Christ-free Christmas

What is the reason for Christmas? Why do we celebrate this winter holiday, with such a hodge podge of traditions, anyway? Retailers love it because somehow gift giving became part of the celebration, along with decorating and having parties, so people spend LOTS of money this time of year. It is a great excuse to get together with family and friends, eat yummy food, and take a break. But what is the point? Why?

Have you attended a public school Christmas program recently? Awash with political correctness, the program I attended earlier this week tried to address the questions posed here. The answers, sadly, were empty; Christmas is about food, gifts, decorations, spending time with family and friends, and love. But why? The darling elementary-aged children didn't really have an answer.

Why do you celebrate Christmas? Is it something you grew up with, a tradition you are passing on to your children? Is it because everyone else does it and you don't want to be a Scrouge? Why do you celebrate Christmas? Do you even really enjoy Christmas?

Consider; why do you celebrate this particular holiday? If it has nothing to do with the historical reasons (you know, a baby in a manger, shepherds, stars, wise men and angels, that sort of thing), why not? Do you know about the historical background for Christmas? Do you want to know?

Just some thoughts...

Babies DON'T keep!!

Many mamas are familiar with the poem, "Song for a Fifth Child" by Ruth Hubert Hamilton, but I've pasted it in below because I needed the reminder. Babies can not and do not wait. Days may be long, with diapers to change, laundry to wash (and dry, fold, And put away), meals to cook (and clean up), and much, much more. But the years are very, VERY short. One day you are holding a tiny baby. The next, you are staring in the face of an adult! What is the more important investment; your house or the future adult in your arms?!

Social pressures weigh heavy. We think everyone else keeps an immaculate home, and if we are good mamas, we will, too. Medical wisdom pushes us to parent for convenience, with the goal to as quickly as possible have our babies sleep through the night, on their own.

After 16 years of parenting, and lots of baby rocking (with eight kids, I've had plenty of opportunity), I know that dust and dishes will definitely keep; mine have! Babies don't. Even if you rock them all the time (like I have with my youngest, due to severe reflux and sensory issues), babies don't stay babies. It is hard, because the tasks are so obvious and absolutely necessary, but Ruth Hubert Hamilton was right, babies do not keep. Here is the poem, in its entirety. Enjoy...

"Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth,

Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,

Hang out the washing and butter the bread,

Sew on a button and make up the bed.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?

She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,

(Lullaby, Rockaby, lullaby, loo.)

Dishes are waiting and bills are past due,

(Pat-a-Cake, darling and peek, peekaboo).

And out in the yard there is hullabaloo.

But I'm playing kanga and this is my Roo.

Look aren't her eyes the most wonderful hue?

(Lullaby, Rockaby, lullaby loo)

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,

But children grow up as I've learned to my sorrow.

So quiet down cobwebs, dust go to sleep,

I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep."

Abdication and embrace

I am a homeschooling mother by calling and not by gifting. It is a calling I'm not always excited to embrace. Honestly, homeschooling is HARD! There is a reason education used to be reserved for the social elite, who hired tutors along with nannies, housekeepers, and cooks. But, I digress.

It is Monday, a day usually spent at our homeschool co-op and filled with activity. And though I'm rarely ready for Mondays, Mondays are always ready for me. On this particular Monday, though, I have sick little ones, so I'm not at the co-op, having sent my older, healthy children alone. Which brings me to the reason for my post this morning.

If I sent my children to a government school, I could enjoy this kind of time every morning, five days a week. Six of my eight children would be gone, for hours, and the two who would be home would be napping at least a part of the time their older siblings were gone. Such quietness is tantalizing, even tempting. How much I could accomplish. How free I would be to pursue more enjoyable endeavors.

Then, before I've even had a moment to contemplate the temptation or the enjoyment it might bring, this realization pops into my mind; to send my children away would be to abdicate the responsibility God has given to me to disciple and train them. I could leave them to be raised by others, while I was home, in the quiet of a relatively empty house, but at what cost?

As difficult as it is to be wife, mother, housekeeper, cook, and educator, it is my calling. To do less will cheat me of the joy that comes from sharing life with my children, as crazy and difficult (even overwhelming) as that might be.

So, instead of abdicating or delegating my responsibility to train and educate my children, I will embrace God's call to a high and noble profession. And, many years from now when my house is empty and quiet and clean, I will look back fondly on these days, thankful for the privilege to leave my mark on the next generation.

Stock Up Stumbles

Extreme couponing has become quite popular, and with good reason. You can save some serious money. I, however, am not into extreme couponing. It's not because of a personal aversion to coupons or saving money. I LOVE saving money. Instead, it is an issue of logistics; I don't have the brain power to manage coupons at this stage of my life, even if someone else is telling me what to do.

That, and I really hate to shop, so I like to make it as streamlined and simple as possible. Which means I buy basically the same food every month. Knowing about how much we eat, I stock up at a local restaurant supply store, where I can buy bulk veggies for less than $1/lb.

Lately, though, I guess we haven't been eating as many frozen veggies as I thought. Today, when I went to grab something out of the freezer, I had to dig through several layers of frozen veggies before I found it. And, underneath the item I was looking for was... you guessed it, more frozen veggies! I have veggies for soup, veggies for stir fry, veggies for side dishes, veggies for whatever. I have LOTS of frozen veggies!

So, I'm going to adjust my shopping plan for a little while, at least. I'm NOT going to buy any more veggies. The restaurant supply store I shop at also carries yummy frozen desserts. Maybe I'll have to buy some of those instead. They probably won't stock up like the veggies have, and even if they do, I have the feeling no one here will mind at all.

If you happen to drop by for a meal in the near future, don't be surprised if we have frozen veggies for more than one course. At least you know what to expect for dessert, if I remember to pull it out in time (see my post on the problem with dinner in the freezer from March 2009 for more information ).

Maybe I should try the extreme couponing, as long as I don't try any deals on frozen veggies.

He's Not Me, Thank God

I've been reading through the Old Testament as part of my daughter's high school curriculum. Because of the craziness of my life and the challenges of having seven children plus a baby plagued by reflux, I've gotten quite behind. Whereas my daughter is almost through the minor prophets, I have barely reached the period of the kings of Israel.

My reading has taken me to the reign of Saul, the first king of Israel, a man generally despised and noted for his less than kingly qualities. As I was reading this morning, two passages stuck out to me. The first is 1 Kings 15:22, which says (in the English Standard Version) "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams..." That passage is a familiar one to many who have grown up in church. If your childhood was anything like mine, then you heard the following passage as well. It says, "For rebellion is as the sin of divination" or witchcraft, in some translations. Either way, the message is clear; rebellion is bad news.

Samuel is confronting Saul for his rebellion against the Lord, and he is mincing no words. Saul is in trouble, and he realizes it too late. His response, however genuine and contrite it may not be (he does, after all, blame his subjects for his rebellion, vs 24), echoes the cry of my heart when I'm confronted with rebelling against the Lord's direction, "I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD... Now therefore, please pardon my sin...that I may worship the LORD." Samuel's response is one to make a grown man shudder,"I will not return with you...the LORD has rejected you..."

Now, Saul was rejected from being king, which is far different from being completely rejected. But still, I'd NEVER want to hear those words, from anyone, about anything. Obviously, Saul was less than thrilled. For him, however, it was too late. For the rest of us, today, thankfully, it is not.

Centuries after the above described discussion, Paul (formerly known as Saul) the Apostle, wrote a letter to the Church in Rome, in which he described the challenges of living according to God's standard and how truly difficult it is. He ended one section with the cry, "Wretched man that I am, who will save me from this body of death?!?" Romans 7:24, ESV. But, he begins the next chapter with the thrilling words, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ."

In so many ways, I'm not better than King Saul, choosing to do what I want to do instead of what God commands (usually in the form of loving myself and not loving my neighbor), or to not do what I should do (which is to love my God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love my neighbor as myself), but instead of rejecting me as He did Saul, God wraps His arms around me and says, "I don't condemn you." What a wonderful gift to be me instead of King Saul, who was rejected by God.

That makes me think of a passage in Isaiah, where it describes what happened to make it possible for me to experience God's grace instead of the wrath I deserve. It says, "He was despised and rejected, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." Isaiah 53:3 ESV.

King Saul, who was rejected by God for his rebellion, is not me, thank God!