Happy December! Last week Gregg taught the lesson for our family night. He showed us this video. I loved it and wanted to pass it on to you. Gregg and I are really trying to help our kids focus on Christ and serving others. It's so hard to compete with facebook, xbox, and their cell phones. But, we are going to be persistent and I enjoy a challenge. We started our Christmas jar today.
I also dug out our "service box" last night. This is nothing more than a shoe box covered in wrapping paper. Sadie made it during a church youth activity many years ago. Basically, we take the whole month of December to try and do "secret" acts of service for our family and others. When someone performs some act of kindness, they write it down (not necessarily when they do it, so they don't get caught), put the sheet of paper in the box, and ring the bell. On Christmas eve we always open the box and Gregg reads all the papers. One year, when Sierra was four, she put eighteen sheets of paper in the box that all read, "I played with baby G!" It's also become tradition, through the years, that when someone rings the bell, everyone else in the house yells, "Service!" which makes us all laugh.
I love traditions. They have helped strengthen and unify our family. I love that each family can have traditions that are unique just to their family. It's my greatest hope, that when my children form their own families someday, they will carry on our traditions, and more importantly, start their own. Remember, if you haven't had a chance to start a special tradition in your family, it's never to late! Just round up your crew and have a family meeting. It was Sadie that started our "Christmas Jar" tradition just a few years ago.