Our family does not "do" Santa Claus. It's cool for other families, but my wife and I don't feel like it is "for us". It's not an attempt to be more hipster than we already are. We are constantly trying to war with consumerism and self in our lives and we find that the idea of Santa Claus, the search-for-more-stuff which the modern American Christmas has become, and being good to get gifts at Christmas are all antithetical to the Gospel and, personally, feed the self of consumerism that lingers in our souls. Please don't read this as me "judging" others for "doing" Santa Clause, though.
That being said, there are things we do miss about not having Santa in our lives: holiday cartoons...holiday movies...eating milk and cookies on Christmas Eve...Elf on the Shelf. We DO like the fun aspect of the "Elf on the Shelf" idea/tradition - albeit it's crazy creepy in some regards as well. Since we don't do Santa, though, it's out for us - or is it?
It was until I saw this blog post on Kindness Elves. Essentially, you have some elf dolls (or really, any kind of doll) who you move around the house during the season of Advent. Parents write out "action items of kindness" to hide with the dolls. The kids seek them out and read the note they have with them. They are fantastic suggestions of kindness such as making a holiday meal for someone, visiting shut-ins from the church, write a kind letter to a loved one, etc. Not only do you have the fun aspect of "Elf on the Shelf" but you have a positive message to help shape the character of your children. It takes the focus off of "me" for them and puts it on others - which, you know, totally echoes the teachings of Jesus.
I could also see this working with family advent devotions as well. The elves have the book of devotions or a page with that day's devotion. The kids seek and find (that sounds vaguely familiar...) the elves, the family reads the devotional, and they use the kindness suggestion as an action item to put what they read into practice.
We WILL doing this, although not this year. While we believe Lily the Red, our twenty-month-old girl, to be a genius, she won't quite "get it" this year. That does give us plenty of time to think of action items, pick out the perfect dolls, etc.
The biggest problem for us will be explaining the elves since we don't do Santa. Maybe they were sent as messengers from Lothlórien...
You can find more information on the Kindness Elves including kindness suggestions on this Facebook page.
"The vision of the new Jerusalem with which Revelation concludes is a vision of the future God intends for us all. It is an urban vision of a city filled with the glory of God in which all have access to the good gifts of creation - the river of life, and the tree of life, with twelve fruits and leaves for the healing of the nations. It s the direction in which we are moving, and the basis for any and all initiatives we may claim as we are moving, and the basis for any and all initiatives we may claim as our calling in this time and place - initiatives based on a hopeful vision of the day wen there will be no more tears, no more death, and no more pain."
- Theology from the Trenches, Roger J. Gench (Westminster John Knox Press)
"Though there are times when God's commandments seem mysterious to us, God is not an arbitrary tyrant who makes capricious demands to test our devotion. God does not set up meaningless hoops for us to jump through. God has loving created and fashioned us in God's own image, and the reason God provides us guidance in the form of commandments and divine wisdom is because God loves us deeply and wants our lives to flourish. God gives us the commandments for our good."
- The Bible's Yes to Same-Sex Marriage, Mark Achtemeier (Westminster John Knox Press)
"It's tempting to think the self is powerful enough to reconceive the world every day, redesign God and religion. The Self talks a good game, but does it really know what it wants? it Keeps changing its mind. So do the signs of the times. The moment is fluid, impermanent. The dynamo of change surges impulsively on.
"Religious tradition meanwhile carries on despite all the sociological predictions of its demise. It's here to keep supplying the self with arguments to chew on, reasons to slow down the self's racing brain and to enlarge the menu of ideas."
- Undistorted God, Ray Waddle (Abingdon Press)
"Sheltering God,
I hide myself in You.
Head swathed and bowed,
I listen for the still, small voice...
"Your song is in the sighing of trees.
Your light is in flicker and spark,
knowing and unknowning.
Your power is in the greening,
and in its passing...
"Illumine our being,
that our doing
might manifest You."
- Psalms Redux, Carla A. Grosch-Miller (Canterbury Press)
“The essence of sabbath is rest and renewal for the soul. In good Jewish fashion, this naturally includes our bodies and minds. Yet if rest does not reach the depth of soul it is merely vacation, not sabbath. We need time out with God, not just time off from work. In our ‘24/7 world’ we have become electronically wired for unremitting availability to one another via cell phones, email, texting, and social media. Amid this glut of technological connectivity, we would do well to recall that Jesus was not always available to people when he walked this earth. Much to the consternation of family, disciples, crowds, and religious leaders, he simply disappeared at regular intervals to be sustained and renewed in his relationship with the One whose life he so intimately shared and from whom his power for ministry came. Jesus practiced the spiritual imperative of sabbath. He honored the beauty of the borders. He knew the sacred art of ceasing from active labor.” – Soul Feast, Marjorie J. Thompson (Westminster John Knox Press)
"We will not find all the answers. We will not forever satisfy the hunger. But if we are to discover what life can be like without limping along with the crutches of pride to prop us up, we have to cast them off in faith, believing Jesus' claim which he made over and over, that it is faith - not perfection - that makes us well.
- Post Christian, Christian Piatt (Jericho Press)
