A New Tradition with Old Christmas Cards

Posted by Tammy | 0 comments

‘Tis the season of traditions! Tra la la la laaaaaa la la la laaaaaaaa!

I can hear you saying that the season is officially over now. Time to put all those traditions away in a box until December rolls around again. Oh yes, they’ve been wonderfully fun, however, the new year is here and we can finally get back into our regular old routines.

Wait a minute! Stop everything! I have one more tradition to add to your list and it starts TODAY!

Remember all those Christmas cards, greetings, and pictures you’ve been receiving in the mail over the past month and which you’ve put into a creative display, hung on the wall, or thrown into a basket? Don’t turn them into a craft idea or throw them into the garbage quite yet. It’s now time to use them for a purpose with power. Prayer power!

“Prayer is a wonderful power placed by Almighty God in the hands of his saints, which may be used to accomplish great purposes and to achieve unusual results. Prayer reaches to everything, takes in all things great and small which are promised by God to the children of men. The only limit to prayer are the promises of God and his ability to fulfill those promises.” ~ E. M. Bounds

I love that last sentence! Prayer is limitless when trusting in our Almighty God!

Okay, so back to the details of adding a new tradition in the new year. Combine your Christmas greetings into a container of sorts – ours stay in the basket they’ve been in through the holidays – and pick out one greeting during your daily devotional time with your kids. Take a moment to read through the letter if there is one and talk about specific needs this family may have right now as well as their praises. Perhaps there is no letter, but you already know that the husband has lost a job, the youngest son has broken a leg, a new baby has arrived, or grandma is in a nursing home. Or maybe the card is one of obligation with a sterile signature on the bottom in which case you can always use the prayer outlined in Ephesians 3:14-21 as you pray that they may come to know Christ and His love.

Card by card, one by one, take time to lift up these families and their concerns and areas of thanksgiving in purposeful and powerful prayer. For an added blessing, keep stamped postcards with this basket so when your devotional time is done for the day you can write a quick note of encouragement and let them know you’ve prayed for their family.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” ~ Philippians 4:6-7

A powerful prayerful new tradition for the new year that brings the peace of God into your own life as well into the lives of others. Isn’t that really the heart of the matter as we begin 2009?

Married in 1980 and still living in the same house in a woodsy rural setting, Tammy’s homeschooling journey began in the fall of 1987 when her oldest turned six years old. As rather new believers professing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, homeschooling was a way to live out the principles found in Deuteronomy 6:4-9. Through all the challenges of life Tammy has stayed the course growing to a family with nine children who presently range from preschool age to college graduates married with children. Her role has transitioned from learning everything she could about homeschooling to becoming an encourager to others coming along the way. Please visit Tammy at Garden Glimpses.

Homepage photo courtesy WordRidden