Having Your Best Family Christmas...Ever!

Brad:
Ho ho ho hold on a minute! It's time for another episode of Go Mad with Doug and Brad and I have to tell you that we are excited here today because yes, it is a wonderful Christmas setup. We love Christmas.

We do, and we're going to be talking about how to have Just maybe your highest impact, most make-a-difference family Christmas yeah. The best family Christmas ever! But before that, Doug, I am so excited.

That you are ready to premiere our brand new go mad theme song. Uh you've been working on it on the keys there. And uh I am excited to hear.

Now, we are convinced here. Everyone just listen close because we are convinced, just like Schroeder and the Peanuts.

Doug:
That this will sound like a full grand piano when he plays this. So we're ready. You ready? It's Christmas time Getting out the Grinch balloon front yard.

Brad:
So so I actually I uh maybe we'll just Got that in post. We'll fix that in post, right, Jesse? So verse two, next week.

Doug:
What's the fix? Can I say something? Oh, yes.

I call I call I I text Brad about half an hour ago and I say, Brad, do you think I should wear a Santa hat? Would would it be f too weird to wear a Santa hat? He uh he his answer I quote, it might look a little goofy.

Brad:
Was that what I did I say goofy?

Doug:
Could you please tune in to the YouTube video of this episode and see what Brad's wearing.

Brad:
Okay. Touche. I mean Christmas touche. Uh that is a few.

Doug:
My hat would have been a three. That's I've got a clash. Are either of you guys good at putting up lights?

Brad:
We tried something new this year. I didn't always look so Sarah did it and uh they actually stayed on the house So that was good.

Doug:
I wish I could do that. Uh I stink at this. Let's just say it's a Christmas tradition for me to stink.

at putting up Christmas lights. You know that guy Clark Griswold? You know that guy Clark Griswold from Christmas Vacation who is awful at putting up lights?

That guy's better than I am.

Brad:
Wow. Well, he did use a lot of staples. He used a lot of staples.

I yeah, I you know we are gonna you mentioned traditions and uh actually it's interesting because As we dive into Christmas, now I one of the things that probably you're listening to this uh and thinking, well, what about we have our family Christmas? We have it set and everything. We want to challenge you a little bit to even think a little more outside the box with the Make a Difference Christmas.

We all have our traditions. We all have them. And if you don't, you should.

I don't know if you guys have noticed. that on the interwebs there's opinions about Christmas. I really think you're wrong on that.

What

Doug:
The way you're making it sound is that some people when you bring up Christmas online think it's evil and it's comes from pagan origins. It it's almost as if you're saying then that people respond to that saying you're crazy, no it's not, and everything's from Germany and everything's fine.

Brad:
It is it is Insane. It really is. Now I'm not saying the people saying it are.

Let me clear everything. Everybody's got their contract. Christmas is supposed to be a time of joy.

It's supposed to be as As followers of Christ, let me start with this. We're supposed to have a time of rejoicing, a spirit of just wanting to reflect what we see in the Christmas story. And so I'm not saying that there aren't differing viewpoints here, but it is true that when you Google the views on this, I will say that there are people who make a very strong case.

For both sides. For both sides. Yes.

And I read both and I'm just like Yeah.

Doug:
I feel like wait when there's that much when when there's that much confusion about origins and I I saw a special on this the other day and they were like You know, the reality is they had a couple historian guys on. It's really hard to know really what the origins are. We can we can kind of point out when the the kind of traditional Christmas stuff started with the Christmas story and and um Charles Dickens and all that.

Um but yeah this uh d another Christmas movie, uh Christmas with the cranks, you know, that started out as this John Grisham book called Skipping Christmas. Great name of that guy, by the way, for someone he gets really ticked off about as as as maybe we all have at some time or another. It gets really ticked off about how cris how commercial it's gotten, how much work it's become.

His name is Luther Crank. Yeah. So good.

But so when the frustrations or the excesses of the holiday uh make you kind of resent and maybe even want to skip Christmas. Now maybe you're not there, but you do have this nagging sense that that it's not where it's supposed to be cultural or even in your family or relationally But it's such a rich holiday. One of the things I know you and I love about it, Brad, is how our parents noticed, recognized, that it's such a rich holiday to um to to potentially show how wonderful this gift is from Jesus, to remind us what it's all about.

And there are so many opportunities to do it. So what if we could, instead of canceling Christmas or or walking through it with this nagging sense like something's wrong. What if we took our favorite parts of the holiday and make them work for our families in a more intentional way, we can get some real next level Christmas going on.

Brad:
Yeah, I think that uh a couple things to uh remember in this is like I was saying before, we are supposed to be about rejoicing. The Christmas story, the angels, rejoice. Fear not, rejoice.

And we're supposed to be people who are rejoicing over this. So if you're going out and you're going to the store. And someone says happy holidays to you and you just snap at them.

You're like, it is Merry Christmas. And I'm making a point here. It is, you know what We need we get it.

We uh we should keep Christ in the world. Oh, a joy to the world. Um but we should make sure that we are of all people That when people encounter us during this season, especially our families, and that's where who we're focusing on.

The moms and dads, the grandparents out there. how we should be able to enter into these moments together. Um, I do think of some traditions that are uh you know beyond the tree and everything else.

Uh and I want to be clear, before you fire off the email to us, before you you do someone already did. You should have said this later. We know Jesus was not born on December twenty-fifth.

I just want to You don't know that I just want to clarify we're not supporting all the different things, but We are wanting to talk about how to celebrate this season. Jesse, one of the traditions that uh happens in my household, and I'm sure it happens for you. Okay.

Christmas lists from the kids. Now I'm gonna ask you something. I've not asked you off air.

Um I've heard that there is uh yours uh there there was a next level list. Uh and I'm wondering, would you share that with us because Because I want to know if this is actually true.

Jesse:
Is this right? It's still in process. There's a uh a PowerPoint presentation that's being built. Sorry as we last I checked.

Doug:
Can we stop for a second?

Jesse:
Forty something pages. I but that that was not completed. Is this your PowerPoint presentation?

No, it is not mine. Okay. But it is a member of my family.

Doug:
Okay, a family member.

Jesse:
Okay.

Brad:
I That's such a great idea. Why even I thought of that? And I was like, I mean, I I have to be honest.

I at first I I did l laugh out loud as I just did. But then I realized that I did that just without the technology. I would take the catalog circle.

I would put things out. I would be, I mean It probably looked like those creepy notes you see in movies where I like paper the taste put it on paper and put the letters next to it and everything. I'm just like Get me this.

On the first those. But PowerPoint is next level and and I I have to applaud, I think, that uh that effort.

Doug:
I those catalogs were like forty pounds. And we would circle, Mom, Dad, these are all these are all the toys I want, just these, and they'd say, kids, this is four hundred and six things. That you circled.

I'm like, yeah, we need each one of them. We're getting you two. We're getting you two.

Brad:
So Doug, I I want to ask you so we can dive in here. We know that there's the differing views and everything, but I think people get our heart on this. That this is, hey Let's have a make a difference family Christmas here. Uh what would you encourage people with first here?

Doug:
Quietly whispers this time of year, it's Christmas, it's time to celebrate!

Brad:
But I could take it or leave it. Jacket again. Uh quietly.

Doug:
Just again remember you're always ambassadorizing. Um and as you've heard if you listen to this podcast, we really start with our families, our spouses, our kids, and then yes, our neighbors and family members and i uh it it So many opportunities to do that. I'm glad we're talking about this.

You know what, Jay, real quick, James Dobson calls these things, these uh these traditions that we have, whether they're a vacation place we go or or at Christmas or a holiday. He calls them tent poles And these are things that that the l literally like a tent pool, they're always there. You can build around them, put the tent up But these are things that your family goes back to i i decades later and and feels warmth and joy and family togetherness.

So yeah. Let's let's talk about a couple of things that our family either did growing up or we still do. Let's start with this Jesse tree uh thing.

This was such a great idea. Mom literally got out and Uncle Jesse doll from from the Dukes of Hazard and and dressed them up like a a shepherd or like a a guy would be back way back in the Old Testament days. And uh and she made a tree and and kind of an ornament for each um for each part of the story that shows us the lineage from Jesse down to Jesus.

And I might am I getting that right? I remember like like and and each like every day or something, I think we'd hang another one and she'd help us explain.

Brad:
Cross promotional, but uh I would encourage people Go check out Thrive in the Mess. Uh, that is our sister Lisa's podcast. Yeah.

Because uh she actually has Doug's son Sam. uh on a recent episode where she talks all about the Jesse tree. And you should go check that out because it is one of the ways that as I you phrased it, Doug, we can focus on the awesome story.

That that's really kind of where this all starts is in our celebrations, focusing on the awesome story that is the nativity story, that is Jesus coming. And and the Jesse Tree is a great way, uh one very key way you can do that and bring meaning into these moments.

Doug:
And what it did for me as a kid as I look back Is it helped me realize I didn't this wasn't conscious uh when when we were kids, but it helped me realize Jesus was a real person. To to see the i that he's real. He came from.

You know, we we we see the manger and the baby Jesus and that's that's all a wonderful part of the story, but he didn't just appear there You know, a lightning bolt and and but he he came from a lineage and that helped me know that. Um we I also remember as kids As a family, we would do this family play. Oh yeah.

And and this wasn't just any family play. It was like we

Brad:
No, this is the one we talked about with dad.

Doug:
Yes, we talked about this with dad on the last episode. And all the star of this always was mom. Yes There was some sheepskin big blanket we had that they got somewhere and she would just if you came to our house, which a lot of peop visitors did, you knocked on the front door and we were in the middle of this play, you would see my mom Crawling around with this thing on her back, bing.

And uh and but guess what? Here we go again. As a kid, it made it real to me, it made it memorable to me and I look back with it with such warmth.

Uh feel closer to my mom, closer to my family, because it's just a cool tradition. As as we go through these What we're what we're literally praying, Brad and Jesse and I are praying, is that if if you're not really into traditions, maybe you'll think uh uh uh you'll be encouraged to start some that are really meaningful. And maybe you'll hear hear a couple ideas.

Uh or or you'll get your own idea that'll that'll pop up in your head or in your heart. Uh because these are so vital and so great at pulling a family together.

Brad:
Do you think you guys can take me seriously in this jacket? Because if so, I want to Why are you asking that now? I I know. I it's I have a

Doug:
I have something that I just realized Jesse had to put sunglasses on.

Brad:
There was something that hit me in the celebration of this season, the celebration of Jesus' birth that Um, I'm gonna go Greek here for a minute. Um the I if you read in Galatians 4. 4, it talks about that in the fullness of time That God sent his son.

So in Galatians, Paul's talking about the Christmas story that God sent his son, Jesus, to earth. And it was in the fullness of time. Now, time there is the word Kranos.

And basically that's kind of time as we know it. Time on the clock, time as it goes. And so in the fullness of all that had happened to that point.

the we were just bursting, the glass was had had hit the full point. And all of a sudden this tipping point comes where now the fullness of time. It's time for Jesus.

But then you have in Luke one verse twenty, Where the angel says to Zechariah, he says, he's talking about uh the birth of John the Baptist, but he talks about this time. That time will be fulfilled here. And That is the word kairos.

And that's the word for time there. And kairos moment is this meaningful, this exceedingly important moment in time. That's the difference between kairos and kranos.

Doug:
Kranos is kind of just like time in general.

Brad:
So Kairos is this moment in time. And and when you're looking at celebrating Jesus, I know this is getting, you know, a little deeper there, but When you're looking at celebrating Jesus this season with your family, remember that you are celebrating this moment in time, this Kairos moment where not only did everything change, but look at our calendar. It's split time between BC and A D. This is a moment that we should be making much of with our families.

That our children should know it's really important. So there should be almost this sober mindedness to it, but that it is also filled with exceedingly great joy, because that's the message over and over from the angels, the shepherds were excited. The wise men were excited.

Everyone's excited about Jesus. So let's make sure we know why we're excited, but that we also let that excitement be seen and known. Thank you for saying that, Brad.

Doug:
You know Don't uh uh y you can have a you can i have uh be faithful to what your conscience is telling you. Um and if you feel like that that means either very little celebration, then we're we're not uh we're not coming down on that But um don't let people make you feel guilty for just celebrating Um the songs and and um and the the joy and the and and the presents. You know, some people give a lot of presents, some people decide to give one.

But, you know, the Bible says that the Father, our Heavenly Father, loves giving good gifts to his children. So when you're giving gifts to your family, especially your kids, and there's like this next level joy, like Oh man, they love it. That's a reflection of the father's love for you.

So so so don't let anyone make you feel guilty. about that. Um do we have any more?

Uh I want to hear some of your ca I know you guys have some really good traditions.

Brad:
Well here's I don't know if this is so much a tradition as far well I there's some tie to this. It would be in the mindset of simplifying and prioritizing during this time of year. Because I think for me there's been uh there there's this desire sometimes to do a lot.

Where it's just like because you feel like you're missing out of the thing. It's because I'm excited about things. It's just like I get all worked up and it's just like, hey, let's do this, let's do that.

I was even this sea this year, I was looking at Man, should we take this trip for a few days? And then I looked at how much things cost and I'm like, we should not take that trip right now. But I'm looking at all this stuff and I'm and I just realized that I'm in a season of life where I just want to make sure, first of all, that yes, the focus is on Jesus, but then my family is having special times together.

So on our table here, we have Christmas cookies, and uh I would like to point out did not make them. Uh my wife did. But you have been eating.

I but I oh I've been eating them. Uh they and they and I did decorate, as you can tell, the the gingerbread men. Um the I decorated easily.

Um But I am I realize that man just making cookies together or watching that Christmas special, sitting down watching Charlie Brown Christmas together or a fun Christmas movie or maybe it's just hey Taking that time to say, I want to go get coffee with uh this one of my children. Now, if your children are like five and six, maybe hold off on the coffee, but Uh you know, hot cocoa uh is an option. But I think that's something for me that to to avoid some of the rush and the crunch of things and just space things out so that you you have time to Let some let things unfold.

Let things come into those quiet moments. Let things come into the joy that you're having as a family.

Doug:
That that's great advice. The um I remember these moments so much. I don't know what it is about the holiday or like vacations or something about just being really focused.

with your parents, your parents being really focused on you. And those making those cookies, your kids are gonna remember that and it's gonna seep into their soul and their heart and they're gonna feel closer. Uh, watching Charlie Brown Christmas special.

Uh that is a great tradition. I remember we did um uh growing up we did Advent and you can you can read um just Google it and see how people do Advent but it's another cool you know just lighting a candle the this the few weeks before Christmas and and um and focusing on um on the real meaning of this holiday. But I mean We we uh we'll a uh uh uh a couple other ideas, a couple things that we do.

Um we go around uh to friends with our kids and we we kinda do a little research through what our friends' kids are interested in and we we get a few gifts. Uh it's not Santa. If you know our last name, I'll tell you the name of the elf.

It's touching stuff. It is. It is.

It's touching stuff with his elves, but it gets the kids thinking about more about not what am I getting, but The tradition is we're going to be thoughtful about what we give and and we're going to go do it together and we're going to focus on others.

Brad:
Um and I if I could say on that, I think that's real important to spend some time focusing on others. I actually have a dream Christmas serving opportunity that I want to do someday. And that is and I I would it would be great even like combined families doing this.

There's a place in Chicago area uh called Pacific Guard admission. Oh and it's where our great grandfather, uh where he W found Jesus through a miraculous turn of events, going to take his own life and heard hymns that his mom used to sing coming from this place as he's walking to the Chicago River. And he went in and he rediscovered Jesus, turned his life over to him.

None of us would be here. No, and I would love to go serve there someday. Yeah.

Oh, we have to do that. But there are times even when I Even not being able to do that, where I think, man, I'm honoring someone when even when I serve, I'm honoring the Lord when I serve others. But think about those in your life that have gone before you that you're like, man, I want to honor them.

I want to do this in honor of them this season, whether it is Giving an extra gift to to an organization that needs help, or if it is bringing cookies to a neighbor that that's lost someone last year. We do that for all of all of a sudden to be able to say, hey I want to love others in honor of Jesus and in honor of family because then you're showing your children. The reason I mention that is you're showing your children and you're showing your grandchildren.

Also, a legacy of a family. Now, maybe you're from someone you're kind of first generation loving Jesus, but if you've got loving Jesus in your family DNA. Man, make sure your children know that even around this time of year, that, hey, uh you hear Doug and I talking about our traditions we celebrate.

I love now, I will say the advent calendar, those have gone a little off the rails at this point. I'm not sure what a Lego Star Wars. Is the Advent Calendar?

No, you said advent. Oh the advent. I meant like the lighting the reason.

Don't light the reason like the candles everywhere. Like the lamp, not the rat. There are so you had to do it.

Doug:
Muppet Christmas Carol.

Brad:
I'm not sure what any of these calendars have to do with Jesus. Now that's true. The advent calendars are hilarious.

But the advent is a very good thing. You know those guys from Despicable Me they Please tell me they weren't doing a manger scene, because that I I better not you know what? Let's just skip it though.

Doug:
That's it. I did see I did see a minions uh a minions nativity set.

Brad:
Wow, I don't know what to do with that. Neither do I. Let's we'll continue on. Yeah that's next. Jesse, I I'm curious for you when you think of Christmas traditions and things with your family, how does it hit you?

Jesse:
Um Cinnamon rolls. Cinnamon rolls.

Doug:
Easy?

Jesse:
Why aren't those on the table? Yeah, well uh uh they were they were. Easy buckets.

So free throws, layups. That is a what hey my kids know it's cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning. That's like a a buck fifty.

But not just that, uh that's a simple thing that I can follow through with. But I will say we have um Taken a cue from y'all with acting out the Christmas story. Uh we just kind of fell into that.

We tried it one year and What what's so funny about it is how bonkers it gets. Oh, yeah. It's not it's like by the time we get to the end, it's so loud and everyone is like kind of doing their own thing and like improvising and you know It is helpful because we go, this is what this day is about, but it's also it's just a lot of fun.

And we just don't take ourselves very seriously. So

Brad:
Can you video it this year?

Jesse:
Uh no. I don't know what I'll be wearing. Whatever the girls will decide that I'll be wearing.

Brad:
So that is awesome. I love that.

Doug:
Let me I I just let me just Touch on something, Brad, that cause you brought up something really important. This time of year there are so many lonely people and and loneliness and despair is is exponentialized in people's lives because people look around and they go, other people have friends and families. Something uh really cool that my uh our our brother in law Rick does So he's got a gift for being able to play the piano.

So he goes over to a a local um retirement community and he just sits down at the piano and he starts playing Christmas songs. And the stories of joy of the folks there are so amazing. You go, well, he was just sitting there playing the piano.

No, he wasn't. He was investing in lives that that are desperate for some connection at this time of year. When you serve in that way, not only is the loneliness exponentialized, but the love and the joy that you're bringing is exponentialized Always be ambassadoring and your kids see this. Involve your kids.

It's never too late to start something like this. Go do something like that. with your wife.

There's so many so many things. I want to share one last quick one. Our dad before we would open before we open gifts every year.

Now if you can imagine as a bunch of little kids um sitting there like, we wanna open the presents, we wanna open the presents. He he'll he'll do this briefly. He knows that that there's uh you know kids desperate to get ripping into things But every single time before we start opening as a family, our family, when our family all gets together, he stops and he puts into context for all of us the gift of salvation, that it's a free gift.

And we've done the Christmas story, but he is really focusing on the reason we're giving gifts to one another in the first place is this is a reflection of The Father giving us the gift of his son, and it's only maybe three or four minutes that he takes, but man I remember those as a kid and he's still doing it now, decades later, and our kids are loving it. And we do it with our kids. That's the beautiful thing about traditions is they kinda they sew your family together and and uh it's a beautiful thing.

Brad:
Look folks we know that during the Christmas Christmas season that it's gonna be a miracle if you've made it this far into the podcast. Because we know there's a lot of time, a lot of family things going on. Wait, by the way, this podcast

Doug:
We do a Christmas uh podcast just I think every year, every season. We are ready to go.

Brad:
Um I think that I what we would like to leave you with here, though, is If it sounds like a lot, if it's like, well, I don't know if I can do all those things, well, don't simplify and prioritize as we talked about. Pick something. Pick something that you're like, if there's one thing that I feel will give my family joy in celebrating Jesus this year.

What might that look like? And do that. You have, depending when you're listening to this, you've got a little over a week left till Christmas.

It's not too late to have something, a either a new tradition. Oh yeah. Maybe it's re-energizing an old tradition, but whatever it is, just bring joy into the season and make sure that you've got be the Grinch after the heart has grown three sizes.

Don't have don't let your face reflect A oh it's crazy. I can't believe we have to do all this stuff. No.

Doug:
Yeah, yeah.

Brad:
Make sure you reflect the joy to say, man, let's point to Jesus.

Doug:
Point to Jesus. And if there's a way for that tradition or traditions to also impact someone outside your home that uh that really needs that the love of Christ. See if you can get that sown in there too.

Brad:
And if you've been praying for a family member um this season

Doug:
Yeah.

Brad:
I I'll just I'll wrap up with this. Um I won't go into specifics so that I you know, the privacy of my children, some here. Uh one of my children on Christmas Eve.

We had I we talk a lot about Jesus. They were a lot younger. And it was just we had just gone around.

We were with Sarah's family uh for their Christmas and they had just shared about the Christmas story and My one child turned to me, just said, can we go, can I talk to you? And we went to the other room. And right then and there, that child prayed and asked Jesus into their heart.

That was Christmas Eve? It was Christmas Eve. Oh, man, is that good?

Christmas is a great time to talk about Jesus. And it's Hearts are softer. Make sure you look for those opportunities to not just show Jesus, but tell about him too, and be ready to have those conversations in your own family to point to Jesus.

Guess what? I got engaged on Christmas Eve. Wow, there we go.

Doug:
Yeah, not trying not trying to one up. Well, but then we can make it a vote, but I didn't know Ha! I didn't know that. That happened on Christmas Eve. Oh, that's amazing.

Brad:
Just makes me love Christmas more. So folks, we trust you've got a great Christmas ahead with your family, with friends, whatever plants you've got. So until next time from all of us to you, go mad and Merry Christmas