I recently heard of at least two Christian families who have chosen not to celebrate Christmas. It has given me a lot to ponder on. During this Advent season I'm reflecting upon how and why I do celebrate the season. Is it just to get caught up in the holiday feelings or the "spirit of Christmas"? And what is the "spirit of Christmas"? Having lived in a country where less than 1 percent of the population claim Jesus as their savior and Lord, I've had the privilege of seeing how believers in that environment treat the holiday. It becomes a time for them to welcome the "stranger" or those who have never known Christ. My first Christmas in Japan I took the bullet train down to Osaka and joined with hundreds of Japanese believers in Jesus. There were no lights, candles, trees, or any decorations that would give you a clue that it was Christmas day. It was not a national holiday. But, I think that year it fell on a weekend, so not everyone was working. Believers from several different denominations worked together to rent a large hall, owned by a newspaper company, for their Christmas celebration. What it entailed, was an all-day celebration of prayer, praise and fasting. People could come and go, as they were able. They could fast for all-day or part of the day. There was such a joyous raising of voices in praise, song and prayer.
It was all about JESUS! It was probably the best Christmas I had ever had, because it felt like a little taste of what heaven is going to be like. So, as I remember this, I want my Christmas celebrations to still be focused on JESUS!
Do I enjoy decorations? Yes, I do! I'm a very visual, artistic person. So, I feel that if the artistic decorations help us to focus on who we are celebrating, then they should be a part of the picture. Does it matter to me that we don't actually know that Jesus was born on December 25th? Not really. It's still nice to just pick a day to remember that He came to save us from our sins. What do I think about gifts? They are nice to share. But, let's not go overboard. After all, if Jesus, who was born into this world, as King of Kings, only received three gifts at his birth, then I don't want to give my child tons and tons of presents. After all, we're not trying to teach her about selfishness and greed, here. It's about sharing gifts of love out of thanks for the best gift who was given for us. I'm so thankful that Penny does seem to get it. On the one hand, she's VERY excited to receive gifts, because she never received them in the orphanage. However, on the other hand, she's also very concerned about those who have less, because she knows what that is like. She gets very excited about this holiday season. A great part of it is due to the fact that we first met her in December. Although the majority of the Thai people are Buddhists, it was interesting to have Christmas carols about Jesus playing around us in department stores and see a lot of decorations in Bangkok. We bought several special handmade ornaments designed by Thai Christians when we were staying at the Bangkok Christian Guest House. Those tell a special story that is a part of our family and it's so much fun to reminisce about the gift of becoming a family as we decorate the tree.
So, we have been decorating the house.
I also attended a Ladies' Night Out Christmas party for moms who were mostly from HSE (Home School Etc.). I'm so thankful to be meeting more ladies in our area.
I'm so thankful for my job at our church, as well. It's been fun getting to know more people there, especially since we joined choir. Penny and I enjoyed getting together with several other ladies/girls for a Christmas Tea at church.
I've also been baking.
A friend in Japan wanted some granola bars from America, so I made them from scratch.
I also baked some orange cranberry bread, after getting inspired to read about some that another blogger friend had baked.
I think the cat must be jealous that I'm spending so much time cooking and baking, lately. She's been doing silly things to try to get attention.
See, here she is saying, "Mommy, look at me! Pay attention to me!" She also likes to snuggle up on my side of the bed and on my lap a lot, lately, especially since it's gotten so cold.
I've been slowly doing a little more painting in our basement
as well as cleaning up/organizing. We can finally see the floor in our home school room, again,
I put some new maps up. We got one of the continents and a new USA map.
I was excited to get that up, because we will be switching from World Geography to US Geography starting in January. I know most kids in the US learn about it when they are younger, but since Penny has only been in this country for 5 years, I thought it would be fun for her to learn about it in high school. That's the beauty of home schooling, that you can fit in any class that you think would be beneficial.
Speaking of our home schooling, our latest field trip was this past Monday. We went to Golden, again.
The last time we had gone to the USGS Earthquake Center. This time, we went to the free Geology Museum.
It was excellent! Penny loved it! She was totally fascinated with all of the huge variety of sparkling gems.
And it went along just perfectly with what we've been learning in science. We're just finishing up a chapter all about geology.
Well, during this Advent season, while we are writing Christmas cards, baking, singing carols and wrapping gifts, let our focus be on the reason that we celebrate. It is a time to say, "THANK YOU, GOD FOR JESUS!" Without Him, we would all be lost without a hope for our eternity. He is the reason for the season!
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