Christmas Roundup

Here are a few links to some of the Christmas things we've blogged about over the last couple of years.

• 10 Questions to ask at Christmas
• 20 Questions to ask at New Year
• When there's Crisis at Christmas
• Down with Santa Claus!
• Tablet
• Mulled Apple Juice
  
• Alternative Giving
• Christmas Gift Ideas
  
• Christmas Gift Ideas for Kids
• Christmas Gift Ideas for Her
• Frugal Christmas Gift Ideas
• The Gift of Gifts
• What Do You Tell Your Kids About Santa Part 1
• What Do You Tell Your Kids About Santa Part 2
  
• Jesse Tree
• Christmas Traditions

Great gift idea for Christmas

Yes, I know it's only the beginning of November, but once the evenings start getting dark I can't help but get excited about Christmas! And I've recently discovered some great books for children which have been released this year by Christian Focus. They are part of a series of short Christian biographies written in a style that is accessible to children.

We bought the book about Helen Roseveare for our oldest daughter (age 4) and she loves it. It retells an incident from Helen Roseveare's time as a missionary when she was looking after a very sick baby. It is easy for a child to understand and gives a great insight into the power of prayer. There are currently six books available in the series including George Muller, Corrie Ten Boom and Hudson Taylor. The Christian Focus website has them in the 8-12 category, but I think they are probably best for a bit younger than that. Check them out here and start your Christmas shopping early!

Happy Christmas!

I think this will be the last post (from me anyway) before Christmas, so I pray you all will have a very happy Christmas celebrating the birth of the Saviour. Here are a couple of things you might want to check out before you go....If I spot any worthwhile reads over the Christmas period I'll update our womanhood watch, so be sure to check back from time to time.

• There are a couple of new Christmassy articles over at Boundless this month.
• Nicole at 168 hours shares a few good Christmas reads for kids.
• If your not sure what to get your pastor for Christmas, Desiring God suggest this.
• If you are in Chicago next October this looks like something worth going to.
• Janelle at Girltalk wishes her husband a Merry Christmas!

And here are a couple of re-links from last year..

• If you want to know what Jesus wants for Christmas, John Piper fills you in.
• Will this Christmas be hard for you? Read Noel Piper's thoughtful encouragment.
• Ten Questions to ask at Christmas.
  
• Twenty Questions to ask round the table at New Year.
  
• Finally, since Christmas is a time for family and friends, let me link you to this excellent post over at Blue Fish on the theme of friendship. The author reminds us: "What I need is the cross and friends who love the cross."

Down With Santa Claus!

I don't want to be banging on about this subject except to mention a couple of things. Firstly, our poll last week stated that 80% of our readers don't 'do' santa. Secondly, over at Pure Church there is a convincing and worthwhile read on the topic. You can read 'Down with Santa Claus' here.

Recipe Round Up

At Rebecca Writes this week there is a Recipe Round Up where there'll be a collection of recipes for cookies, cakes, sweets etc. I thought I'd throw in our tuppence worth and re-post Catriona's Mum's recipe for an authentic Scottish treat - tablet.

Tablet is fudge which has been beaten to give it a crumbly, melt-in-the-mouth consistency (and to give you a sore arm - but it's worth the effort!).

Ingredients:
2 lbs sugar
1 tbsp golden syrup
1 tbsp butter
2 teacups (about 375ml) fresh milk

Put all the ingredients into a large pan, stir and put on a low heat. Leave until it comes to the boil then simmer gently for 20 minutes (set a timer). After this time add a few drops of vanilla essence. Remove from the heat and beat with a wooden spoon for 5 minutes. Pour into a square or rectangular container (about 8" diameter) and chill to set. When set, cut into small (1") squares.

Alternative Christmas Gifts

I'd like to suggest another great idea for a Christmas gift. A few years ago I received the gift of a goat! Through World Vision's Alternative Gifts catalogue, a friend had purchased the gift of a goat, for a family living in Africa, instead of buying me a personal gift. Since then, on a number of occasions, I've received cards explaining the various gifts that have helped to meet the needs of others. These gifts range from a water tap for a community in Ethiopia to a meal for 70 children in Cambodia. They can be purchased easily over the Internet and are sent out within a few days. You can even choose the photograph for the front of your card. These gifts really are life-changing!

Do You Do Santa?

Until now, we've not really had to go down the whole discussion route on Santa Claus in our house. In fact, we're avoiding it for as long as we can. Unfortuantely, our oldest who's 4 arrived back from nursery yesterday with a mixed bag of fun things to tell us about Christmas.

It all started well when he said that he was going to be the inkeeper in the nursery nativity play. Then he started to sing 'Away in a manger', followed by 'Little Donkey'. Unfortuantely it was all downhill from there: he started belting out an unfamiliar tune which was accompanied by lyrics that included the words "santa", "chimney", "stuck", and "what bad luck!" Eh? He then informed us that he "hated santa" only 15 minuted later to say that he "loved him"and that he was coming at Christmas.

And so today I've decided to ask what your convictions are about santa? (Hence the poll to the right). I'd also value your thoughts on how you navigate your kids through Christmas, particularly in relation to what you tell them about santa and the practical outworkings of this when it comes to family and friends who 'do santa.' To get you thinking you can read Catriona's fab 2 part article on this from last year, here and here.

Christmas Gift Ideas - Books for Kids

Just a couple of suggestions for kid's Christian books this Christmas.













After reading some good reviews on the Jesus Storybook Bible and The Big Picture Story Bible, we have bought them for our kids this year.

There's a good series by Derek Prime called "Sarah & Paul" for kids aged 4-7. Although they're engaging fictional stories, each book focuses on a biblical theme: for example, what does it mean to be a Christian, the 10 Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, what is God like? and baptism. Glen received these last Christmas and is beginning to enjoy them already (he turned 4 in August).


I'd also recommend Sinclair Ferguson's Big Book of Questions & Answers. We are looking forward to using this with Glen this coming year. As you know, kids are FULL of questions and this family guide to the Christian Faith contains a wealth of activities, prayers, and Bible references.

Christmas Funnies

I was sent these funnies by a member of the family and decided to see how we'd fare here at our blog. Click on this link to see us titus2talkers as you've never seen us before! Click here for some not so biblical manhood and womanhood!

Christmas Gift Ideas - Books for Her

Here are a few books that I've read this last year (or revisited from the previous year) and would recommend for any mum, sister, daughter aunt or friend this Christmas.

Biblical Womanhood




God's Design for Women by Sharon James












Twleve Extraordinary Women by John MacArthur











Biblical Womanhood in the Home by Nancy Leigh DeMoss











Disciplines of a Godly Woman by Barbara Hughes










Women's Ministry in the Local Church by Susan Hunt & Ligon Duncan







Christian Biography





Marriage to a Difficult Man: The Uncommon Union of Jonathan & Sarah Edwards by Elizabeth Dodds










Faithful Women & their Extraordinary God by Noel Piper









Contending for Our All by John Piper









Elizabeth Prentiss: More Love to Thee by Sharon James











End of the Spear by Steve Saint











In Trouble & In Joy: Four Women who Lived for God by Sharon James







Devotional





Gentle Rain on Tender Grass: Daily Readings from the Pentateuch by Sharon James










For the Love of God by DA Carson










Esther & Ruth: Reformed Expository Commentary by Iain Duguid










The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions










Life as a Vapor by John Piper







Christian Life





Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper











Living the Cross Centered Life by CJ Mahaney











The Gospel & Personal Evangelism by Mark Dever










Humility: True Greatness by CJ Mahaney





Marriage & Family






Feminine Appeal by Carolyn Mahaney











The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace










Love that Lasts: When Marriage Meets Grace by Gary & Betsy Ricucci









Disciplines of a Godly Family by Kent & Barbara Hughes










Family Driven Faith by Voddie Baucham Jr







Christian Fiction





And the Shofar Blew by Francine Rivers










Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers









A Voice in the Wind (Mark of the Lion 1) by Francine Rivers











Echo in the Darkness (Mark of the Lion 2) By Francine Rivers










Sure as the Dawn (Mark of the Lion 3) by Francine Rivers

Christmas Gift Ideas - Good Music

If you're in the hunt for some good Christian music this Christmas, look no further than my top 10 picks from this past year (in no particular order!). For a simple review on these click here.




See the Morning by Chris Tomlin








Christmas Offerings by Third Day








Treasure by Lou Fellingham









Valley of Vision by Sovereign Grace










Songs for the Cross Centered Life by Sovereign Grace










Between the Dreaming & the Coming True by Bebo Norman











Guaranteed by Phatfish











The Best of Stuart Townend Live











Savior by Sovereign Grace











Shadow of Your Wings by Fernando Ortega

Frugal Christmas Gift Ideas

OK, so we're at that time of the year when it's time to think about what to give those special folks in our lives for Christmas. Over the next few posts we'd like to suggest some good picks for pressies. As you would expect, most of our suggestions will be books, but we're going to try and rack our brains to come up with some other ideas!

So to to get you thinking I'm going to pass on a few frugal ideas for presents. So, if you're a bit short of cash, or would like to get a bit more personal and creative, why not try out some of these random ideas:

1. Give a handmade gift certificate, you can make the certificate for almost anything:

• 12 nights of babysitting throughout the year
• a 3, 4 or even 5 course meal at your house
• a car wash & valet
  

2. Bake some Christmas gifts - get out the ol' recipes for Christmas cookies and sweets and buy and fill a cookie or sweet tin.

3. Why not frame some of the children's artwork for the grandparents.

4. Take some favourite photos of your family and frame them for your relatives. Printing them in black and white and putting them in a black frame is particularly nice.

5. For that special someone - why not write a poem and frame it, reminding them of how much they mean to you.

6. For your kids - if you don't fancy filling your place with more plastic, why not make a kiddie cheque book of things they enjoy doing so they can cash them in during the year - a trip to the zoo, 5 trips to the softplay centre, lunch out at their favourite place, a couple of trips to the cinema, visit to the museum, trips to their favourite park, swimming....

7. A hubby cheque book - filling it with all the things you know he would enjoy.

8. A Wife cheque book (hint hint) - filling it with all the things you know she'd enjoy throughout the year - a haircut (& colour), a massage, a manicure/pedicure, a kid-free day of shopping, a day (OK, a morning) in Starbucks reading a good book, a Saturday morning lie in x12 (at least), an undisturbed hot bath x12 (at least) numerous nights off cooking, even more nights off bathing the kids....etc, etc

Do you have any more suggestions for frugal Christmas giving?

Christian Connections

This is our last post before Christmas. We plan to take a break and spend some much needed holiday time with family and friends, but we will be back early in the New Year.

But before we go, we'd like to connect you to a few things which you can ponder over the holidays.

• If you want to know what Jesus wants for Christmas, John Piper fills you in.
• Will this Christmas be hard for you? Read Noel Piper's thoughtful encouragment.
• A hilarious Friday funny over at Girl Talk.
  
• Twenty Questions to ask round the table at New Year.
• Before you go holiday-spending for Christian books take time to look at The Discerning Reader's new updates, or read Tim Challies book guide.
  
• For a preview of Amazing Grace: The Movie click here. (HT: Justin Taylor).
  
• John Piper's imaginative narrative poems return, this year focusing on Nebuchadnezzar.
• My husband has started a new blog for preachers: Unashamed Workman.
• Trying to get on top of your bible reading over Christmas? Over at Ligonier, watch RC Sproul's two part series on How to Study the Bible. Scroll down the links on the left.
• I just came across a new blog Will the Next Generation Know, which has some good archive material. More specifically, if your children are anything like Catriona's and mine, and love Veggie Tales, here's some thoughts on the subject.
• Finally, since Christmas is a time for family and friends, let me link you to this excellent post over at Blue Fish on the theme of friendship. The author reminds us: "What I need is the cross and friends who love the cross." Cat, thanks for being such a friend this past year :) (apologies for the cheese factor, but I'm allowed once a year!)

That leaves us to wish you all our readers a very merry Christmas and God's blessing for 2007.