Kyria

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Goof-Proof Christmas

I'm a big fan of Christmas. I love the smell of a fresh-cut pine tree and never worry about the needles in my carpet. I love knowing all the children will be home and enjoying their favorite foods. I love the songs, the foods, the shopping, the presents…I even like fruitcake. Granted, not every holiday season has turned out to be the Norman Rockwell painting that flashes through my brain. Like ...

Related Topics: Christmas, Holidays, Jesus, Birth of, stress

Jesus, Joy of the Highest Heaven

I have always loved to sing Christmas carols that tell of Christ's birth and Easter carols that tell of his death and resurrection. I have often thought of Jesus as a baby and then, though I had followed the biblical account showing him briefly as a young boy in the temple, I had quickly jumped to Jesus as a grown man, never giving much thought to imagining the journey from the manger to adulthood. ...

Related Topics: Babies, Christmas, Jesus, Birth of, Music

Easter Celebrations

From the joy of Palm Sunday, to the mystery of the Last Supper, to the darkness of the Crucifixion, and finally to the wonder of Easter morning, there are all kinds of opportunities to worship, contemplate, and celebrate during the Lenten and Easter seasons.

When we have felt the weight of gloom on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, we are more than ready to celebrate the greatest news the world has ever ...

Bye-Bye Bunny

"Why didn't Santa come to our house?" our 4-year-old son asked. "Was I bad or something?" An ominous silence filled our once joyful minivan as I looked helplessly at my wife. It was time for parenting trick Number 412. "Son, look! A bulldozer! Cool!"

We dodged that bullet, but we knew this was only the beginning.

Easter and Christmas—two holidays that have caused more controversy in Christian circles ...

Begging for Myrrh

If you're like most Christian parents, you enter the holiday season intent on focusing your family's celebrations on the "true meaning" of Christmas. We set up our nativity sets, bake birthday cakes for Jesus, and reenact the birth of the Savior so that our children aren't confused about what Christmas is about. Some of us even choose to keep Santa out of our holiday to prevent our children from losing ...

The Christmas Hunt

In our search for ways to celebrate a fun but materialism-free Christmas, we knew we had to get creative. So for more than 20 years, we have chosen to limit our kids' Christmas gifts to three—a book, a game, and a toy. Sprinkled in are also stocking stuffers, sibling gifts, and a small wacky joke gift from an "illustrious" personality (actually another family member signing a phony autograph). ...

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How My Son Saved Easter

It was with high hopes one Easter several years ago that I whipped together a batch of homemade salt dough, ready for the hours of fun family time with my children that would result. As I mixed, cooled, and kneaded, I imagined our cozy family of four all scooched up close around the round kitchen table (never mind that ours is rectangular), laughing together as we fashioned little clay shapes that ...

Related Topics: Easter

Christmas Creations

I can remember sitting in my Grandma's kitchen every Christmas, listening to holiday music and making a special keepsake that I still have today. I have carried on her traditions in my own family. Here are some easy Christmas treasures you can make with your children:

• Write Bible passages on the back of decorative gift tags, fasten each one to a plate of homemade cookies or candy, and give it to ...

Let's Talk Turkey

I'd stuffed many a turkey before I really understood Thanksgiving. Oh sure, I knew we were supposed to be thankful, and once I became a Christian I knew who we were thanking. But it wasn't until I homeschooled some of my children that I really discovered the whole story. Unfortunately, that story keeps getting harder to find.

For years, public schools have left God out of Thanksgiving, teaching instead ...

The Unwanted Gift

I slipped the bow from the package and started tearing at the paper. Obviously, the gift had been professionally wrapped at the store. The paper edges were neatly folded under, secured by an invisible layer of scotch tape.

As the red and green paper fell to the floor, I lifted the lid off the box and pulled away the tissue. My breath caught, my heart sank, my fingers froze (and I have to admit, my ...