The summer has flown by and once again I am realizing that I got behind on my blogging.  Thanksgiving is now before us, the leaves are all raked, the garden is winterized, the wood is cut for the winter, and I am once again thankful for God’s goodness to us.  As I am teaching the children about the Pilgrims and the early history of our great country, I am reminded that we have an awesome and mighty God.  God’s power was shown again and again to the early settlers as they depended on Him for their survival.  That power has been seen over and over again in our lives this year as we look back and remember what God has done for us.  I think of all the miles we traveled with our bookstore, God’s Eternal Masterpiece,  to various homeschool, church, and camp conferences.  With all the deer that decided to cross in front of us, the mere misses of other sleepy drivers at the wheel, and the poor weather conditions, God saw fit to protect us in amazing ways.  God has shown his power in allowing this little one growing inside me to develop in a healthy and normal way despite the concerns about a possible tumor (which has since disappeared, thanks to our mighty God).  We can’t help, but also praise the Lord for the shelves of food God allowed us to can and new warm clothes for the children (courtesy of our brothers and sisters in the Lord). God has also seen fit to allow God’s Eternal Masterpiece to triple in inventory size, despite the poor economy.  We’ve had the opportunity to minister to many families who were searching frantically for godly books for their families.  What a blessing it’s been to give them what they were praying and looking for.  Another big note of thanks comes to mind.  God, in his loving kindness, has seen how much we’ve missed my mother (and the kids’ grandmother) who went home to be with the Lord 2 years ago.  We praise the Lord for giving us a new mother come this next spring!  What a joy it has been to see my dad once again revived with that sparkle of joy that comes with love.  His fiance dearly loves the Lord and has already shown her love and encouragement to all of us in amazing ways.  Just as we are reminding our children of God’s greatness and blessings to us, I hope and pray that you are also reminding your children of God’s gifts to them.  We have found several items helpful in doing that as we have our family time each day.  You may want to check out the CD “A Thanksgiving to Remember” by Barbara Rainey (available at http://www.godseternalmasterpiece.com/catalog/audio-history-social-studies-c-22_84.html or at www.godseternalmasterpiece.com. 

The Drive thru History DVDs on America’s early history are also very educational for your visual and auditory learners who need to be reminded of God’s power in the development of our country.  Choosing Gratitude by Nancy DeMoss is another must-read for moms, especially as this time of year tends to be extra stressful at times.  Don’t forget to take time each day to thank the Lord for all His blessings to you.  Have your kids list each and every one as a visual reminder to them.  (Feel free to send me your suggestions for teaching kids about God’s greatness in their lives and in our country.  I’ll try to post the suggestions as time allows.)  May this Thanksgiving be the best one yet as you remember God’s greatness in your life!!!  

 Becky - God’s Eternal Masterpiece

During the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, I am always reminded of the importance of keeping our Lord and Savior in the middle of our Christmas celebrations.  It is so easy to allow the stress of shopping, practicing for Christmas programs, and preparing for family to interfere with the time we need to relate the true meaning of Christmas to our children, friends, and family.  I get genuinely distressed when I hear born again believers and friends saying “Happy Holidays” instead of Merry Christmas.  I want my children to hear “Christmas” and I want them to know what Christmas is truly about.  I want the words of Matthew 1 to ring in my children’s heads as they go about their daily activities.  “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins” Matt. 1:21. 

During this Christmas season, we like to focus on Christ’s birth, death, and resurrection during family devotions.  Each day my husband works hard at weaving the salvation message into the family discussions around the breakfast table.  We also enjoy reading reading various books as a family which focus on Christ’s birth, the importance of serving others during the holidays, the importance of giving ourselves to God, and the importance of spreading the gospel to those around us.  Some of our favorite books we have read to help us focus on the amazing love of Christ has been the Lamplighter books, “Joel A Boy of Galilee” and “Titus: A Comrade of the Cross”.  You can’t help but fully feel and realize God’s abounding grace and mercy toward us when He sent his Son to be the Savior of the World.  (You may view these Lamplighter books and other excellent advent books such as Jotham’s Journey on our website www.godseternalmasterpiece.com)

Another important aspect of this season is teaching our children that it is more blessed to give than to receive.  Each year we try to do different activities as a family to serve others.  This year we are ringing the bells for the Salvation Army.  The children will be playing their stringed instruments while we do that.  We are also working at making a variety of handmade items to give to those who have truly blessed our lives in the past year and who are struggling this year due to the economy.  The little ones will get involved when we get some items to take for Toys for Tots.  Each year as the children get a little bit older, they are realizing that it truly is much more fun to give than to receive.

We do open gifts in our home, but we do it on Christmas Eve after our Christmas Eve service at church.  That way, on Christmas, we can focus on the true meaning of Christmas - Christ!  The children enjoy it when we sit down and read the entire Christmas story as a family.  While we are reading God’s Word, the little ones get to act out the story with the Nativity figures we keep in the living room just for them. (By the way, we have found it extremely helpful to have a nativity set in each child’s bedroom, as well as in the living room and dining room.  It helps to reinforce the true meaning of Christmas where ever the children are.)  We also have a special birthday cake or coffee cake for Jesus on Christmas day.  Rest of the day is spent with extended family as we reminisce about God’s goodness during the last year. 

I’d love to hear what you do to help your children focus on the true meaning of Christmas.  Feel free to send in any and all of your ideas.  We’ll then post them and allow others to get some new ideas on the subject. 

May you have a wonderful Christmas season as you focus on Christ with your family!

Becky

I have had several families ask us how we celebrate Thanksgiving since we have several various nationalities and cultures in our home.  Well - we do have a few differences, but nothing too strange!  Since my husband is not a turkey person, we do chicken instead.  We keep all the other trimmings, but we add rice and occasionally eggrolls to the table for the Asian food lovers.  Occasionally we have other families from the area in to celebrate it with us.  It’s a great way to introduce foreigners in particular to our Lord and Savior as we reminisce on God’s goodness.  Our most favorite part of Thanksgiving is the praise and testimony time.  Many years ago I purchased plain vinyl placemats for each child.  (As God gives us another child at our table, we add another placemat for him/her.) Before we partake of the Thanksgiving meal, we all take our placemats and grab a handful of permanent markers in various colors.  Then we choose a small 3″x3″ area of the placemat to write and illustrate what we are most thankful for that year.  Each year it’s fun to look over every person’s placemat to see how their praises have changed and how they’ve matured physically and spiritually.  We always chuckle over Daddy’s because each year he draws a picture of God with his arms around each family member.  About every two or three years, another family member with his/her unique features is added to the fold.  The toddlers’ placemats have pictures of their blankets, pacifiers, and bears.  Then that special year comes where there is a picture of the cross to signify that they were saved and added to God’s family that year.  Occasionally there is a picture of heaven to remind us that a loved one has gone on to be with the Lord that year.  After we are done praising the Lord for all his blessings, we then enjoy the food God has bountifully given us.

This year we plan to add on another new tradition.  We are going to see how long of a list we can make of ALL the blessings God has given us.  In preparation, we’ve purchased a big roll of paper and we’re going to see if we can make it stretch across the whole house.  No large writing allowed!  Sometimes it’s good for us to remember all the little blessings, not just the big ones!  We also plan to open God’s Word see how many different passages of thanksgiving we can find.  Last, but not least, we plan to discuss how we as a family can reach out in practical ways to other families with the blessings God has bestowed upon us.  To end tomorrow evening, Grandpa plans to come over to spend the evening with us.  He’s bringing a dramatized story of the First Thanksgiving in America so that the children in particular can be reminded of God’s goodness shown to America.  (We now have this audio CD, Thanksgiving, A Time to Remember, available in our bookstore, www.godseternalmasterpiece.com if you would be interested in it for your family.)

As you celebrate Thanksgiving, may you, too, take the time to remember what an awesome God we serve.  May our children see that we have been blessed beyond measure each and every day of the year.  Most of all, may they see for themselves God’s most special gift to mankind - His only Son!  Happy Thanksgiving!