Reason for the Season

So this year we did it. We followed the sheep. We introduced Grafton to Elf on the shelf. 

Why would we do this if from my obvious tone I seemed unimpressed with the idea of the elf? Because, to me, it is very important to nurture Grafton's inner child, grow his imagination, and quite frankly believe in the impossible and magic of life. That being said, I was bound and determined not to fall into the whole materialism of it all. I was not going to purchase special outfits or buy items to help Elf get into mischief. I didn't want Elf to focus on being good for the sake of presents. I wanted Elf to focus on why Christmas is celebrated in the first place. The obsession with Santa and presents is inevitable, but for as long as I can this house will turn our attention Jesus. So here is our story of Spencer the Christmas Elf who spreads the word of God each day for the 25 days of Christmas...

On the evening of November 30th, while reading Grafton his bedtime stories, elf surprised us all by setting the alarm clock to announce his prescience.

His letter:
Dear Grafton,
   Do you know what Christmas is about? Many times the meaning of Christmas is not always remembered.
   Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, our lord and savior. When we use the word meaning, we are talking about the purpose of His birth that Christmas is supposed to celebrate. His purpose was to enter the world and become on of us that He might deliver us from sin. Now because Jesus is about giving, instead of Him receiving gifts He chooses to give gifts to celebrate. Of course the best gift He gives is eternal life in heaven, but since he received three presents from the wise men at birth, he also enjoys giving three gifts through Santa to all the good boys and girls during his birthday celebration. (Stocking fill, Santa's bag, and 1 gift.) This is where I, your Christmas elf, come in. I have been sent to keep your focus on the true sense of Christmas, as well as, to keep an eye on your actions to see if you are following the teachings of the bible and deserving of Jesus' birthday gifts. I will be staying with you for a while, going to my home at the north pole on Christmas Eve. Every night when you fall asleep magic happens and I come to life to check in with Santa and let him know if you have been naughty or nice. Then after that, while you're in bed I get to have some fun for you to discover in the morning. So look for me each day and then you will see what I've been up to and what I can teach you. But first I need you to give me a name. I come with a book that helps to explain my magic some. Read it tonight so you will know the rules to my powers. I'm excited to join you to celebrate all the love and magic Christmas has to offer.
-God Bless-
   Your Christmas Elf

After we read the letter Grafton was still a little confused. We read the book but by then he was in sleepy mode and not paying attention too well. He did name him Spencer (because that is what he names everything. We also had spencer the spider at halloween, spencer the train in his toys, and now he thinks his new brother/sister also needs to be named Spencer [not gonna happen].). As simply as possible Wes and I explained that Spencer would use his magic to travel to visit Santa and Jesus to check in each night but that if you touched him, he would loose his magic and not be able to go. As for the rest of it, we hoped he would just catch on along the way.

Our first morning with Spencer.

December 1st
Bible Verse: John 3:16
Spencer Instructions: Read two passages in Grafton's Children's bible to learn more about the birth of Jesus and the miracles that that led up to it, during it, and afterwards.
Spencer's Whereabouts: Positioned on the coffee table reading the children's bible with Frosty propping the book up. (I had hoped by using frosty that it would give me one day without the constant theme song playing on repeat, but I was wrong. The first thing Grafton did was grab frosty and Spencer and the bible came falling down. On the plus side he didn't touch Spencer, per the instructions.)
We read the two passages during his bedtime stories and again went over Spencer's purpose with Grafton. (To spread Christmas time cheer through learning of the love of God and Jesus)

December 2nd
Bible Verse: Psalm 63:7
Meaning Intended: We can fly through life on the wing's of God's love which helps us through it all (The meanings behind each verse are explained by Mom & Dad of course).
Spencer's Whereabouts: Hanging onto one of Grafton's airplanes which hangs from the ceiling with the bible verse coming off the tail like a banner.
He was surprisingly not discovered there till almost bedtime even with a giant toilet paper trail.

December 3rd
Bible Verse: Job 37:10
Meaning Intended: All things are made by God therefor God should be apart of all things in our daily routine.

Spencer's Whereabouts: Freezing his butt off, wrapped in a Christmas towel next to the waffles. The bible verse wrapped from the outside-in to insure he would be found.


December 4th
Bible Verse: Matthew 19:26
Meaning Intended: Nothing is unachievable if you keep trying and allow God to be apart of your trials, tribulations and victory.

Spencer's Whereabouts: Flying from the staircase light fixture with Spiderman and Ironman. (Spencer was hung out of reach along with Spiderman and Ironman Strategically because my bible study group was coming over that morning for fellowship with their kids and Grafton does not share Spiderman and Ironman very well so I did not want to deal with that. It worked in that aspect but Grafton was not a happy camper that morning when he woke up. There were many many request to cut them down.)

December 5th
Bible Verse: 1 John 2:15
Meaning Intended: Media will not always show you the way towards Jesus. Do not trust in what it takes value in. If you put too much value in worldly items then you loose space in your heart for love of God.
Spencer's Whereabouts: Hanging onto the corner of the TV in our Living Room. (This was Wes' first idea and creative contribution.)

December 6th
Bible Verse: Psalm 139:14
Meaning Intended: You are special and perfect the way you are because God designed you that way. No need to ever change to please anyone since you please God just the way you are.
Spencer's Whereabouts: In a toilet paper snowman ensemble in the half bath. (These are not all ideas we come up with alone, many are taken from Pinterest but just tweaked to include a biblical message.)

December 7th
Bible Verse: John 8:12
Meaning Intended: God and Jesus brings us hope in even the darkest of circumstances.
Spencer's Whereabouts: On the Christmas tree holding onto Christmas lights.

December 8th
Bible Verse: Matthew 10:31

Meaning Intended: Never fear your value in this world. You mean more than you will ever realize to many, including God and Jesus.
Spencer's Whereabouts: Inside our very random empty birdcage. (Another gem from Wes but Grafton thought it was hilarious to see Spencer in the cage. Go figure that my husband and my three-year-old would have the same sense of humor.)

December 9th
Bible Verse: 1 Peter 4:10

Meaning Intended: Each one of us is given a gift from God. People spend their whole lives trying to figure out what their specific gift is. When you find it, use it for all the good it was intended for.
Spencer's Whereabouts: Inside Grafton's Christmas stocking on the mantle. (This surprisingly led to a much more philosophical conversation that I was just not prepared for. I have no idea what my godly gift is so there was no way to help Grafton figure out what his was. It was kind of a fail on all levels because Grafton did not like having Spencer in his stocking for some unknown reason. After continuous warnings that he'd loose his magic if he was touched, Grafton still decided to take him out and put him on the sofa which led to the next day's location.)

December 10th
Bible Verse: Ephesians 6:1

Spencer's Instructions: Work harder to follow the rules outlined and to listen to your parents the first time they say something.
Spencer's Whereabouts: On the sofa where Grafton had put him along with a pen and note addressed to Grafton explaining that he had lost his magic temporarily because he was touched, therefore he was not able to go to the north pole to talk to Santa.

December 11th
Bible Verse: Luke 6:48

Spencer's Instructions: Spencer brought a present to Grafton. He wanted him to work hard to put together the gingerbread 'house' but to remember that it will only work if built on a strong foundation.
Spencer's Whereabouts: On the kitchen table with a Gingerbread Train kit. (I had bought the kit before I knew I was going to use Spencer to present it. While I know that a house kit would have fit the theme better, I already had a train so I went with it. Grafton never noticed the difference. He is 3 after all. I was lucky a train was made at all seeing as all he really wanted to do was eat the icing rather than put it together.)

December 12th
Bible Verse: Psalm 119:103

Meaning Intended: The word of God is more satisfying that any treat out there. (I may have gone a little too literal on this one but I saw this with maple syrup on Pinterest and thought it was too cute so I stretched a bit.)
Spencer's Whereabouts: In the kitchen pantry drinking honey. (Family made honey by the way so if you ever see it- get it. It's delicious! Shameless plug for Barrett family honey but who cares. It wasn't my intention when I placed Spencer there.)

December 13th
Bible Verse: Proverbs 21:8
Spencer's Instructions: Trust in God to show you the right way in life.
Spencer's Whereabouts: Upstairs playing Twister with some of Grafton's action figures and stuffed animals. (Another strategic move here. Grafton has been wanting to be entertained lately with Wes and I playing twister and falling down. This gave us a break from it. Plus he doesn't know his right from his left consistently yet so when he spins he just makes up which hand/foot goes on a color and if it lands in the middle of the color we have to use both feet/hands to reach both. He also thinks because there is a picture of a sock on the board that you have to play it in socks. This makes it really difficult for inflexible old farts like ourselves.)



December 14th
Bible Verse: Proverbs 14:14

Meaning Intended: The faithless get what they deserve and good people deserve their reward. (This kind of worked out perfectly because Spencer fell off the banister early in the day proving the whole point of just dessert. Grafton learned his lesson about not touching him too cause he laid on the stairs all day without moving.)
Spencer's Whereabouts: Sliding backwards down the stair banister.

December 15th
Bible Verse: Isaiah 41:13
Meaning Intended: You never have a need to fear because you are never alone. God is there beside you always holding your hand along the way.
Spencer's Whereabouts: In the hallway, riding on Grafton's bumper car with sock monkey. (This is another one from Wes. There's a little backstory to it. Grafton is absolutely terrified of this sock monkey for some reason. It was in Wes' stocking last year from his Mom and when you pull it's legs to shoot it across the room it hollers like Tarzan. For some reason it has been Wes' mission to not make him afraid of it so they can play with it. It's sort of working...)

December 16th
Bible Verse: Matthew 4:4
Meaning Intended: If you live without God in your life you will forever feel a void and a hunger for something more.
Spencer's Whereabouts: He was roasting marshmallows on a skewer over a candle. (Grafton came and got me to show me how 'silly' Spencer was then proceeded to eat both marshmallows without touching or even moving Spencer. He definitely sneaked in some sugar before breakfast that morning. Hanging onto the cross was not intentional but this little booger is hard to position to do the things I want him to so improvisation is key)

December 17th
Bible Verse: Exodus 33:14
Meaning Intention: If you ask for Him, he will ease your mind and give you peace at time of need. God can give your heart rest simply by involving him into your dilemmas.

Spencer's Whereabouts: Taking a nap while snuggling up to 'baby Aubie' (Grafton's luvie version of the blanket he sleeps with every night) in a makeshift reindeer decoration bed. (Grafton was really excited to find him with baby Aubie. He thought it was great. When I asked him if it was okay if Spencer borrowed him for his nap time, he happily replied that'd he share him with Spencer for as long as he needed.)

December 18th
Bible Verse: Ezekiel 3:12
Meaning Intended: Praising our Lord and Savior will lift your spirits every time because he is worthy of our praise. Praising him with your actions will always take you to higher places.
Spencer's Whereabouts: Sitting above the stove range. (Full disclosure- I forgot to move Spencer cause old man Wes and I went to bed early the night before so this was literally thrown together directly after Grafton woke up and was still in a morning fog. Thank God I don't have an early riser or a morning child because otherwise Spencer might have still been napping. Misdirection helped me pull it together after I looked up scripture to go with the first location I saw.)



December 19th
Bible Verse: Jude 1:1
Intended Meaning: A call to be united with fellow worshipers united in a love for Jesus through God's undying love.
Spencer's Whereabouts: Spencer got himself in a tricky situation when he was trying to help wrap presents. He's covered in wrapping paper scraps sitting on top of the tape dispenser on the coffee table.

December 20th
Bible Verse: Ecclesiastes 3:11

Intended Meaning: The beauty in the world around was made by God. Find happiness in the little things by searching for the beauty in everything knowing that God did it all for a purpose.
Spencer's Whereabouts: Spencer showed off his artistic side by drawing a nativity scene on the chalk board of Grafton's easel. (To add a bit of whimsy he also managed to get chalk all over his face which Grafton found so silly.)

December 21st (This one was a two part surprise.)
Bible Verse: Galatians 6:0
Spencer's Instructions: If you follow the instructions then you will 'reap' what you 'sow'. First Grafton needed to plow the field (with the fork). Then, plant the seeds. Followed by sprinkling it all with magic dust. Then he needed to patiently wait to see what might grow.
Spencer's Whereabouts: Sitting on the kitchen island with a fork, a cup (full of cornmeal [dirt]), another cup (full of powdered sugar [magic dust]), and a third cup (full of crushed mints [seeds]). He also left specific steps to try to grow a garden surprise.

December 22nd
Bible Verse: Job 34:11
Intended Meaning: Everyone eventually gets what they deserve based on the work they do. Do not be discouraged if you don't see your reward when you think you should, but keep up your good deeds and you will receive the ultimate prize of a throne in heaven along side Jesus and God.
Spencer's Whereabouts: The garden Grafton planted the day before was moved to the window to get sunlight next to our Basil Plant. It had miraculously sprouted candy canes. Spencer sat beside it. (To add a bit more whimsy he also sprouted flower petals and leaves of his own.) Grafton was so excited to tell his daddy and me about the garden he grew and to receive a candy cane treat that he planted.

December 23rd
Bible Verse: Proverbs 15:3
Intended Meaning: God sees everything and knows everything. Working to please God everyday throughout the year is much more valuable than working to please Santa only one time a year.
Spencer's Whereabouts: He was sitting on the front door's wreath peaking into the house through the front door window.



December 24th (Our last day with Spencer)
Bible Verse: James 1:17
Spencer's Instructions: Spencer left a note saying his goodbyes to Grafton. He wanted to know he enjoyed learning about Jesus and God with him and to also give the first gift of Christmas to him. His last lesson was to make sure Grafton knew that every good gift he receives is ultimately from God who cannot be changed but is a light in our lives forever.

Spencer's Whereabouts: Under the Christmas tree holding a present to  be opened for Christmas Eve. (Each Christmas Eve we have always given Grafton a Christmas book, Christmas Ornament, Christmas PJ's, Christmas Movie and hot chocolate. This year Spencer gave Santa's Favorite Story; Santa Tells the Story of the First Christmas, the annual Swarovski snowflake ornament, [We had to give Grafton his Christmas Pjs early because his preschool had a Christmas program where all the kiddos were to wear their Christmas Pjs so they weren't included this year], Charlie Brown Christmas, and Snoopy Hot Chocolate Mix.)

It didn't take long for Grafton to catch onto the concept of Spencer and all the joy and magic he brings. Each morning his face lit up when he stumbled across him and asked with such excited for one of us to read the note he left and explain what it meant. Making the Elf on the Shelf more about the word of God and focusing on Christmas being about Jesus' Birthday rather than it being about Santa's presents was more time consuming but so much more rewarding to us all. I won't lie, it was a little exhausting but I will be doing it again next year and the year after that and so on until Grafton's Elf runs out of belief magic.

There's a famous quote that says, "If we don't teach our children who God is someone else will teach them everything that He isn't."- Darlene Schacht and 'As for me and my house. We will serve the Lord.'- Joshua 24:15 therefore every day is a new learning opportunity to spread His great message. After all-

If it's gonna happen sometime...

     then why not now!