Happy Birthday Jesus

The first Christmas after we became Christians, we
replaced Santa with Jesus.  Why ??
One of our children had put Santa Claus, Easter Bunny,
Tooth Fairy and God all in the same category.
They were all invisible people.  Well knowing that one
day he would find out that some of these were
fictitious characters, I was afraid that he would
consider God the same way and outgrow his belief in
Him.
I explained to my children that these imaginary people
were fun to pretend with but that God was definitely
real.
Instead of confusing the issue, I went straight to the
simple truth.  Christmas is when we celebrate Jesus'
birthday.  So from then on Christmas became a Birthday
Party.  I would bake and decorate a birthday cake, and
before opening any presents, we would read the
Christmas story from Luke, talk about what we could
give Jesus for His birthday and sing Happy Birthday to
Jesus.  The youngest one would get to blow out the
candle. 
We give gifts to each other because of the love that
God has put in our hearts. 
Emphasizing that "every good and perfect gift comes
from above..."(James 1:17)  The presents under the
tree are from Jesus.  He is our source and supplier
all that we have comes from Him.
When my daughter was 3 yrs old, I went into the bank
one day and a friendly teller asked her,"What is Santa
going to bring you?".  My daughter replied,"Nothing".
The teller said,"Oh, for a sweet little girl like you
I'm sure Santa will bring you lots of toys".  My
daughter just shook her head.  I said,"Honey, tell the
lady who brings you your Christmas presents". With a
big smile she exclaimed, " Jesus does"!
Even a 3 yr. old can understand the truth.
Have a Joyful Christmas and a New Year full of
blessings.
Jesus loves you and I do, too.
Nana

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