Remember - we are trying to use the tangible, traditional symbols of Christmas to teach our children the intangible, true meaning of the season.  As you hang your stockings, relate this story.  You can read about this in the book by Harold Myra called Santa, Are You For Real? Click on the name to see this available at Amazon.com.

The tradition of hanging Christmas stockings began with a story in ancient days about a kind man who had three daughters. In those days a dowry or money had to be given before a girl could marry.  When these girls fell in love and wanted to marry, the poor father could not afford their dowries.

A teenage boy named Nickolas (who later the Church made Saint Nickolas) heard about the plight of the daughters.  Because he loved Jesus so much, he wanted to give as Jesus did; one night Nick secretly put a bag of gold in each of the daughters’ stockings that were hung out to dry. The next morning the family found the gold bags and the daughters were married and lived happily ever after. Since then, children have been hanging Christmas stockings.

2 Corinthians 8:9 - For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.

Mistletoe was used by Druid priests in their winter celebrations 200 years before the birth of Christ . They revered the plant because it remained green during the cold months of winter.

The ancient Celtics believed mistletoe to have magical healing powers and used it as an antidote for poison, infertility, and to ward of evil spirits. The plant was also seen as a symbol of peace, and it is said that among Romans, enemies who met under mistletoe would lay down their weapons and embrace.

Scandanavians associated the plant with Frigga, their goddess of love, and it may be from this that we derive the custom of kissing under the mistletoe. Those who kissed under the mistletoe had the promise of happiness and good luck in the following year.

So how do we transform this to make it a reminder of the birth of Jesus Christ?

First of all, since mistletoe was a symbol of peace in ancient days, it should remind us of the Prince of Peace who was born at Christmas.

Secondly, mistletoe today is the place for a kiss. Among the Arabs, the women and children kiss the beards of their husbands or fathers. The husband or father returns their salute by a kiss on the forehead. In Egypt, an inferior kisses the hand of a superior, generally on the back, but sometimes, as a special favor, on the palm also. To testify abject submission, and in asking favors, the feet are often kissed instead of the hand.

In scripture, we have the kiss of Judas as he betrayed Jesus in the garden. We also have the penitent woman who kissed the feet of Jesus. And there was the greeting given in the early church of a ‘holy kiss’.

But this Christmas when you see the mistletoe, think about two verses of scripture:

Psalm 2:12 Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him. That is, embrace the Son; depend upon Him in all your ways as your sovereign. To make peace with the Father, kiss the Son.

Song 1:2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth–for your love is better than wine. The Divine kiss is a metaphor of intimacy with Jesus and the ‘kisses of his mouth’ refers to the ‘words of Jesus’ which is the Word of God.

Let the mistletoe remind you that God is pursuing an intimate relationship with you that is developed as we embrace the Word of God! This is why Jesus was born!

Merry Christmas. We love yall.

Billy and Sheilah Daws

]]> http://www.trainupthechild.org/2008/12/01/day-1-of-the-25-days-of-christmas/feed/ http://www.trainupthechild.org/2008/12/01/day-1-of-the-25-days-of-christmas/ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TrainUpTheChild/~3/463839333/ http://www.trainupthechild.org/2008/11/24/keeping-thanks-in-thanksgiving-the-first-thanksgiving/#comments Mon, 24 Nov 2008 12:46:15 +0000 Sheilah http://www.trainupthechild.org/?p=75 How’s your thank you list going?  Regularly writing down what you are thankful for can increase your level of happiness by 25%.   I have always believed that an attitude of gratitude changes your disposition because of what Scripture indicates.  However, Thanks!: How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier offers scientific evidence of this and that a grateful spirit actually improves your health.   I haven’t read the book yet, but I am always thrilled when scientists discover the reality of what Scripture has always said.

Always help your children understand the holidays you celebrate.  Have fun telling the story of the first Thanksgiving and acting it out with Indian headbands and Pilgrim hats.

Click here for a coloring book you can download and print that gives a simple explanation of the first Thanksgiving.  Talk about each page as you color.

The following sites have patterns for pilgrim hats and Indian headbands:

http://crafts.kaboose.com/pilgrim-hat-for-girls.html

http://crafts.kaboose.com/pilgrim-hat-for-boys.html

http://www.iparty.com/projects/thanksgiving_native_american_headband.asp

Have fun!!

I am thankful for all of you who follow my blog and have a desire to train up your children according  to Scripture.   Thank you to family and friends who continue to encourage me to post.  Thanks to the Lord Jesus Christ for all things!!!!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

The story of Hannah (also available from Arch books) is an example of thankfulness as she earnestly prayed for a child and when God answered her prayer, she gave Him thanks. This story is found in 1 Samuel 1 and 2.

The Psalms are full of David’s thank yous.  And Paul talks often of his thankfulness for various things.

If you don’t have the books, read the stories in the Bible for yourself, and then tell them in your own words with expression.  Be creative and use visuals.  For example for the Ten Lepers you can make 10 paper dolls with dots all over them on one side and then flip them over  to reveal the spots are all gone when you talk about Jesus healing them.  Have all of them leave, and then one of them comes back to thank Jesus.

Take a walk around the house or outside and point out things you are thankful for.  Turn it into a prayer of thanks as you say “Thank you God for”  and name each thing.  You can also take pictures of these things and put them in a thank you box that you can decorate together.  Each night you can pull out a picture and thank God for it. You can include in your box pictures of family and friends to be thankful for.  Older children may want to draw pictures or make a thank you notebook.  These activities are for the whole family.  You never get too old to be thankful for the things and people around you.

Click on the link to hear a song you can use to sing your thank you’s as you walk. I apologize for the quality. . . it is from a 32 year old tape . . . but you can still get the tune and the idea.

13-we-are-glad-today

About the 1st of November, I always put a large piece of paper and tie a pen on the refrigerator with the words, “Thank you God for” at the top.  Family members are encouraged to regularly write down something they are thankful for.  This has been a tradition for many years in our home. We enjoy writing our own and reading what the rest of the family has written.

Writing down your blessings can really change your outlook.  As the old hymn by Johnson Oatman says, “Count your many blessings; name them one by one; and it will surprise you what the Lord has done.”

A form of the word “thanks” occurs about 150 times in Scripture making it very evident that God values thankful hearts

Being thankful is a choice.  If it were not a choice, God wouldn’t be commanding us to be thankful.  The pilgrims chose to be thankful after their first year in America even though they experienced sickness, deaths, and various hardships. In 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln chose to declare that “the last Thursday in November be a day of Thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwells in the heavens.”

When we choose to be thankful, our spirits are lifted.  We can not be discouraged and thankful at the same time.  We can not teach our children to be thankful when we are ungrateful.  As in everything, we lead by example.

The next few days I will be sharing some ideas to help make Thanksgiving a thankful time with your children.