Give LIFE for Christmas!--spoiler alert--for non-believers' eyes only

Christmas is in full swing around our house!  We are almost completely decorated-- yes, BEFORE Thanksgiving-- much to the dismay of many of our Thanksgiving guests--- I do try to have everything up before the after Thanksgiving craziness begins.  I've mentioned before that I try to not focus on the materialism side of Christmas. 

After all, Christmas is about LIFE and NEW BIRTH and I just cannot waste that message on useless, dead material objects that no one really needs anyway.

could there be a greater gift than this little guy?!!

I'm not a big Santa Claus promoter.  When Elle was 4 years old we were putting together Samaritan's Purse shoeboxes for children in Bosnia who "wouldn't get anything else for Christmas if we didn't send them something."  

So Elle asked, "Why doesn't Santa Claus bring them gifts?"  

"Well, Santa doesn't bring poor children gifts," I told her.

That was the end of Santa for Elle--- and she was mighty mad that I had lied to her all her life about the man in the big red suit.  That child has always been about justice.

I didn't completely learn my lesson, so we did keep the Santa thing going for Nash.  

When he was in third grade, I caught him on the computer.  He was on Ask.com and had typed in the question, 

"Tell me if Santa is real or not, I'm an adult."

Again-- the justice thing.  He was mad that people were making a bigger deal about Santa than Jesus.  

After we had a talk about how telling a lie about being an adult to the computer is the same as telling a lie in real time--- 

I had to agree with him.

Check out 

The Story of St. Nicholas:  More than Reindeer and a Red Suit 

AND-- there is absolutely no way our newest arrivals would even buy into Santa.  

They were confused from the beginning about him.   

Don't worry-- all of our kids know that they aren't allowed to spill the beans for all believing children.  They actually kind of like being in on a secret.

One of my favorite Christmas Eve messages ever was given by our friend,  Pete Wilson.

It centered around Isaiah 26:18

"We were with child, we writhed in pain, 

but we gave birth to wind.

We have not brought salvation to the earth;

we have not given birth to people of the world."

Lord, let this be a year when we use the Baby in the manger to bring the LIFE, the everlasting, the eternal, the imperishable to those who will perish without it! 

Anything else gives birth to wind. 

Lifesong for Orphans

has plenty of ways this year that we can give birth to life and salvation for those who desperately need it.

Lifesong has been an incredible gift to our family and is empowering and supporting the least of these in countless ways around the  world!


Lifesong writes---   

Show the love of Christ to a child in need this Christmas!

What are you doing this year for Christmas?

Decorating the house?  Making Christmas cookies?  Celebrating with family and loved ones?  Exchanging gifts?

What if this year you gave gifts that not only celebrated your loved ones but brought the love of Christ to a child in need?  An orphan in Africa, India, Ukraine, or Honduras?

This year Lifesong for Orphans has gifts that will do just that.  Give the new Lifesong cookbook...

  

 

or give a child in Africa food, a child in Honduras job skills training, a child in India a home... in honor of those you love... and really, what could be better at Christmas than to know your gift was given to a child who needed it more.

Check it out here.

May God bless your holiday season!  

10-11 Gifts of Purpose from Lifesong for Orphans on Vimeo.