We decorated for Christmas today...and someone found the bows. :)
 We Can Reject It, We Can Receive It, Or We Can Redeem It. “It's the most wonderful time of the year! With the kids jingle belling and everyone telling you ‘Be of good cheer.’ It's the most wonderful time of the year.” As stated in this class Christmas song by Andy Williams, Christmas is often said to be the most wonderful time of the year! No other time of the year is filled with as much excitement and gleeful expectancy as Christmas, and no one seems to enjoy the season more than children. It’s a time when we celebrate our Savior’s birth, spend time with family, enjoy wonderful food and treats, and receive lovely presents. Christmas is a time for making memories. But Christmas can sometimes be a confusing time for children in Christian homes. At church and hopefully at home they hear about the birth of Jesus Christ, but at school and in stores they are taught that the focus of the season is Santa Claus and presents. As Christian parents we felt challenged to be sure we were keeping Christ and Christian values the focus of our Christmas celebrations. We wanted to be intentional about how we spent our time during the busy month of December, and we wanted to make sure that we were focusing on the four values we want to emphasize to our children at Christmastime: 1) family, 2) giving/serving, 3) learning truth, and 4) Jesus Christ. I've written before about Redeeming Easter, Redeeming Halloween, Redeeming Thanksgiving, and Redeeming Santa Claus, and today I want to share how our family has chosen to Redeem Christmas. I am passionate about Christian family's redeeming holidays! By this I mean that we should neither reject our cultural traditions nor blindly receive them rather we should redeem them by looking for ways to incorporate the gospel message into our family holiday traditions.  Advent Calendar Today we would like to share with you how our family keeps Christ and Christian values the focus of Christmas. Our family has an advent box – each day December 1-24 has a small box labeled with that day’s number. Advent calendars are available online, at Target, or you can simply make one yourself using inexpensive paper chains or another method. Each day on a small slip of paper we write down what activity we will do together as a family to celebrate Christmas. This allows us to be intentional about how we spend our time during the busy month of December, and ensures that we are focusing on the four values we want to emphasize to our children at Christmastime: 1) family, 2) giving/serving, 3) learning truth, and 4) Jesus Christ. For a list of Advent Calendar Ideas for Christian Families, check out our family's current and past advent calendars by clicking "Advent Calendar Ideas" under "Categories" on the right -->  Family The first value we emphasize at Christmastime is family. Christmas is a time when we intentionally spend time having fun and bonding together. To emphasize our value of family we have the following Christmas traditions:
 Giving/Serving The second value we emphasize at Christmastime is giving/serving, not getting. At Christmas it’s easy for children to focus on what presents they will be getting for Christmas. Our culture tells us the best part about Christmas is receiving a large pile of presents on Christmas morning, but God tells us that true joy comes from giving and serving others, not getting. To emphasize our value of giving/serving we have the following Christmas tradtions:
 Learning Truth The third value we emphasize at Christmastime is learning truth. There are so many wonderful, true stories to be shared at Christmastime.
 Jesus Christ
The fourth value we emphasize at Christmas time is Jesus Christ.
As the Christmas season rolls around, what things will you choose to emphasize as a family? Will you let the month of December slip past wondering where the time has gone, or will you be intentional each day in making sure you are focusing on 1) family, 2) giving/serving, 3) learning truth, and 4) Jesus Christ? Let’s be intentional about keeping Christ in our Christmas celebrations, and always remembering that Christ is the reason that Christmastime is the most wonderful time of the year.  Our family has an advent box – each day December 1-24 has a small box labeled with that day’s number. (Advent calendars are available online, at Target, or you can simply make one yourself using inexpensive paper chains or another method.) Each day on a small slip of paper we write down what activity we will do together as a family to celebrate Christmas. This allows us to be intentional about how we spend our time during the busy month of December, and ensures that we are focusing on the four values we want to emphasize to our children at Christmastime: 1) family, 2) giving/serving, 3) learning truth, and 4) Jesus Christ. For more Christian Christmas traditions see my post on Redeeming Christmas.
We started this tradition to SIMPLIFY our lives. There are so many wonderful things to do at Christmastime, but often in the business of life many of our special traditions get forgotten or overlooked until the week before Christmas and then we try to cram them all in. Sometimes the amount of things we want to do feels a little overwhelming, but with this system we know exactly when we are going to fulfill all of our Christmas traditions. Whether it's baking Christmas cookies, reviewing the story of St. Nicholas, or going ice skating, we want to make sure we are being intentional about how we spend our holiday time. Below are our advent calendar ideas for 2013. Feel free to adapt these ideas for your own family because every family's advent calendar will look a little different based on their values, traditions, children's ages, and location. In our family every Sunday night is family movie night, so we keep that tradition in December but with a little Christmas twist. Depending on where you live there are various free or inexpensive Christmas events to do, so check online for what's going on in your area. Be intentional about you celebrate Christmas! :) Sunday, December 1 – Make paper snowflakes for the windows, go to the movie theater to see Disney’s “Frozen” movie, & receive Christmas Pajamas Monday, December 2 – Purchase gifts for hospitalized and Angel Tree children & learn about and sing the carol Angels We Have Heard on High Tuesday, December 3 – Prepare Christmas coffee gifts for friends and neighbors & learn about and sing the carol Joy to the World Wednesday, December 4 – Read The Story of St. Nicholas, watch “Veggie Tales St. Nicholas,” & learn about and sing the carol Hark! The Herald Angels Sing Thursday, December 5 – Act out the Christmas story with our family’s nativity set & learn about and sing the carol O Little Town of Bethlehem Friday, December 6 – Watch “Polar Express” & learn about and sing the carol The First Noel Saturday, December 7 – Visit “Hicks Nurseries Animated Christmas Story,” attend Gotta Dance Christmas Show, & learn about and sing the carol Away in a Manger Sunday, December 8 – Make and decorate sugar cookies, watch “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” & learn about and sing the carol While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks Monday, December 9 – Go ice skating from 4:00 – 6:00 PM at the “Town of Oyster Bay Ice Skating Center” Tuesday, December 10 – Decorate gingerbread men cookies (MOPS friends coming in the morning too!) & learn about and sing the carol Silent Night! Holy Night! Wednesday, December 11 – Prepare Christmas presents and cards for school friends & learn about and sing the carol Once in Royal David’s City Thursday, December 12 – Prepare and wrap Christmas gifts for Daddy and Grandpa & learn about and sing the carol How Great Our Joy! Friday, December 13 – Make popcorn balls and eat them while watching “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” & learn about and sing the carol God Rest You Merry Gentlemen Saturday, December 14 – Grocery shop for a Christmas dinner for a needy family and place food in a donation bin & learn about and sing the carol O Come, All Ye Faithful Sunday, December 15 – Make green Rice Krispie Christmas wreaths & watch “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" Monday, December 16 – Purchase and wrap a Christmas gift for Mommy Tuesday, December 17 – Eat candy canes and read J is for Jesus: The Sweetest Story Ever Told & read Luke 1:26-38 - Birth of Jesus Foretold to Mary Wednesday, December 18 – Deliver Christmas treats to neighbors & read Luke 1:39-46 - Mary Visits Elizabeth Thursday, December 19 – Go to the Milleridge Inn for a Christmas Dinner and walk around the Milleridge cottage shops & read Matthew 1:18-25 - Birth of Jesus Foretold to Joseph Friday, December 20 – Make Chocolate Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies, watch “The Santa Clause,” & read Luke 2:1-7 - Birth of Jesus Christ Saturday, December 21 – Have Christmas peppermint pancakes and attend “English Families Fellowship” Christmas party Sunday, December 22 – Decorate a gingerbread house, drink hot cocoa, watch “A Nativity Story,” & read Luke 2:8-21 - Shepherds Visit Jesus Monday, December 23 – Visit the “Long Island Children’s Museum,” drive around the neighborhood looking at Christmas lights & read Matthew 2:1-12 - Wisemen Visit Jesus Tuesday, December 24 –Make a birthday cake for Jesus, read My Birthday, Jesus’ Birthday, & attend our church’s Christmas Eve service Wednesday, December 25 – Have a Merry Christmas! "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever." Psalms 107:1  Dear Family & Friends,
Happy Thanksgiving! We are so thankful for God’s abundant goodness to our family over this past year. God has blessed our family in so many ways, and we praise Him for all the gifts He has given us! The biggest blessing our family received this year arrived on March 20th at 4:14am weighing 7 lbs. 15 oz. and measuring 20 in. long. We are so thankful for our precious Isaac Timothy! After a difficult pregnancy, he truly embodies the meaning of his name “laughter” and has brought us so much joy. He is an extremely happy and easy going baby. He rarely cries and usually sleeps through the night. He has recently started scooting around and eating baby food (he especially enjoys sweet potatoes). He is a big, healthy 8-month-old boy weighing over 20 lbs. (80th percentile for weight) and measuring over 28 in. long (90th percentile for height). We are so blessed to have Isaac in our lives! We are thankful for our precious daughter, Abbie! Abbie will be five years old in February. She started ½ day preschool this fall and has been enjoying school immensely. She is spirited, smart, happy, creative, beautiful, feminine, compassionate, tenderhearted, determined, and sweet. She still enjoys her ballet, tap, and tumbling class every Thursday morning, and was thrilled to participate in her first dance recital last June. She has a wonderful imagination that always makes us smile – whether she’s making fairy houses in our backyard or pretending to be a mommy with her dolls. Abbie is a wonderful big sister to Isaac. She’s constantly showering her baby brother with hugs and kisses. We are so proud of the young lady she is becoming! We are thankful for our wonderful son, Christian! Christian is six years old and excelling in the 1st grade. He is smart, loves learning, and is especially advanced in reading (already reading 4th grade level chapter books). He enjoys his school, fabulous teacher, and friends. Christian did well at swimming lessons over the summer, and he asked to begin participating in basketball this winter and track this spring. It has been fun watching Christian experiencing sports for the first time. Christian is still extremely outgoing and talkative. He is a strong leader, generous, and thoughtful. He is an amazing big brother to Abbie and Isaac. We are proud of the little man he is becoming! We are thankful for the ways God has allowed us to serve Him in ministry! The past three years Greg has had the privilege of serving at Long Island Abundant Life Church (www.lialc.org) as the Youth Pastor and last year transitioned to serving as the Pastor of English Ministries. Greg preaches, leads worship, teaches Sunday school, plans youth group, coordinates youth events, mentors teens and adults, and in July led a group from our church on a life changing mission trip to Guatemala. Rachel has been serving as stay-at-home-mom, coordinates a ladies Bible study on the book of Proverbs, leads a Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) discussion group, and mentors several of the teenage girls in our church. We are thankful that we had the honor of attending Rachel’s brother’s wedding in Indianapolis! On May 24th David and Karin were married in a beautiful Christ-honoring ceremony. Christian and Abbie had the privilege of being the ring bearer and the flower girl – they both were thrilled about their special responsibilities and did a wonderful job. We are so thrilled God brought Karin into David’s life, and we were so blessed to be part of their wedding day! We are thankful God had provided clear direction for the next step in our family’s journey! Over the past five years Greg has been working towards his Master of Divinity degree (M.Div.) and he will graduate this spring. In July our plan is for our family to move to Grand Rapids, Michigan where in the fall Greg will begin pursuing a Master of Theology degree (Th.M.) over the next two years. This degree will give Greg the ability to teach seminary level courses in Southeast Asia. We are excited to live closer to our families and reconnect with our home church, Grace Community Church, before we head overseas, but we will miss the many wonderful friends we have made in Long Island, New York. Please pray for us as we work out the important details of Greg finding a job, locating an apartment to rent, and obtaining health insurance. We would be thrilled if you would visit our family’s blog regularly to keep up with us! Our family’s website is www.vrugginks.weebly.com Rachel frequently updates the blog with pictures and shares about family events. We are so thankful for our amazing God who has blessed us with another incredible year! We are grateful for the gift of Jesus Christ who has forgiven our sins and gives us the grace and strength we need for each day. We hope you have a wonderful time of Thanksgiving with your family and friends this special week as we all reflect on the many blessings He has given us and joyfully welcome the holiday season! Love Always, Greg & Rachel Vruggink Isaac is 8-months old and has been saying "Mama" all day long - his first word! I don't think he associates "Mama" with me, but he does know that if he says "Mama" he gets lots of smiles and applause! 
 We Can Reject It, We Can Receive It, Or We Can Redeem It. I am passionate about Christian family's redeeming holidays! By this I mean that we should neither reject our cultural traditions nor blindly receive them rather we should redeem them by looking for ways to incorporate the gospel message into our family holiday traditions. I've written before about Redeeming Easter, Redeeming Halloween, and Redeeming Santa Claus, but today I want to share how our family has chosen to Redeem Thanksgiving. Some may ask "Why do we need to redeem Thanksgiving? Isn't it already a Christian idea to be thankful?" While it is true that the basic premise of being thankful is good, in a Christian family we must take our thankfulness one step further than our culture. In a Christian family we must make sure our children understand that we are not merely "thankful" rather we are "thankful TO GOD" for our blessings. Below are six practical ways Greg and I have been doing our best to ensure that our family is thankful TO GOD during the month of November.  Thanksgiving Pumpkin Beginning on November 1st every morning everyone in our family says one thing they are thankful TO GOD for and we write it down on a small slip of paper. These slips of paper are placed in a pumpkin shaped bowl that sits in the center of our dining room table. The "tricky" part is that no one is ever allowed to repeat anything anyone else has said, so by the time we get to the few days preceding Thanksgiving we really have to stretch our brains beyond "food, toys, grandparents, etc." Again - we are careful each morning to say "What are you thankful TO GOD for today?" We want the emphasis to be on being "thankful TO GOD" not just generically "thankful." On Thanksgiving Day before we eat our feast we pull out these slips of paper one-by-one and read them to remind us of many of the blessings God has given us.  Thanksgiving Letter Every year our family sends out an annual Thanksgiving letter and family picture. Most families send out a Christmas letter summarizing their year (and we LOVE to receive these letters). Our family does the same thing with a small twist because the top of our annual letter says "Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His love endures forever." Psalm 107:1 (or Psalm 136:1) and every paragraph of our letter begins with the phrase "We are thankful for..." so as we are writing our letter our focus and emphasis is on all that God has done for us over the past year.  Thanksgiving DVDs & Books Each year we plan to read our children Thanksgiving books that emphasize the importance of being thankful TO GOD for his many blessings - the most important being Jesus Christ. Our four favorites are: 1) The Mayflower Voyagers (Charlie Brown) DVD - This fabulous 30 minute movie tells the story of the pilgrims journey to America and their first year in the new land. It emphasizes repeatedly that the pilgrims had a strong faith in God. 2) Thanksgiving: A Harvest Celebration by Julie Stiegemeyer - This paperback story shares about a little pilgrim girl who learns to trust God amidst hardship and emphasizes that the purpose of Thanksgiving is to remind us to thank God for His many blessings - especially Jesus Christ. 3) The Berenstain Bears Give Thanks by Mike & Jan Berenstain - The bear cubs put on a Thanksgiving show where they mention that the pilgrims came to America in order to worship God freely and they gave thanks to God at Thanksgiving. The bear family also prays a sweet prayer of Thanksgiving before their feast. 4) What is Thanksgiving? by Michelle Adams - This short board book shares through rhyme that the true meaning of Thanksgiving is praising God for his blessings.  Purchase a Thanksgiving Meal for a Family in Need Each year a few weeks before Thanksgiving we pile our family into our mini-van and make a special trip to the grocery store. At the grocery store we purchase all the non-perishable items a family would need for a nice thanksgiving. We purchase canned corn, green beans, french onions, water chestnuts, cranberries, yams, turkey gravy, mashed potatoes boxed mix, stuffing box mix, pumpkin bread box mix, corn bread box mix, pumpkin pie filling, crust, hot cider mix, etc. We then take these food items and donate them to a place where we know they will go to a family in need (food donation bin, food pantry, or a church putting together Thanksgiving baskets). This year we know of a family needing a little help so we will bring the food items directly to that family's home to make their Thanksgiving a little easier this year. During our family devotions that evening we take the time to pray for the family that received our meal and ask that they will come to know God and His love for them this year.  Thanksgiving Prayers Before we dive into our Thanksgiving feast each year we take the time to read the slips of paper in our "Thanksgiving Pumpkin" (see above) and then every member of our family prays a prayer of Thanksgiving. Of course it takes a long time for everyone to get a chance to pray and Daddy and Mommy's prayers are longer than the little one's, but we each take time to personally, verbally thank God for His many blessings to us.  Psalm 136
Every night our family has devotions together. On Thanksgiving Day our family reads Psalm 136 together. Daddy reads the passage and Mommy and the kiddos respond with the phrase "His love endures forever." I love ending our Thanksgiving Day focusing on the enduring love of the Lord. Psalm 136 1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever. 2 Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever. 3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever. 4 to him who alone does great wonders, His love endures forever. 5 who by his understanding made the heavens, His love endures forever. 6 who spread out the earth upon the waters, His love endures forever. 7 who made the great lights-- His love endures forever. 8 the sun to govern the day, His love endures forever. 9 the moon and stars to govern the night; His love endures forever. 10 to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt His love endures forever. 11 and brought Israel out from among them His love endures forever. 12 with a mighty hand and outstretched arm; His love endures forever. 13 to him who divided the Red Sea His love endures forever. 14 and brought Israel through the midst of it, His love endures forever. 15 but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea; His love endures forever. 16 to him who led his people through the wilderness; His love endures forever. 17 to him who struck down great kings, His love endures forever. 18 and killed mighty kings-- His love endures forever. 19 Sihon king of the Amorites His love endures forever. 20 and Og king of Bashan-- His love endures forever. 21 and gave their land as an inheritance, His love endures forever. 22 an inheritance to his servant Israel. His love endures forever. 23 He remembered us in our low estate His love endures forever. 24 and freed us from our enemies. His love endures forever. 25 He gives food to every creature. His love endures forever. 26 Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever. This is the best kids show ever! If you love my kiddos this video is totally worth your time. Christian and Abbie singing, hitting themselves with nun chucks and wands, Abbie prancing around like a butterfly, the story of Cinderella (or was it Sleeping Beauty ?), and lots of laughing! :) 
This morning as I look outside and see the beautiful orange leaves falling off the tree at the front of our home I am reminded that change is beautiful. It can be a little scary sometimes, but change is also exciting and wonderful!
Our little family of five will be moving to Michigan in around 9 months - change is coming for us! Over the past five years Greg has been working towards his Master of Divinity degree (M.Div.) and he will graduate this spring. In July 2014 our plan is for our family to move to the Grand Rapids, Michigan area where in the fall Greg will begin pursuing a Master of Theology degree (Th.M.) over the next two years. This degree will give Greg the ability to teach seminary level courses in Southeast Asia. We are excited to live closer to our families and reconnect with our home church, Grace Community Church, before we head overseas, but we will miss the many wonderful friends we have made in Long Island, New York. I will miss our little house. We moved here when Christian was 3-years old and Abbie was just 18-months old. Over the past three years I've watched my toddlers turn into children and begin school. I brought my baby boy home to this house 7 months ago. We've hosted some amazing friends and crazy slumber parties in this house. It's a special place. But the truth is our new home will be a special place too. It will be filled with it's own memories. At this point we are not sure exactly where we will live (city or suburbs? rent a home or apartment?), where our kids will go to school (public school, charter school, home school?), what job Greg will have while he's working on his Th.M., or how we'll get health insurance. Sometimes the unknown can be scary, but I choose to remember that the unknown is also what makes life exciting. I can choose to be fearful or choose to be excited that God is about to take us on a crazy fun roller coaster adventure! I choose to be excited, throw my hands up in the air, and smile as the wind flies against my face knowing the One who is in control of my crazy fun life ride! :) "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9 The last week in October Isaac's bottom two teeth popped through!  Isaac is an avid thumb sucker, so his poor little hand has a little red mark on it where his bottom two teeth have been rubbing as he sucks his thumb.   7 months 8 lbs. 11 oz. 28.75 in. Cutest Baby Ever!  |