FHE This Week Definitely Hit Home :D

Topic: Simplify Your Christmas By Embracing The Spiritual Side Of Christmas

Scripture: 'For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord' (Luke 2:11)

Thought: The gift of Christmas isn't wrapped up in presents or parties. The gift of Christmas is Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten of the Father, the Son of God. As you follow him, you put people first. You may spend less time in lines & more time serving others. You may spend less money on - and more time with - the people you love. You may lose yourself & everything else that matters.

Purpose: Plan & prepare as a family to celebrate Christmas by enjoying the true spirit of the Savior's birth during the holiday season.

Lesson: I prepared simple 'Christmas Priority Charts' for the 3 older girls. I printed out 2 coloring pages of Joseph, Mary & the baby Lord Jesus as their activity. Being only 2 & 3 yrs old. . . .we have to differentiate their activity from the older ones sometimes. :D I had the girls examine their Christmas priorities. I had some extra card stock paper with a variety of different colors, but chose to pick one color in order to keep their focus on the activity instead of who has which color & wanting to switch to other colors. Lol. The color of choice was YELLOW. :D I cut the card stock papers in half. I made 2 columns. One was 'Most Exciting' & the other was 'Most Important' & it was labeled across the top of the page. Down the side of the page I listed these 6 priorities: Gifts, Decorations, Food, Friends, Family, & Christ. I then had them list their 1st, 2nd & 3rd choices of what is personally most exciting about Christmas to them & then also what is personally most important to them. We were able to discuss the different reasons they made their choices as I asked them, "Why is it at Christmas time the things that are most exciting & take the most time are not necessarily the most important?" Their answers were very honest & they basically said that they get so excited when they see/receive presents cause it's always FUN to see what they've received. I asked them how long their excitement usually lasts & they said not very long. Aaliyah realized where I was going with this & said, "Mom, I know that Christmas isn't about the presents. Even though the presents is what I'm EXCITED about the MOST. . . .I know that I should be thinking more of SERVICE cause that's what Jesus Christ did his whole life. He served others. I'm not going to expect any presents for Christmas this year. That's not what it's about." And then Lote said, "I think we should bake cookies & take it for our neighbors. Every time we get ready to go to church on Sundays, I don't ever see anyone that goes to church from their house. We should be good neighbors to them & befriend them cause everyone else in our neighborhood goes to church." Polu's turn. She says, "Mom, I'm gonna make AaLiyah & Lote's bed tomorrow. :D But can I still get a present on Christmas day??"

She totally KILLED it!! Hahahaha!! But I love this activity/lesson that we were able to do. And even though Polu was still asking for @ least one present this year, I was EXTREMELY proud of the ideas they came up with as acts of service towards others. We're planning several acts of service throughout this month & plan to incorporate them into our daily family lives. :D

We're definitely guilty of getting caught up in the hype of getting gifts during this time of year, but this year's gonna be different. We want to instill into our children the true meaning for the season. :D Acts of service will carry them a lot further in not only this life, but on into the next life as well. And that's definitely what's always mattered most. :D Next week's lesson. . . .'A Christmas Story' out of chapter 2 in the book of Luke. I can't wait. :D