For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counsellor , Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
Isaiah 9:6-7
We talk with Katherine about Christmas all the time. It is discouraging to see how quickly she could get lost in all the busyness of the season. As Christians, we mark seasons intentionally. We need times of remembrance for us to recall the mighty works of God, whether that be Christ’s birth or his death. I love how Advent is such an easy time to read scripture with them and recount the stories of God’s faithfulness.
The story of St. Boniface is a treasure for why we put up greenery and trees and the real St. Nicolas is wonderful for children to know that there was a real kind man who lived a long time ago. These stories are recounting the faithfulness of God. We remember the past so we don’t make the same mistakes.
As Christians, we do not need to approach the holiday with fear. Why do we so easily celebrate the 4th of July, a civil holiday, but fear celebration of the birth of own Savior? Shouldn’t we be all the more putting lights all over our homes and buying gifts for our family? Christ has come! Bring out the silver, put up the tree, mess up the house with greenery boughs…we are honoring the birth of our Lord!
Just An Ordinary Family 