unraveled.

   I remember my first year as a Christian.  By virtue of surrendering myself to the Lordship of Christ I began to scrutinize all of my practices and my traditions.  

   I questioned everything.  I sought the Bible for answers.  I wanted to know what things were good in God's view and what things were lacking in value and worth.

   Much of my questioning was centered around my child.  What am I teaching her?  What things will she look back and remember?  Am I giving her a godly heritage?  Am I leading by example and showing her that it is more important to love God with all of one's heart and to obey him than it is to hold on to sentimental traditions?

   With that said, I think all parents should ask these questions.  The tough part is that different people come to different conclusions.  Sometimes we look around to others for answers and we hardly know what to conclude.

   In those early days of my Christian faith, I questioned things.  Many things.  My husband and I had to make some decisions about what we were going to teach our kids.  We were, in some ways, starting from scratch.  

   God has a lot to say about how we live our lives.  We wanted (and still want) every distracting "voice" to be silenced so that we could just hear God and live according to his word.

   Many changes were made all those years ago.  And yet, here I find myself in 2011 (almost 2012) still wanting change.  Still wanting more of Christ in my life.  Less and less of all the other things that vie for my attention and more and more of him.  

   In some ways, when it comes to family traditions, I feel like some of the scarves I made when I first began to crochet.  I thought I was making something good and I completed the project, but the more I study it the more I see it's flaws.  I have a choice to make.  Live with the flaws (though they bug me!) or unravel it completely and start over.  This time, doing it right and not missing a stitch.  His word sets the pattern.  It is a "lamp to our feet" so that we can find our way and have wisdom.

   People, even within Christianity, will have different opinions about things.  When it comes to Christmas for example.  I have things that I am convinced of and so do others.  We have a Christmas tree in our home, there are some who have chosen not to do this because of it's origins. 

    After my husband and I became Christians, we had so much to learn about Christ, that Santa Claus only seemed to be a distraction.  I still feel that way.  Part of me still kind of likes that old "Rudolph" movie with the puppet animation, but I decided I just don't want to bring that distraction into our home.  It's a choice we have made.  I'm not proud or thinking I'm more spiritual than you are if you watch that at Christmas.  I cannot make these decisions for your family, only for mine.  

   But I think one thing we are all trying achieve is "balance".  We don't want to lean too far one way or the other.  Or maybe we do and we call it "radical".  Should we just not give gifts at all, and only give to the poor?  Must the two be mutually exclusive?  Gift giving has been a subject for deep consideration.  As parents, we are very concerned that our children may grow up to be greedy, selfish and materialistic if we give them too much.  I admit, I have sometimes questioned if I should give gifts at all.  The more I think about it now, I am convinced that I don't give enough.  And I don't just mean to my kids, I mean to the people I love, friends and family.

   Gift giving is certainly and area where we should evaluate what we are doing.  Is it possible to overdo it, or to be too stingy?  We should exercise wisdom, we should teach our children how to receive gifts with gratitude and how to give selflessly.  As a mom, I have much to learn about this myself.  Sometimes parents and kids learn together, don't they?

   I do not profess to have all of the answers.  Nor do I think that my ways are superior to yours.  But I do think that we should seriously consider what we are doing year after year and how our choices influence not only our own families, but the families of those near and dear to us.  Let us not look down our noses at each other, but instead seek to know and understand, to help and to guide and to point others to Christ by making truth known and even sharing things we've learned along the way.  

   This Christmas, before we opened our gifts, my husband reminded us to think of God's extravagant gift to us, when he gave us His Son.  I thought, you know, he's right.  God is an awesome gift giver.  Are we not following his example when we give so freely?