Our Christmas Traditions

I have been thinking a lot of the past few weeks on how Jacob and I will celebrate holidays, particularly Christmas when we are away from our family and someday have children of our own. We know of many couples that have waited to start Christmas traditions and waited to start thinking about how they would celebrate until they have a child who is old enough to understand. Jacob and I have thought much differently. We want our Christmas (and Thanksgiving) traditions to be instilled in us by the time we have children. We want to know how we will celebrate this as a family and start now, well because we are a family. My husband and I are a family. No matter how small and even though we don't have children yet, we are a family and need to begin our traditions now.

Last year, 2009, was our first Christmas together married and we spend it celebrating with my parents in the usual Christmas traditions I grew up with. This year, our last year in MI before seminary, will be spent with Jacob's family celebrating their usual Christmas traditions. I am very excited to be a part of these Christmas traditions and all the while learning and praying on how WE will spend our Christmas.

As a future pastor family we have to think a lot about how we SHOW God's love and LIVE what the Bible teaches. I believe that everyone should be living what they believe but over the past year it has become so much more important to me to LIVE it since I will be a pastors wife (God willing) and will be able to show many others how to live. Please remember this has been my personal conviction at the moment. I believe that I am suppose to be active in my husbands ministry and be a family that can lead others in our congregation. As such, I want our home to be a safe and open environment for anyone to come in, but I also want it to be a place of worship especially during the holidays.

Do we give presents to each other to give to those we love and teach our children how to give joyfully? Do we not give presents to each other but instead give to those in need? Do we donate something we own for every new item that enters the house? Do we spend the day in service to others, or as time with family? How do we celebrate advent? Will we celebrate advent?

There are SO many questions that we have and issues we have been praying on. How we chose to spend our Christmas Eve and Christmas will have a major impact on us and our future family and future generations. Everything Jacob and I do now has an impact on not only our children but also the future generations of this world. The traditions we instill now will be those that will (hopefully) be carried on through our children and their children.

Take a moment today to think about your family traditions and what these traditions are teaching your children, or have taught your children. It's never to late to start new family traditions.  I would encourage all of you to pray for those you know who don't have family close by to celebrate with and maybe take the extra step and invite them into your family traditions.