Christmas Traditions

Christmas has come, once again too quickly, and is already passing us by just as fast. Christmas is a busy time of year for any family -- add in the responsibilities of two pastors to two different congregations during a holy season that some would equate with the magnitude of the Super Bowl, and the busy-ness factors skyrocket off the charts. But even in the midst of the chaos, we found calm. In the midst of noise, we found peace. In the midst of wrapping and unwrapping presents, we once again found Christ.

Just as everyone has their own Christmas traditions, we have ours. Traditions at the Moore Manse include beef and vegetable soup on Christmas Eve, late nights of wrapping with grandparents, lots of baking, and a night full of worship and wonder. This year was no different from other years -- Nana and Papa Mike were up and helped with the wrapping and baking. Worship was beautiful and spirit filled. And at the end of a long day, the girls fell fast asleep with excitement within their hearts about what Christmas morn would be like.

The unexpected, in the midst of all of this, was that Christmas morning would come at 4am when Red became too excited about Christmas to sleep any longer. After some snuggling, reading, and some video gaming, 6:00am came round and she finally crawled into bed with Eric and I for a final hour or so of quiet before the house came alive. Apparently, at any age, Christmas morning can simply be too exciting to bear!

Among the many gifts under the tree this year, was NJ's dream come true -- a pink teddy bear! And not just any big teddy bear -- one that is every bit as big as she is! Already, said bear has become a part of the family and has been a part of many meals, travels, and experiences. We look forward to all the places the pink bear will find itself this year.

In the midst of old traditions, a (hopefully) new tradition has surfaced. In an effort to continually remind the girls what Christmas is truly about, Eric shared the biblical Christmas narrative using candles as the various biblical figures in the story. In doing this, our girls were not only rivetted to hearing the old story in a new way, but they were reminded that the season isn't about the glitz and glammour or the decor and wrapping paper, but about a simple, unassuming babe born for us all. There's nothing sweeter than when NJ turned to me on my lap, as the candles glowed bright and said, "So THAT'S what Christmas is all about!" You got it, baby girl!

Through all the craziness that the holidays bring, our prayers for you include peace and happiness in the coming year. May you enjoy the company of your friends and family. May your days be full of more joy and hope than stress and fear. May you be ever aware of the love that surrounds you and how God is at work around you.