I have always loved a house decorated for Christmas. It adds such an element of cheer that makes my heart happy. The way a neighborhood looks at night when all the lights are twinkling...it always makes me smile.
Madelyn seems to be fond of all the decorations as well.
Many times a day you can spot her standing in front of the tree admiring it. Often she is "ooohing and aahing" as she stands there. It's precious.
n]
Madelyn seems to be fond of all the decorations as well.Many times a day you can spot her standing in front of the tree admiring it. Often she is "ooohing and aahing" as she stands there. It's precious.
ad·mi·ra·tion
[ad-muh-rey-shuh
n]–noun
1. a feeling of wonder, pleasure, or approval.
2. the act of looking on or contemplating with pleasure: admiration of fine paintings.
3. Archaic . wonder; astonishment.
Thinking about her admiration for the lights, the tree, the ornaments and presents reminds me of something that Luke and I have spent a lot of time talking about this season. How do we teach her what Christmas is REALLY about? While all of the other stuff is lots of fun and we want to create exciting memories and fun traditions with her, we want the focus of Christmas to be Christ at our house. We want to train her in a way that some day she can stand in total admiration of Jesus. His birth. His life. His teaching. His crucifixion, death and resurrection. We want her to know that Christmas is more about giving to those in need than receiving because that's what Jesus modeled. My prayer is that we are mindful of ways to show her with our actions that Christmas, although filled with many distractions, is simply about Jesus.
Thinking about her admiration for the lights, the tree, the ornaments and presents reminds me of something that Luke and I have spent a lot of time talking about this season. How do we teach her what Christmas is REALLY about? While all of the other stuff is lots of fun and we want to create exciting memories and fun traditions with her, we want the focus of Christmas to be Christ at our house. We want to train her in a way that some day she can stand in total admiration of Jesus. His birth. His life. His teaching. His crucifixion, death and resurrection. We want her to know that Christmas is more about giving to those in need than receiving because that's what Jesus modeled. My prayer is that we are mindful of ways to show her with our actions that Christmas, although filled with many distractions, is simply about Jesus.
There is a WONDERFUL website that I use to help me teach about the true meaning of spiritual holidays. Although she may be too young to do some of this, it's a great resource to have on hand when she gets another year older or so. It's
ReplyDeletehttp://www.hubbardscupboard.org/christmas.html
They also provide ideas for Easter and wonderful Christian preschool lessons you can do at home. It's amazing!