Praying Christmas Cards

I have just about cleared my house of everything Christmas which makes me sad.  The house just seems so unfestive.  Boring.  Bleak. Depressing to be frank! The last to come down, as always, were my Christmas cards.  Every year I tape them around the pass through that is over my sink.  I love looking at all the beautiful families of all of our friends from near and far.  It's so much fun to listen to my children talk about friends and family members that they never see as if they just had a playdate yesterday.  This is our ritual every Christmas.  And every January, I take them down, put them in a bag, and store them on the book shelf next to the last year's cards.  I must admit I get the bag out from time to time during the year and visit with these families again and again.

This year as I was getting ready to place them on the shelf next to last years cards, I had an idea.  I cannot claim it as original.  Years ago I was watching an interview with UGA's head football coach, Mark Richt.  During the piece he was describing his life at home away from the football field.  

Each night as his family sits down for supper, his wife pulls out a box filled with Christmas cards from the previous Christmas.  She gets out the card that is at the top of the pile and sets it in the middle of the table.  As the Richt family asks God to bless the food on the table they lift up the family on the card in prayer. After supper Mrs. Richt places the card on the bottom of the stack in the box.  

As I was remembering watching this, I thought to myself 'what a perfect idea.'  Lately I have been struggling with how to teach my children how to pray.  And how to pray outside of the box.  (No pun intended!!)  So this year I have decided to start the Richt's tradition at the Beebe house.  Although there are many nights that are chaotic and no one eats at the same time, I am going to practice this discipline as much as I can so that it will be a part of our daily prayer routine....daily!

I thought this idea was worthy of sharing with you.  I hope that if you give it try you will enjoy revisiting those families that have come to you on a Christmas card as much as the Beebes will.