MERRY CHRISTMAS: Jesus For Kids From 1 to 92 (And Beyond!)

Last night we had the honor of presenting the Christmas story to the kids of Calvary Fellowship.  It was a really fun time!  As we took the time to walk through the nativity story a few new things jumped out at us. Our daughter Reagan insisted that she must play the part of Elizabeth. Now, we weren't really going to get into the whole Mary visits Elizabeth portion of the story, but since Reagan insisted that she had perfected her impersonation of a pregnant elderly woman, we felt that we had to find some way to incorporate it into the lesson.

So we talked about John the Baptist leaping in his mother's womb when Mary and the unborn Christ came to visit.  We talked about how awesome that was because the unborn John is the youngest person featured in the Bible to recognize Christ as the Messiah worth leaping over.  It was a pretty cool presentation and Reagan giggled as the baby doll hidden under her coat jumped around.

As we continued the story of the nativity, we noticed that it is a study in contrasts meant to demonstrate God's love for all humanity.  The story of Christmas is that Jesus came to earth for all of us.  And so in the context of the story, you have the unborn John the Baptist leaping for joy at the arrival of  Messiah and then at the other end of the story you have the aged Anna the Prophetess and Simeon celebrating the arrival of Messiah at the temple.  Simeon famously had asked God not to let him die until he saw the arrival of Messiah.  Anna had been widowed early on and spent the bulk of her life single and devoted to teaching the Word of God as a prophetess.  In the words of the famous Christmas song, Jesus is demonstrating to us that He's truly come for kids from 1 to 92.  (Editor's note:  I need to extend that age because my grandmother is now 97 and I don't want her to feel left out!)

As we continued to present the story of the nativity we talked about the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Prince of Peace, Mighty God, Wonderful Counselor, Emmanuel (special thanks to Amy Grant for burning those titles in my mind in the 1980s with her Christmas classic!) who decided that even though He was the most important baby to ever be born on planet earth, He would be born in a stinky manger among animals in Bethlehem--the tiny little town known as the "house of bread."  

We talked about the shepherds (as played by Phineas and Ferb with a stuffed alligator & Perry the platypus as their sheep) and how in the eyes of the world, these guys weren't important.  They weren't super rich.  They weren't super powerful.  Most people wouldn't really think twice about these guys.  They probably smelled bad. (Ew, gross!)  They were better friends with the animals than they were with most of the people in their community.  And yet on that very first Christmas, God sent angels to invite them to herald the arrival of the Messiah in that stinky manger in Bethlehem.

Phineas and Ferb were very impressed indeed.

And yet in a study of contrasts this English teacher truly enjoys, we find another element at the manger with the entrance of the apparently super-wealthy wise men (sometimes referred to as kings) who give Jesus all sorts of fancy super expensive gifts. In our version the wise men were represented by Optimus Prime, Yoda and Mario (Luigi was not available as he was competing in a race on the Luigi circuit against Dry Bones and Koopa Troopa.)

 In the course of a few short verses God comes to earth to dwell among folks ranging from the unborn to the super elderly (which admittedly sounds like a new kind of super hero, but in this case just means really really old--even older than my elderly 35 years) and the poor insignificant social outcasts of the shepherds (not to impugn the reputation of Phineas and Ferb) to the super important and "lifestyles of the rich and famous" types the wise men represented.

This quiet little birth in the dirty barn full of animals represented such a paradigm shift in eternity that the entire world was rocked.  We sing of it being a "Silent Night" and in many ways it was, but this truly was the birth heard round the world.

As that young Mary gave birth to Jesus in the midst of animal filth, death's grip on humanity was shattered,  The angel-filled sky lit up as God came to dwell among man.  Eternity split open time itself and a Savior stepped in to contend for our very souls.  Life entered death and won.  Love entered into hatred and division and brought peace, joy and reconciliation.

Those shepherds witnessed the beginning of death's end, the beginning of Satan's demise.  The Bread of Life came to feed us.  The Good Shepherd came to tend His flock.  The Wise King of Kings came to dwell among the common folk to lead us to Him.

Everything about His birth testified to the awesome power and reality-changing truth represented in that moment. The Bread of Life was born into the town known as the "house of bread." The shepherds and visiting kings testified to His identity as the Good Shepherd and the King of Kings and source of all wisdom.  The humble circumstances of His birth testified to His servanthood.  The star testified to His deity.  The wide array of ages, social classes and financial means represented at his manger-side testified to the universal nature of His mission.  That not one should perish but that all should have eternal life--all who will, like the shepherds, drop everything to run to Jesus.  Those who will, like the wise men, no longer trust in their own wealth or achievements but seek Jesus for their identity.

And even though the hatred of Herod and power-hungry narcissism of Caesar Augustus testified to the haughtiness of man and worldly power, the glory of that Christmas night in the manger demonstrated that even the most powerful forces of the world could not stop Jesus from accomplishing His purposes and His Will.  A maniacal king couldn't stop a simple baby being born to two insignificant folks in a barn full of animals.

May we, like Phineas, Ferb, Perry, Optimus Prime, Yoda, and Mario find the powerful truth of our salvation, joy and hope in that eternity-changing, life-saving, paradigm-shifting collision of heaven and earth found in that little manger in Bethlehem.  May we find our salvation, hope and identity in Christ alone.  And may we never lose that sense of awestruck wonder that the lowly shepherds and the lofty wise men shared that first Christmas season.  And may all of us from the baby Johnny boys to the geezer-tastic Annas and Simeons find that Messiah and know Him as the Lord and Savior of our lives.

Merry Christmas!

Noah's David-like Bravery

Noah is always ready to jump into action...

David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him." 33 Saul replied, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth." 34 But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you."  1 Samuel 17:32-37


We always teach our kids to make the wise choice, to trust God no matter what and to treat others the way they want to be treated.  It's always a blessing to see them live that out.

Noah is now 10 and he's beginning to form into the man that he will eventually become.  He's always been a kid with tremendous compassion for others (except occasionally for his siblings.)  He's also always been a kid with a tremendous understanding of the power of faith.  He doesn't typically hesitate or surrender easily.

Our latest overnight trip was just an example of the type of man Noah will be: A biblical action hero.

While on an overnight stay at Willow Valley in Lancaster, PA, Noah demonstrated a true heroism along the lines of David.

David, as every church person knows, was a young boy who was willing to confront the scary ugly Philistine giant Goliath.  Goliath was slandering the people of Israel and their God.  Instead of confronting him head-on, however, the Israelite king and his army stood in the shadow of this frightening giant shaking in terror.

Then little David stumbled in from the fields and immediately got to work.  Without regard for the fear and trembling that the Israelites were clinging to, David instead chose to cling to God.  He volunteered to go against Goliath--despite the overwhelming odds that were against him.  David was a boy of action.  He was used to fighting off ferocious beasts (when most of us run kicking and screaming from things like spiders and stink bugs) in defense of his flock.  Here, he was willing to risk all in defense of his God.

David's motivation was from putting God and others before himself.  His fearlessness was not delusion either.  As he put it, "All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give all of you into our hands."  (1 Samuel 17:47)

It was a truth universally understood by everyone.  God fights for us.  We need to just have the wee bit of courage to stand with Him.

In that same way, Noah went into action with not a care toward his own safety.  In the deep end of the indoor water park located at Willow Valley, a young boy had gone down the gigantic blue slide into the water.  It was clear that he was unable to swim and he began to sink below the surface of the water.  Noah swam right over to him and held him above water.  He was struggling as this portion of the pool was above his head too and the child wasn't much younger than him.  He didn't give in.  He didn't hesitate.  He just saw another child in need and leapt into duty.

Shortly thereafter the life guard and the father of the child both jumped into the pool to take over for Noah, but it was clear that Noah had been the one to save the little guy.

As his parent, part of me is scared about Noah's apparent lack of concern for his own safety.  That just comes with the territory of being a Daddy.  A much bigger portion of me is so proud of Noah's selflessness and bravery in the face of danger.

Seeing that David-like bravery shine through Noah that day gives me a glimpse of the type of honorable man he is growing up to be.  And that gives me a whole lot to be thankful for.

Update on Reagan's Guatemala Girls!

Reagan & friends pose with Guatemala Girls Posters at her party

We've been waiting for a little more definitive numbers before updating you on the status of Reagan's Guatemala Girls challenge!

As you remember, Reagan decided to go without presents at her 6th birthday party so that the Guatemala Girls that she loves so much could have some money to attend school at Proximos Pasos.

Our original goal was $600.  That would allow one girl to attend school for an entire year with a little left over!  As the party got closer and an article appeared in the Gloucester County Times, we decided to up the goal.  To send 2 girls to school for a year it would cost $912.00.  So that became our official new goal.

If you look at the page for donations, today the total raised stands at $900.00.  The "goal" is now listed at $1000.  This is because in order to keep getting donations, you have to have a higher goal or donors will be unable to contribute.

There are, however, a few folks who donated via personal checks.  And they take a little while to get processed.  As a result the actual total raised is currently about $1040.00!!!!

This money will allow 2 girls to attend school at Proximos Pasos for an entire year.  It will also allow a little extra toward birthday and Christmas gifts.

Reagan couldn't be more thrilled.  She was so excited that she vowed to do this again next year!

We hope that our little Reagan has inspired you to think about ways that you can help the less fortunate around the world.  If a little 6 year old in New Jersey can raise over $1000 for girls living in Guatemala, then surely there is something that you could do.

It is also a great way to encourage kids to get involved in missions.  Maybe a birthday party or Christmas gifts might be a good way to teach your kids about selflessness and the importance to donating to missions work around the world.

In talking with Reagan about the impact she has made, we talked about how Reagan might not meet these two girls.  Maybe.  It's possible that the Hughes family will take another Guatemala mission trip to the school and that Reagan could play with her friends.  It's also possible that she might not meet them in person.  She will, however, likely meet them one day in heaven.  And those girls might just be in heaven because a little 6 year old decided that she didn't need birthday presents.

That just might be the biggest birthday gift of all.

We will be posting further updates as well as another video blog of Reagan's thoughts about the generous donations that others made to her "Guatemala Girls."

Thank you so much for helping Reagan bless the girls of Proximos Pasos in Guatemala!

Reagan's "Guatemala Girls" Challenge

Our little Reagan just turned 6.

And the 6 year old princess of the Hughes household decided that she didn't need any more toys.

That sounds shocking, I know.  And it is a rare statement in the Hughes household.  One of our kids' favorite past times is just walking the toy aisles at the local Target and ogling the plethora of shiny new toys.  Reagan is actually usually overheard saying something to the effect of "Can I get that for my birthday?"

Even when her birthday is a year away.

So, when Reagan claimed on her own, without any prompting from anyone, that she didn't need toys for her birthday, we had to get to the bottom of what she meant.

Reagan continued, "Well, I mean, maybe we could give presents to the Guatemala girls instead.  They need it more."

The "Guatemala Girls" that Reagan refers are girls that Reagan met in person during her visit to Guatemala in the summer of 2009.  Her Aunt Lauren (a contributor to this site) is a missionary with Mission Impact in Guatemala and the Hughes family went to visit in 2009.  Mission Impact supports two schools.  One school is a girls-only school called Proximos Pasos in the village of Santa Maria de Jesus.  A village which happens to exist on the base of a volcano.

Santa Maria is a poor village where girls really have little to no opportunity to attend education.  The public school in the area is only for boys.  There is not really the space for girls.  Proximos Pasos offers these girls a formal education AND a chance to learn about Jesus on a daily basis.

The work that this school does to invest in the lives of these girls and show them love is amazing.  The beacon for Christ that they have been to the community is inspiring.

Reagan heard her aunt share the story that many of the girls never have birthday parties at home.  Many of them don't even know when their actual birthday is.  The school tries to celebrate each girl's birthday with a small gift and a little celebration.  For many of these girls, these are the very first birthday gifts they have ever been given.

So, Reagan has decided that her upcoming 6th birthday party will be all about the "Guatemala Girls" that she loves so much.  Instead of bringing her gifts, she is asking friends, family and people with a heart for missions to instead make a financial donation to Mission Impact to help these girls attend school.  Since she's turning 6 years old, our goal for the party is to raise $600 to help offset the tuition costs for her "Guatemala Girls."

Will you join us?

You can stop by and visit the Reagan's Party page to donate.  Every little bit helps.  Additionally, feel free to share this blog and the donation page via Facebook, Twitter and email to any other folks that you think would be interested in donating toward Reagan's goal.

Finally, you can pray for the girls and the staff of Proximos Pasos that they would continue to be a light for Christ to their village.

Thank you for your support in this cause and God bless Reagan's precious "Guatemala Girls!"

Fourth of July Parade, Narnia & The Greatest Type of Love

So, we were able to take our kids to the 4th of July parade in Pitman this year.  Pitman is a local town that has that small town feel, complete with a main street and center of town like the good old days.  In years past we participated in the parade with the church that we were attending at the time.  That church always has a huge float and scores of people to represent the church in the community.  Their parade outreach is led by a very godly older couple who have been faithful through the years to make sure that the church has a good representation in the parade.

I will save you the full play by play of our worst experience marching in the parade.  Let's just say that it was hotter than Iraq in Pitman and we thought we'd be super smart and park our car somewhere near the route on a side street and then meet up with the church.  And let's just pretend for a moment, however hard it may be, that we are both terrible with directions (a reason why we will never win the Amazing Race) and that we got lost walking up and down side street after side street in search of the oasis of our air-conditioned car.  Low on water, cranky with heat and sweating like pigs, we both prepared to die.  The end was near.

But since I'm typing this to you, you can assume that we eventually found our van (which was probably right nearby the entire time) and made it back to air-conditioned civilization.

Back to the parade.

It struck me that many of the floats and organizations participating in this parade were local churches.  And that made me smile.  So did the frozen vanilla latte that I picked up at Casa de Coffee, a local coffee shop right around the corner.  Good stuff folks,  good stuff!

We joined Pitman-dwelling friends of ours on the curb.  They view July 4th kind of like most people view Christmas.  It's a huge deal.  So it was fun to share in their enthusiasm for the day.

It was a hot day, but our kids seemed to be enjoying themselves.  One moment that repeated itself over and over again was our two sons leaping to their feet every time a military veteran went by via a car, a float or just walking in a group.

The first time military vets went by we told them to stand up to show respect.  Our boys did one better:  they both saluted the veterans.  This became a ritual.  Every time a veteran went by my 10 year old and my 4 year old would stand proudly to their feet and salute!  Several of the old GI Joes saluted back to our little guys.

It was a moving moment for my wife and I.  Our boys were showing RESPECT to people who have earned it.  They understood in that moment what it meant to be American.  They understood in that moment what it meant to thank someone for sacrificing so much for us.  They understood in that moment what it meant to be rescued from evil by someone else's powerful sacrifice.  Biblically speaking, they understood Jesus' definition of love.

Jesus tells us in John 15:18 that "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."  This is right after He commands us to love one another.  And before He will do this very thing by laying down His perfect sinless life on behalf of a fallen world.

To the boys that day in Pitman, the patriotism-soaked holiday commemorating our nation's birth helped to illuminate the true nature of honor and sacrificial love.  And it reminded them that sometimes we need someone bigger, stronger and more powerful to save us.

Later this week when we were reading our portion of C.S. Lewis' Voyage of the Dawn Treader, we came to the chapter where the ever-annoying Eustace has been made into a dragon because of his greed and wickedness.  As a dragon, Eustace learns the folly of his ways and repents.  Then comes the moment when he attempts to shed his dragon skin.  Hard as he may try he cannot remove it permanently.  It keeps growing back.  Finally, Aslan (the lion who represents Christ in the world of Narnia) helps him out:

"Then the lion said--but I don't know if it spoke--'You will have to let me undress you.'  I was afraid of his claws, I can tell you, but I was pretty nearly desperate now.  So I just lay flat down on my back to let him do it.  The very first tear he made was so deep that I thought it had gone right into my heart.  And when he began pulling the skin off, it hurt worse than anything I've ever felt.  The only thing that made me able to bear it was just the pleasure of feeling the stuff peel off...Well, he peeled the beastly stuff right off--just as I'd done it myself the other 3 times, only they hadn't hurt--and there it was, lying on the grass: only ever so much thicker, and darker, and more knobbly-looking than the others had been.  And there was I as smooth and soft as a peeled switch and smaller than I had been..."

The 4th of July and the brave sacrifices made by our founding fathers and the generations of liberty's defenders serve as a reminder that we are in a world at war.  My little boys can't defend themselves against Nazis, Commies, or terrorists.  They need the protection of brave men and women willing to demonstrate the Biblical definition of the greatest type of love--self-sacrifice.  The little boy Eustace was also powerless to turn himself back into a boy without the powerful lion Aslan to help him.

And we are also incapable of shedding the sin into which we were born without the self-sacrifice and love of Jesus.  And that's something worth saluting!

Halle, our Word-Wielding Bug Whacker!

Bugs, beware!

She’s more formidable than Raid...

Halle is coming atcha’s with her BIBLE!

All I gotta say – I’m glad I bought her Bible in the hard cover edition! Here’s how it all went down yesterday morning…

On the way to church, a bug decided to buzz past Halle’s head and dance around on her window setting off quite a van disturbance! Jared, our almost 10 year old, has sensory issues with noise and bugs, so this insect escapade should have set him off into a panic, but instead he got mad at Halle, our 6 year old fearless bug-squisher, because she had the audacity to use her BIBLE to whack the bug to smithereens.

While Brad & our oldest teen son were already at church, here’s a rundown of how my ride to church went with our other 5 kids…

WHACK!

“It’s over there, now!”

“AHHH!” WHACK! “I got it! Uh, nope, I didn’t!”

Hysterical laughter…

“This is not funny!”

WHACK! WHACK! WHACK!

“Halle, don’t use the Bible!”

“How’s she doing, Chrissy?”

“AHHHH!”

“Where did it go?”

“It’s in the crack! IN the crack!”

“What in the world…”

“She got it, oh, there it is again…”

Giggles and then a WHACK!

“It’s gone now!”

“No it’s not, it’s on your Bible, Halle!”

A chorus of “ewwws” while Halle keeps giggling!

“Halle, here’s a tissue.”

“That’s disgusting!

Halle keeps giggling as she swipes the guts away!

“You should NOT use the Bible, Halle, for killing bugs.”

…More giggling, from both little girls…

“Did you hear me, Halle Mira?”

“Shew! Glad that’s over.”

I so wish that all was caught on video!

Ironically, after the guts were gone, I was stunned as I remembered that Jared, on the autism spectrum, IGNORED his intense fear of bugs to chastise Halle for using the Bible as a weapon! Fascinating! He set aside his self-preservation needs for the care of the BIBLE! How super cool!

After we all caught our breaths, I told Jared that it was okay Halle used her Bible in her Bug Battle – I explained to the kids that the Bible is called our SWORD, so she wasn’t too far off in using it against an enemy – even if it was a lightning bug, or so we believe!

Here’s the thing, though… how many of us REALLY use our Swords? Do we wield the Words of our Lord to do spiritual battle as much as we should? I know I don’t. We get caught up with the Word being bound in leather and on paper… when it’s supposed to be IN us – His power living in us!

How often do we swat away gnat-issues with our own personal ideas or logic? Do we think they’re not big enough to use the Word? Oh, and what about our bigger issues – do we bug-bomb our homes with His Word and our lives with prayer when the Enemy attacks with crisis, illness, rejection? Nothing makes the spiritual "bugs" flee faster than a house filled with praise!

As the kids’ worship chorus states: Our God is so BIG! So strong and so mighty there’s nothing my God can not do – for YOU! Use the Word to overcome your fear!

We must use the Word everyday, in every circumstance, relating our daily lives straight back to His Words, not our own! We should make His power-words a part of our everyday family vocabulary: grace, love, gentleness, prayer, mercy, unity, care, etc. Kids who learn these powerful Truths at younger ages will use the Scripture to do battles throughout their lives in a more fluid nature. It’ll become natural for them to behave as SUPER-natural FEAR Killers!

Heh, heh...

Halle said a few moments later, "I like killing bugs!"

Uh, oh! I definitely need to redirect her to killing spiritual bugs, instead! I'm totally okay with her whacking away bossiness (pride), laziness, and disobedience, though!

So…. Got “bugs”? Annoyed or freaked out about 'em? Use the Word!

Although I dunno about the whole killing-God’s-scared-glow-in-the-dark-creatures thing is a topic I should take on next with my crew….

One Battle/Bible-lesson at a time, right?

Joyfully,

Renee Balassaitis

Ephesians 6:17

"Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God."

This picture is a dramatization. No bugs were squished in the making of this picture.

Kids At The Beach: Germpos & Jesus

Germpos.

They are apparently a small undetectable worm that climbs in you and makes you dirty.

So says 4 year old Jackson.  After leaving the beach the other day, he insisted on a shower the very moment that we got home to eradicate these nefarious "Germpos."

Some might say it was sand.

I tend to believe my little sir that there are indeed a villainous race of tiny worms called Germpos and that their sole purpose is to make us dirty.

Well, I guess you could call that humanity's self-chosen affliction...sinfulness.

Jackson informed us that only he could see the Germpos.  Upon further investigation it was revealed that adults couldn't see them.

Just like the dastardly Germpos, sin is often unseen by other people.  Proverbs 5:21:  "For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the Lord.  And He watches all his paths."

Just like only the eyes of Jackson can see the Germpos, only the eyes of the Lord can see all of our sins.  Thankfully, He is a forgiving God, who corrects us as a father would correct his child and who is not willing that one of us should perish.

Thankfully, He also washes us cleaner than the quick shower that Jackson got upon returning from the trip to the shore.

Got Germpos?  Maybe you need a little Jesus cleanser.

My kids just continually challenge my faith in big and, um, silly, ways.  It always astounds me that the silly things that they say and do that make me smile also challenge my heart to be a better Dad, husband and Christ-follower.

What kind of silly things have your kids said/done that have led to a spiritual lesson for you?  We want to hear from you!  Consider this an open thread and post a comment below!