Here Comes Santa Claus

As the "holidays" approach, I am always keenly aware of the commercialization our society has forced on us. One of the things I have meditated on quite a bit in the last few years is the reason we celebrate certain people and holidays. What have our holidays become? How can I be purposeful about the way I celebrate?

One thing always comes into focus for me ─ It's not about us. It's about Christ, about our Father in heaven. How can I bring this more clearly into focus for my young ones? How can our yearly holidays be a way to help us tune into God instead of hinder? Why do we go all out for holidays that are not as important as others? Here a few ideas I've found:

• Focus on giving to those who are not fortunate in this world. Try to find a way to make it long term instead of just for this season. Adopt a grandparent at a local elderly care facility. One of our most basic needs as humans is love. How can you pass that on to someone in a real and tangible way?
  
• Get your kids involved in giving. A great organization I've found is Kiva. What a concept they've got going! Person to person loans that cut out the interest and focus more on relationship. Check them out! Think about getting your children a gift certificate from this organization instead of new toys.
• Involve yourself in learning about the people behind the holidays we celebrate. Voice of the Martyrs has a wonderful book series that takes a look at the Christ followers we know so little about.
• Find ways to cut out the meaningless traditions of the holidays and bring the focus back to Christ. This is a challenge. Some of the traditions we have are so ingrained in us and make us feel 'warm and fuzzy', but they take away from the deep meaning of our faith and the stories behind it.
• Do some research about Jewish holidays. These were commanded by God to be celebrated in a very specific way. What do these holidays say about our God? How could we adopt some of these ideas into our celebration? How did the Jewish people pass on this deep meaning to their children?
  
• Research the meaning behind some of the traditions we follow today. How can we bring life back into them? How can we pass the meaning along to our children?
• Pray. Ask God to show you who He is and how you can relate that to your celebration time.
  
• So much of our holiday celebration becomes about greed. Stop spending so much money on material things and start meeting the needs of those around you. Bring the focus away from the "I want..." lists and more toward the "He/She needs..." category. Try having your children make lists of people they see that need something. (define the word need very clearly)
• Thankfulness─Make a list of God's character traits that you're thankful for instead of the worldly things you're thankful for. What kinds of situations has God brought you through? How are you thankful for His provision in that? Talk about it.
  
• Let love lead your every step. It is a challenge to see others as people that God loves, but He commanded us to love one another. Who in your life is difficult to love? Find reconciliation in any broken relationships. That will speak to more people than you can imagine. God's grace is sufficient for us all.
• Newness─As the New Year approaches, meditate on what new life means to you. Search the Scripture for passages that speak to you. Make this central to your celebration.
• Start talking with your friends and family about their ideas. What other holidays can you overhaul? How?
  

Share you ideas with me. I love hearing the ways others have found to be purposeful about their lives.