Sunday, December 23, 2007
Donald Miller: Story
I'm listening to a Donald Miller sermon from Mars Hill back in November. It's pretty darn good. I'd recommend it. Go to http://www.marshill.org/teaching/index.php and click on November 11 to download the MP3 for free.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Beautiful Contentment
Sara's been pestering me to blog for months now, and I have something I finally feel like writing about. So, merry Christmas, Sar.
One of the things I like most about Christmas is the whole present thing, the giving and the getting.
And I'm realizing that when you focus on one of the two (giving/getting) the other becomes unimportant. With all the new crap that's out, in all honesty, my attention is frequently drawn to the "getting." While visions of Wii's jump through my head.
With Gabe almost 3 this year, I really thought that this would be the first year when he'd learn what Christmas is all about: See a toy, want a toy, ask for it for Christmas, and then obsess over it until you finally open it on Christmas morning. Frankly, I've been really excited to hear what he wants and to go out and buy it for him.
Today I asked him what he wants for Christmas, and his answer has really challenged me to get my perspective re-aligned. I asked him what toys he might want to get for Christmas, and he said he already had toys, that he didn't need any new ones. He wasn't being defiant, just matter-of-fact. One of the presents I already bought for him was a big ramp for his cars. I asked him if he'd like to have a new ramp for his cars, and he said. "No, I already have this little one" (a 5 inch ramp that send hot wheels into a little cup). And he was fine with that.
At first, I was sort of disappointed that he wasn't playing along. I was ready to really spoil him this Christmas. And then I realized that this stage of his life is filled with beautiful contentment, that he doesn't spend his days fantasizing about what it would be like to have the next best thing. And I don't want to ruin that. I don't want to teach him that Christmas is the time to be greedy for presents. I don't want to teach him to always want something else or that he is entitled to get whatever he wants in life. I want this beautiful contentment to last.
So, we already got him a couple smaller things; we'll probably get a couple more. But we're not going to over do it. And I hope I'll be able to walk through this season with a spirit of gratitude and contentment, inspired by my little boy.
One of the things I like most about Christmas is the whole present thing, the giving and the getting.
And I'm realizing that when you focus on one of the two (giving/getting) the other becomes unimportant. With all the new crap that's out, in all honesty, my attention is frequently drawn to the "getting." While visions of Wii's jump through my head.
With Gabe almost 3 this year, I really thought that this would be the first year when he'd learn what Christmas is all about: See a toy, want a toy, ask for it for Christmas, and then obsess over it until you finally open it on Christmas morning. Frankly, I've been really excited to hear what he wants and to go out and buy it for him.
Today I asked him what he wants for Christmas, and his answer has really challenged me to get my perspective re-aligned. I asked him what toys he might want to get for Christmas, and he said he already had toys, that he didn't need any new ones. He wasn't being defiant, just matter-of-fact. One of the presents I already bought for him was a big ramp for his cars. I asked him if he'd like to have a new ramp for his cars, and he said. "No, I already have this little one" (a 5 inch ramp that send hot wheels into a little cup). And he was fine with that.
At first, I was sort of disappointed that he wasn't playing along. I was ready to really spoil him this Christmas. And then I realized that this stage of his life is filled with beautiful contentment, that he doesn't spend his days fantasizing about what it would be like to have the next best thing. And I don't want to ruin that. I don't want to teach him that Christmas is the time to be greedy for presents. I don't want to teach him to always want something else or that he is entitled to get whatever he wants in life. I want this beautiful contentment to last.
So, we already got him a couple smaller things; we'll probably get a couple more. But we're not going to over do it. And I hope I'll be able to walk through this season with a spirit of gratitude and contentment, inspired by my little boy.
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