Ho Ho Ho, God is with us

It's time....and yes, this is long.....but I'm stepping up onto my soapbox about Santa. Now let me first say, I love Santa! Ever since I was little I have enjoyed the stories and the traditions surrounding the jolly gift-giver. And I continue the tradition of Santa with my own children today. But as not only a pastor, but also as a mom, trying to help my 3-year-old son understand why it is that we celebrate this time of year, I am having a very difficult time competing with the commercialism of it all. And, while I am not willing to give up the fun of Santa, I will certainly put him in his place. As I keep telling Henry, Santa is a bonus, but he's not in charge of Christmas and he's certainly not the point.

Here are my 3 biggest issues I am finding at the moment:

1) Santa's supposed authority to "cancel Christmas." Seriously? First of all, Christmas already happened, and Jesus is already here. Each year we celebrate the reality that God loves us so much that he wanted to be right smack in the middle of this crazy world and so he came in the flesh in the vulnerable form of the Christ child. In case you didn't realize that was what it was about, maybe you caught the whole meaning behind the story of the Grinch (no, not the Jim Carrey version...don't get me started there)....the whole thing where he went and took away all the decorations and food and presents in an attempt to stop Christmas from coming, and yet it came because the Who's were together celebrating by lifting their voices in song. So whether or not there are presents, or there is a big snow storm that Santa might night make it through, Christmas will come....correction, Christmas HAS come, CHRIST has come, and we celebrate God's presence among us through Christ over and over and continue to give thanks and praise. When I tried to work through this with Henry the other day, I asked him (not for the first time) if Santa can cancel Christmas. His response? "Yes he can, he's a boy." <multiple levels of deep sighs> I think that will be a post for another day, haha!

2) The lie that all children will get gifts. One show after another talks about how Santa never forgets anyone and emphasizes that ALL children (well, only the good ones of course) will receive presents on Christmas morning. My issue here is two-fold. First, it leaves false hope for children living in poverty. While many are "adopted" through special programs or church groups or neighbors, there are still those who have nothing on Christmas morning. Some are living a reality that I cannot even fathom, and their last concern is a toy under a tree. They may just want to go through a day without knowing hunger pains, or being abused. And those who are aware of this promise of Santa, and then don't receive anything, do they believe this is what they deserve? Have they just not been as "good" as all the kids in warm homes with food on the tables and presents under the tree? Second issue...what is this teaching my children? A continued denial of the societal issue of poverty and despair? Are we allowing our children to believe some magical man from the North Pole will take care of the needs of their hurting neighbors so that they can live in the sheltered belief that everyone is ok?

3) Comparing Santa to Jesus. Just stop with this. Whether or not it is intended, the ways in which we talk about Santa (the man who creepily sneaks into our houses to leave presents) and Jesus (the Savior of the world) is frighteningly similar. Concepts of always watching, shaking a finger when we mess up, promising good things to those who "deserve it." And if you have compared them, what will your children believe about Jesus once they've found out that Santa was just a fun thing we do that makes us feel good? Now to be fair, I was raised with both and am no worse for the wear, but I believe that there was a distinction made between the two for me. Santa may make his lists of who is naughty and who is nice as he watches from his chilly home in the North Pole, but Jesus is right here with us each and every day, loving us and forgiving us when we screw up....and no, it's not because we "deserve it."

Now that you've heard my negative Nancy take on it, I'll reiterate that I am certainly ok with finding joy and excitement in Santa, but NOT if we lose sight of the greater joy of Christmas -- that love, in the form of an infant, came to be with us as the Savior of the world.

I am not a parenting expert by any stretch of the imagination, but here are my humble suggestions on how we can help our children engage the meaning of Christmas....

TALK to your children! Talk about why we give gifts (sharing love with one another, Jesus' birthday, etc). Talk of Santa as a bonus, but not the actual reason. Repetition is your friend with little ones! Even if they don't get it just yet, it will be written on their hearts and minds and will stay with them.

FOCUS on the Nativity story daily. We have started doing family devotions together each day. Simply using a booklet provided by our church, and a nativity set we bought on Amazon that has boxes around the outside each containing a piece of the scene. Each day we add a piece to the magnetized center picture. Henry is creating the Nativity scene one day at a time and it offers ample opportunity for conversation about who is in the picture and why, and who we're still waiting for. It's also an interesting way to begin learning about concepts of waiting and anticipating. I have watched as our daily ritual has turned from a game to having meaning in just these few short weeks of Advent! Photo of completed Nativity to come in my next post. :)

DON'T STRESS, it will sink it...but please don't ignore the importance of being intentional about the ways in which we talk to our children about faith.

Please share your thoughts on how we can engage our children in these types of faith practices....as parents, grandparents, godparents, aunts and uncles, and friends, we learn together!

Blessings on your Christmas celebrations, and may you know the peace and joy of Emmanuel, God with us!!

Why I'm blogging

I am now into my 3rd year of my first call as a Lutheran pastor in an amazing congregation, and I am into my 4th year as a mom to two beautiful children. Both are full time calls that I attempt on a regular basis to balance and to not cheat either side....I fail, over and again, but I keep trying. I decided to start this blog because I found that I learn or experience something new and valuable (or at least quite humorous) every day between these two important roles. The funny thing is, it is my role as mommy which more often than not has a significant impact on my own understanding of my faith. I hope that this will provide entertainment as you take a sneak peak into my life, but that it will also be a place to help others to start seeing their faith and daily life connecting on a more regular basis.

Every time I'm driving in the car and have a ridiculously wonderful moment in conversation with my son, or I find myself shaking my head that I have yet again had my two major roles in life collide, I have wanted to have a means of sharing it with someone else. So whether I have one person faithfully follow this blog, or 500 people who check in now and again, I hope that through the antic of my daily life you will be inspired to look at your life and faith in a new way....and to share that with someone else!

To be honest, I have wanted to start this for MONTHS now, but never seem to find the right time (shocking). And now that I have sucked it up and started, I'm at a loss for a good anecdote to kick us off....guess you'll just have to check back in sometime soon....