The Day My World Turned Upside Down

Growing up, I couldn’t wait for December 25th. But, for me, December 24th held all the excitement. My sisters, mom, and I baked cookies for Santa, peeled carrots for Rudolph and the reindeer, wrote notes to Santa, set up the kid’s table by the fireplace so Santa wouldn’t miss our notes and treats, looked out in the sky to see if we could see his sleigh anywhere, and eventually went to bed—vowing we’d secretly wake up and hide in the coat closet until we heard Santa sneaking through the fireplace.

I remember vividly the day I learned the truth. I was around eight or nine years old (I can’t remember exactly because it was so traumatic), and in the middle of a petting zoo on a family vacation, I asked my parents the question every parent dreads: “Is Santa Claus real?”

I can still see the scene with remarkable clarity. My mom looked at my dad and said, “Should we tell her?” They sat me down on the petting zoo bench and broke the news—“No, honey, Santa’s not real.”

I cried so hard. “No, he IS real,” I screamed. “He IS!” Onlookers gawked. “What is going on?” they wondered. As my crying-to-the-point-of-hyperventaliting continued, my mom and dad decided to try to change the story by telling me that he was real after all. But there was nothing they could do. I already knew the truth. In fact, I took the news harder than learning of my parents’ divorce a few years later.

I vowed that someday, when I had children of my own, I would protect them at all costs from the crushing news that Santa’s not real. It’s a white lie that seems innocent enough. But is it? When you believe something so strongly and so passionately, only to find out it’s all a lie, it is devastating. Absolutely devastating.

Furthermore, as a child, I knew in the back of my mind that Jesus played into Christmas somewhere (the whole baby –in-a-manger, Silent-Night thing), but it was really about Santa to me. What was Santa going to leave me? What was Santa going to write to me? What was I going to write to Santa? What treats were we going to leave him? Santa and Christmas were like best friends forever.

For me, there are more serious implications for perpetuating the Santa story. If we believe Jesus is real, but we teach our kids that Santa is real too, when they find out that Santa is a fake, are they going to think that Jesus is make-believe too?

The evidence is very compelling that Jesus is not only a real historical figure (unlike Santa Claus), He is the promised Messiah and Savior of the world. While you won’t find Santa’s Workshop in the North Pole, I believe with all my being that Jesus is alive today in heaven—a real place out there somewhere. Scripture affirms that He is coming again, not as a humble baby, but as a powerful King for which every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings. While December 25th is debatable as His birthday (it probably wasn’t the actual day), the fact that He came to earth to die on the Cross for my sins so that I could live with Him and my family and friends in heaven for ever and ever is worth celebrating again and again every year.

That is why, to me, Christmas will always be about Jesus. It trumps Santa every time. Although the truth about Santa turned my world upside down, I am so thankful that the truth of Jesus makes my world right--eternally.


I know there are plenty of people who don’t agree with me on this one, and who believe differently than I do. If you are one of them and would like to discuss Christianity from a non-antagonistic position, I welcome you to email me at Cheryl@momsinneedofmercy.com

When a Day's Work Is Never Done

Last week, I got behind in the house. We had a few rough days around here, and those days almost always leave me feeling discouraged. When I'm discouraged, I lose the pep in my step, and the house slides downhill too.

Take laundry, for instance. I had no problem doing it--running it through the washer and dryer. But then it sat, piled high in laundry baskets (either folded or laid flat so it doesn't wrinkle) for days.

Same thing with dishes. If I felt too drained from the day with multiple squabbles among children and behavior issues, I couldn't bring myself to wash all the dishes after dinner, dry them, and put them away. So if I went to bed with dishes in the sink, I awoke already behind for the new day.

After reflecting on why I got behind and how I could catch up, I came to realize it boiled down to this:
I wasn't finishing a day's work.

So before I started any laundry today, I took time this morning--with the kids' help--to put the laundry in baskets away. I actually didn't do any new laundry today. It can wait until tomorrow, because the second realization is:

Make your day's work realistic.

Maybe washing, drying, folding and putting away five loads of laundry in a day is too much for me right now at this stage of my life. But I can do one load (or two). If you are finding yourself getting behind, too, then maybe you are trying to do too much each day. Focus on a few things and do them well.

The other tip that helps me immensely (when I actually do it) is to sit down and plan out my day's work the night before. Even if I don't follow the schedule exactly, I still accomplish much more than if I only had a rough idea in my mind of what I wanted to do the next day. With the no-schedule approach, we all have lots of down-time where no one really knows what we should be doing. We wander around semi-aimlessly, and the boys seem to get into more fights with more free time.

A reasonable, manageable plan for the day can help so much to keep us productive and on track. Because we're not doing more (or less) than we're capable of, it is much easier to reach day's end and feel like our work for that day has been finished.

Menu Plan 12/6-12/12/10

We are following our grocery/spending money budget, and right now we're out of cash until my husband's payday Friday. So I am planning meals from the pantry this week. I do, however, need to buy some eggs, an onion and an avocado (but maybe I can round up enough change around here to avoid using my debit card).

Monday:
Oatmeal
Creamy Carrot-basil soup, rolls
Sesame chicken, Brown rice, sugar snap peas

Tuesday:
Coco-Wheats
Lunchtime Salmon patties, ranch potato wedges
Southwest Bake with lettuce, tomatoes, avocado

Wednesday:
Granola, pomegranates
Peanut butter Sesame noodles, mandarin oranges
Parmesan-Crusted Tilapia, baked potatoes, broccoli

Thursday:
Applesauce bread
Leftover lunch
Chicken Broccoli Wreath

Friday:
Biscuits, sausage patties
Crockpot Potato soup
Black beans and Mexican Rice

Saturday:
Pancakes
Peppermint Tea Party (Will blog about this later this week!)
Spaghetti marinara, salad, french bread

Sunday:
Waffles
Roast, potatoes, carrots
Sunday night popcorn and snacks

View more menu plans at orgjunkie.com.

The Benefits of a Broken TV

It finally happened. Our TV died. Sunday, we watched football and America's Funniest Home Videos. Monday, the television wouldn't turn on. It's a good thing, really.

Our kids were getting in the habit of watching PBS cartoons when they woke up. The problem with one is that it turns into two, and two can easily turn into three. When I would tell them it was time to shut it off, usually at least one child whined, and discipline problems began.

Same thing when they woke up from their naps. If they woke up still groggy or cranky, they would ask to watch a cartoon. A "no" was not often met with a compliant, "Ok, Mom. No problem. I'll just look at a book instead."

Sometimes, on a bad day, I would allow them to watch an afternoon cartoon or a short video. After all, it can be a real sanity saver. Many times, crying kids, clinging to my legs, would stop if I offered them a video. Then I could unload the dishwasher, start dinner, and keep that last little bit of sanity. Sometimes it was already gone, and I could work on getting it back before my husband came home.

From not turning on the TV all week, I've noticed my kids are better behaved. They play better together. They look at books more. They draw. They find creative things to do that they haven't done in awhile, or ever (like get down the Memory game and try to play it on their own). I like it.

The problem, I think, is that kids' brains are small. When the TV goes on, it's like their brains turn off. It takes awhile for them to power up again. Their behavior after watching TV illustrates this. I just never knew it was directly related to TV. From my own unscientific study, I can now confirm television viewing does affect behavior--usually negatively.

Not only are our kids behaving better, I also love that not having the option of watching TV makes it so much easier to be intentional this Christmas season about family time, crocheting gifts, reading books as a family, baking, doing craft projects, and more.

For the record, my husband wants to buy a replacement television. He found one on close-out at Sam's. He's planning to pay for it with part of his Christmas bonus--that is, as long as he doesn't receive jars of jam instead (like what happened on National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation )!  But we won't watch TV until after Christmas.

Also for the record, I don't think television is inherently evil. There are many educational programs out there, and we like to watch good quality, clean movies together as a family on the weekends. Plus, I think there are moments when a 30 minute cartoon or video can be a life-saver for a mom at home without any outside help. So I'm not saying you need to turn off your TV. What I am saying is I'm glad mine is broke. It's a nice Christmas present in an unexpected way.

Coffee Talk Thursday: What Do You Like Most?

This blog is for me, in that it gives me an outlet to write and a way to encourage other moms. This blog is also for you. I hope you find encouragement and practical help here to aid you in all you do each day as a wife and mother.

This Coffee Talk Thursday, I would love to hear from you on what you like most about this blog, and what would like to see more of?

• Would you like to hear more of our stories of "misadventures," as someone once commented (we sure have a lot of those--yesterday at Hobby Lobby raised my blood pressure several notches, and then my youngest son's finger got cut by haircutting scissors, courtesy of a brother).
• Would you like more devotionals--reflective thoughts on mothering?
• Frugal tips?
• What about housekeeping hints? I've shared before that I was raised in a very cluttered home, and so I have to keep teaching myself how to effectively run a home. As I learn new ideas and tips, I share them here.
• I stopped doing our once-a-month cooking festival, where we shared hints to ease meal prep. There really wasn't much participation, so I just figured there was not any interest in it. Would you like to see more recipes and kitchen tips?
• Is there anything else I've blogged about that you wish I would blog about more?

I'd love to hear your ideas and suggestions, since they will help me better serve you!

Have a great day!