Coach Mom Newsletter - DEC 2010

Christmas: A Season for
Sharing Your Faith

Merry Christmas, my friends! This month one mom shows us that we don’t have to go half-way around the world to be on mission. Thank you, Tricia Wilson, for encouraging us to consider what we can do right now at this stage of life to share the Good News.

Brenna

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In 2008, our oldest was in kindergarten at our public neighborhood school in McKinney, Texas. It was about a week and a half before school was to be dismissed for “winter break”. One day I heard a voice in my heart telling me to invite the kids in Graham’s kindergarten class to my home. What?! There isn’t much time! Will they come? What will the parents think of me? But I couldn’t shake my strong desire to share with these kiddos the true meaning of Christmas.

I planned to use a friendly, interactive nativity set called What God Wants for Christmas (FamilyLife Publishing, 2005). This engaging kit guides children through a clear presentation of the true meaning of Christmas. When searching the FamilyLife website, I got the idea to host a “Cookie Decorating Party with a Twist” (See note below). My son gave invitations to his classmates. About a week later, our home was buzzing with 16 children and a few parents. We decorated gingerbread cookies, and then I shared this unique nativity set with our guests followed by a clear presentation of how each child can know God personally and begin a relationship with Him. Each guest left with a favor bag that included a Gospel tract geared toward children.

It has been a blessing to host outreaches like this not only because God is giving me opportunities to share His love with others, but because this is teaching my four children the importance of sharing the Gospel with others and modeling to them ways they can do that. Deuteronomy 6:7 says, “And you shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.” Whether we go on a mission trip to another part of the world or stay at home, we can share the Good News with others.

Tricia Wilson is married to Dwayne and is a stay-at-home mom to their four children. With a sense of passionate urgency, she enjoys speaking to women’s groups about engaging in their communities.

Tricia is actively involved in her church where she is an AWANA leader. She also began a Good News Club at her children’s neighborhood school and has recruited a team of twelve moms to help her share the Good News of the Gospel with these children. Tricia does other work was well with Child Evangelism Fellowship, and she and Dwayne love to take short-term mission trips with Global Aid Network.

Tricia and her family live in McKinney, Texas.

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How to Host a Cookie Decorating Party with a Twist

• Pray: for attendance, smooth preparations, fun, no distractions, a clear presentation of the Gospel.

• Send out invitations including information that the true meaning of Christmas will be shared. A one hour party will work!

• Purchase ingredients, drinks, nametags, etc.

• Prepare party favor bags with a children’s Gospel tract (Download and print your own tracts at http://www.tracts.com/ChildrensTracts.html (one of my favorites: http://www.tracts.com/Godknowsmyname.pdf). You can also buy tracts at your local Christian bookstore. Make a few extra for those who did not RSVP, or who bring friends.

• Plan what children will do when they arrive, then when they are finished decorating their cookies?

• Plan to do the Christmas story and Gospel presentation in a different room than the cookie decorating, near a Christmas tree if possible.

• Use What God wants for Christmas or another tool to present the Gospel.

• Keep it simple and short, and have fun sharing the Gospel and the true meaning of the season at the same time.

• If you have stairs or rooms you do not wish children to enter, shut/lock doors and put up baby gates to block those areas.

Below is an easy recipe for making reindeer cookies that avoids the icing mess. Get creative and make some angels using pretzels for the wings! You could also buy Christmas pre-made gingerbread cookies and let the children add icing and sprinkles.

1 roll of pre-made sugar cookie dough
small pretzel rings
M & Ms or red hots
1 bell-shaped cookie cutter
flour
baking sheet

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Open cookie dough and mix in about 1/4 C. of flour to make the dough easier to work with. Lightly flour the table, then roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness.

Using the bell cookie cutter, cut out 12 bell cookies - this will vary depending on how thick you roll out the cookies. Lay the cookies, all the same way with bell facing you, onto the cookie sheet. Then turn the cookie sheet around so that the bells are upside down. Place a pretzel on the top left and right to make ears, M&M’s for the eyes, and a red M&M to make a nose. (See photo)

Bake for 9 minutes or until very lightly browned around edges. Remove from oven and let cool on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes. Remove to a cooling rack to finish cooling.

(Reindeer Christmas Cookies Photo Source: www.familycorner.com)