What Is It Really About? Part 2

***Farm Hunting Update - AcCOWntant has been making a lot of progress on getting our current home ready for renters!  He has been trying to do at least one thing on it each evening and I can definitely see progress. 

 

Also, DD's #3 and #4 decided that they want to decorate their new room in horses, so I will keep you updated as we work toward designing and implementing their dream horse room!!***

What Is It Really About?  Part 2

If you read the previous post, you know that this is part 2 in the series "What Is It Really About?"  If you did not read the previous post, then, this is part 2 in the series "What Is It Really About?"!!  (I am pretty funny early in the morning!  And it is REALLY early in the morning!!)  You can read the first part here:  Part 1

Yesterday we talked a bit about evaluating your holiday season and making sure you knew the purpose for your family.  Every family will most likely have a different purpose, even if they have the same basic beliefs.

Christmas 2009

I do want to clarify one thing.  Gifts are not bad.  Buying presents on Black Friday and diving into the stores to locate that one perfect item is not wrong.  It just does not line up with our family's purpose, and we don't particularly enjoy it!!  As a family, we have chosen to travel a lot during the year and on Christmas day instead of gifts and that works best for us.  But, just because it is not what we want, does not make it wrong or bad!!

Okay, now back on topic!!  Yesterday I left off where AcCOWntant Willie and I were working on nailing down our purpose and looking to see if our actions supported that purpose.  We talked about celebrating the birth of Jesus and what that really means to us and this is what we came up with and the way we work it...

The Christmas season for us begins on Thanksgiving day and it is a season of thanksgiving and sharing.  We want to spend time focusing on what we are thankful for, and foremost on that list is the gift of eternal life.  In addition to focusing on thanksgiving, we want to share that gift of eternal life and the gifts of love, joy and peace with those around us. 

We also want to focus on family.  We are given the unique opportunity during this time of year to spend more time and do more things as a family.  There are extra days off of work and school, holiday parties, lots of free concerts and plays, fun activities offered by cities and organizations, and nights to spend in front of a fire sipping hot chocolate and working on puzzles!!

This all culminates on New Years' Day!  On this day we are given the gift of a new year and a new opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus.

So this being our purpose, we decided that there was a need to look at everything we chose to invest in and make sure it was a wise investment toward pursuing our purpose. 

Now, some will argue that we should do these things all year long, and to that I offer no resistance.  We should do these things all year!  We look at this time as a kind of renewal and refocusing though.  Given the opportunities that our society gives us during this time of year, why not take advantage of them??!!



Free festival put on by a city close by!

I want to share, over the next few days, a few things that we do.  Some, you may find interesting and pull a few ideas from and others you might think we are off our rockers and totally disregard!!

Let's break each day down into a different category:
Monday - Around the Home
Tuesday- In the Community
Wednesday - In the Community part 2
Thursday - In the Family

So pick and choose, but hopefully you will find at least a few things that help spark some ideas for your own family!  And we are always looking for new ideas, so feel free to leave a comment and share what you do!!