held him were unmanicured, calloused, and dirty.

No silk.  No ivory.  No hype.  No party.  No hoopla.

Were it not for the shepherds, there would have been no reception.  And were it not for a group of stargazers, there would have been no gifts…..

“I am with you always” are the words of a God who in one instant did the impossible to make it all possible for you and me.

It all happened in a moment.  In one moment….a most remarkable moment.  The Word became flesh.  “  Max Lucado

Posted by Elyse in 2006

Christmas Posts December 14, 2009

For the next two weeks we will be posting Christmas posts from the years past from the blog.  We hope every enjoys this Christmas season!

You know it’s good to ask your kids deep questions. You can tell a lot from their answers.  When I ask them “What is your favorite thing about Christmas?” or “Why do we celebrate Christmas?” it can be a very good indicator of where most of their ideas of the Christmas season are coming.

It’s not just about tradition for me these days.  Yes, I love our advent calendar and pulling out our Little People Nativity set.  But I have a bigger challenge on my hands; the large task of laying a foundation and readying the soil of my children’s hearts for the Holy Spirit to work.

We are celebrating The Savior’s birth.  The Savior that I pray they will one day know and love and serve.  Yes, it’s better to give then receive, and yes, getting our tree from the same place every year is very special.  What is most precious to me is watching them learn and begin to understand that Jesus, who paid for their sins and rose from the dead at Easter, came as a baby in Bethlehem in a manger.

AMAZING!!!

Posted by Taraleigh in 2007

Wedding Watch #5 December 11, 2009

 Alrighty, it’s time for an update! We are down to 55 days! Yep. Fifty-five. And…I’m going to have to move along before I start to hyperventilate.

So what’ve we been doing since we last chatted? 

We met with a caterer – final decision TBD.

We hit (and passed!) the halfway mark for the engagement season.

We got the invitations OUT!

We went “home” for Thanksgiving.

We finalized about two-thirds of the ceremony.

We spent an entire day (literally!) registering. 

It doesn’t seem like much, I know. But it is crazy how much goes into the planning of a wedding! And, amidst the planning, we’re trying to make time for each other, shop for Christmas gifts, do the “family” thing with birthdays and holiday celebrations…oh, and work! 

When my brain has a few moments to think, I’m caught up between two categories of thought: 1) how much I can’t wait to just be MARRIED and 2) how much I have to learn. The first is, in part, an evidence of my impatience – something I’m working on. But it will be so nice to not have to say goodbye day after day, to not have to eat every meal out (some of you moms would trade a week with me any day, I know!), to not have to deny ourselves of our growing physical desires. The second is borne from a desire to want to know how to juggle having someone else in my life all the time, how to balance both sides of the family, how to submit to his leadership, how to add caring for and maintaining a home into the mix, etc, etc. The list could go on. All this being said, pray for us? Pray that we would honor God in the mundane details (this font size or that one?) and the important ones (purity and conflict resolutions). We would both be grateful. 

P.S. Check out all the rest of our engagement pictures on my Facebook page!

Wedding Ticker from PromoteMyWedding

A Daughter’s Perspective December 9, 2009

Like Debi posted Monday, I am going to follow up on the posts last week.  For those of you who missed it, here and here they are.

I had many thoughts while reading the posts last week.  There were reminders of my weaknesses as a wife as I realized how much I am tempted in the same ways as my mom was.  I could relate to so many of the same things even though I am not a pastors wife.  My husband has a “normal” job, but the temptations are not that different.  Did you feel the same?

The one thing that stuck out the most to me, being the daughter of the man and woman in that post, is how much I appreciate the hard work they put into their marriage.  As a child, I never once doubted my parents love for one another.  I always felt that Dad was the most important person in Mom’s life and I would have never really known how much she struggled keeping him as a priority. Dad and Mom loved each other…alot.  That’s all I knew.

What a secure feeling that was for me as a little girl, a not-so-little girl, and a teenager.  And even now as a 30 years old mother of four…who still loves being their daughter and watching them love each other!  I desperately want my children to have that same warm and secure feeling about PJ and I.  That “no matter what happens, Mommy and Daddy love each other” knowledge that I had as a kid.

Obviously this takes work.  I am not talking about PJ and I faking smiles for 40 years so our kids can be happy and secure.  The love I saw in my parents was real.  It was the product of hard work, mortifying sin, overcoming laziness, forgiving, and avoiding bitterness.  There is no way you can fake that.

PJ and I have been through a lot over the years and if you asked him, I am 100% positive he would say he has not felt like the main priority in my life at all times.  At various seasons work, college, babies, nursing, homeschooling, and even my parents and siblings have taken the front seat in my heart.  Now my children are getting older and I realize that they will start to carry memories into their adulthood. There is no hoping they will forget and we can “do better” later.

What will they remember?  And will it be what is important? I can be the best homeschooling mom, a fun mom who took them awesome places, cooked great dinners, and drove everyone crazy keeping the house clean.  I can be “cool”, teach them how to excel in sports,  and push them to learn music.  Will that be what they remember?

If they are like me, then no.  I do have lots of really great memories of all the things I did growing up, but what was most important is Mom and Dad were there.  They loved each other, they were for each other, and now MY children have a Granma and Papa they see still acting like they got married last week. That is what I want to give my kids.

Thank you, Mom, for your honesty in your blog posts.  But most of all, thank you for doing the hard work in pursuing and loving Dad.  Thank you for loving me and my siblings enough to love Dad more than us.

Please keep trying to help me to do the same.  And PJ will continue to be grateful for your investment in our marriage.  Wouldn’t it be great if someday Kayla writes a blog post like this about me?

Posted by Jaime

Are Ya Listening? December 7, 2009

Growing up in a small Baptist church our pastor would regularly preach out with full volume, “Are Ya Listening?”  It surely made me jump because my young mind was all too often drifting away from what he was saying.

In the same way I do this with my thoughts.  I allow them to roam wherever they will until I hear the Holy Spirit speak, “Are Ya Listening?”  He regularly asks if I’m listening to the thoughts I’m allowing to pour through my mind.  Sadly, I often don’t pay attention, and much sin results.

Last week Sheree shared some thoughts and convictions about how we view our husbands.  As a young wife I was constantly tempted to be jealous of his routine, while mine seemed mundane and full of all the things I would rather NOT be doing.  In those days I wasn’t as fully aware of my responsibility to take my thoughts captive.  I didn’t quickly recognize the sin being revealed in my heart.  I would get angry with Tom just because he was doing things I wished I could do.  Instead of repenting of my selfishness and discontentment, I would allow these thoughts to fuel my jealousy resulting in  lack of affection towards my husband.

I am freshly reminded to make a practice of listening to my thoughts – not so I can selfishly give vent to them, but in order to see what’s motivating me.  If it’s sin, then by God’s grace I can repent and have hope to change.

Thank you, Sheree, for these posts.  I want to fuel thoughts of gratefulness and love towards my husband, not sinful, self-gratifying thoughts.  By God’s grace I am changing.   And hopefully I will continue to listen carefully to the thoughts routing their way through my preoccupied mind.

Posted by Debi