The Hush Among the Hustle
Monday Morning Note: This post will be left up until 3:00 pm EST to give more of you the chance to enter. New post & winner announced then. :-)
Merry Christmas to you who’ve clicked here by way of my Encouragement for Today devotion. If you haven’t read it yet, click here so you’ll be on the same page as the rest of us. Don’t forget to come back for the giveaway!
_________________________________________________
A hush among the hustle.
Could we find it this year at Christmas?
Could we model it for the children in our lives?
Here are some ideas to try!
(Be sure to read to the end for a Christmas sale on signed copies of my books and the holiday hush giveaway too!)
Making the Nativity Real & Remembered
The nativity scene and story of Jesus’s birth ay be the most dramatized, reenacted, painted, composed about, and otherwise depicted event in history. But how can you write the story on your loved ones’ hearts, not just plant it in their heads? These ideas help, and the moments experienced with the nativity can be living memories.
~ Tell the Story Over & Over
For a keepsake to treasure in years to come, record your children each year telling the nativity story into a tape recorder. Toddlers will be able to articulate just the basics about the Christ child, the manger, the angels and the shepherds. As they grow, more details will be added to their narration. Once they are old enough to read, let them read the story from Luke 2 out loud to be recorded. It will be fun to hear how their voice changes from year to year. A great present to give grandparents!
~ Give the Nativity
When each of your children are young, purchase a nativity set for them to have when they are grown and leave your home. Figure out how many pieces are in the set. Then, each year, give them one piece in their stocking, timing it so that they get the last piece the year they are 18.
~ Live the Nativity
Take in a living nativity experience. Many churches reenact the first Christmas by having church members dress up like the characters found in Luke chapter 2. Children especially love to drive by and see the holy family, the angels, shepherds and wise men. Return home for some hot spiced cider or hot chocolate.
~ Go on the Hunt for Jesus
Hide a baby boy doll and on Christmas morning crank up a yuletide tune to awaken the kids. Then hunt for baby Jesus, just like the Wisemen of old. After He’s placed in a makeshift manger, read the Christmas story from Luke 2, before opening your presents. Reiterate the point you’re illustrating: Jesus before ourselves!
~ Build Suspense Along with the Story
Place your nativity set out piece by piece, telling the Christmas story as it is found in scripture.
The first night, place Mary out all alone, as you come to the part of the Bible where she is mentioned. The next night comes the angel who appears to her. The following night, Joseph appears and so on.
You’ll soon be placing the animals, shepherds, baby Jesus, and finally the wise men, who arrived a few years after Christ was born. This is a great way to make the Christmas story last over several days and the kids will look forward to the new character put out each night.
~ Light the Way
Many cultures place a candle in the window from dusk to dawn on Christmas Eve signifying the star that guided the wise men to Jesus. For fire safety reasons, I’d suggest using an electric candle.
~ Trekking for a Tree
For a unique family outing after Christmas, get a hold of a copy of the wonderfully illustrated book The Night Tree by Eve Bunting. It tells of a family’s annual outing to decorate a tree in the forest with popcorn strings and fruits and other treasures that the animals will be delighted to find and eat.
After reading the book, your family too can trek out to the woods to decorate your own night tree. Then return home for a round of hot cocoa, just like the family in the story.
NOTE: If you’d like to get any of my books (with no tax & free shipping!) personalized for Christmas gifts, click here for more info.
Now for the giveaway! It includes:
~ A composition book to use as a journal, recording thoughts, musings & ideas.
~ A set of my favorite writing pens–Sharpie fine tip.
~ Some note cards with whimsical decals for you to record favorite verses to memorize or quotes to inspire you. Place them where you’ll see them throughout the day to ponder.
~ Two heart-shaped Post It notepads for jotting down those “to dos” that are sure to pop in your mind when you are trying to contemplate or meditate on God. Write those thoughts on the sticky note and get your focus back. When you are through, the notes will remind you what you need to take care of.
~ A notecard & envelope set to write an old-fashioned note of encouragement to a friend, family member or even a stranger!
~ A box of Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride Tea by Celestial Seasonings. Herbal & caffeine free!! Sip, savor and slow down.
~ An assortment of Lindt chocolate truffles. To enjoy with your tea. :-)
~ A tube of Bath & Body Works Vanilla Noel body creme. Well……just because!!
Okay—leave a comment today letting us know what you will be up to this weekend. Shopping? Wrapping? Parties? Do you have any ideas for how you can take a moment to slow down and hush, instead of rush? If time is tight, simply say, “I’m in!”
The winner will be announced Monday when we’ll have another giveaway and a special guest! Oh, and speaking of winners…..the winner of the decorating giveaway is:
Courtney: timestamp: December 16th at 8:39 pm.
Congrats! Send your mailing address to me at [email protected]. :-)
Hushing-not-rushing Blessings,
This weekend will be church, shopping and wrapping, preparing something for the carry-in at work Monday, and celebrating my husband’s birthday since he had the audacity to be born right before Christmas! I hope there’s some Jesus with me time tomorrow. And oh yes – my husband is donning his Santa suit for his great nephew. :-)
This weekend my husband will be having his employee Christmas party on Saturday night. We will attend. Can’t wait to go to church on Sunday — as always. And we may just go see “Voyage of the Dawn Treader” with as many of my grown children as want to go. Thank you for this post, Karen. You gave LOTS of great ideas! My children are all grown — it makes me wish I was a young mother again. (Can’t apply any of it to grandchildren just yet — don’t have any.) Wonderful ways for making special family memories!
This weekend will be a busy one! Tonight I have a cookie swap, tomorrow shopping and holiday parties and then Sunday church and another holiday party! Although I love being busy I do my best to not let it over take me from what’s important :)
Love the nativity ideas! Our plan for this weekend is to get the house ready for guests next week and just take time to pause and reflect. Probably a Saturday night movie of ‘The Nativity Story’ and some Bible reading to help get our hearts ready. :)
This weekend I will be working, decorating, making cookies, and wrapping presents and possibly shopping. Now that I see it all down it sounds like a lot. But the best part of this weekend will be church and Sunday school, and that will be a time of refreshing and a reminder to put the focus where it belongs — on Jesus : )
This weekend we are having a progressive Christmas dinner with my children and my husband’s side of the family. My husband, son and daughter-in-law are preparing a surprise Christmas song to sing to everyone at the last house. They will be singing Labor of Love to us, in which many that will be there are not believer. I am praying that God will soften their hearts through this song and help them to realize the real reason for the season. Please pray that this will help them to come to know Jesus. Merry Christmas!!
Saturday we will be celebrating Christmas with our children due to schedule conflicts. I opt to have it whenever it suits them so that they don’t feel so rushed to be with all of their family on Christmas eve or Christmas day. My granddaughter tells the Christmas story with our nativity set. I wish I had thought to record it when she first started doing it, that would be a treasure, great idea, Karen.
We start our family celebrations this weekend.
I’m in!
Leaving after school for Grandparents Christmas weekend with 3 1/2 hours on the road. Packing and wrapping today with last minute errands! Got to run!
This weekend: Friday night- Co assisting a family Christmas party at the church. Saturday – shop, wrap, dinner and lights around town with the family. Sunday – church, lunch with youth group leaders, then afternoon with youth leaders wife and other female volunteers.
I am so thankful that I was able to take a few days off scattered through December to help the holidays be less hectic.
We are heading out of town to be with family this Christmas season. We are going to get to have a long visit and I just CAN’T WAIT! Really enjoyed your blog…it’s my first time here. I love the “realness” and simplicity of what you do. Thank you and Merry Christmas!
Karen,
My children are all grown and out of the house.As I read your devotion and blog, I thought this is great to pass on to them. My youngest daughter is expecting her first child in March. I thought a perfect Christmas to give her is the child friendly nativity set I bought when she was little. Thank you for reminding me of the true meaning of Christmas.
I’m also volunteering to help with a Christmas dinner and party for the less fortunate families in my neighborhood. Todnight the ladies are getting together to wrap presents and peel potatoes.
Thank you again for being His light!
God bless you and have a blessed Christmas!
Grace
IM IN
Tomorrow morning, I’ll be taking a turn to host coffee and mince pies at the church in town, helping a charity which supports Aids widows and orphans in Tanzania. I signed up for this a while back, not knowing what I’d be doing the last weekend before Christmas – but, amazingly, I have already finished most of my Christmas preparations – with no rush or stress – and so easily have a couple of hours to give away doing this. I’m really looking forward to it!
Next week and next is “hush” time for me…after this busy week of parties and activities….
I’m in this morning!
We will be deep cleaning the house this weekend to be ahead for the next couple of weeks. We’ll also be making the list of Christmas goodies to start on next week. Might have to sneak in a test batch this weekend as a reward for finishing the cleaning!!
GREAT ideas!!!! Thank you so much for sharing!! Even though my son is grown and out of the house, I still think some of these ideas would be fantastic for us when he gets home for a visit.
My anniversary is tomorrow and we will be staying in a beach house and going Christmas shopping!
Karen…I cannot tell you how much your devotional meant to me this morning…I am going to copy it so I can read it again and again…This weekend I will be sewing jammies for the grandkids and going to church Sunday night for the Christmas program…I can’t wait!!!
This is church program weekend for us. Oh and today my piano students are having a recital. It’s still a bit busy! After Monday, I am hoping to enjoy finishing making some gifts and having time to be home! Thanks for helping us remember to keep Christ First!
Rebecca Ann
On Saturday we will be getting the tree, decorating it and the house. Hopefully at a pace to enjoy it all.
Boy oh boy did this hit the spot!! I have been pondering this very thing. Seems this past week has been nothing but rush rush rush. Christmas shopping, preperations for parties, programs and parties. I intend to just relax this next week enjoying the time off with my girls. We usually make candy, cookies and snaks for the eventful day. Baking with them is so much fun, they are a delight to spend time with. We may even sneak off and shop for the Daddy. :)
Because of the massive snow we had in Rochester, MN last weekend this weekend is filled with Christmas play rehersal on Saturday and 2 performances on Sunday. We have finished school for the year though, so next week we are off and can focus on preparing!
Tomorrow our church is having a parent’s day out…free babysitting! So we’ll taking advantage of that. :) I hope to bake 2 more kinds of cookies so I can at least offer 4 varieties. I’m downsizing cookies this year. The wrapping really needs to start at some point too!