Today's post is a practical, encouraging post by David Schrock at the Gospel Coalition. We hope it revitalizes you as much as it did for us!

For many, the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas leave us grateful but gassed. In the name of holiday festivities, December means attending multiple Christmas parties, traveling to see family and friends, and standing in line to get the ever-elusive "perfect gift."

As much joy as Christmas brings, if we aren't careful, holiday cheer can sap our energy and steal our joy. It is a great irony that the season of light often feels heavy. What can we do to find rest in this annual merry-thon?

Unlikely Christmas Verse

Though we don't think of Matthew 11:28 as a Christmas verse, it is. "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" tells us why Jesus came. Although earthly labor is a good thing, in a fallen world our best works leave us tired and increase our unrighteousness before a holy God (Isa. 64:6) Therefore, like drinking water from the Dead Sea, our greatest efforts to find rest leave us thirsty.
To this universal problem, Jesus offers a solution. He invites us to come, that in service to him we may work under his easy and light yoke. Such a promise of rest is at the core of his gospel and fundamental to his incarnation.


Significantly, Jesus' invitation follows the announcement of his arrival. Earlier in Matthew 11, a weary sinner sends a message to Jesus asking about his identity. The inquirer is John the Baptist, and his good works have successfully landed him in Herod's jail. Of course, John isn't perceived to be a "sinner" like the woman in Luke 7. He is a faithful prophet of God who suffered much for the sake of righteousness. In Jesus' own estimation John is the cream of the old covenant crop (Matt. 11:11). Nevertheless, as a fallen son of Adam, he is weary and heavy laden.


So John sends his disciples to ask, "Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect another?" Jesus replies with a Christmas catena—not cantata (those come later)—of Old Testament verses. Citing Isaiah's "gospel," he declares: "The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them" (Matt. 11:5; cf. Isa. 26:18-19; 29:18-19; 35:5-6; 53:4; 61:1).

To read the rest of this uplifting post, visit the Gospel Coalition here: Finding Rest in the Merry-Thon

The Christmas season is upon us!  Walking Worthy is bringing you posts full of Christmas traditions from our very own Southeastern family.  This week, Tara Dew shares some of the Christmas books that her family reads each year.  Enjoy!

I have been a lover of Children's books for as long as I can remember. Growing up, my Mom would take us to the bookstore on special occasions and I vividly recall buying a chapter book (like Ramona & Beezus, Socks, Charlotte's Web, etc.) and reading it until the cover would fall off.  As I grew older and my desire to become a teacher grew stronger, my quest for children's books only heightened. I would scour used book sales, yard sales, and the Scholastic News book flyers were my favorite, especially with Teacher discounts!  

Well, some things never change! I still love books and I love sharing the joy of reading with my children. There is nothing better than getting all 4 of mine on the couch on a rainy afternoon and reading a good book! During this Christmas season, our Christmas books line our tree skirt so that they are easily accessible for eager readers.  At times, I'll come into the living room to find some (or all) sitting there "reading" one of our Christmas books! Makes my heart so happy :)

So, I thought it'd be fun to share some of our Christmas favorites, and then hear from you about yours :) I'm always on the look-out for a good book!!!

Without further ado, here are some of my current Christmas favorites:

• The First Christmas by Carol Heyer
• The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado
• The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski
• Christmas in the Barn by Margaret Wise Brown
• You are My Christmas Miracle by MaryAnn Love
• Santa, are You for Real? by Harold Myra
• The Stable Where Jesus was Born by Rhonda Growler Greene 

And some of my other favorites, which are not pictured include:

• The Legend of St. Nicholas by Dandi Mackall
• The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Walburg
• The Legend of the Christmas Stocking by Rick Osborne
• The Christmas Tapestry by Patricia Polacco
• The Tale of Three Trees by Angela Hunt

Okay, so now its your turn! Please share your favorite kids Christmas books...

Ready, set, comment!Smiles,

The Christmas season is upon us!  For the next few weeks, Walking Worthy will bring you posts full of Christmas traditions from our very own Southeastern family.  This week, Amy Whitfield shares a tradition that has been her family's favorite for 9 years.  Enjoy!

In the fall of 2003, Crossway Books published Treasuring God in Our Traditions by Noel Piper.  It was a straightforward work that laid out the beauty of telling our family the story of redemption through the traditions we set up and the memories we make.  At any time in my life, I would have enjoyed this book, but that particular season was perfect for me.  We were anxiously awaiting the arrival of our first child, Mary, who would come to us four months later.  I devoured everything that was described in that book.

Some practices she laid out found a place in our family experience, while others were replaced by similar traditions, but with their own “Whitfield flair.”  One very specific tradition rose to the top.  It was a simple Advent exercise, complete with props, that she had appropriately named “The Noel Calendar.” J

I loved this idea so much that I was thrilled to learn the exact calendar she had designed was available for purchase, and I promptly ordered my own to begin using in December of 2004.*  Since Mary was born in January, her first Christmas was a wonderful experience.  She was eleven months old and very aware of her surroundings.  She moved around, laughed, and enjoyed the lights.  

{My son had a very different experience for his first Christmas—at not quite four months, Drew was forced to pose for endless pictures by the tree when all he wanted was to eat!}  

For Mary, the traditions we started were something that we could watch her experience.  We knew she might be too young to remember her first experience with them down the road, but she wasn’t too young to experience delight on that day.

When we pulled out the Noel calendar the first year, the simplicity was the most striking feature.  We hung up a large piece of burlap with a pattern of numbered Velcro patches and prepared the 25 figures of wood and plastic that would eventually compose a full 3-D picture of the Nativity.  The figures were big enough that Mary could see them and touch them and stick them on the cloth in their places with our help each night.

More important than the activity, we were building a story.  The companion booklet called for us to retell the story every night, just adding a bit more every time.  By Christmas Day, we tell the entire story of Jesus’ birth.  Every night would get a little longer, and we would always begin with these words:

“Jesus is the greatest Treasure of all.  This is the story of how he came to us!”

That first Christmas was so exciting.  We held her at the calendar every night and recited the story, even as we knew she didn’t understand it all.  But we repeated it just the same.  As wonderful as that “first Christmas” memory is for Keith and for me, things are even more meaningful nine years later.  Because now, when I begin the story, Mary and Drew are reciting it right along with me.  Even though it has been a year since we last did this, when I start reading each night and pause at key words, they jump right in.  They get excited when it is their turn to put a figure on the calendar.  They talk about how our Mary has the same name as the mother of Jesus, and they are happy that there are two angels so they both get to have a turn placing them in the scene.  But most of all, they know the story.

Our Noel calendar isn’t fancy.  It isn’t elaborate and it wasn’t expensive.  But it’s our favorite Nativity scene in the house.  And on Christmas morning, before we even go near the tree to exchange any gifts, Mary and Drew come to our room.  We get the calendar down, and we read the story.  And at the end Keith lays the figure that represents Jesus as a baby in the manger, and we all read,

“When Jesus grew up, he died and rose from the dead to save us from our sins.  He is our greatest Treasure!”

Yes, we have what seems like a million favorite things to do at this time of year.  We love to look at lights, to play music, to eat special foods, and to watch fun movies.  But our favorite tradition comes on a piece of burlap.  Amidst all the hectic moments of the season, it does what we need so desperately—it keeps the true story of Christmas in view.

*The Noel Calendar is no longer available for purchase.  However, this post from Noel Piper’s blog shares the story as she wrote it and is a great help for anyone who would like to make their own version.

The Christmas season is upon us!  For the next few weeks, Walking Worthy will bring you posts full of Christmas traditions from our very own Southeastern family.  This week, Page Mathias tells us all about celebrating St. Nicholas Day.  Enjoy!

{It was December 6, 1984}—the day before my 13^th birthday.  I was living in the Tyrol region of Austria with my family for the year and enjoying life on a dairy farm.  My engineer father was helping build a plant in the area.  The family who owned our little house had jokingly threatened that if I wasn’t good, St. Nicholas would bring me switches and a bag of coal instead of gifts on his saint day, December 6.  On the morning of the sixth, I woke up to find a special gift at my front door.  Just as they said, there was a giant bundle of apple branches tied up with a bow and a small sack of coal powder.  This was my initiation into celebrating St. Nicholas Day in Austria.

Our neighbors in the little village of Kundl had all kinds of special customs surrounding St. Nicholas Day, including giving small gifts to the kids, a parade, and house-to-house visiting.  It seemed to me that celebrating Nicholas’s saint day let us focus on gift-giving early in the Advent season so that Christmas Day could be all about honoring the Christ Child.  I mentally filed all this away in my middle school brain thinking that maybe one day I would celebrate these traditions with my own family.

{Fast-forward 20 years}—I was married to Greg with a 2 year old daughter living in the Middle East, right in the center of a desert, trying to build relationships with Muslim neighbors and relate our faith to them in a way they would understand.  We realized early on that our friends loved celebrations and were curious about how we celebrated our American holidays.  The ladies I befriended didn’t often show much interest in talking about faith issues, so I was always praying and asking the Holy Spirit to show me ways I could talk about my faith in a natural way.  When Greg and I put these two things together, we found that being really vocal and excited about our Christian celebrations gave us great opportunities to talk about our faith.  We started with having an Advent/Christmas party for all the neighbor ladies and kids.  I was able to use the Advent wreath and the meaning of each candle to tell the story of the need for a Messiah.  The party was a success. 

From then on, we looked for every opportunity to include our friends in our celebrations—Advent, St. Nicholas Day, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and Pentecost.  Every celebration always involved taking lots of food to our neighbors’ houses.  We added tons of new traditions to our family celebrations, which helped us think about the life of Jesus and the Gospel story in a really meaningful way.  I remember specifically doing some acts of service with our family on St. Nicholas Day while living in the Middle East.  This served as a witness to our neighbors as we explained why we were doing it.  The day was a teaching tool for us as we learned to serve and give like Jesus.

{I did a lot of reading about St. Nicholas during our time overseas.  A great resource is this website, which has anything you could possibly want to know about the life of Nicholas.  The website also includes crafts and recipes.}

Legends abound about the kind and generous bishop who lived in the 300s in Myra, which is present day Turkey.  Most of the legends are about him giving to the poor, the needy, and the suffering as an act of obedience to the Lord.  We love talking about his kind and merciful heart with our 4 girls.

As soon as Thanksgiving passes, our girls start talking about St. Nicholas Day.  They each leave a shoe out on the night of December 5^th, and when they wake up, they know they will find chocolate coins, St. Nicholas chocolates, and whatever else the Aldi candy aisle is offering that week.  We always have breakfast by candlelight and enjoy cinnamon rolls and bacon.  {Don’t worry; I do not make the cinnamon rolls from scratch. J}  

We always talk about how St. Nicholas was a real man who was a Christ-follower who dedicated his life to caring for those in need.  Some years {when I get things together} we do a secret act of service for someone in our neighborhood and encourage the girls to do something kind for one another.  

I find that simple things done consistently year after year can really make an impression on kids {and their parents}.  This year I read about the idea of encouraging your kids to clean out the toys they no longer play with and donating them along with a new toy or two to a family in need on December 6.

I encourage you to look into how you might incorporate St. Nicholas Day into your family’s Advent celebration.  You can even jump in a day or two late.  

Happy St. Nicholas Day!     

The Christmas season is upon us!  For the next few weeks, Walking Worthy will bring you posts full of Christmas traditions from our very own Southeastern family.  To kick off this series, Leah Finn will share one of her family’s traditions: Jesse Tree ornaments.  Read on, dear sisters!

Christmas is a special time of celebrating the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and looking forward to his second coming.  One of the ways my family is building anticipation for Christmas and Christ’s eventual return is through the use of Jesse Tree ornaments.  

The name and basis for the Jesse Tree is found in Isaiah 11:1-3:

“There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.  And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.  And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.  He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear.”

The Jesse Tree tells the story of redemption and God’s plan to redeem the world from the very beginning of time.  This plan is traced through key figures in Jesus’ “family tree” and other stories.  It is portrayed in basic symbols/ornaments that remind you of the story. On each day leading up to December 25, a new ornament is put out, and a scripture passage is read to explain the story.

The visual symbols along with repeated telling of the grand narrative of Scripture help to focus our hearts on Christ during the Christmas season.  Children especially resonate with basic, colorful ornaments that symbolize different parts of the greatest story of all time—i.e., a whale for Jonah, a crown for King David, or three gifts for the wise men.

This year, I participated in a Jesse Tree Ornament Swap with several other ladies in the Wake Forest area.  We followed the storyline explained at this site.  

{If you have a chance to peruse this site, it contains many helpful suggestions for incorporating your Jesse Tree into your daily rhythm, as well as an e-book with a devotional guide for each day of the Jesse Tree.  You can also find a devotional guide and printable ornaments to follow the devotional guide.

In addition, the Jesus Storybook Bible has a schedule of reading that is very similar to the Jesse Tree.  I would encourage you to find something that works for your family!  (There are many Jesse Tree or Advent readings that you can follow.  For the most part they are the same, but there might be differences in order or in what stories are included.)}  

Each person participating in the Wake Forest Jesse Tree Ornament Swap picked a story/symbol and then made 26 copies of the same ornament.  Shortly before Thanksgiving, all of the ornaments were ‘swapped,’ and each participant now has a full set of Jesse Tree ornaments without having to make all of them!

The ornament my family and I made represents Queen Esther.  My older children helped me to paint the ornament bases (simple wooden circles that we purchased in bulk), I stenciled on the crown and the scepter, and my kids “bejeweled” them.  It was a fun craft project, and they feel a sense of ownership of the ornaments.  

It was such a treat to receive the complete set, and to see how everyone interpreted their chosen symbol.  The different types of materials used and the variations between beautifully simple and elaborately detailed make this quite a colorful collection.  We will not be setting up a real tree for the ornaments, though that is an option.  We will be hanging our ornaments from cord strung across our fireplace—a place of prominence, easily viewed and therefore easily remembered.

You may feel like it is too late to begin a Jesse Tree now, but it is easy to catch up on the readings by doubling up for a few days (we will be doing that ourselves, as December caught us off guard).  You do not have to make ornaments if that is not your inclination, but you may find it to be a fun family activity. Take a few minutes to search for “Printable Jesse Tree ornaments” and you will find many sets that you can print and have your kids color.  What a fun way to get the kids involved in telling the story! If you are new to the Jesse Tree tradition and would like a jump-start, you can even purchase ornaments here. 

I hope that this Advent season will be one of great anticipation, of celebrating the birth of our Savior, of looking forward to his return, and of teaching our children the greatest story ever told.

On November 16, hundreds of Southeastern students gathered at Bay Leaf Baptist Church to do some early Christmas shopping.  Each year, Bay Leaf hosts an event called the Toy Chest that blesses SEBTS families by allowing parents to shop for VERY low cost gifts for their children. Some students arrived as early as midnight or 2 am to participate in this incredible event!  

This year, the church raised $39,162 to purchase gifts that were made available to students for a fraction of the actual cost.  There were so many toys!  Parents could purchase bicycles for $10, enter raffles, enjoy snacks, and browse the hundreds of toys available for about 10% their original cost.  Any money raised at the Toy Chest is donated to the Lottie Moon Christmas offering, which in turn supports many SEBTS families who are now serving on the field.  Over 315 children from 131 families will receive gifts purchased at this year's Toy Chest.  
Check out the pictures below to see the excitement of the morning.

 

Thank you, Bay Leaf, for supporting our students! Your gifts have truly blessed us!

It's the most wonderful time of the year! We have released the applications for the Craft and Bake sale (and I can hear many of you rejoicing and exclaiming, "Finally!!") Here is a testimony from one of last year's vendors, Jared Ownby:

The SEBTS Craft & Bake Sale was a great time for me to promote, sell, and meet lots of people. I roast, package, and sell coffee as a hobby business, but that day I sold pour-over coffee by the cup as well. 

If I still lived in the SEBTS area I would definitely participate again. I wish I had that kind of opportunity here in Tennessee before Christmas!

Do you make or bake something people might want to buy? Sign up and participate! You can download an application here.

Did you participate last year? Comment below and let us know what you sold! If you came by to shop, comment with what your favorite purchase was!

Christmas has passed and we are all gearing up to make resolutions for the new year, but beneath all of the crumpled wrapping paper and wrinkled stockings lurks the one thing that no one made it through Christmas without...  

THE WORST CHRISTMAS PRESENT EVER!

 

Source: Uploaded by user via Megan on Pinterest

Perhaps you opened a box expecting jewelry only to find:

 

Source: perpetualkid.com via Megan on Pinterest

Bacon candy? Really?

Or perhaps that nice pine-scented candle that you were hoping for turned into this:

 

Source: thinkgeek.com via Megan on Pinterest

I hope it doesn't smell like formaldehyde...

I remember the year I received  

THE WORST CHRISTMAS PRESENT EVER 

like it was yesterday. 

My grandparents had sent me a big 'ol box, so you know I was excited to open it.  Yet as I tore off the wrapping paper and opened the box, you will never believe what greeted my eager eyes.  On the very top of the box was a magazine article about menopause.  I'm pretty sure I was 16 or 17 years old at the time, so I assumed that they had just used the article for packing purposes and passed it over to my mom.  Directly under the article, however, I discovered a pair of my dad's underwear that he had left behind on our last visit to the grandparents' house.  At this point, I'm not even sure that I am opening a gift that was meant for me. But after double-checking the tag, I kept digging.  After all of the trauma that I had endured getting to the bottom of this box, I was sure that the gift would be amazing!  My teenage mind was hoping for all kinds of things: cool geodes from Colorado (where they live), DVDs and books that I would truly enjoy, jewelry, a new attachment for the mixer they had given me for my birthday...  And yet when I got the the bottom of the box, I found two place-mats.  Not four, so that I could set a matched table.  Nothing electronic or shiny.  Two place-mats, each quilted by my grandma with care with my name stitched in the back, so that I could be sure this box really was meant for me.

Now don't get me wrong, I love my grandmother's quilting, but these particular place-mats came after an article about menopause and a pair of my dad's underwear.  I remembered to write a "Thank You" note that year, and I will never forget the laughter that we all got out of that box.

So how about you?  What is the worst gift you have ever received?

 At least you will always know it was better than

Source: furby.com via Megan on Pinterest

We all thought they were cute once, but after 2 days, you'll never let it out of the closet again!


Belated Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, y'all!

Photo card courtesy of pingg.com

In less than a week, we'll be celebrating our Savior's birth! 
We love this time of year!!

As you're making your last minute preparations and plans, we thought we'd share some fun web finds that might make your celebrations and festivities a tad bit brighter.  Hope you enjoy!

 
To keep your heart centered on Christ:

Daily Readings for Advent
-by John Piper

Five Habits for Holiday Happiness - from Girl Talk

For Family Gatherings - from Gospel Coalition

Scripture Filled Desktop Calendar

New Christmas Tunes


 



Things to do with your family:

Incorporating the story of Jesus everyday with your kids.

Going to the movies? How about The Hobbit?

Making a tree that everyone can decorate,

Free Printable Nativity sets!







 

Last minute gift ideas:

Great Homemade Gift Ideas!

CJ Mahney's Christmas Book Wish List - from Girl Talk

Ideas for your hubby's stocking.

Neighbor Gifts!

 

For the creative spirit in you:

Free Christmas Printables

Fun Christmas Tree Card

More Free Printables on this blog!!

Favorite Christmas Fonts

Pretty & Simple Christmas Garland!

 
 

Need a new recipe?

Gingerbread Brownies...yum!

Peppermint Bark Brownies, even better!

Peppermint Sugar Cookies...delicious!