Bird Christmas Gift Tradition

A friend has asked me to blog about my family's gift tradition. I once shared it with him and his wife, and as they have recently entered parenthood , he's asked if I would not only share it with him again, but with everyone through my blog.

Up front, I have to admit that this tradition is not original with me or my wife. A different friend sent me an email article years ago that talked about this gift tradition, and my wife and I liked it so much we have adopted it for our kids.

The tradition is based upon the 3 gifts the wisemen gave to the Christ child in Matthew chapter 2. This helps guide our decision making into what we give our kids, and it keeps us from getting caught up in the consumerism of the culture. It also helps teach out kids contentment and being thankful for the gifts they do receive, even though it is only 3 gifts for each of them (which means twelve presents this year- maybe we should stop having kids or change our tradition! :o)

The first gift mentioned in the Scriptures was gold. When we think of gold, we think of something precious or expensive. So our kids' "gold" gift is usually something very special, something we wouldn't normally give them everyday, but is something that will be precious to them. We often wrap this gift in gold wrapping paper.

The next gift mentioned is frankincense (or incense, depending upon which translation you consult). Incense is known for its aroma, something that smells sweet to the nose. The Scriptures tells us that our prayers are like incense to God. And so LeAnn and I use the "frankincense" gift to be something that will help our children grow spiritually, so their lives are a sweet aroma to God. Last year we gave the girls devotional books. This year we already have Salem's incense gift when we saw a sale a couple months ago at the local Christian bookstore. We've also given CDs with worship music, and even Bibles to the kids when they reach reading age.

The last gift is myrrh. Myrrh is used for embalming. This was a very practical gift since Christ would one day die on the cross for the forgiveness of sin and would have his body prepared for burial (because they didn't know he was going to resurrect!). So LeAnn and I make the "myrrh" gift a very practical gift for the kids. Often this gift has been clothes the kids have needed, or something else that would be useful for them.

LeAnn and I enjoy the creativity this tradition brings to our Christmas celebration, and it forces us to be very intentional in what we buy for which child. Each kid is honored individually, and yet they are equal with the rest of their siblings. And the best part is that our kids enjoy the tradition and they are very curious each year as to what their 3 gifts will be. This has been a wonderful tradition for our family, and if this helps some others out there with their own Christmas gift purchasing - great!

1 Post FOUR 2 Thoughts

I'm sitting at the Burger King in Ludington, MI, which amazingly has free Wi-Fi, enjoying a wonderful vacation.  My best friend Leo is sitting across the booth from me listening to my copy of Robbie Seay Band's awesome new album, Give Yourself Away.  The kids are enjoying the Playland.  And I'm posting a quick blog post with this rare opportunity at Internet.  And since I have just a short time to blog, I'm going to use this one blog to post a couple of different thoughts.

S Turns Four

I was rudely awakened yesterday when LeAnn shook me in bed saying "Erin, I need your help.  S wet his bed."  So I went into the bathroom to help with my son.  As he stood there on the bathroom rug while we waited for LeAnn to come with a wash cloth for cleaning him up, Sstarts to giggle.  And giggle.  And giggle.  I try to keep him quiet since the rest of the house is still asleep, but he just can't stop himself.  He's got goosebumps from being cold, he's waiting for dry underwear and pants, and yet he can't keep from giggling.  And that's when it hits me - he knew what day it was.

Yesterday we had the wonderful chance to celebrate S's fourth birthday.  He had been counting down for the whole month of November, and thankfully the day met all of his expectations (well, except for the way he woke up with a wet sleeping bag!).

As her present to her little brother, K planned a wonderful party with games, prizes, and cake.  The theme was "trains", so we played "The conductor says..." (instead of "Simon Says"), pin the steam stack on the train (instead of "Pin the Tail on the Donkey"), and ate a cake decorated by LeAnn with a train (and sprinkles for smoke - this picture was taken just after the candle as the cake is being cut).  The Bird and Anderson kids had a blast, and S giggled all day.

I am so thankful FOUR the years God has given us with S, and I pray he gives us many more together.  Although he is a four-year-old boy full of energy and lacking focus at times :o), he is a wonderful little boy who is very bright and loves to bring laughter to our household.  Happy B-day, S!

Thankful FOUR much...

With tomorrow being thanksgiving, there is much I could say about all the things I am thankful for.  My family.  My friends, the Andersons.  This vacation.  Overall, I'm thankful just to be alive and on this vacation with my family.  A little incident on our trip here snapped everything back into focus.  So here's the story...

Before we left last Saturday, I did my routine check of the van's oil, fluid levels, etc.  In that routine, I check the air pressure in the tire.  Each tire was a touch low, and knowing we were traveling in cool weather with a big load, I wanted to take the tires to the max pressure level.  So on our way out of town, I stopped at the local Casey's Handimart to use the air pump.  But something was wrong with the pump - I could only get each tire up to 32 lbs., not the 35 I wanted.  I spent 20 minutes trying to get the tires higher, but it just wouldn't pump anymore.  I finally gave up because we were already 30 minutes late getting out of town, and now we are even later.

So at a bathroom stop in Atkinson, IL, I found an air pump on the back side of the building.  I saw this as God's provision, so I pulled up the van while the rest of the family was finishing up inside.  While the pump in Cedar Rapids couldn't pump past 32, this pump could pump to 320 in less than a minute.  It was fast!

My now-four-year-old was "helping" me, take the valve stem covers off and holding the tire gauge for me while I placed the air hose on the stem.  The first tire I counted to 10, and ended up having to deflate 10 lbs out of the tire.  And as I pulled the hose off the stem, I noticed it "stick" a little bit.  Second tire, same story.  I did even less time on tire three and thought I had figured this thing out.  At that moment LeAnn walked out and I announced I just had one more tire to go and it would only take a couple of seconds.

My son, S, removed the valve cover for me, and I placed the hose on.  I counted to 2 and pulled the hose off.  Or at least that's what I wanted.  But the hose "stuck" again.  So I pulled more.  And more.  The hose was still pumping in the air, and I started getting really concerned.  I started fearing the tire was going to blow and I've heard horror stories of injury and even death from blown tires.  I start pulling frantically and repeatedly yelling "No!".  This scared S, who ran away screaming and crying.  I kept pulling and pulling thinking that at any moment this thing is going to blow and I'm going to be seriously hurt.

Suddenly it gave!  I found myself on my rump holding the hose - with the valve stem still stuck in the hose end!  I had pulled the entire stem valve out!  All the air I had just pumped in escaped out the whole vacated by the stem, and I screamed "No!" one more time, this time out of frustration and not fear.

So an hour later we were back on the road with a spare tire, and I reflected on everything that took place.  I realized that rather than being frustrated that the valve came completely out, I should be thankful because it probably spared my life and any injury to my family.  While we lost a lot of time and didn't arrive at our destination until 3 hours later than planned, we made it alive and didn't have to have our friends visiting us in a hospital.

So on Day FOUR of our vacation, I find myself thankful for many things, but the first to mind is just the opportunity to enjoy being with my family and friends on this earth for a while longer.  May you find much to be thankful for, even in the midst of the inconveniences of life.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Murphy's Law of Vacations

So for the first time in my life, I am taking two weeks off from work.  Week #1 is for catching up on house projects.  Week #2 is for relaxation in Michigan with our good friends Leo and Michele.

But of course, as Week #1 is underway, I'm sick.  Sore throat.  Sore voice.  Aching back.  Aching muscles.  Bad cough.  Headache.  Yuck.  And so I have accomplished basically nothing yet.  I did mow the lawn yesterday, but my back and muscles were quite mad at me last night.  So the thought of climbing on the roof to hang Christmas lights or hovering over a sink to repair leaky faucets is not very appealing.

On the bright side - at least I'm not puking!

iPhone Surprise

[sarcasm] Gasp!  I'm SOOOOOO surprised by this article from Time about the Invention of the Year!!! [/sarcasm]

OSome

Has it really been a month since I've blogged?  I knew it had been a while, but not THAT long...

I'm here at East Iowa Bible Camp for the New Covenant Pastor/Deacon/Elder retreat.  I love being with these guys (and gals - we love you Colette and St. Pat Rieck!).  It is so inspiring to be with such servant leaders.

But while some of the presentations were going on tonight, I decided to let my computer do some work while I listened.  Yes, Mac OS X 10.5 (aka Leopard) arrived in the mail today.  The upgrade went absolutely flawless (under 50 minutes), and my initial "poking around" (after the presentations!) has left me with a very favorable impression.  It doesn't feel all that much different than Tiger, but that is totally fine with me since I absolutely love Tiger.  Tiger was the best and most mature OS I've ever worked with, and Leopard so far appears to take it to the next level.  It's "OSome" (that's my weak attempt at merging "OS" and "awesome" in case you hadn't figured it out...)!

Great job, Apple!  Once again, I'm a happy customer.

My boring blog

Finally I know why my blog is so boring.  I don't post frequently enough.  I don't post about enough current topics.  I seem to be more of a drive-by blogger.

But I'm content with that.  I blog for myself and any young adults (or perhaps their parents) that might actually be interested in reading one of my thoughts.  I know my blog doesn't contribute very much to the grand scheme of life and God's Kingdom, but sometimes it is the perfect format for me to just share my thoughts.  And (based on the very nice person who just stuck their head in my office moments ago (unbeknownst to what I was typing here) and said how much she enjoys my blog) it occasionally blesses others too.

So I think I'll just stick to the way I've been doing things.  Even if it is boring.

Misperceptions of Father

This afternoon while getting my kids a snack, my 3 and a half year old, S (pictured) said "Daddy, you are really big! You must be a hundred!" Now, you have to keep in mind that S's favorite number right now is the century mark. To him it represents a lot - the most he can possibly conceive. He often will say "Daddy, I love you 100!" So he was actually trying to complement me, not insult me. But my 5' 8" frame couldn't help but gently shake as I laughed at the misperceptions of my son.

As I laughed at S's misunderstanding of age and size, the thought hit me that I probably do the same thing to God. I underestimate His size. I miscalculate his wisdom. I misinterpret His ways.

I just hope that God can still smile and laugh at me because He can even see in my childishness that I still hope to grow up to be like Him. Even if S thinks I have to be 100 before that happens!

Razooing Blood:Water Mission

I got an email asking me to join Blood:Water Mission's group on a new action-oriented social networking site called Razoo. If Blood:Water Mission gets enough members, they could be selected as winner of the Change Your World Contest, which would award them $10,000.

Blood:Water Mission is doing great things helping Africans get clean fresh drinking water from wells right beneath their feet. I'd encourage you to join Razoo as well, and after you confirm your email address, click on http://beta.razoo.com/groups/bloodwatermission to join the group and help them out.

Waiting for Marriage

USA Today published an article about young adults and their "wait" for marriage.  I knew the average age of first time marriages was increasing, but this gives further evidence to this fact.

According to the article, "[t]he trend toward delaying marriage has emerged over several decades as economic and social forces have made it more difficult for those in their 20s to reach independence. Sociologists and demographers say other factors are also at work, including increasing numbers of cohabiting couples, more highly educated women who have fewer highly educated men of comparable age to partner with, and more choices open to women than in decades past."

I would personally add to this list:

• Looser Sexual Norms:   Each generation tends to move further and further away from the expected sexual norms of their parents' generation.  Media (both professional (TV and cinema) and self-published (such as YouTube)) seem to reflect this.  Why wait for marriage for sex when you are encouraged to enjoy it outside of a long-term marriage commitment?
  
• Pain of Divorce:  The children of the divorces of the 80s are now adults and have no desire to experience the pain they watched their parents go through (and that they themselves experienced).  So why rush into marriage when it appears it will only bring arguing, separation, and pain?
• Extended Adolescence:  Sociologists have been extending the age of adolescence to 26, and in some cases I've read, age 30.  We seem to be maturing slower, whether because of our upbringing, parental examples, education, or past experiences, and so we simply aren't ready for the responsibility of marriage.

Those were the first things to pop into my mind, and I'm not surprised one bit by the USA Today article.  And I don't necessarily see this as a bad thing - I would rather have people wait until they truly are ready for marriage than jump in to soon and wreak havoc upon a relationship through their selfishness and immaturity.

Thanks to Church Relevance for the link.

Losing Hymns for Him?

I may get in trouble for this post, but I've wanted to blog my thoughts on this subject for several weeks now and am finally carving out a bit of time to do so.

A while back I read a note in which the author, sharing his or her opinion about hymns, said that he or she was "afraid we are raising a generation of young people who will never be ministered to by these godly hymns."

First off, I want to say that I love the hymns.  But it isn't because I grew up with them.  I was raised in a church that reacted to the dead faith of the churches in our area by singing contemporary songs in our church service.  The adults in my church family had experienced life in Christ, and they didn't want to sing the same hymns the "dead" churches were monotonously droning out each Sunday.  Simple Scripture choruses were all I knew growing up.  In fact, as a kid I thought Keith Green had written "Holy, Holy, Holy" for his Songs for the Shepherd album.  So when I transferred my sophomore year of college to John Brown, I learned about all these great hymns I had never heard before.  And I still love to sing them today.

But with that said, I believe there is nothing "godly" about the hymns.  They are simply songs (tools) designed to help us in our worship of God.  They are not equivalent to Scripture.  They are not inerrant.  They are not God-breathed, designed to last forever.

If hymns were designed to be passed from generation to generation, then I would like for someone to teach us some of the hymns Jesus and his disciples sang.  If ever there was a godly hymn, it would have been the one Jesus sang with his disciples after the Last Supper before they headed out. (see Matthew 26).  I'd also like to learn some of the hymns Paul knew.  He mentions hymns a few times in Scripture (see especially Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16), and I think he even records the lyrics to some hymns in Scripture (as some say about Ephesians 5:14).  But where are the melodies to these hymns?  Where are the lyrics to the hymns Paul didn't quote?  Where are these hymns today?

I think the answer is obvious.  God uses the music of the time and culture to create and craft songs through his worshippers to exalt Him.  It isn't a tragedy to God to have these hymns "lost", because He is not tied to cultural forms of music.  The tragedy is when people hold the hymns (or any song or form of worship for that matter) higher than the things that truly last.

Now, if a hymn can take the heart and mind of a worshipper to the heavens and to the foot of God's throne - wonderful!  That is what it was designed to do.  But if other songs are doing the same thing and the hymn is lost, I believe God is just as glorified and the worshippers have lost nothing.  God wants our hearts, not our hymns.  Worship is about the One on the throne who died for us, not about the one in the pew longing for their own personal forms and traditions.