Teaching kids value of giving

Q.What are some ways to teach pre-teens the value of giving versus getting during the holiday season?

For the last few years, I have composed a series for Advent that I have entitled: 25: A Christmas Advent-ure.  This year, I want to focus on the importance of allowing the component of worship to enhance your celebration of Christmas.  I have listed 25 different Scripture verses in four overall categories: Prophecy, Personality, Promises, and Performance.

“Our mission is big and important and the work that is done dramatically impacts the communities we serve.”

Years ago, a construction foreman lost his job because he would not substitute cheaper materials for the ones called for in the blueprint. The project manager was cutting corners to pad the owner’s pocket. The foreman did not challenge the company in court. He lost his income, but gained a reputation for being honest. He forgave the one who persecuted him.

We keep one of our family treasures in a white cardboard box, tucked in a corner of our attic - until each December. That’s when it’s carried down the stairs into our den.  After carefully removing the yellowed newspaper protecting the handmade figures, one by one the pieces are revealed: a shepherd, a wiseman, a donkey, an angel, a cow, Mary, Joseph, and of course…baby Jesus. It’s tradition.

Years ago I went to a local mall on an errand, when a beautiful, rich, pink, name-brand dress captured my attention. I immediately could see one of my daughters in it. She will really look so gorgeous in this I thought! Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough money on me. I returned weeks later to purchase the dress, only to find it was sold out. I had to special order it and by the time I got the outfit, I had not only paid for the exorbitant cost of the name-brand dress, but also the cost of shipping. Yet, when I anticipated her joy as I gave it to her at Christmas, the cost seemed worth it.

RRJ:  You grew up knowing who Jesus was, but as a teen you say you saw Him in a different light.  What would you say brought you to this awareness?

Dr. Trumbull:  Although I knew about Jesus, I didn’t know him personally.  In high school, I attended a summer camp with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and heard the late Dallas Cowboys Football Coach Tom Landry speak about his relationship with Christ.  It was then that I realized my sinful nature and my need for a Savior. 

Sipping Saltwater

by Steve Hoppe

Is there any sin we commit more but admit less than the sin of idolatry? As people who have knowingly and willingly deserted the one true God, we turn our hearts this way and that to find the satisfaction we are meant to find in him alone. We try first one thing and then the other yet never find our thirst assuaged. It is not until we rest in Him that we find true rest. It is not until we are satisfied in him that we find true satisfaction. Idolatry is the curse of all mankind.

Of all the music heard on the radio around Christmas, I have always thought John Lennon’s “So This is Christmas” to be one of the more unusual songs of the season.  Written as a protest song to the Vietnam War, Lennon sought to elaborate upon the themes of social unity and peaceful change enacted through personal accountability and empowerment, trying to convey optimism while avoiding the sentimentality that he felt often characterized music of the holiday season.