We stared through zippee toolkit last night--I feel like, following you for so long now, I’m starting to figure out how to do this on their level!! We had a great discussion and my kids asked awesome questions. Thank you for all of your time and resources!
My children are 13 and 16 yrs old now, and we've been doing it the "old way", which honestly always bothered me-even experiencing it as a child myself (the moralism of it all).
We have a Jesse tree. And I'm thinking this year (of course we're already behind) that since they know the story, I might just read the scripture snip its that go with each day and then ask them what it shows us about who God is, and kind of go from there.
Hi! I think that could be a great way to come at it. Especially moving into the teens years, creating conversation that's mutual is really important, so this could be a good shift in that direction.
Thanks, Meredith! Yesterday my 4.5 year old son asked to see pictures of baby Jesus and Mary and Joseph and I told him there were no pictures because this happened a long time ago. He asked if they were dead and got really sad asking why they died. At this point I kept it as they died because we will all die at some point - any advice on how to address this? I started the first week of Zippee and I think he enjoyed being able to draw things out. This is the first year we’re really talking about this! Appreciate these resources.
I think that is a really good answer, and then, of course, you acknowledge that it is OK to find that sad. Probably good to say that Jesus is alive, and that that means that it won’t only always be sad in a future conversation, too.
This is all so helpful, Meredith, and I can’t wait to start your Zippee Christmas with my daughter this week! Question about saying Jesus was born in a house and not a barn. How are we able to know this from the story in Scripture?
So that is gonna come from Luke 2:7, where some translations will say “inn”, which just tends to be an unhelpful thing for all of us when it comes to what we picture. NT Wright’s translation more helpfully, says “She wrapped him up and put him to rest in a feeding-trough, because there was no room for them in the normal living quarters.”
From there, it does take having a bit of help from the scholars, who remind us that the ground floor of the house was where the animals came in for the night. That was simply the design of multilevel homes in the area, there would not have been barnes/stables in the city, and there are really caves around the Bethlehem area.
Oh interesting. Lay people like me don't know all this historical context, so that is helpful. I'm wondering what difference this makes theologically. Like does it make a difference if he was born in the ground floor of a house or in a barn/manger?
No, not particularly, but there are definitely children who grow into learning these kinds of things, and feel like adults who first told them Bible stories were being cute instead of honest, and they don’t appreciate that. So framing it more like “fun fact!” activates their imagination, and helps mitigate that future risk.
I will say that overall the bent towards representing nativity scenes and deeply European ways (like a barn/stable) is theologically damaging, because it disconnects kids from the first century Jewish context, so in that way, representing the history well is a helpful thing.
We stared through zippee toolkit last night--I feel like, following you for so long now, I’m starting to figure out how to do this on their level!! We had a great discussion and my kids asked awesome questions. Thank you for all of your time and resources!
YAYAYAY!!! I could not be happier to hear that!
Meredith, deeply grateful for you and all that you share, thank you.
Hi Meredith!
Thank you so much for this advice!
My children are 13 and 16 yrs old now, and we've been doing it the "old way", which honestly always bothered me-even experiencing it as a child myself (the moralism of it all).
We have a Jesse tree. And I'm thinking this year (of course we're already behind) that since they know the story, I might just read the scripture snip its that go with each day and then ask them what it shows us about who God is, and kind of go from there.
Do you think that might be a healthy approach?
Hi! I think that could be a great way to come at it. Especially moving into the teens years, creating conversation that's mutual is really important, so this could be a good shift in that direction.
Thanks, Meredith! Yesterday my 4.5 year old son asked to see pictures of baby Jesus and Mary and Joseph and I told him there were no pictures because this happened a long time ago. He asked if they were dead and got really sad asking why they died. At this point I kept it as they died because we will all die at some point - any advice on how to address this? I started the first week of Zippee and I think he enjoyed being able to draw things out. This is the first year we’re really talking about this! Appreciate these resources.
I think that is a really good answer, and then, of course, you acknowledge that it is OK to find that sad. Probably good to say that Jesus is alive, and that that means that it won’t only always be sad in a future conversation, too.
This is all so helpful, Meredith, and I can’t wait to start your Zippee Christmas with my daughter this week! Question about saying Jesus was born in a house and not a barn. How are we able to know this from the story in Scripture?
So that is gonna come from Luke 2:7, where some translations will say “inn”, which just tends to be an unhelpful thing for all of us when it comes to what we picture. NT Wright’s translation more helpfully, says “She wrapped him up and put him to rest in a feeding-trough, because there was no room for them in the normal living quarters.”
From there, it does take having a bit of help from the scholars, who remind us that the ground floor of the house was where the animals came in for the night. That was simply the design of multilevel homes in the area, there would not have been barnes/stables in the city, and there are really caves around the Bethlehem area.
Oh interesting. Lay people like me don't know all this historical context, so that is helpful. I'm wondering what difference this makes theologically. Like does it make a difference if he was born in the ground floor of a house or in a barn/manger?
No, not particularly, but there are definitely children who grow into learning these kinds of things, and feel like adults who first told them Bible stories were being cute instead of honest, and they don’t appreciate that. So framing it more like “fun fact!” activates their imagination, and helps mitigate that future risk.
I will say that overall the bent towards representing nativity scenes and deeply European ways (like a barn/stable) is theologically damaging, because it disconnects kids from the first century Jewish context, so in that way, representing the history well is a helpful thing.
Oh, those are two good reasons. Thank you!
Thank you for sharing this great info! This takes the pressure off trying to “remember the reason for the season” with my 4 and 6 year olds.
Pressure never helps anything! Pick a few things that are going to connect and be fun, and have a great time.