Gold, Frankincense, & Myrrh

For Christmas we travel to my folks' house.

On Christmas morning, Dash opens a ton of presents.

He opens presents from Santa.

He opens presents from his grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc.

He used to always open presents from me and my husband, too.

But, not this year.

As I explained in my last post about the 'Jesse Tree', I really want to make sure Dash focuses on the real reason for the season and not just presents and Santa.

Due to our Jesse Tree tradition,
we've been reviewing the Bible stories leading up to Jesus' birth.
We've spent the whole month of December doing this, but...

There are still ALL those gifts to be opened.

We try to emphasize the "giving" and not "receiving" but how
can a four year old not focus on the presents?

I recently read a post on a blog that my friend Danielle had linked to
on her Facebook page.  (You can find that post here). 

Basically, it tells of a great idea for how to focus even the presents your child will open on the real reason for the season.  

We're going to adapt it a bit, but I am excited to start this new tradition!

Don't worry, I'm about to explain what it is...

We're going to start this new tradition on Christmas Eve when it is just our family and before the chaos of Christmas morning.  

Dash is going to get three presents to open.

We will set them out and then discuss why he gets three gifts.

My husband will read the Christmas story and tell how the Magi,
who visited Jesus, brought three gifts.

The first gift:

GOLD

Gold represented Jesus 'kingship' and deity.

It also allowed Mary and Joseph  money and provision.

We know from the scriptures that they were poor.
Maybe it is what helped them with much of the travel they ended up enduring?

It definitely was a BLESSING to them!

Dash, too, will get a 'GOLD' gift.
This gift will be a blessing to him. 
It will be something that he has wanted or will love.
A toy.

The second gift:

FRANKINCENSE

The frankincense represented Jesus' priesthood.

Frankincense was used in the temple as a sacred incense.
(Imagine our prayers rising up with the aroma).
When Jesus, as God, came to the earth, died and rose again, he made it so that we never have to go through a priest in order to
converse or have a relationship with God.
He IS our high priest.
We can talk straight to him.
At his death, the 18 inch thick 'veil' that separated the Holy of Holies,
in the temple, ripped in two.
We are no longer separated from God, in Jesus. 

Frankincense is a reminder that God meets with us.
He loves being with his people.

When Mary and Joseph received the frankincense
they were caring for their child.
But, the frankincense is also a reminder that God was always caring for them.

Dash, too, will get a 'FRANKINCENSE' gift.  
He will receive something that will help him keep his focus on God.

A devotional gift.

Maybe a children's Bible or 'What's in the Bible with Buck Denver?' DVD.
As he gets older, it could be a journal or worship CD, etc.

The third gift:

MYRRH

Myrrh was actually a scented oil used for embalming dead bodies.

What a strange gift to bring to a child!!! 

Except that it was a prophetic gift.

It spoke of how Jesus would ultimately give up his life as the ransom needed to be paid for the punishment of sin for all people.
Since humans can never be pure enough to make their way to God on their own, God would make His way to us, via taking the wrath of all our sin. 

Myrrh spoke of Jesus' future destiny.

Dash, too, will get a 'MYRRH' gift.
It will speak of his 'future'.

My husband and I will write him a letter speaking blessings upon him.
We will write about what characteristics and personality traits we
see in him, now, that God can use in his future.

We will emphasize his skills and talents and tell him how proud we are of him.
We will take this time, before opening his 'myrrh' gift
and speak loving words into him.

Since Dash is only four years old, we probably won't read the letter.
His attention span doesn't last long.
We will just speak the words in audible praise, love, encouragement, and compliments straight to him.
But, I will keep the letters in a box for him.
And, when he is old enough to read them, he can keep them on his own.

But, since he would enjoy opening a present, too...

his 'MYRHH' gift will also be clothes.

They can represent Jesus body 'wrapped in cloth',
both as a baby in a manger and after he died for us, in a tomb.
(Of course, the good news is that three days later the tomb was empty!)

So, back to Christmas Eve...

Dash will get three gifts.

The first, his 'GOLD' gift, will be a toy.

This year it will be the Clifford dog he has been begging
for every time we are at Target.

I think I will try to wrap it in gold paper with a big bow.

The second gift, his 'FRANKINCENSE' gift,
will be something to focus him on God.

This year it will be the Ultimate Read and Share Bible, Volume 2.

We have Volume 1 and he loves it.
It comes with a DVD and he has seen the show many times and then when he flips through the pages of the Bible he can tell us the stories,
almost in exact quotation from the show. 

The third gift, his 'MYRRH' gift, will be a letter of adoration pointing out some of his traits we have witnessed this year.  

His athleticism,

His sense of humor and the way he always makes people laugh,

His patience and precision with drawing, writing, and learning

And, his 'MYRRH' gift will also include a clothing item,
which this year is Spiderman pajamas!

I'm totally looking forward to this new tradition of aligning his three gifts with reminders of Jesus' birth, death, and resurrection!!!

I think we'll finish off Christmas Eve by singing 'Happy Birthday' to Jesus and letting Dash blow out the candles on a cupcake or cake.


Hope your family is enjoying many wonderful traditions this holiday season!

Merry Christmas!

Jesse Tree

Every year we put up our Christmas tree and decorate it.

As a Christian and a mom,
I want to be sure to teach my son the true meaning of Christmas.

A couple years ago I kept hearing of people who were busy preparing their 'Jesse Tree'.

After googling and searching about Jesse Trees, I realized it was something I definitely wanted to implement into our family's Christmas traditions.

The Jesse Tree is simply a tool used to share the stories of the Bible with our children during the Advent Season.

It seemed like most people I read about had a second Christmas tree
as their Jesse Tree.
They decorated it with ornaments that told the stories
in the Bible leading up to Jesus' birth.

Each day/night leading up to Christmas, a different ornament was hung on the tree and the story that matched it was shared along with a short devotional.

On Christmas Eve, the last ornament is hung.
This one is of the nativity scene and the story of Jesus' birth is shared!

Our house was too small for a second tree, but we decided we could squeeze more ornaments on ours in order to create this special tradition with Dash.

I spent months preparing unique ornaments that aligned with the Bible stories I wanted to share with Dash as we prepared for Christmas. 

Stories like...

Creation

 And, I created a devotional about taking care

of the world God has blessed us with.

Stories like...

Adam & Eve

And, I created a devotional about disobeying and forgiveness.

Stories like...

Joseph

And, I created a devotional about doing right and using our gifts and talents for God EVEN when life is unfair and doesn't make sense.

Stories like...

The Burning Bush

And, I created a devotional about how God can use us with all our imperfections, fears, and mistakes to do mighty things for Him.

Stories like...

Daniel and the Lion's Den

And, I created a devotional about trusting God and honoring Him even

when we are persecuted for it.

Some of the ornaments I purchased or already had.

The best part of doing this was Dash's reaction!!!
He LOVED it!
Probably because I was crazy enough to wrap all the ornaments in reusable bags (using velcro so they'll last over the years) and place them under the Christmas tree.

Each morning we'd pull out the numbered gift that
matched that day and set it on the table.
He'd spend all day staring at it and asking when Daddy would be home for dinner so we could open it.  

Finally, he'd get to open it!

And, he'd try to guess which Bible story matched the ornament.

And, then he'd hang it on the tree.
And, YES, all the ornaments were hung on the very bottom
where he could reach and preferred them being!

We'd share the Bible story and discuss how it applied to our lives.

Throughout the whole Advent season he'd stare or
touch the ornaments and retell me the stories-
it warmed my heart!

Now, since I loved this tradition, I wanted to bless a couple friends with
'Jesse Tree' kits this year as gifts.
But, I realized I didn't have time to make elaborate ornaments and figured most people don't want 25 presents under their Christmas tree.

So, I came up with a simpler method and I ended up liking the results even better than the kit I had made for my family.

I thought I'd share a very quick tutorial
on how to make your own Jesse Tree kit!

First, I bought a package of these wooden squares at Michael's craft store.

Then, my amazing, wonderful, servant-hearted husband spray painted them black and drilled two holes into each square.

Next, I printed out clipart to match the Bible stories I wanted.  I actually purchased some clipart off a digital scrapbooking website and others my talented husband helped me to create on Photoshop. 

Then, I cut them out.  This is probably the step that took the longest and I had to use small, sharp scissors as the squares I had were
only an inch and a half by an inch and a half.

Next, I used one of my favorite products- Mod Podge.

I love this stuff!

You simply use it like Elmer's glue and glue the pictures onto the squares but then place a thick coat over the top of the whole square to seal it.
It dries clear but looks professional.

Next, I used some of this floral wire to make the hangers.

Don't they look great?

On the back, I used a white paint-pen to number them in the correct order.

I also purchased small red envelopes from Michael's and stamped numbers onto them.

With these tiny envelopes, my friends won't have to fill under their Christmas tree with bags.  They can simply set the small envelopes in a pile somewhere or in a decorative basket under the tree.

Last, I created devotions to match each of the ornaments.
This is a step that could be skipped if you'd rather
tell your child the story or read it from a Children's Bible.
I printed the devotionals onto index cards and laminated them.

And then used these metal rings

to make it into a devotional book.

Here's hoping your family shares many wonderful
family traditions this Christmas season!

Plastic Sleeves

Gotta admit-
I LOVE plastic sleeves!

Or, I guess they are sometimes called 'page protectors'

Do you know what I'm talking about?

Those clear sleeves that you can slide any sheet of paper into.  

They're three-hole punched so you can put them in a binder.

I love them because you can use dry-erase markers on them and they 

wipe off easily!

Super easily!

And, I can give Dash any type of sheet to work on and they simply become re-usable because I insert them into a plastic sleeve!

Lately, Dash has been SUPER into mazes.

It started with the back of a children's menu at a restaurant.  

Then, he kept asking when we could go back to that restaurant because he wanted to do another maze.  

I had purchased a book of kids' mazes from an educational store years ago when I was teaching. 

 

I thought of ripping out the mazes and giving them to Dash but I wanted to keep the originals in case I ever needed them for teaching, in the future. 

I thought about photocopying the whole book for Dash- ugh.

I thought about scanning and printing the whole book for Dash- yuck.

And, then it hit me!  Plastic Sleeves!

I've been inserting the originals into plastic sleeves and he can do the mazes with his dry-erase marker and then simply erase it when he is done. 

My originals are still in tact!  

And, the best part-
Dash can  redo  the mazes as many times as he wants!

We've been using plastic sleeves for all sorts learning activities.

Dash is much more eager to do any learning activity if he gets to use a dry-erase marker instead of a pencil!

So, next time you are at Target, pick up a small package of page protectors/plastic sleeves.  

They kept Dash and his binder full of mazes busy for hours!