Holiday Celebrations

Growing up, our family did holidays big. Birthdays, Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, Halloween ... we had fun. The relatives got together and we would giggle with our cousins till the dreaded "Kids it's time to go," would be shouted by the parents. The memories I have of those celebrations are wonderful. Birthday cakes decorated by my mother. Bountiful feasts for the holidays. Decorations everywhere. They were happy times. When I met Brad, his family celebrated holidays a little differently. Since his immediate family lived away from grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, the celebrations weren't nearly as big, unless they made the trip to Wisconsin to be with them.

Consequently when Brad and I married, we were joining two very different ways of celebrating together. Like Brad's family, we lived far from our extended families, so unless we traveled to Iowa or Pennsylvania (or they traveled here), our holidays became personal affairs, oftentimes including church families in celebrations. We celebrated many Thanksgivings and Easters at parties described as "for families without families." Our Christmas Caroling Campfire has included anyone and everyone (neighbors, church friends, co-workers, co-volunteers) who wanted to celebrate the newborn Christ. We never took our costumed kids to trick-or-treat at their grandparents on Halloween because they didn't live near by. July 4th was always with friends usually swimming in someone's pool then off to the fireworks. Brad and I never forgot to celebrate our anniversary and Valentine's Day in a special and romantic way. And birthdays are a big deal ... all about the person celebrating. With our kids we had birthday parties every single year as they were growing up (lake parties, quinceanera, sweet sixteen, scavenger hunts, water slides, pinatas, princess parties, sports themes). I wanted our family celebrations to be as big and wonderful as I remembered mine as a child. And I think, with our church families and friends, we accomplished that.

I am a big proponent of making memories ... every day if possible (Brad says I need it on a T-shirt: "Make A Memory"). So getting together with family and friends to celebrate is a big part of that. Each holiday only comes around once each year, so I believe in really enjoying each one. Brad wasn't as crazy about big celebrations except on Thanksgiving (let's face it - feast and football, what's not to love?), but, bless him, he not only put up with my big shebangs, but even planned a few (15th Anniversary Surprise Wedding Vow Renewal, anyone? Or 49th birthday Beach Surprise with the kids?).

You couples are coming from different background and traditions with how you celebrate. You may have different foods you eat, ways you open gifts, ways of decorating, specific things you participate in, special days of doing things and meshing those together can sometimes be tricky. But they can be unique to you and so much fun. We encourage you to do two things:

1. Remember it is about you both and your family first. What works for you as a couple and for your future children is what you need to focus on.
2. Respect one another's memories. Find ways to combine things you both love about your family memories. For example, Daddy's family opened Christmas gifts on Christmas Eve. My family did Christmas morning. The compromise ... Christmas Eve our children opened one gift (typically Christmas jammies) and the rest on Christmas morn.

Have fun on the holidays you have ahead. Celebrate with joy. Truly understand the meaning behind the faith holidays in celebrating. You will have days ahead filled with jobs, challenges, responsibilities and the like, so making sure to find ways to observe yearly festivities will give you things to look forward to and memories to last your lifetime.

Discussion: Share how your family celebrated each holiday and birthdays? What are similar about your celebrations? What are different? What would you like to incorporate from each way of celebrating?

Prayer: Father, we thank You that we have so many opportunities to celebrate! And we're especially thankful for the holidays that celebrate You! Lord we pray we can create new ways of celebrating with one another while keeping many of our traditions from our individual families. In Jesus we pray, Amen.

God Gave Us Liberty

God bless America. Today we celebrate our nation's independence. It's our 239th birthday as a country. We celebrate in all the ways John Adam's predicted when he wrote his wife Abigail:

"...with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forever more."

Pretty good prediction on his part. It's a freedom fought and died for in this country under God. But there was one other thing, the first thing actually, that John Adams wrote that we should do to commemorate our "day of deliverance." He said with "solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty."

You know there probably won't be many worship services today with solemn acts of devotion in reverence and thanks to the God of providence who permitted the creation of this country. People may give thanks to God when saying grace before they devour their barbeque. And chills will run up their neck when they hear "God Bless The U.S.A." as sung by Lee Greenwood with bombs bursting in air. But the solemn acts of devotion will be sorely lacking. And in a country that desperately needs our Father at the helm, we can use all the devotion to God we can get.

My children, we are fiercely patriotic. We love this country. We love our flag. We are grateful to the men and women who gave so much for our freedoms. You know of the 56 brave men who signed our Declaration of Independence on Aug. 2, 1776 (the final wording the document was approved on July 4, 1776), nine died in the Revolutionary War or from injuries sustained in the war; five were captured and tortured by the British; twelve had their homes ransacked or burned and three died in poverty after losing all their possessions to the British. Signing that declaration, while an act of bravery, was an act of treason, and they all knew it. And many paid the price for it. And that doesn't count the thousands who died for our freedom in many wars. Or those persecuted for their efforts.

Never take that freedom for granted, and never forget where those freedoms originated. Not with our founding fathers, but rather our Almighty Father. To quote the author of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson, who died on July 4, 1826 (the same day as John Adams, interestingly):

"God who gave us life, gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God?"

Make an effort to spend some time today in solemn devotion to our God. For it is He who holds us in His hands. Praising God He is sovereign. Praising God for our freedom. And praying He continues to bless the U.S.A.

Discussion: What does your patriotism mean to you? Have you made an effort to thank God today for our country? Where do you see God at work in America?

Prayer: Our Lord God, our nation was founded on You. We thank you for this country and the good it does throughout the world. We thank You for our freedom. Father, please, as You fold the future of our nation in your hands, please guide and protect us. Bless us, Lord. And I pray we always remember where our liberty comes from. In Jesus, Amen.