I Am the Problem

Let me go on record as saying that I believe Advent Conspiracy is a great idea, a noble and worthy effort, and something our family is going to take part in this year. As we are discussing the specifics of how our family can Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More and Love All, I have gotten some resistance to the process. The resistance does not come from our kids or other family members, it comes from my own heart. There are probably many ways to describe what I mean, but the easiest way to describe it is to say: I want stuff.

I want new clothes. I want a new home computer. I want a welder. I want to go out to eat more. I want a Blu-Ray player. I want a new camera.

I want and want and want some more. And this whole “Advent Conspiracy” idea is going to limit me getting what I want. Now the truth is that I wouldn’t get many of those things for Christmas anyway, except for the clothes (my mom can always be counted on to buy me a nice sweater). But does anyone else see the problem here? While none of the things I want are wrong or theologically incorrect, they pale in comparison to the larger good. When I hold up the idea of a family getting fresh water to my Blu-Ray player, I am willing to watch movies in the regular format. I can borrow a friend’s welder for a long time before I buy one if it means that the poor and hurting get something extra this year. The fact that I even view the giving up of these things as “sacrifice” is indicative of how far my heart can stray from one of generosity and compassion.

With kids especially, it’s tough to know how to take part in this in a meaningful way that builds value and doesn’t steal joy. It will be easy to give lip service to the ideas behind the Advent Conspiracy, while still spending as much as we always do, giving the same as we always give and getting lost in the commercial aspects of Christmas more than the true meaning. And it will be easy because that is what everyone is expecting us to do, wanting us to do and what the Christmas season in the western hemisphere is designed to do. But what if, just for this one year, we decided that the problem wasn’t how the kids will respond, or what mom will say, or what our sibling will think about getting a homemade gift? What if we admitted that we have a picture of what we want Christmas to look like and we are unwilling to relinquish that vision? Maybe, like me, you will find the enemy of doing good this year very close to home. I am the problem, but I don’t want to be. How about you?

Written by Steve Musto

Ready For Christmas

Have you ever been asked, “Are you ready for Christmas?”  I sure have – quite a bit as a matter of fact – and my answer has changed over the years.  It used to be, “Well, not quite. I still have to get one more thing for …” and this was usually just a couple of days before Christmas. Now I answer with a confident, “Yes, I am.  Can I share with you how I managed it all and kept it under $200?” This answer has led to many discussions where I am usually able to share how I felt convicted of the way I used to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior. And I trust God that He has used my conversations and my example to others as they ponder what the meaning of Christmas is to them.

I’d love to share some of my simple yet very practical ways that I celebrate. First, I completely changed my style of decorating. I love the recent video posted titled, “What is the Meaning of This?” because I could never figure out what the Christmas tree had to do with Christ’s birth. I haven’t had a Christmas tree in my home for about 15 years now. I do, however, decorate with candle lights in each window of my house. I call them my “prayer lights” or my “Jesus shines lights” because every night I go around and turn them on one at a time while I pray for someone at each one, and I pray again when I turn them each off. And because these are pretty all winter long, I have them up from November until February. With candle lights in 14 windows, up for over 100 days, I get to pray for a lot of people! If I decorate a table, I tend to stick with royal colors to acknowledge Christ’s kingship. I love nativity scenes and even have a wooden block set, so that when children are visiting, they can freely play with the figures.

My gift-buying has turned into time-giving. With my girlfriends, I’ve asked them to come over for some tea and an in-depth conversation about anything. In some cases, I knew what they needed to talk about; in other relationships, I just relied on God to lead the conversation. And with still others, I knew they just needed some time to prepare for the holiday themselves, so I offered to watch their children, or help them wrap gifts, or bake cookies. 

I have also learned to handwrite Christmas cards only to those friends and relatives I do not see regularly.   My hope is to start writing early enough so that I can write one or two letters a night instead of rushing to write to everyone the last week in December. I imagine spending more time on each card would be much more enjoyable and I would be more passionate about sharing all that God has done in my life over the year.  I am still working on this one and would love to hear of anyone else’s experiences here.  Please share!

And lastly, I have worked very hard at changing the way I approach others around Christmas. Instead of the usual questions like, “How was your holiday?” or “What did you get for Christmas?” I started asking questions that related the season to what God was doing in their lives. I ask my friends, “How was Christ more real to you this year compared to last year?” and “Are you closer to Christ after the celebration, or are you frantically looking for time with Him?” I ask my family questions like, “How did we reflect Christlikeness in a certain situation?” and “Where or when did you see or witness Christlikeness being shown?” These questions have really moved the focus off of self on to what God is doing during the Christmas celebration.

I admit that some family and friends have not grasped the same vision that my husband I have. I take the approach of just doing it and letting people around me observe. I don’t ask others to change their traditions, and tend to only share when asked. I have gotten much more positive reactions this way. Others like what they see, and wish they could have the same. 

I am so thrilled to be part of a church that shares this same vision.  I am looking forward to learning from everyone at Blackhawk – yes, let’s enter the true meaning of Christmas… together.

I can’t help but end this note by connecting it to the October 19th message. A lot of my past traditional ways of celebrating Christmas had to do with coveting. As I look back, I can see where I coveted my neighbors’ decorations, even thought about how much others gave and received for Christmas, and realized that my giving habits may have even contributed to feeding someone else’s coveting challenges. Convicting enough for me.

Written by Stacey Gluck