Turning Over A New Wreath 
Copyright 2007 Heaven Ministries ~ Marriage Healing Ministry

Halloween and Thanksgiving have barely passed by and little Annie is pestering you about her Christmas presents. How can we not spoil our children this Christmas? Turn over a new wreath. What is the most precious gift you have ever received? Give that gift back to your children. 

Let them know how they can receive this gift by allowing Jesus into their hearts and into their minds. Why spend days and days Christmas shopping until you drop, and getting all stressed out in the process? That does not sound like fun to me. We can leave out all the materialistic mumbo jumbo this holiday season and truly celebrate what this holiday is truly about. 

I do know one thing for sure, if our children become insatiable and want more and more stuff every time Christmas rolls around it is because of something we as parents have done in the past to transmit the wrong messages about what Christmas is all about. We can break this precedent and start all over anew, bringing out the joys and thankfulness of the holidays. 

There are 365 days in the year and we pick two days out of the whole year to give gifts - birthdays and Christmas. Why wait for December 25th to give gifts? Jesus certainly does not want us to spoil our children on Christmas, He only wants us to remember Him and be thankful for all that we have been blessed with. If you are ready to turn over a new wreath this Christmas than here is an idea. 

Last week on the Ezra conference call, Theresa brought up a great idea about gift giving. There is a way to give and receive gifts this Christmas without spoiling the children, and without it breaking the pocket book. Here's how it works. Your child would receive two presents, three at the most. You, the parent would buy one gift that you know they want, and another gift you know they need. If you really feel the need to give three gifts, then you could do it through a family exchange where everyone picks a name out of a hat. And it's that simple. 

Gift giving in this way becomes a no hassle, no fuss way to give presents. Parents already have so much to do when it comes to the holidays that gift giving in this way should be a welcome relief. It will teach your children moderation and self-control rather than expecting a boat load of presents under the Christmas tree. It doesn't matter how rich someone is, what matters is what kind of message we are teaching our children? 

What does Christmas mean to you? Share that meaning with your children and they will learn to be happy with the gifts they receive. Turning over a new wreath can turn out to be the greatest thing you ever did for your family, for the true gifts, those that give life, are not found under the Christmas tree but rather in the Kingdom of Heaven and that is where believers should be storing up their treasures. 

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal; For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Matthew 6:20, 21 KJV)