Parenting on Purpose

Yes, it's the 3rd of December! In case you despair that you still haven't set up any Advent activities for the children, it's not too late. We have been off to a sure but slow start as well with Truth in the Tinsel . Some tips: 1. I have decided to do the craft the next day after the Bible reading and discussion, as it's too much to handle at bedtime and I would prefer if the kids learned the lesson before doing the craft as a follow up. 2. Use an easy-to-understand version of the Bible. I recommend either The Message or The New International Revised Version (suitable for 9 or 10 year olds). 3. Make a big deal of getting the advent number down and guessing the clue! I make them open their elephant ears really wide and shout out the clue if they hear it while Daddy is reading.  A "stained-glass" ornament meant to be a "sun-catcher". The Bible verse for these two days has been from the beautiful passage in Isaiah 9:2-7. The peo...

It somehow hasn't felt much like Christmas this year. We've been living such busy and harried lives, and I haven't been able to find the time to centre down and reflect on the true meaning of the season.  As Christians, Christmas is so much more beyond the tinsel, holly and gift-giving. It is our all-powerful, infinite God of the Universe choosing to take the form of His finite creation, becoming flesh and dwelling among us because that was the only way we would know Him. He is  Emmanuel, our God who is with us.  So it is my hope that our selected series of activities for the season, The Truth In The Tinsel , will help us as we walk through the season as a family and help the kids know each part of the Christmas story well. The boys were out at their grandparents', so I scrambled to print out what was needed from the PDF I had been sent. The activities are in 4 steps for each day: a clue to be uncovered, a scripture passage to read together, an orn...

  Christmas is around the corner, and I am always thinking of ways to start some new family traditions for us and our little ones. Family traditions are so important in building family identity and closeness, especially in the festive seasons, and they give room for creating such precious family memories that our kids will not only cherish in their growing up years, but also take along with them when they set up new families of their own. Here's a "first" we won't likely get to repeat... our younger one got to try his first solids on Christmas Eve! Looking on intently as he sings his first carols! Mark and I talked about setting these traditions very early on before we had children, and how it was important to start some that were unique to our own family, while retaining some that we have cherished from our families of origin. (You can read an earlier blog post detailing our view on traditions and rituals here ). For example, I have always celebrate...