A Christmas Story for Kids

When we were little, my mom read us Christmas stories she’d ripped out of Christian magazines, or borrowed from the library. These story times remain some of my most vivid and cherished Christmas memories.

So this year, I’m carrying on that tradition with my own kids. Instead of just telling them that “it really is better to give than receive” and “Christ is the reason for the season” I’m reading them stories that I hope will capture their imagination and affections.

Each night, by the light of the advent candle, we read a story.

One of my favorites so far doesn’t even have any pictures! It’s a story John Piper wrote for the children of his church. “A Kind of Christmas Tale” is about a man named Job and his daughter Jemimah. It was a tad above my children’s comprehension level (well, more than a tad above Tori’s!); but the story is encapsulated in two short rhymes, which, when repeated often, will remind my children and me to trust God’s plan and to obey Him always. Here's the first one:

“When things don’t go the way they should
God always makes them work for good.”

To learn the second one, you'll have to read the story.