If, like me, you’re a musically-challenged mommy, there’s no need to give up in hopeless disharmony. Even the most musically-challenged mommy can inspire music loving kids. There’s no happier time for music loving kids than the holidays.
Anna Krafve Pierce co-hosted special holiday podcasts of Fireside Talk Radio, so we could brainstorm ideas for inspiring music loving kids. Then, we bounced to freedom from stress. Freedom is a big theme with our family. We want mommies everywhere to get the gift of freedom from stress from Santa this year.
Inspired by Good Music
During the holidays, when so many people struggle to join in the festive merry-making, it’s especially important to remember each one of us is dear to God’s heart. Even with carols praising God all around us, it’s easy to feel like failures as we work through very long Christmas checklists! Anna is a great example of a music-loving kid who grew into a sweet, silly-song kind of mommy.
The Soul Felt its Worth
Quoting from “O Holy Night, Anna emphasizes that “Christ’s very existence enables us to know that we’re valuable.”
“Think about this line ‘Long lay the world in sin and error pining,’” says Anna. Then with true artist perspective, she describes the visual scene inspired by the lyric, “I can just see dull gray clouds, the longing, the hopelessness, and the looking forward to future things.” Concluding her thought, she quotes the next lines from French composer Adam Adolphe, “til He appeared and the soul felt its worth.”
“The very next line,” says Anna, “is a short one, ‘A thrill of hope!’”
Yes, hope is inspired by Jesus’s arrival, signaling God’s seal of approval on us. We are valuable enough to Him that He sent His own Son to claim us. Oh, that we would but claim His gift!
Hope is the feeling we want to grab ahold of during this time of year, no matter what else may be weighing on our hearts. With that in mind, here are just a few of the other ideas Anna offered in these holiday extravaganza interviews!
Inspiring Your Own Music-loving Kids to Sing for Joy
Go Caroling.
“Forgive the mumblers one more year,” says Anna, about the push back moms get whenever we try to talk the rest of the family into caroling. “I’m so thankful for the people who forgave me one more time and pushed me out the door.” Every teenager has a year or two when they exert their independence from family traditions, she laughs. Instead of caving, she says to insist on singing together anyway.
“Now I have those consistent sweet memories of all of us together. Whoever did that for me, I’m thankful for them.”
Sneak in Your Favorites.
Be Thou My Vision is not a Christmas hymn, but somehow it consistently makes it into our photocopied Christmas Carol booklet each year. At Camp Krafve, we believe that whoever is organized enough to pull together caroling, gets to pick the hymns. Also, we lavish praise on the person who has the skill set to herd cats. (Confession: it’s not me; I’m a cat.)
Hymnals as a Gift.
Young people might not even remember when churches sang out of hymnals, a thick book of fabulous songs! A gift of a hymnal could be the beginning of a whole new appreciation for the old poetry set to music. I might even go so far as to spontaneously put carols to beatbox rhythms, so my grands get the fact that good poetry is timeless! (In case you want to be a hip grandmom, “beat box” is that funny, rhythmic sound hip-hop artists make.)
You can find a bunch more of Anna’s ideas on Raising Musical Children for Musically-Challenged Mommies with Anna Krafve Pierce. She also shared stuff that happens at her house (and some old family stories) that will make you feel a lot better about trying out some new, relaxed traditions. Especially if your favorite tradition is giving yourself a break, you’ll love Christmas with Small Children? The Gift of Freedom from Holiday Stress.
The Gift of Freedom from Holiday Stress
With small children in the home, the holidays can be overwhelming. How do we inspire a meaningful holiday without burdening mommies with expectations of perfection? We all want the gift of freedom from holiday stress under our Christmas tree this year.
Anna offered a few relaxed suggestions for creating a meaningful, family-friendly holiday at your house without burdening mommy.
Advent In the Bath Tub
For instance, Anna and her husband take a relaxed approach to advent. She had to explain the advent ritual to me because I only vaguely remember it from church formalities of my youth. Their approach is very effective and tons of fun for all. In fact, on nights when the kiddos are tired, you can even move the wreath, candles, story, and song time to the kids’ bath time. We highly recommend multitasking bathtub magic by advent candlelight!
Only Giving Good Gifts
In another example, Anna explained how her new perspective on gift giving brought down her stress level. She shared how, she prayed a new prayer this past Thanksgiving. Little did she know the epiphany that prayer would inspire!
Epiphany is a word sometimes used in church tradition to celebrate the three wise men arriving with gifts for Jesus. In Anna’s case, her revelation was a new way of understanding God’s nature of only giving us good things.
Thinking of the stuff she would be picking out for Christmas, she felt her stress level rising. However, inspired by the thoughtfulness of her grandmother and another beloved friend, she decided to pray.
“Please make me a person who only gives good gifts,” she prayed.
“Then, I realized I’m asking to be more like Him. He’s the great good gift Giver. He only gives good gifts. If you ask Him for good food He’s not going to give you an icky reptile.” (I love the way Anna paraphrases Matthew 7:11 and Luke 11:13, especially knowing my grandson finds reptiles fascinating!)
“Here’s the side effect in my life: I’m not worried. Asking God to be the person who only gives good gifts has given me the freedom to relax and just wait on people to tell me what they need. Then, give them the thing they need, which is the good gift.”
Give of Yourself First
Of course, in this culture we live in, everyone feels excitement about giving a few well-chosen gifts. But, remember to give the gift of yourself first. There are so many ways we can give our heart to others. A homemade gift from our kitchen, a visit to see a friend’s aging parent, time spent over a cup of coffee listening, the gift of forgiveness, making a long-overdue phone call, a kind word to a stranger, taking a day off to spend time with someone special, the list is endless.
Surprise Packages
Anna calls her new perspective the great big mommy gift God gave her when she thought she was asking for a small thing. I hope this Christmas you ask our loving heavenly Father for some small things and He surprises you with great big blessings in surprise packages!
May I pray for you?
Dear Father in heaven, this is such a beautiful time of year. In the sacred stories, we understand that a fulfillment of Your promise and love has arrived on earth in the birth of Your Son. But, the tinsel and the shopping can often distract us from appreciating the truth, He came to establish a relationship with us by buying our freedom. He paid for our sins, with His own life, the greatest gift ever offered to mankind. When we receive Him, we become Your children forever, destined to spend eternity in Your company. Thank You for the good gift of Your mercy and loving forgiveness. We ask You to bless us now, so that we can gift mercy and loving forgiveness to all. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Shout Out to Our Listening Friends in Houston
On the show I mentioned Douglas Loomis and my beloved niece (who help write jingles for my grandchildren), but, I couldn’t think of the name of the school where he teaches music. For any Houston or Woodland listeners who want to get in touch with Douglas, it’s Ethos School of Music. (By the way, having Douglas teach your children music is a double gift; music and the presence of another dear family in your child’s life.)
We love to hear from you!
What Christmas traditions make your holidays easier and more fun? How does your family find ways to give themselves? When it comes to hymns, which ones are your family favorites and why?
More Stories and Wisdom to Bless Our Hearts!
If you are spending holiday time with little ones, don’t miss these episodes on inspiring creativity: Sandra Merville Hart, Sarah Cumming, Neita Fran Ward, and Anna’s Thanksgiving episodes. Coming soon: Parenting Your Parents with Charlotte Canion and Open with Your Broken with Dana Goodrum. Plus, we have some fun give-aways planned starting in the new year. I can hardly wait!! You can sign up for our blog by clicking here (and we sure hope you do!!!)
Cathy Krafve, Columnist, Speaker, Blogger, Podcaster, and Christian Writer, invites your stories, ideas, and questions at CathyKrafve.com. Truth with a Texas Twang.
