A Tale of Two Jacks

One of my favorite parenting moments happened in the summer. We had a dear friends 10 year old son over and I was asking him what his favorite thing was. I kind of meant like toys or hobbies, but he answered "I'm going to have to say...Christianity."

As I was still lost in the sweetness of the moment, my little Jack asked, "Christianity? What's that?" Then shrugging said "Never heard of it." I had to laugh.

But the little guy redeemed himself at school yesterday. Mind you, my kids go to public school. A little school we love. As I was walking into the school to volunteer Jack's class was out for recess. His sweet teacher called me over to relay an interaction they had just had.

She told the class that after recess they would be getting ready to go to the school Chorus Concert. I think one of the kids asked what it was going to be about. And my Jackie said "Well, it better be about Jesus because that's what Christmas is really about!" Rock on buddy, rock on!

I may not want to waste money, but I guess I have no problems wasting time

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What I did with 3 kids in school...

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More wasting time...

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I can't help myself...

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the most wonderful time of the year?

Every year I want advent to be a special time for our family of preparing to celebrate the coming of Christ into the world. And every year it's more like a frenzied whirlwind of yuletide chaos. But this year, I found a fun Advent wreath at Target to assist our family in a nightly time of focusing our hearts and minds on Jesus.

My plan was to not only have a little treat in each day, but a verse or activity or prayer. I was so excited about the idea as I began brainstorming ideas to include. I even imagined the post I would do about our family's delightful advent season. Then I actually, consciously thought, "Wait. Maybe I better not do a post about it, but save it instead to publish as a book someday." Seriously? As if there aren't 116 books out there on advent devotions for kids? But such was my frame of mind. But wait, there's more. As I considered both my book and my post, I thought (again consciously), "Well, I'll have to be careful because I want to be sure not to put anyone under the pile with my ideas."

Well I need not have worried about that. Not only would no one be put under the pile by the way these advent devotions have been going in my family, any book I would write would be a pile of doggie doo! The book I would be qualified to write would be titled "How Advent Devotions Can Cause You to Declare Temporary Insanity". I was forlorn by the lack of appreciation my children had for my pearls of wisdom. How did I turn a family time intended to focus on Christ into something that was all about me???? Believe me, I'm an expert. I was distraught by the fact that they were far more interested in the jelly bellies than the discussion about preparing our hearts for Christmas. Imagine that: children loving candy!

But most of all, I am saddened by the ugliness in my own heart. Thank you Jesus that you came to rescue me. I know I need it. Maybe that is the best way for me to prepare for celebrating his birth: to recognize my need for a Savior and thank Him lavishly for His mercy toward me. The one who plans the family devotions for her kids, but fails to realize while doing so that she needs it more than anyone.

"But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy..." Titus 3:4,5

My husband keeps sending me Dave Ramsey emails and videos as a not-so-subtle hint. Apparently there is some kind of economic crisis going on. I try not to think about it because I like happy thoughts . But I do get that regardless of the country's financial situation, we are in full-time Christian work and though it is incredibly satisfying, it's not a get-rich scheme. At least, it better not be. So, I will attempt to make my man (and Dave Ramsey) proud this holiday season.

First, I started "saving money" by going shopping on Black Friday. The honest truth is that I do this as much for the adventure of it as for the bargains. Funny how any other day of the year I have to practically be dragged out of bed, but the day after Thanksgiving I hop out of bed at 4am with no trouble at all. It's such a fun time to be with my sisters. Now my older nieces have joined in on the action. We appreciate having them help to "box out" when needed. Actually, all the shoppers I encountered were very pleasant this year. I guess everyone was enjoying the bond of consumerism and the patriotism of trying to stimulate the economy. Below is a picture of my kids in their $4 track suits I scored from Wal-Mart. It's a good thing they were so cheap since they attract dog hair like crazy.

Second I promise, in the name of good stewardship, not to beg for a new Christmas tree. Our hand-me-down tree is rather pathetic. Let's use the euphemism "quirky". It's crooked and only some of the pre-lit lights actually live up to their name. It would be perfect in a home in "Who-ville". But I'm sure Dave Ramsey doesn't think I need a new tree. And I know my husband doesn't. So I will be content and remember that a quirky tree is probably the best tree for this crazy family.

Third, I will refuse to listen to the voice that tells me to buy more for my kids. Sometimes it is just a whisper and other times it is a strong, convincing voice not dissimilar to the guy who does the ShamWow commercials. My love language is gifts. I love giving them almost as much as I love getting them. Just being honest. This reality makes it hard for me at gift-giving occasions to ignore the desire to shower my kids with gifts and revel in the joy that brings them. I'm not saying I'm going to become a scrooge. I'm just attempting to tame the beast. If I succeed, I don't think it will only be my husband who thanks me. Maybe someday my kids will as well. I hope they grow to treasure Jesus more than anything. That's what I want for myself too!

Now if I could just stop wasting money by washing loads twice because I've let them sit and mold in the washing machine for days on end.