by Blair Massey

The stores have put up their holiday decorations. Yuletide carols are being piped into shopping malls across the country. Ah, yes, the holiday rush is on.

It’s the time of year when the lines are long and shoppers are irritable. There are parties to go to, cards to write, baking to be done, a tree to get, lights to be hung and presents to wrap. Then there is the deluge of television advertisements that tell us what we must buy in order to make our loved ones happy.

The world has taken Christmas and turned it into a celebration of consumerism. For many children, Christmas is about what presents they are going to get. They have no idea what it is really about. What can we do as Christian parents to make sure our children know the true meaning of Christmas?

The answer lies in what we do as parents to put Christ at the center of our Christmas. If we’re too busy with holiday preparations to spend time teaching our children what Christmas is really about, then we can’t expect them to know the truth. The world will teach them its rendition and it won’t be about Jesus. But if we take the time to put Christ at the center of our Christmas, we will be giving our children the greatest Christmas gift of all: connecting with Jesus at a heart level.

Here are some ways you can teach your children the true meaning of Christmas. Begin by reading to your children the account of Jesus’ birth in the Bible. Next, discuss Jesus’ life. Read scriptures that show examples of how He loved and served others.

To make Christmas come alive for your children, teach them to imitate Jesus by following His example of serving others. I have listed some examples below for inspiration.

Before you make your plans please consider the following.  Make sure that you choose an activity that will have a meaningful impact. The activity should also require your children to give of themselves in an up close and personal way. And last but not least, be sure to participate in the activity with your children.  You’ll be teaching them a valuable lesson in serving, one that they will remember as they get older.

1. Teach them to give

“In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” Acts 20:35.

• Have them choose one of their own toys (in good condition) or purchase a new toy out of their own money to give to a child who otherwise would not receive a toy this Christmas.
• Give a coat or shoes to a homeless person.
• Bring toys and clothes to an orphanage.
• Help a less fortunate family for Christmas by providing all the fixings for a Christmas meal, presents for the children and clothes if needed.
• Pack bag lunches to give out to the homeless. Include a sandwich, juice box, cheese and crackers, Wet Ones, bus pass, a list of addresses where they can get a hot meal and shower, change for a phone call, and invitation to church.

2. Teach them to share

“Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.” 1 Timothy 6:18.

• Take a basket of homemade cookies to a neighbor you don’t know well and invite them to church.
• Have a friend over for dinner who doesn’t know about Jesus and share the Good News with them.
• Have your child invite a school friend to Christmas service at your church.

3. Teach them to care

“A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, he leads forth the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.” Psalms 68:5-6.

• Visit a convalescent hospital and sing Christmas carols.
• Visit a children’s hospital. Bring cookies and games to play.
• Bring a meal to someone who has a chronic illness.
• Invite a military person who is away from home to spend Christmas dinner at your house.

3. Teach them to serve

“Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:26-28.

• Volunteer to make and serve a meal at a homeless shelter.
• Spend an afternoon at a senior citizens’ home. Bring cookies and reading material, sing Christmas songs and serve in any way that may be needed.
• Take an elderly person shopping or do errands for them.
• Do yard work, pet care or housework for someone who is not physically able to do those things for themselves.

By teaching our children to imitate Jesus this Christmas season, we will keep the true meaning of Christmas alive for this generation and for the next. Jesus is the real reason for the season.

Copyright 2002 – 2009

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include the entire following resource information at the end of the article and make the link back to our site live:

Christian Lifestyle expert Blair Massey is devoted to helping Christian women around the world get their home, family and life organized. To get organized and start living the amazing life you were created by God to enjoy, sign up for her FREE newsletter now at www.christian-homemaking.com

by Blair Massey

We all have our “off” days. It goes something like this: You wake up late and you just can’t seem to get motivated to do anything. Simple tasks like doing the dishes seem too big to tackle, and you don’t even want to think about that mountain of laundry calling your name from the laundry room. The kids wear you down and you wish you could escape to someplace quiet. Instead of having a heart that burns to be a great homemaker, you feel more like your heart has a case of homemaker’s heartburn. If this is where you’re at, it’s time for some refueling and refocusing.

Christ or Man?

Ephesians 6:7 “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men…”

It’s very easy to become discouraged about your homemaking tasks when you focus on your family as the motivation for what you do. When they make messes, destroy things, postpone progress and cause pandemonium, it is easy to become discouraged and even resentful. But when you focus on Christ as the one you are serving, it puts a whole new perspective on things. Then when you look at the day’s tasks you see them as serving Christ, not man. It is the Lord who has given you your role as the manager of your home and it is Christ who you are serving when you serve your family. That’s an assignment you can sink your teeth into!

Rested or Burdened

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (NIV)

Whenever I feel weary and in need of rest it always helps to give my burdens to Jesus. When I pray for strength He gives an ample supply. When I pray for patience He sustains me. When I need rest He provides it, whether it is through a change of plans or a change of attitude. Life can beat you down but Jesus is there to refuel you when you need it. Take Him up on His offer. You’ll find the rest that you need in Him.

Busy or Buried

Titus 2:4-5 “Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.” (NIV)

Often the cause of my discouragement is the mismanagement of my time. I spend way too much time doing things that I really should do after I have my housework completed. Then wonder why I am so buried.

Take a step back and ask yourself if a lack of proper time management is causing housework buildup for you. If the answer is yes, then you need to get busy with your homekeeping. It may seem awkward at first, but if you get your work done when you should, you will have plenty of time to do the things you like to do.

As I always say, “Do what you are supposed to do, when you are supposed to do it and you will be victorious every time.”

We all have times when we fall short of the mark. To get back on track make sure that you focus on Christ, find rest in Him and get busy with your homekeeping. Then your homemaker’s heartburn will be transformed into a flame that burns brightly, lighting up your home with the love of Christ.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include the entire following resource information at the end of the article and make the link back to our site live:

© 2002 – 2009 Blair Massey

Christian Lifestyle expert Blair Massey is devoted to helping Christian women around the world get their home, family and life organized. To get your home organized and start living the amazing life you were created by God to enjoy, sign up for her FREE newsletter now at www.christian-homemaking.com

“… to be made new in the attitude of your minds…” (Ephesians 4:23)

Last week was a challenging week. No matter what I did, situations that were beyond my control kept preventing me from getting things done around the house. At first I reacted faithfully. I prayed and trusted that God would handle all the details. As time went on and more obstacles cropped up, I began to think that I would never dig my way out of the mountain of work that was piling up.

My wonderful husband came up with several helpful ideas which I promptly shot down.

Finally my husband said to me, “You know, lately you have become very negative.” I gave him a bewildered look and said, “I have?” He replied, “Yes you have.”

“How?” I asked.

“Well for example, whenever I offer a solution you respond with all kinds of reasons why it won’t work. You are not solution oriented, you are problem focused.”

His comments made me stop and think. He was right. I had become negative and problem focused and now it was beginning to affect my faith. I needed an attitude adjustment and I needed it fast.

A Change of Mind

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2)

Negative thoughts, if left unchecked, can easily take over our mind and the result is a negative, worldly mindset. The Apostle Paul taught that we can fight worldly thinking by renewing our mind. In other words, retraining ourselves to think the way God wants us to think.

So my first step toward changing my attitude was to renew my mind with God’s way of thinking. But that led me to my next question—what exactly did God want me to start thinking about?

A Change of Focus

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8)

Paul once again showed me the direction I needed to take. I learned from the scripture above that I must focus my thoughts on things that are positive, righteous and godly. This is the way God wants me to think.

How I view things shapes how I respond to my circumstances. If I constantly think negative thoughts I will react to my circumstances in a negative way. Eventually my negativity gives way to pessimism and pessimism gives way to unbelief. The end result is that I view my circumstances as insurmountable and my faith spirals down into a pit of despair. But godly thinking leads to a faithful attitude, which in turn leads to faithful reactions.

A Change of Strategy

“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5)

How do you keep negative thoughts from attacking your mind? As the scripture above says, take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ. That is the power we have in Christ. Instead of giving into negative thinking, fight back with positive, godly thoughts. For every negative thought that comes to mind think of a positive thought to counteract it. This takes practice if you have a history of negative thinking. You’ll need to retrain yourself.

I decided to use this scripture to fight my negative thoughts.

Romans 8:31-32 says, “What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”

We live in a fallen world. Negative circumstances are a fact of life. It is our choice how we will react. We can give into negative thinking or we can change the way we think by fighting back with godly thoughts. If you find that negative thoughts have started to affect your attitude, don’t let it get you down. Fight back. Then you too can say, “I’ve Got a New Attitude.”

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include the entire following resource information at the end of the article and make the link back to our site live:

© 2002 – 2009 Blair Massey

Christian Lifestyle expert Blair Massey is devoted to helping Christian women around the world organize and manage their home, family and life. If you’re tired of struggling to keep up at home, Blair will show you how to unlock your God-given organizing ability so that you can start living the amazing life that God created you to enjoy! To learn how, sign up for her FREE newsletter now at www.christian-homemaking.com