It’s a quiet morning. Lee is at the hospital. David is asleep, amazingly. Bethel and Laurel have discovered their stockings. I need to turn on the Christmas tree lights, put a load of laundry in the dryer, wrap Lee’s present before he gets home, and eat another piece of pumpkin cheesecake (I had a piece already when Lee left).
A friend mentioned that she was concerned about her children getting too many gifts. She didn’t want them to become greedy and selfish. Now, I don’t have too many Christmases with children, but my theory is that the solution is not to withhold gifts (although I do think too much is possible), but to teach them to be givers.
I need to do better at this, throughout the year. I did okay. They did help make caramel, and they did help make and deliver several gifts. Last night I got online and printed out some things for them to color and cut and glue. They wrapped these up for each other.
When I was little we had a tradition of making popcorn ball snowmen for our pastor. I’d like to do something similar.
I’d like to teach them some Scriptures about gifts. These are two passages I remember learning as a child at Christmastime.
James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
Matthew 7:7-11 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
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