Faith in Parenting

It’s one of the Advent ideas we talked about on this week’s “Tuesdays at 2:00” support call. It’s basically a tree branch where you hang symbols - simple ornaments made out of paper and crayons - that represent the lineage of Jesus as part of your family’s preparation for Christmas.

See, from God’s point of view, the preparation for Christ’s coming began all the way back in the Old Testament, with Abraham!

The idea for a Jesse Tree is actually based on the verse Isaiah 11:1, which reads “A shoot shall come out of the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.”

Teaching our children about the history leading up to Christ’s time on earth is a neat way to prepare our hearts for His coming.

The Reformed Church in America has several resources available online to help you prepare a Jesse Tree of your own:

• Making a Jesse Tree - includes printable copies of each symbol/ornament
• Jesse Tree Family Devotions - includes family devotions for each night during Advent

Remember, too, to just have fun with your family’s Advent devotions. Your kids will likely learn much more by making their own imperfect, child-like ornaments and symbols, than if you were to stress yourself out over trying to make some type of permanent, laminated display. Our goal through these activities is to connect with one another and share our faith, so let’s focus our energy on enjoying the process!

This week we enjoyed a great discussion of various Advent Activities for Families, from traditional Advent calendars, to Jesse trees, to weekly Advent devotions. You can listen to an abbreviated version of the support call here on the site.

In addition, I’ll be putting some of the ideas we talked about up on the blog over the next several days, along with links to resources you can use.

As well, if I can be of assistance with your family’s Advent devotions, don’t hesitate to contact me.

Blessings,

Jennifer

Listen to This Week’s “Tuesdays at 2:00″ Support Call: Advent Activities for Families

Advent, which begins this Sunday, is a season of preparation for Christmas; and it’s about much more than trimming the tree and finishing your shopping. It’s about preparing your heart to receive the Savior.

As moms, we can sometimes get so caught up in wanting to do something “right” that we never get around to doing it. Advent devotions can be like that; we have the best of intentions, and yet the weeks go by and we don’t quite get into the practice of establishing a routine for Advent devotions.

This season, I want to encourage you that there’s no right or wrong way to go about preparing your heart and your family for the true meaning of Christmas. What matters is that we do something and that we invite the Holy Spirit to teach us.

That’s what we’re going to talk about on this week’s Tuesdays at 2:00 support call: Ideas for Planning Your Family’s Advent Devotions. We’ll be sharing ideas and coming up with a basic outline for what we want to cover on the four Sundays in Advent.

But remember; there’s no single right or wrong way to get Advent devotions started. These are just ideas!

To join us, simply dial (641) 715-3200 at 2:00 this Tuesday, and enter the access code 229468#. Participation is free, other than any long-distance charges you may incur.

Directions for Joining Us on the Weekly Support Call:

• Date: Tuesday, November 27, 2007
• Time: 2:00-2:35 PM (ET)
• Telephone Number: (641) 715-3200
• Access Code: 229468#

As always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me.

Blessings,

Jennifer

What are your favorite parts of the holiday season? Which parts are “work” to you, and which parts are soul-satisfying?

I used to think that putting up the tree was a hassle; I could never get the lights right! And I can tell you that tonight is no different; the tree is technically upright, but there are whole sections unlit!

And guess what? That’s really okay. I’ll figure it out tomorrow or Monday; it will get done. For now, it looks beautiful anyway just as it is.

So how about you? What parts of the Christmas celebrations tend to stress you out? What’s really important to you in how your family celebrates Christmas, and what would you rather skip this year? How can you incorporate more of “the good stuff” and less of anything that feels like drudgery?

Here are some suggestions for simplifying your holiday season:

• Decide up front which traditions mean the most to you and which ones you’re doing simply because you’ve always done them.
• Try to include at least one “favorite” from each family member’s list.
• Communicate with your extended family about gift-giving. I know this is a tough one, but being up front about your wishes can save you a lot of time and money.
• Plan ahead for any gifts you want to make this year, and be honest about how long they will take to complete. (Don’t forget to incorporate the time you’ll spend gathering supplies, too!)
• Wrap gifts as you purchase them. This eliminates the risk of hiding something and later forgetting where you put it!
• Set a date for mailing gifts to out-of-town recipients.
• Don’t forget to include at least one date night during the holiday season, and schedule some mini-breaks for yourself, as well!

Think about it… If we really believe Jesus is the reason for the season, can we continue to fret over details like Christmas lights? It’s perfectly okay if some of your traditional celebrations - like hanging lights outside or baking homemade treats for your neighbors - don’t get done “on time” this year - or even at all! What’s really important is the preparation in your heart.

On this week’s support call, we took a walk through some of our favorite holiday traditions and explored ways that we can use those activities to reinforce lessons of faith for our kids. If you weren’t able to join us, you can listen to the entire call right here on the site.

Some of the activities we talked about were decorating the Christmas tree, baking, and making holiday decorations. Here are some questions you can ask your kids as you do these activities:

• While Hanging Christmas Lights Remind your kids that we are to be the light of the world. (Matthew 5:14-16)
• While Decorating the Tree Ask your children why some people use a angel on top of the tree and some families use a star. What do these symbolize?
• While Baking Ask your children about the spices you’re using. What other spices or seasonings are they familiar with? Then talk about how we are the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13).
• Making Snowflakes Remind your children that just as each snowflake is unique, each person is a unique creation, made in God’s image, and yet unlike any other person on earth!

For more ideas, listen to the recording of this week’s call, or check out the book The Adventure of Christmas by Lisa Whelchel.

Sometimes we think that passing on our faith to our children has to happen at a certain place and time - for example, in church, or during intentional, regular family devotions. It’s true that our children learn about our faith in those settings, but in reality, the “baton” gets passed much more throughout the course of our everyday lives.

That’s what we’re going to talk about this week during our “Tuesdays at 2:00” support call: Sharing Christ in the Midst of Our Everyday Holiday Traditions

Here are the directions for joining us on the call:

• Date: Tuesday, November 20, 2007
• Time: 2:00-2:35 PM (ET)
• Telephone Number: (641) 715-3200
• Access Code: 229468#

As always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me.

Blessings,

Jennifer

On Tuesday’s support call, we talked about lots of different ways we can begin to take care of ourselves as moms. To some, this might seem like something moms would naturally be doing already, but in reality, we have a tendency to take care of everyone but ourselves, don’t we?

What I wanted to do was create a list you could easily print out and tack up on your refrigerator or somewhere else where you’ll see it often. I’ve divided the list into five categories - our physical needs, spiritual needs, relational needs, mental needs, and emotional needs.

The idea is to select one or two practices for each of those categories that you want to incorporate in your life over the next three months. Don’t try to do it all at once!

And remember - this is not selfish! By taking baby steps toward truly taking care of yourself, you’re doing your kids a huge favor! You’re demonstrating for them that they’re part of a team and that they, too, are worth taking care of themselves.

Access the 50 Self-Care Tips: Print Page One | Print Page Two

(Note: These are pdf files. If you have difficulty printing them, try downloading the latest version of Adobe Reader for free!)

Think back to your pre-children days. Did you ever take a day off of work because you just weren’t feeling great? I remember struggling with making that phone call (Am I really “sick enough” to stay home?) and then being so glad I did, realizing only as I rested how much I truly needed that break and time to recuperate.

Do we give that to ourselves as moms? Ever? This week’s topic for the “Tuesdays at 2:00” call was taking care of ourselves as moms during the holiday season.

Of course self-care includes taking the time to really heal and get better when needed; but it also means taking care of ourselves before we become ill or exhausted, worn-out or short-tempered, so that we’re able to withstand the stress of the holiday season.

And let’s not forget, as well, that even “good stress” is stressful! I love all of the baking, gift-wrapping, and decorating that come with the holiday season, but not all at once! So doing it in a way that’s consistently enjoyable - and fruitful for our families - requires some planning.

To explore with us the practical ideas we talked about on the call for how we can make self-care a priority, listen to the call in its entirety right here on the site.

In addition, I’ll be writing up a printable chart of self-care ideas in the next few days, which you’ll be able to print out. If each of us can make an effort to incorporate even just 2-3 self-care steps during the holiday season, we’ll be in a good position for truly experiencing and receiving the Christmas joy we so want to share with our kids!

Listen to the Call: Taking Care of Ourselves as Moms During the Holiday Season

Before the holidays jump into high gear, I think it’s important to spend some time planning for how and when we’re going to intentionally take care of ourselves.

Yes - ourselves, moms!

We give so much time and energy to everyone around us, it’s easy for us to forgo our own needs. While being selfless is certainly a huge part of mothering, ignoring our own self-care altogether can, unfortunately, make us short-tempered and frustrated with our role and our lives.

Think about it. How much more enjoyable might the holidays be if we were well rested? Nourished, physically and spiritually? That’s not going to happen without some intentional planning, is it?

So let’s spend some time this week talking about the differences we notice when we make time for meeting our own needs, as well as practical ways to fit self-care into our busy holiday schedules.

To join us for the “Tuesdays at 2:00” support call, just dial in at 2:00 pm (EST). It’s that easy! There’s no need to pre-register, and there is no fee for participating (other than any long distance charges you may incur).

Here are the directions for accessing the weekly support call:

• Date: Tuesday, November 13, 2007
• Time: 2:00-2:35 PM (ET)
• Telephone Number: (641) 715-3200
• Access Code: 229468#

If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I look forward to talking with you!

Blessings,

Jennifer

Yesterday I shared with you some of ideas for volunteering around Thanksgiving as a way to teach our kids to be grateful. Today, I want to focus on ways we can help our kids to see the actual day of Thanksgiving not just as a delicious meal, but also an opportunity to give thanks to God for all He has given us.

These tips came out of this week’s Tuesdays at 2:00 discussion, which you can listen to in its entirety here on the site.

Ways to Incorporate Lessons About Thanks During the Actual Thanksgiving Meal:

• Have the kids make place cards for each guest. Then have everyone at the table write down (on the back of the card) one thing they’re thankful for, and share.
• Record what each person shares in a Thanksgiving journal. This keepsake could be as simple as a plain notebook decorated - by the kids - with leaves on the front.
• Agree to memorize a verse or passage of Scripture and recite it together at the dinner table. Friends of ours, who have invited us to dinner this year, have asked us to memorize Psalm 100.

How about you? What do you do as a family to incorporate the faith message behind this holiday celebration? Let us know by leaving a “comment” below.

In addition, feel free to listen to the Tuesdays at 2:00 call from this week for more ideas about how to teach our kids to give thanks to God at Thanksgiving.