Christmas Traditions

Now that we have a family, we are trying to solidify our meaningful Christmas traditions.

This winter, my bride and I discovered that we have the following traditions, firmly rooted in our six years of marriage:
1. Christmas photo (usually collage) and Christmas letter (in newsletter form, not just well-wishing)
2. Gifts
3. Stockings on the mantle for each family member

Now with children, we are trying to establish some more:
4. Christmas tree plus busting out the ornaments and lights
5. Christmas lights for the house
6. Advent
7. Singing Christmas carols as a family at least once a day every day between Thanksgiving and Christmas
8. Reading the Christmas story on Christmas Eve
9. Opening gifts on Christmas day
10. Family Christmas photo

Here are some that we've toyed with the last couple of years:
11. Christmas feast - prime rib, of course
12. Traveling

Some fragments of tradition from our childhood:
13. Extended family celebration and gifts on Christmas Eve: Christmas day for nuclear family
14. Christmas Sunday service / Christmas Mass

And finally, we're not sure how we're going handle the Santa Claus tradition.

I propose that all of our traditions should flow from the reason for the season. Hopefully we're not too far off the mark.

What are your Christmas traditions?

Santa is a Woman

Have you ever heard somebody say God might be a woman?

Personally I don't really care whether or not God really is a woman because I don't think God is limited categorically to gender.

I'm sure you've met people that really do think God 1. is female or 2. is not male. I don't think I've ever heard anybody claim that Santa might be a woman. Why do you suppose that is? I might be going out on a limb here, but I feel like those who assert that God could be a woman probably don't take the same stance on the possibility of Santa being a woman. I also feel and think but have no data to assert that those who take issue with God's sex probably don't feel that there even is a God, or that if there is one, it is not defined by the Bible or Christianity, and thus is just as much a mythological creature as Santa. So it is on this assumption that I say, "Santa is a girl." So it wouldn't be the same discussion if we were to agree that God is the God of the Bible (and thus our conversation regarding his gender-like aspects are simply you and I trying to better see God's face) while Santa is the male icon created by several hundred years of secular Christmas tradition.

Strange thoughts to have running through my mind on Christmas Eve...

Perspective

Do you ever look at somebody and suddenly consider him or her in eternal light?

I have found that playtime with the kiddos consists of kids playing, me watching. So during this inactive time my thoughts wander. Last time it suddenly struck me that God created Pineapple to serve Him. Of course, He created all of us to serve Him. It's just that in the busy-ness of everyday activity, it's easy to lose sight of the big picture. It's like I suddenly flip a switch and I realize how much more precious and sacred this little person is in God's eyes. I wish I could always think and do and love with this switch in the "on" position.

In the same stream of consciousness: parable of the talents. Having trouble explaining the connection. Signing off for now. Merry Christmas Eve!

Spiritual Resonance

I don't connect with all Christians I meet.

I think this is the strangest thing because if we are all bathed and renewed in the Holy Spirit then why wouldn't we connect? More on this in a moment...

Mostly this realization has caused me to deeply value meaningful Christian friendships. In fact, it was you, a handful of my friends, that were the first to know of this blog. I feel safe revealing my deeper thoughts to you because I experience spiritual resonance with you.

What is spiritual resonance? This is probably a term somebody else has already invented but I promise you, I didn't know about it and I don't want to know about it because I want to claim it for my own purposes. Spiritual resonance is the feeling of transparency and authenticity I feel when I communicate with you about our world views as Jesus-followers. We understand each other. We may have different experiences and walks in life but we know that we are reading from the same Book and drinking from the same Spirit. We have different interests and personalities and goals in life and family demographics and we are heavenly siblings already; we have a glimpse of heaven and God's Glory on earth now because God has put you in my life.

Now why is it that I do not have spiritual resonance with every Christian?

1 Corinthians 12? Am I a hand? Eyeball? Ear? Hair follicle? Do I get along with you because I am the finger and you are the palm? Maybe I don't understand the eye so I don't perceive this authenticity and transparency.

Genesis 3? Is our separation from God the culprit? We are fatally flawed. Maybe yours & my flaws are conveniently aligned in such a way that they don't interfere with our appreciation of each other in Christ. In the case of uncomfortable acquaintances, our flaws are conveniently misaligned, and our faults cause us not to be transparent or authentic.

Time seems to change spiritual resonance. I have found that once I have it, it doesn't go away. And, I didn't have spiritual resonance with you from the first, but I do now. I didn't seek it consciously. Surely God orchestrates this wonderful blessing, in the time and way that gives you and I our greatest sense of Him in each other.

My Opinion

I think the problem with my opinion is that I think it's flawless.

Lately I've had a real hard time understanding other people's actions. I figure the root of this misunderstanding is my failure to understand their perspective. Perhaps if I understood their perspective, then I would understand their actions, then I really would have a flawless opinion.

For example, I often find myself wondering the following:
- Why do people tailgate? Do they think I am going slow? Do they think I will go faster if they ride my bumper? Do they expect me to pull over so they can pass? Do they not know the rules for following? Are they on the phone and thus distracted, braking only to avoid hitting me? Maybe I'm the tailgater. Maybe everybody just looks closer in my rearview mirror than it looks from me to the car ahead of me.
- Why do people flick their cigarette butts out of their car? Wouldn't one's motivation for not leaving their cigarette butt in their ashtray be because it is trash and it would clutter their car? Is the world their trashcan? Aren't they just cluttering the world by throwing it outside? Maybe they think "Oh, it's biodegradable." You could say the same thing about a McDonald's bag but we don't want it sitting there for 20 years biodegrading, do we?

Here are some other topics for which I eagerly anticipate the day I can engage someone who has a differing opinion.
- Kids & television. Kids & sugar. Kids & fast food.
- Taxes that disproportionately take rich people's money.
- Abortion.
- The origin of life.
- Bias in news.
- Debt.
- God.
- Jesus the Messiah.
- Gun control.
- War.
- Socialism without Jesus.

"Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven." Luke 6:37

I found out a long time ago on a personality test that I am "judger." I am hypercritical of myself and of other people. I view this as a vice. However, I also know that some aspect of my critical nature is something God intended for me to use for good and not evil. Of course, prayer is a critical step in refining my thought-life. I also view my understanding of other people's perspective as a path to recovery. Someday I hope to have a patient, well-rounded flawless opinion from being fully informed and from fully understanding others' perspectives.

Facing Fears

I noticed that when I put my tickle face on, Pineapple flees giggling but she cannot help but look over her shoulder to see if the tickling is imminent. Of course when she checks six she starts veering off into the wall and tripping over her own feet. So she has taken to actually turning around and backing up slowly while she guards vulnerable armpits. Naturally I would love to get video or a picture of this but since I am the tickle monster it is hard to do.

Anyway, the philosophical leap I was going to make with this observation is our own human nature regarding fear. Is it too much to theorize that if I was afraid of something that I would rather turn around and meet it squarely, at the exclusion of other threats? In Pineapple's case she is avoiding something, the nature of which is very predictable and expected, yet not afraid of the tripping or banging into the wall, both of which are not as predictable, will hurt more, and unexpected.

Does our flight from our known fears, or facing them down, cause us to ignore more important issues in our environment?

Pink & Ponies Continued

I am remiss in failing to mention a few key women in my last post.

My wonderful bride. The girls' grandmothers. The girls' great-grandmothers (of whom I really only know one well - my paternal grandmother).

These God-fearing women will be amazing examples for my girls.

I just don't see the bridge between here and there. I envision my girls growing to be little replicas of their mother. I don't know how to nurture the development. Does it happen naturally? What is my role in this process?

So far, I've found my actions to be instinctive. I pray and act in faith. I trust that I am the father God deigned for these little ones.

But it's easy now. Diapers need changing. Babies are fed & held. I am the safety expert for installing car seats. I am wary of crazy drivers.

Scarier to me is their transition from childhood to adulthood. I want to grow now in preparation.