Working in preschool ministry, I get an interesting perspective of Santa at Christmas time. Leading worship, it is my goal to encourage the preschoolers to get more excited about Jesus than anything else in their life. When I ask the preschoolers what they are excited about at Christmas time, this is what I often hear…
What do your kids love about Christmas? Mine love decorating the Christmas tree (my husband’s least favorite part), making, icing, and eating Christmas cookies, and spending time with their cousins… Christmas is fun and full of exciting activities, but with so much to look forward to, if we are not careful, it can become easy to loose sight of the main reason for Christmas.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year… a time we can bring God so much glory by enjoying the love story between Him and us. A story we want to share with our kids over and over every Christmas because it’s the greatest love story ever told- that the God of the universe would want to come down from Heaven and be with us!
Every year as Christmas creeps closer and closer, I am filled with anticipation for the joy of the season, but also anxiety sets in as I wonder if I will be able to get everything done in time. From preparing kids for Christmas plays, to hosting and attending parties, to determining the perfect gifts for each family member… it’s a crazy time of year!
With Thanksgiving around the corner, it’s fun to think of something special to give our kids to celebrate the occasion. I enjoy giving my kids Thanksgiving books and books about thankfulness. Reading books together on thankfulness is a great way to encourage our kids to be thankful and get them excited about celebrating Thanksgiving!
We desire to fill our kids with ideas that will build them up in their faith and character, not bring them down. But with so many “feel good” yet “not so good” movie options, and the pull from our culture to watch them, it makes it difficult to know how to handle the entertainment world as a Christian parent.
Here are a few suggestions when deciding whether to let your children watch a movie…
One way we can encourage our kids in their faith, character, and love for Jesus is by letting them watch good Christian movies with a Biblical message. Kids are drawn to screens, whether we like it or not, so what better way to encourage them by providing a message of truth rather than one full of the world’s lies?
My next interview is with Kelly, our pastor’s wife and wonderful mom of three amazing boys, ages 12, 14, and 17. Her kids have attended public school for the past eleven years, and she has a passion to encourage her kids in their relationship with the Lord. Kelly, thank you for sharing your public school experiences with us!
Over the past several months, I have been sharing about different educational models and how you can use them to encourage your kids in their faith and character. This month I have interviewed Julia, a mom who has raised two wonderful kids who follow the Lord and are now in college and graduate school. She has had some insightful experiences when her kids attended Christian private schools that she is going to share with us.
Over the next several months I will be sharing about different educational models and how they can help encourage you in growing your kids for God’s kingdom….Another great educational model, a model that we love and currently use with our family, is the University Model®.