Christmas by the Hour; How to Keep a Christ-Centered Christmas
7.12.10
I would love to share with you today a great family tradition we started several years ago that has helped us to keep Jesus at the center of our celebration in a very tangible, practical way every Christmas's Eve followed by Christmas Day.
Two weeks ahead of Christmas I start to plan different activities, I jot down each one of them and keep them inside a decorated envelope in a basket. We keep an eye on the clock and every hour and a half one of us (taking turns), goes to the basket and grabs and activity for all of us to do. Some of the activities are:
* Reading specific Bible verses that tell us about Jesus' coming, about the wonderful mystery of The Incarnation: The Gift of the Word is open.
* Singing Hymns. We have the name of several hymns (and the lyrics for them) in the basket: We bring Him worship.
* Reading short Christmas stories. Little kids enjoy this activity a lot; they like to remember the story of Jesus coming as a baby in a manger: We remember, we gaze at the miracle.
* Praying, thanking. You might find a little note in an envelope saying: Lift up your voice in prayer: We come and bow down in prayer; He came to open the Way, He is the Way.
* There will be some beautiful poetry to read (I found some beautiful poems at Desiring God by John Piper, and this other one by Monica, White. ) These poems are a beautiful way to remember, to worship.
Any suggestions? What would YOU add to the basket?
May you start all your preparations full of anticipation and joy!
May God give you a Christmas full of Him!
Celebrate the Incarnation of our Lord! Read other related posts...
Related posts around the corner:
Have you thought about The Mystery of His coming? Please read this, over at Rebecca's.
What about reading 12 Days of Christmas with Spurgeon?
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This post is linked to Desiring Virtue
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6 comments:
How neat! Maybe a card with the name of someone to pray for or to visit (maybe in a nursing home); a handmade card to give to a neighbor (to Help spread the Good News); a cookie recipe to bake and share with others. Love and Blessings!
Petra, those are great ideas! thank you for your input.
I am enjoying your 12 Days of Christmas Series. Thank you for posting those!
Becky,
Your packages are beautiful!
I love doing things like this for my family, too. :)
What about having each family member share how they've seen the other family members grow in Christ over the past year? What an encouragement that would be, especially when growth often seems so slow from our own point of view.
Becky,
Very similar to your idea, I have typed out specific, practical prayers, namely for our neighbors, friends, community and loved ones, and cut them into 1" strips, tightly folded up and placed in a small "prayer bowl." At dinner, someone would either be elected or volunteer to pick a prayer and read/pray it aloud. This has been a special way to teach our children how to lift their voice and heart up to God in prayer.
Love,
-E
Becky,
You are such an artist! Lord bless you! And whoever took that picture of you snapped a great shot!
Much love!
What great ideas! And the poem is beautiful!
Thanks for linking up with our Parade of Christmas today ~
Jaime @ Like a Bubbling Brook
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