God's mystery - and an Advent calendar - CFN Newsletter Week 113

CHRISTIAN FAMILY NETWORK NEWSLETTER 113

> Pete Greig reflects on the mysteries of Advent, especially with young children
> News:
> Families and money - help is at hand
> Sex education must be reformed, says LIFE
> Young mums star in video to combat teen pregnancies
> Sites:
> The 12 days of kitschmas - Ship of Fools rounds up some of the quirkier Christian gift ideas
> The Star of Bethlehem - what do the astronomers think?
> Marriage MOT: To love and to cherish
> You've got to laugh: Family Christmas?
> Members' Zone latest

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Dear All

If you're as rushed as we are at the moment, you'll be glad of the chance to have a breather, put your feet up and rest over the Christmas/New Year period. Hopefully we'll all get time to wonder afresh at God's greatest gift to us - His son Jesus.

A lot of our content in this update is lighter in tone, with plenty of good humour - we hope you enjoy it.

Our next update will be at the end of the first week in January 2004. So in the meantime:

Have a joyful and peaceful Christmas, and a hope-filled New Year!

God bless

Russ Bravo
Christian Family Network
info@cfnetwork.co.uk
http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk

PS Christian Family Network is here to direct you to the best in parenting, marriage and family resources; to link you up with other Christian families up and down the UK; and to help you make the most of life as a follower of Christ - at home, at work, at school and college, at play and online.

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INSIGHT

Chocs away

• PETE GREIG on the mysteries of Advent
  

The kids are beside themselves with excitement about Christmas already and seem unlikely to make it to the Big Day itself without a careful programme of sedation.

At the age of five, Hudson now considers himself something of an expert on the whole merry affair. Tonight he announced that one of his friends had an ADVERT calendar.

“Don’t you mean Advent?” Samie laughed. But no, Hudson was adamant. The difference, he explained, is that Alfie’s calendar contains chocolate and it isn’t about the baby Jesus.

I should point out Samie did a brilliant job in tracking down a calendar that actually does depict the nativity scene amidst Woolworth’s many variations on the ‘Santa-The-Saviour’ theme. The baby Jesus lies nestling in traditionally radioactive hay surrounded by an array of livestock, a perturbed looking Joseph and three turbaned gentlemen apparently on their way to the Antiques Road Show with valuable trinkets from the attic.

But it doesn’t have chocolate.

Of course, it would be easy for each one of us to make Hudson’s mistake. But the four weeks culminating with the birth of Immanuel, bring spiritual challenges to every Christian drowning in a consumer culture. Advent calls us first and foremost to prepare ourselves for the celebration of Jesus’ birthday – his party not ours! We welcome him now, in the present tense, to be born in our own troubled lives and communities afresh. And finally we look to the future and prepare for his final coming to judge the living and the dead.

As we count the days to Christmas we may therefore open surprising windows of contemplation, worship and prayer – the very antithesis of all the stress and trauma associated with spending ourselves on reindeer shaped tree lights and chocolate laden ‘advert’ calendars. As we do our Christmas shopping, decorate the tree, light the candles and prime the video recorder, let’s intercede that Christ would come and surprise our broken world once again.

An Advent spent like this; in soul searching and wonder as well as shopping and spending is perhaps an advert for Christ a few of our more thoughtful friends might heed. Perhaps, more than ever, Advent is a season for prayer and fasting. Praise and feasting comes soon enough. With lots of chocolate.

• Pete Greig heads up 24-7prayer.com – a non-stop prayer meeting in more than 40 countries

> THIS WEEK'S NEWS

> Families and money - help is at hand

As families across the UK spend their way towards Christmas, Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams has helped launch a new service to help parents and children reconcile their money differences.

Go to http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/news.asp for the full story

> Sex education 'must be reformed' says LIFE

LIFE, the UK’s leading prolife charity, which has been warning that teenagers’ sexual health is at an all-time low, has backed a British Medical Association report blaming teenagers’ poor health on their lifestyles.

Go to http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/resources.asp for the full story

> Young mums star in video to reduce teen pregnancy

Four young mums in Kent have starred in a video produced by Gillingham Youth for Christ to try to combat the high rate of teenager pregnancies in the area.

Go to http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/news.asp for the full story

> MARRIAGE MOT

> Check out our archived marriage tips in the Members' Zone, plus stacks more marriage resources at http://www.2-in-2-1.co.uk

To love and to cherish

Did you promise to love and to cherish each other? We all think we know what it means to love but what about cherish?

One dictionary definition says it means 'to hold dear' and 'treat with affection and tenderness'. It's not a commonly used word, but it is a powerful one.

For me, it speaks of being surrounded by the love of my husband, like being snuggled into a warm coat or being wrapped in my husbands arms, or seeing him smiling from the back of a room when I'm giving a talk, or his friendly voice on the phone when he knows I'm having a difficult day.

It's about warmth and protection for my heart, not being smothered, but being affirmed and supported. Within I feel loved, valued, appreciated, respected, healed and soothed.

We all experience love in different ways, so I believe part of cherishing my husband is to find ways to show my love, ways that he will understand and appreciate.

For him it will be a hug when he comes in from work, a nice meal on the table, the details of life taken care of, so he can focus on the bigger picture, recognising when he wants to make love and perhaps surprising him with my enthusiasm and passion.

How can you show love and tenderness to your spouse? How would they experience being cherished, loved, valued, special?
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> EVENTS

> YOU'VE GOT TO LAUGH ...

A man in Manchester calls his son in New York the day before Christmas and says: "I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing; 45 years of misery is enough."

"Dad, what are you talking about?" the son screams.

"We can't stand the sight of each other any longer," the father says. "We're sick of each other, and I'm sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in St Ives and tell her."

Frantic, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone. "There's no way they're getting divorced!" she shouts, "I'll take care of this."

She calls Manchester immediately and screams at her father: "You are not getting divorced. Don't do a single thing until I get there. I'm calling my brother back, and we'll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don't do a thing, DO YOU HEAR ME?" and hangs up.

The old man hangs up his phone and turns to his wife. "That's settled then," he says, "they're coming home for Christmas and they're paying their own way!"

> CHRISTIAN FAMILY NETWORK THIS WEEK
(MEMBERS' ZONE) - http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/default.asp

> Advice

> Pete Greig on the mysteries of Advent
> Kate's Marriage advice - what does it mean 'to love and to cherish'?

> Resources

> The Night Before Christmas - the real one and 'legally speaking'
> The 12 Thank Yous of Christmas
> Kids' marriage tips
> Dear Tech Support ...
> Gordon Clark has a Christmas grumble
> Mike Rimmer talks to two of the songwriters behind Cliff's Christmas single
> John Woods - how can the Church be distinctive in a 'Pop Ideol' culture?

> News

> Families and money - help is at hand
> Sex education must be reformed, says LIFE
> Young mums star in video to combat teen pregnancies

> Top sites this week

> The 12 days of kitschmas - Ship of Fools rounds up some of the quirkier Christian gift ideas
> The Star of Bethlehem - what do the astronomers think?

> Events: More of what's on near you

> Webwatch Index: more than 600 sites at your fingertips

> Site Search Engine: the easy way to trawl our 1,000-page plus archives

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