So I've been struggling with these feelings for a bit. I started to REALLY evaluate our lives. I evaluated my kids' behavior. I evaluated how we spend Christmas. CHRISTmas is truly about CHRIST, and are we reflecting that behavior to our children?
My kids had a wonderful Christmas! We went with a new CHRISTmas theme this year. Each kid got 4 gifts....something they want, something they need, something they wear, and something they read. I finished CHRISTmas shopping around the 1st of Dec. So we adopted a family of 5 through our church. The kids were a major part in chosing and wrapping gifts for this family. We talked A LOT about the importance of giving back, and we emphasized the importance of giving back during CHRISTmas.
I have decided that kids today are being given a complex of sorts. They are being made to feel entitled. They think that NEED & deserve a brand new 32 inch or bigger TV each year or the latest and greatest game system of the year. Truthfully are we really stopping to teach our kids the REAL reason for CHRISTmas? Are we even teaching them why we celebrate CHRISTmas? How many parents compete to make sure their kids get bigger and better than their neighbor/friend/family? These families that are doing this stuff....are they even trying to teach their kids about giving back? Are they teaching their kids that giving is truly so much better than receiving? Are they teaching their kids to appreciate the feelings they get deep in their hearts/belly that says "HEY I JUST DID AN AMAZING THING FOR SOMEONE!!!"???
In order to raise truly functioning adults who are productive members of society we need to check ourselves sometimes. The holiday season seems to be a HUGE one that needs checked!
Kelli, I really like what you had to say, and it is so true. Christmas has became too much about gifts, gifts, and more gifts and all the I wants rather than about Christ which is what it truly is about. We all need to remember that Jesus is the reason for the Season...
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