Celebrations that honor the Lord

My Birthday Celebration with Brendan in 2007 -
isn't that an awesome cake he made for me?!

Charlotte was born right before "holiday season" in the U.S. [This isn't the direction this post will be taking, but I actually have no problem with saying "holiday season" because I think of the time from the end of October through the beginning of a new year in January as the holiday season (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's).]

Ok, back on track...during the bleary, exhausted months of having a newborn we also got to celebrate many of her "first" holidays. We didn't do a whole lot of thinking about how we were going to celebrate; really, I just wanted to try to start sleeping again and could have cared less what food we were having for Thanksgiving or starting any new family traditions for Christmas. Charlotte actually did give us something to be HUGELY thankful for by sleeping through the night a few days before Thanksgiving...that will always be a special Thanksgiving memory for me. :)

Kinne Family - Halloween 2009
Can't you tell we weren't getting much sleep?

Now that those crazy, sleep-deprived days are past, and we've gone through our own sort of "spring holiday season" - celebrating Easter, Mother's Day, Brendan's birthday, Father's Day, and our anniversary - we've really started doing some thinking about how we celebrate. Especially since we are parents. We've begun talking about Charlotte's 1st birthday and this coming Christmas (since she'll be a more active participant this year). We've been talking about traditions, gift giving, and spending.

Then, I read this passage in Acts 7:

"That was the time they made an idol in the form of a calf. They brought sacrifices to it and held a celebration in honor of what their hands had made." (the italics are mine)

Stephen is speaking here of the Israelites after Moses leads them out of Egypt and across the Red Sea.

It really got me to thinking. How often do our celebrations honor us - our plans, our stuff, our culture, our accomplishments - rather than the One who made us, who gave us life? Do we celebrate in a way that honors God?

Now as Brendan and I discuss how we are going to celebrate Charlotte's first birthday - and her future birthdays - we're planning with this question in mind "Does this celebration honor God?". Or is it about us? About stuff? About what our culture tells us we "need" to do to celebrate our child's birthday?

See, we really don't think our daughter needs to receive a crazy amount of gifts to celebrate that God gave her life. And we don't think we need to break the bank spending money on a party. I personally know that I struggle with making lots of plans and comparing my plans to others to see if I'm good enough. That doesn't honor God, so I'm seeking His counsel and wisdom as I plan Charlotte's first birthday in order to plan in a way that does honor him.

Charlotte's First Christmas
getting some snuggle time with her Papa & PoPo

Above all else, we really want God to be glorified in the celebrations we have - whether those are Christian or secular celebrations. And we want how we celebrate to always point back to Jesus. I know this won't always be easy...did I mention I have an issue with planning a little too much?! :) But I look forward to these times of celebration as ways to share God's love with the people we love (and maybe people we don't even know :)).