Sweet House of Bread

Gingerbread houses are a Christmastime tradition for so many. I'm not sure how the tradition started, but in an effort to make the story of Christ's birth the focus of all that we do and still carry on some of the fun traditions, I try very hard to intertwine the two. Bethlehem means "house of bread" and was the birthplace of Jesus. As we build and decorate our gingerbread house, we talk about Jesus being born in Bethlehem, the house of bread, that God said He would be born there long before He was, and that God keeps all of His promises. As we build the house, we talk about building a solid foundation to keep the house strong...just as we are to build ourselves upon the solid foundation of Christ.

I often wonder if these truths ever lay roots because the excitement over icing and candy is nearly uncontainable. Nevertheless, I know my Lord is faithful and that the repetition of these truths Christmas after Christmas will stay with my children forever.

Jason and Jackson decorated our gingerbread house this year. Jason is a rules guy. He followed the directions to a tee, which made the building and decorating last two days :-)) I didn't get any photos of their process, but I did catch someone who wanted to tear the house down. It's s good thing they had a strong foundation this year!

Sure, Alli. No one even notices what you are doing.