strange gifts :)

I have an unusual sense of humor.
Last year Bobby got a gift that was hysterically funny.

Even funnier was his almost-a-vegetarian niece's facial expression when she found out he actually ATE it. :)

I won't tell you what it REALLY was. You'll just have to wonder. At least until after Christmas.

the most shocking Christmas book

Skipping Christmas by John Grisham has to be the craziest, most thought provoking, and insane Christmas book I have ever read. It's short. It's not a legal thriller or a "call to reform the justice system" as many of his books are. It's simply about what happens when a modern American family who celebrates Christmas in the traditional American way decides to skip Christmas. Literally.

Like anyone who's ever seen a show on hoarding suddenly decides to clean house, this book will totally flabbergast you into evaluating what you do that is and isn't important about the holidays.

a blow-up Frosty for your roof, anyone? :)

my favorite Christmas book

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson remains my all-time favorite Christmas book.  Yes, it's a child's chapter book, but I've not found one to beat it. I found a movie of the book, but we were very disappointed in it. It was made in the 1980's, and I thought the script writing was lame, especially after seeing the Garner Towne Players Youth do a great production based off of this book a few years ago. Evidently, a media group started making plans to write a screen play based off of the book last year, but there's been no word yet as to where or if it will actually be remade. So meanwhile, I'll just continue to read the book every year.

I'm actually getting my Mom a copy. My niece, who is 7, is the angel in their church play. While learning her lines and finding out that she "suddenly appears", she has become convinced for the play to be realistic she MUST be dropped from the ceiling somehow. According to her, everyone knows angels do not just pop out from behind a curtain. She's now on a mission to figure out who is "in charge" at the church so she can get help in being dropped from the ceiling by a rope or bungee cord. Seriously. When I heard this, it reminded me SO much of this book! If you've never read it, I challenge you to do so. You'll never view children's ministry, Christmas programs, or the Christmas story the same way.

searching

Last Wednesday night our church looked at Psalm 139. I've read and known many of these verses most of my life, but have never really broken them down into a contextual analysis. Needless to say, those verses have been on my mind A LOT since this past Wednesday.

A few of the reality checks that brought them back to mind: a blog friend who is fighting cancer mentioned that one of her Thanksgiving praises was also her Christmas wish: more time with her family.

And yesterday, I received an update on a fellow believer, an imprisoned pastor. He was thankful for being allowed an extra 5 minutes every month with his wife. Instead of the allotted 15 minutes a month, the guard was letting him have 20. And this past month, they let him see his wife and small child from behind bars where he could actually semi-hug his son instead of only seeing them through glass. And why is he in jail? He preached and practiced God's Word in a land where it is illegal.

So in the midst of the craziness in this holiday season, while I'm fighting headaches and more pain than usual, these were very poignant reminders of just how quickly and easily my priorities can slip out of focus.

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
And see if there be any hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way.

my favorite Christmas movie

I love Schulz's Peanut gang, and there's nothing better to capture the total American spirit of Christmas than this movie. It gives you the misplaced priorities, the funny scenes, the hyped emotions, out of control Christmas programs and the simple reminder "That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown."  There's one or two Christmas movies I've never seen that I hope to watch this year, but I have a hard time foreseeing anything replacing this one!

Christmas memories: Santa Claus

I don't remember ever believing in Santa Claus. I know we never sat in his lap. (Walker County didn't have a mall until I was in middle school!) I know my parents weren't opposed to the notion of Santa, as many of our presents were signed "from Mr. and Mrs. Claus" or "From Santa & His Wife" but I never believed. Maybe because I recognized Daddy's handwriting, maybe because I knew Santa used the same wrapping paper as my parents (or maybe because my little sister found the hidden stash of presents EVERY. SINGLE. YEAR).  But I do know by the time I was in middle school if any of my siblings joined me in making a gift for Mom and Dad, we would sign it "From Santa's elves". 

One Christmas I watched my brother-in-law set things up for his girls, and I asked him if he needed help wrapping presents (a lot of the gifts were unwrapped under the tree).  He looked at me like I was crazy and said "Santa doesn't wrap his presents. He doesn't have time."  I was a bit discomforted at the level to which they took the whole Santa thing, but like a good aunt, I would just listen. When my nieces asked me if Santa was real, I borrowed my cousin's example and replied, "What do you think?"

I think if we had our own children, I would probably be like my parents and let them know about Saint Nicholas and the myths, but I don't think I'd push it as something true that required letters and such. My first year in China, when we had an open house so our students could see American Christmas decorations, almost every group of students would have someone point to the wooden nativity and ask which one was Santa. It was quite sad. Seeing how people the world over know about our beliefs in Santa Claus but not our beliefs in Jesus really bothered me. To this day, the only Santa in my house are two small tree ornaments. Reindeer, snowmen, bears...yes.  And I recognize this is a very personal decision and I certainly don't have a problem with anyone else having Santa decorations, but it's just not for me. My husband was laughing at me yesterday asking just how many nativity sets I was going to use to decorate with this year, and found it funny that I forgot how many I had. But that's a post for another day. :)

a Jesse tree

The Jesse Tree was created as a response to Christian parents who want their child to fully grasp the meaning of Christmas: the whys and hows of Christ's coming.  I have a family member and many friends who do it yearly with their children, and there may come a year when Bobby and I do it together. Who knows?

Here's what I've written about the Jesse Tree in the past: http://burdenbearer.blogspot.com/b/post-preview?token=HoxC9TMBAAA.MCwjFX8qWGdgwYFe5whHWQ.Q9okP5lCGwGtxJL71Q9WdA&postId=7400376427115699136&type=POST

And if you're interested in starting this Christmas devotional with your child, this website has free devotionals and ornaments. You do have to subscribe to either her blog or to have it e-mailed to you, though.

Let the Christmas posts commence! :)