Breakfast with Santa

Here are some pictures from Otter Creek's Family Christmas Breakfast on Saturday

TJ McCloud and the OC Kids Praise Team

The stage setup

Amy Westerman (who did a TON of work for this event) and my loverly wife

Kinsey and Connor in a holding area, waiting to see the big guy.

The kids with the man of the hour. Connor had zero fear of him.

Christmas Pictures 2007

Pictures from Breakfast with Santa or Family Christmas Breakfast or whatever it was called this year.

Santa Claus is not God

Several years ago, the Nashville Scene conducted an interview about Christmas with several then-local members of the clergy. It was a very interesting piece that gave some really cool insights into many different facets of Christianity, as well as how some Jews view the holidays as well.

One the quotes by Randall Falk, a Jewish Rabbi, was this

I have to tell you that, as a Jew, I've always been thankful that we didn't have to deal with Santa Claus, primarily because the day has to come when you tell the child there really isn't a Santa Claus that we've built up as this benevolent giver. And then the child, I think, begins to wonder, "Well, if there isn't any Santa Claus, maybe there isn't a God." This whole business of rectifying the mythology that we've created can be a very hard problem.

This has been a quote that has stuck with me for nine years, obviously. And it's something that I've really wondered about. I don't remember when I stopped believing in Santa Claus. I think it was about the time that I figured that unless he could stop time, there was no way Santa could be in every boy and girl's house at exactly midnight. So, I could buy the fat man coming down the chimney after flying from the North Pole with eight reindeer, but not his ability to stop time. Even with that, it's something that obviously didn't affect my belief in God, but I do wonder if the close association of the birth of Jesus and Santa Claus could lead some people to doubt God.

It strikes me that Santa is the first tangible experience of faith that most kids have. They are told that if they are good, then they will receive a reward of that (kind of a conditional love that the article discusses as well). And lo and behold on Christmas morning, they do receive those gifts and so their faith in Santa is encouraged and cultivated until they hear at school about parents putting the toys together or the child that didn't get much of anything, if anything for Christmas.

Now, I love that Kinsey believes in Santa. I love that she truly believes that he is coming down our gas fireplace on Christmas Eve and putting together her toys. However, I really want her to know that Christmas is more than that, and more particularly that Santa Claus is NOT God. God doesn't answer prayers the way Santa fulfills the Christmas list. God is not a jolly fat man that's just waiting to give us every present we want, the Sky Fairy as Donald Miller has called this ideology. And God does not love us conditionally, only being good to us when we are good. And Christmas has to be about more than receiving, more than a Materialism Day. Otherwise, it would be a heck of a lot more profitable to believe in Santa and not God.

I wrote last year about the birth of Christ, about how he was born into scandal and blood and poverty. As we are about to celebrate his birth again and to lavish love on the people around us, I hope we can remember our place in this, as the enactors of his mercies on those around us.

The gift of the love of Christ has been given. I hope we can also give it to others.

Christmas Cards

Christmas cards have come a long way. With the advent of picture cards, it's no longer necessary to find the little foldable cards and put them into an envelope. You can just stick the card in and a Christmas letter. And now, with digital photography, you can upload the picture(s) you want at 11PM Saturday and literally pick them up at noon on Sunday. It's a wonderful world.

I've always had a thought about Christmas cards. My least favorite ones are the ones of kids only.

Now, understand what I'm not saying. I'm not saying that I don't like kids or that I don't like pictures of kids. But these pictures stay up on our refrigerator all year, and honestly six months from now I'm not going to remember that this one cute face belongs to this family or that these three belong to this one.

As a result in our household, I've issued a moratorium on kids-only picture cards. And then, our kids took the cutest picture ever with Santa. Kinsey had a great smile. Connor was asleep in his arms. It was just beautiful and I was afraid I was going to have to break my rule. Then my intrepid wife found a great option: Double picture cards.

So here is the Christmas card that went out yesterday. Enjoy.













Addendum: I feel I need to clarify what I might have stated without the proper amount of tact and explanation above. I'll use the excuse that it was late....

For me, pictures are about context. Saying that I want families doesn't mean I don't like the pictures of kids only and I want to be off of people's card lists. 1) Sheryl would hate that. 2) I like seeing the kids. My preference is simply to see the entire family.

Christmas Pictures

Well, first this one from after the dance recital last week.















And then Kinsey and Connor with Santa















Kinsey being very clear about her requests.















The family together (taken by Kevin Colvett, one of my blog lurkers from church) I think this one might end up as our card this year.















One I took of Connor underneath the tree.















And one I took of Sheryl and Kinsey looking at the tree. This one turned out really nice.
















Have a great day.