Thursday, December 27, 2012

Raising Kids, Love and Santa Clause???

My kids know longer believe in Santa Clause.  Before I have people begin hating me because I don't encourage my youngest kids to believe in Santa, give me a minute!!! I know this is a hot topic for many people and this is not a blog on is it wrong to believe in Santa. It's a lesson on pride and judgement.  So, before someone judges me, give me some grace as I give you! 

We have our personal reasons why we stopped making Santa such a huge part of Christmas.  It's not wrong or right to either believe or not believe in jolly St. Nick!  It was extremely important for our kids to understand, know the reasons we were choosing to make new traditions and do things differently than many people we know.  To  focus on our family and what God has called us to do and live.  But, it's also so important for them to know and to accept and love other's for the choices, decisions, and traditions that  other families have.  For our kids not to judge other's and think we are better than anyone else.  When pride and judgement set in there will be a great fall.  Teaching our kids what that looks like and to live it as little people  will help prevent it from corrupting their heart,  and sabotaging the call on their lives as they grow into adults.

We can take a simple lesson our kids can relate to apply it to their life to teach them a huge life lesson that many adults still struggle with to this day.  We explained to our kids, know in your heart that we are doing is what God is calling us to do.  We do not need to prove ourselves right to others.This is prideful.  There was a time we made Santa a huge deal in our family.  It would of crushed us if someone would of wrecked it for our kids.  It was a big part of our Christmas celebration.    In time, their friends will find out the truth, until then meet your friends where they are   Knowing the truth in your heart. 

We as adults screw this thing called love, pride and judgement up all the time.  We wonder why we are not living fully in the presence of God or being able to go after the call on our lives.   Maybe because what God is requiring from us we are not willing to give him.  We need to give him first what he wants from us.  It's love the lord your God with all your heart, love your neighbor and not to judge others.  We can only judge ourselves.  We need to build relationships and bridges not walls. 

I know I've been so judgemental.  I had to repent and ask God for his forgiveness.  God has forgiven me, but I can't be upset when others judge me because of my own judgement. For every choice whether it is positive or negative there are consequences. ( I could write it all here but I'm saving it for the book I'm currently working on!)   We reap what we sew.  We can't stay in the past and need to  move forward.  We can say we are sorry to people we hurt, we can forgive, we can pray for those who hurt  us ( and should be doing this because it's what God commands us to do) but  this does not mean the relationships will be healed. It does not mean people will always love you back or even forgive you.  It's not our job to look at their life, try to figure it our or be depressed over it.  We need to love and trust our Lord.  There is nothing you can do only God can change someone's heart.  The one thing you can do is look at yourself with the help of God.  God is the only judge.  He is the only one who knows the entire picture not us.  We only know parts.  He came to take away all of our infirmities.  We need to surrender  EVERYTHING even our struggles over to him. Maybe this is why you may not have peace or joy in your life.  Maybe you are not experiencing all what God has placed in your heart.  Maybe it's because you surround yourself with people who tell you what you want to hear not what you need to hear.  Maybe you try to find anything you can to feed yourself reasons to be right or to stay mad?  It's it not healthy and it's not God.  If you feel like this, it could be because of pride and judgement.  It's so important that we see other's the way God  sees them. This goes for how we see and talk with our kids too.  Stop condemning, begin loving and build on the Word of God.

Judgement begins to sneak in my heart and when it does  God convicts me and I fall on my knees and repent.  I learn the lesson that God wants me to learn.  There are people in your life to teach you something about you.  If you are miserable or stuck in a rut it  has nothing to do with the people around you  but how you are responding.  There is nobody else we can blame but ourselves. 

You don't have to use Santa as a life lesson, but make sure you are teaching your kids lessons that will save them from making the many mistakes we have made.  However, make sure those lessons you are teaching just don't seem like fairy tales to your children.  Make sure they see you living out what you are teaching them or they will end up falling in the same pit repeating the same mistakes as you.  If  your kids are older and you feel you blew it, know there isn't anything impossible for God.  Ask for forgiveness, Seek him, knock and the door will be open to you as well.

A friend of ours was over last night.  The kids were asking her to come to church and she had reasons why she wasn't going.   My six year old looks at her and said, "we don't judge you."

Do not judge, so that you won't be judged.  For with the judgement you use, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.  Why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye but don't notice the log in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, let me take the speck out of your eye, and look there's a log in your eye?  Hyporcite!  First take the log out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.  Matthew 7:1-5

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