Beyond Our Children's Christmas Wish-list

"He who did not withhold or spare [even] His own Son but gave Him up for us all, will He not also with Him freely and graciously give us all [other] things?" Romans 8:32 Amplified Bible

This early, I have encouraged my children to start writing down their Christmas wish-lists already! Their beaming faces lit up our gloomy kitchen that rainy afternoon.

I was quick to reiterate though that it is just a wish-list and a wish-list is just a wish-list. But the thought of this stirs us up because we know that as a family it is something far more than just a list of things. The activity itself is an integral part of our exciting homeschool journey and our commitment as their parents to make God known to them and teach them about trusting Him.

Time seems to fly around here, this photo was taken 2 yrs ago. As I've always said, we encourage our kids to be inventive and creative with their toys. We love it when it's low maintenance. This big brown box served as Noah's lil toy boat-bed as his big sister Bethany pulled and pushed him around our house.  The red bracelet snuggled on my boy's right arm was also his own creation from a soap box packaging. You should see how he designed it as "weapon to beat the bad guys and aliens!"

As they prayerfully think and write down each item, they commit to constantly talk to the Lord on a very personal level, "come as you are," we'd say, "talk to Him as a friend, 'cause He's listening." We're very cautious though not to get caught up with the spirit that's in the air; Christmas consumerism and materialism as malls and the media feed our eyes with marvelous display of new gadgets, and the what have you's. We tell our kids to just keep it real and consider our financial capacity as well. We can't under-estimate our kids' ability to comprehend family financial matters when we're always sincere and honest in talking to them about it.

So, a wish-list is actually a prayer list of material things they wanted for themselves. We take this opportunity to show our kids that we have a God that encompasses all our needs and wants. And that He is faithful to provide for His children, He sees to it that we get provided for. My husband and I would constantly remind them that as their parents, we are not "magicians" that can bring them everything they want in an instant. And if they don't receive some items from their wish-list, not to fret, not to frown, not to feel disappointed. Be a sport and keep trusting the Lord for He knows what's best for them.

At church service for Christmas Eve 2011. They can't wait to get home
to open their presents at midnight.

It is also our way of showing them that Dad and Mom are not superheroes but they have a Super God to look up to for anything and everything under the sun! Dad and Mom also have their character flaws but they look up to the Father in heaven for guidance in raising up children of character.

This is the best time to teach them about the power of prayer and how God really answers our prayers according to His sovereign will. It's a "yes," it's a "no," and sometimes, "wait." We take this opportunity to teach them about the value of money, hard work, and how we ought to honor the Lord on how we spend our resources. We tell them that material things, no matter how valuable they may seem are only temporary. Someday, as the scripture has said, "ALL THINGS" will pass away but there's only one thing that will remain, the words of the Lord hidden in our hearts. ("Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away."Matthew 24:35)  

.
Our children get ecstatic at receiving presents they have not prayed for. This is another ripe time to tell them about how God knows how to make us happy by surprising us. We tell them, YES, it is so possible to receive blessings which haven't even crossed our minds. YES, a lot of times, we receive blessings that we do not deserve. YES, we tell our children, our God is a God of surprises!

"He who did not withhold or spare [even] His own Son but gave Him up for us all, will He not also with Him freely and graciously give us all [other] things?" 

Romans 8:32 Amplified Bible

This is also the best time teaching them about the generosity of our Father in heaven and how He gave without asking for something in return. We talk about the unconditional love of God by sending us His precious Son, our Lord Jesus Christ so that by believing in Him we can have eternal life. Talk about the most wonderful gift which mankind has ever received from the Creator!

Maybe sooner in a year or two, we will teach them to write down their wish-list in two columns; left column for tangible things and right column for intangible things.

I think it's also time as early as now to start writing our grown-up Christmas wish-list. Funny-odd as it  may seem, but my husband and I are just as thrilled, only we can't be too showy around kids or must they think it's irreverent. Haha.