tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1095252879492157665.post2126206829857544532..comments2023-09-21T06:56:30.956-04:00Comments on Call of the Creator: Fantasy Writing from a Christian Worldview: Christmas and FantasyRebeccaPMinorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06433599770860270767noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1095252879492157665.post-84689352813708062482010-01-26T10:27:25.488-05:002010-01-26T10:27:25.488-05:00I know I'm late weighing in here, and you know...I know I'm late weighing in here, and you know where I stand on the Big Guy In The Red Suit, B...I see him as Kristen does. He is a ticket in. Kids may know the story of Jesus' birth, and we as parents try to get them as fired up as we can about the wonder and gift of His birth, but for kids, it usually falls flat because they don't fully understand the connection between the child born in the straw and the man Who died on the cross for them. <br /><br />But they get enthused over Santa Claus, don't they? So Santa does have a place in Christmas. He builds excitement, infuses magic (and no, I'm not talking hocus-pocus-type magic here, but the real underlying magic of Christmas), gives kids a sense of wonder associated with the second most wonderful day of the year that they can feel directly. <br /><br />As a kid, I never *felt* the wonder of Christ's birth. Not until I was older did I tie it in with His death *in my heart*. Kids just don't quite get it. So I use Santa in my stories to get my kids (and adults!) fired up about Christmas, and keep Jesus in there with it, so that later, when the gift God gave us clicks in their hearts, they have an excitement and wonder and "magic" to tie it to.<br /><br />Santa works for Jesus, plain and simple. If our kids understand this, as they grow they will be able to understand his proper place in the gift.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1095252879492157665.post-54315692976491889912009-12-30T14:40:14.450-05:002009-12-30T14:40:14.450-05:00LOL! Ya gotta give a guy who can infiltrate Coke s...LOL! Ya gotta give a guy who can infiltrate Coke some credit. :)<br /><br />I tend to agree as I try to put away my inner pharisee. Just about anything good can be used to point to the Lord, if we can find the right way to frame it, right? It's not even that big a stretch with St. Nicholas.RebeccaPMinorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06433599770860270767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1095252879492157665.post-80387646973850069092009-12-29T21:21:16.433-05:002009-12-29T21:21:16.433-05:00Becky, one of our pastors gave a sermon on St. Nic...Becky, one of our pastors gave a sermon on St. Nicholas last Sunday. His premise was that we keep speaking against St. Nick when he's really like our spy. Our man inside. He can get into places we can't, like the mall and corporate boardrooms. Exerpt: "Coke! He infiltrated Coke!"<br /><br />The pastor's point was that we should let St. Nick do what he does, and then when people comment on it, we can take that as an opportunity to explain where that kind of love and generosity comes from. Certainly made me reconsider my position on the matter.Kristen Stieffelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06716097889143393543noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1095252879492157665.post-70739959985924009222009-12-28T21:31:47.780-05:002009-12-28T21:31:47.780-05:00Thanks for your thoughtful comments, MisterChris! ...Thanks for your thoughtful comments, MisterChris! I will indeed check out the AdventConspiracy, which sounds very intriguing. May you and yours see many blessings in the coming year.<br /><br />BeckyRebeccaPMinorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06433599770860270767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1095252879492157665.post-84919062318822998832009-12-28T12:13:44.038-05:002009-12-28T12:13:44.038-05:00Becky, for the last seven years our family has cel...Becky, for the last seven years our family has celebrated Christmas with an Advent Story. So we build up to Christ's birth throughout December. <br /><br />Santa we don't really mention, but we hang stockings, and that's the only thing 'he' fills. My kids know from the time they are old enough to understand, that Daddy is the 'Santa Claus' for our house. <br /><br />We've had the usual in-laws-outlaws who tried to perpetuate the story, but we've fought it pretty consistently over the years. We, like you, didn't want to have any doubts concerning Christ or the truthfulness of the parents when it came to important matters.<br /><br />So, we watch the Santa Clause movies and laugh at the magic of Christmas (though I really really hate the 'Mother Nature' comment in SC2 where she says 'by the power vested in me by me...') and the kids all understand that it's just make-believe.<br /><br />When we focus on Gifts and Santa Claus and the simple giving and receiving of gifts, Christmas loses its luster, and it becomes a holiday celebrating greed and bribery, commercialism and obligation and revelry.<br /><br />When we lose sight of the Most Precious Gift given on Christmas, the Gift of God's Only Son, the real joy and wonder of the season dissipates like vapor. Christmas is supposed to be a time to give Gifts to Him, to focus on Him, and to remake Him the center of our world.<br /><br />I think next year we're going to participate in the Advent Conspiracy (visit www.AdventConspiracy.org to see what I'm talking about.) I think it recaptures the true meaning of the holiday.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01741255295792269043noreply@blogger.com