St. Nick

 This is a typical sight in our home, Pete reading to our boys -- Boys In Bible. This evening we read a few Christmas books too with our advent candles glowing.

One night I found Aidon in this position, with God's Word opened up to  Psalms.  The next day, I leaerned that Aidon  got up to get his Bible and fell asleep reading it.  I was so blessed to see that God is his strength.

 On December 6th, we remember a man named Nicholas and how he loved Jesus. He loved in word and action, and was later named a saint, Saint Nicholas. St. Nick also secretly gave gold coins as dowry for three women of a poor family, so they could be provided for through marriage. God's word tells us in Matthew 6: 1 "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it....but when you give...do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret."

 I had forgotten about this annual tradition, truth be told, when we were planning our December calendar as a family. Josh asked, "When do we fill the stockings?" and Aidon recalled aloud, "St. Nicholas!"

 They each pulled out their stash of spending money and we went as a family to buy stocking stuffers for each other. This takes coordination! We each go to pay individually, so the parents keep trading off kids and cashier lines.

 This month, we have spent our mealtimes talking about what we'd like to give to someone, what we're thankful for, or something one would wish for (any time of the year). Through this, I learned what they  might think of a "something" as a gift for someone else. Since I am sometimes not confident with choosing gifts, I've enjoyed learning about them.

I enjoy watching the kids' joy in giving and also when what we've picked for them brought them a sense that they're loved, thought of, and cared about.