Bill Thrasher - Putting God Back in the Holidays: Celebrate Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, Birthdays, and 12 Other Special Occasions with Purpose

Its one thing to keep your kids focused on God during Christmas and Easter, but quite another to help them see the spiritual significance of Valentines Day or Arbor Day. Bill and Penny Thrashers book will help families think biblically about holidays throughout the calendar year.

J IM D ALY
President, Focus on the Family

One of the most practical books ever on relationships and celebrating Gods love through the holidays all year round. This book will draw you closer to Christ and to each other and help you celebrate milestones in meaningful ways. I highly recommend it.

C HRIS F ABRY
Author and radio host

I love holidays! They are filled with family, fun, and an opportunity to step away from my day job for a change of pace. Yet sometimes our anticipation of the holiday outweighs the actual experience. For some, holidays are full of haunting memories of the past. So how do we make the best of holiday celebrations? Bill Thrasher has some helpful ideas that will take your holidays to the next level.

J OSEPH M. S TOWELL
President, Cornerstone University

We often give but a passing nod toward traditional holidays without realizing that they were intended originally to be holy days. This book will help put devotion on the agenda for our regular rhythms of life throughout the year, a sorely needed issue for many of us.

J OSH M OODY
Senior Pastor, College Church, Wheaton, Illinois

If you are concerned that the Christian holidays are becoming muted in the midst of the growing welter of state and national holidaysdo not despair. Bill and Penny Thrashers Putting God Back in the Holidays shows how you can better exalt Christ through the great days of the church calendar and, likewise, infuse the secular holidays with an elevating, life-giving spirit. What a positive read this is! And, because I know the Thrasher family, I can say that they live it out. Read this book and be encouraged and enriched.

R. K ENT H UGHES
Senior Pastor Emeritus, College Church, Wheaton, Illinois

The Thrashers have written a very valuable book to help with holiday advice and direction. An important and timely read.

P AT W ILLIAMS
Senior Vice President, Orlando Magic

Holidays are often endured, not enjoyed. While anticipated, the net outcome for families today is usually fatigue and frustration. Having navigated, often unsuccessfully, my family through the maze of holidays, I rejoice in this important work by Bill and Penny Thrasher. Any parents who wish to transform their holiday experience need to ponder their words carefully. They speak as practitioners, not theorists. They offer encouragement, not judgment. May you find refreshment in this book!

P AUL N YQUIST
President, Moody Bible Institute

Holidays are some of the busiest times of the year. It is so easy to get caught up in the details of preparing for the events surrounding the holiday. Bill and Penny show how each holiday can have spiritual significance for the body of Christ as well as each of us individually. Then they give us practical ways we can glorify God through the holidays and be conforming ourselves to the image of His dear Son.

M IKE S MITH
President, Home School Legal Defense Association

Putting God
Back in the Holidays

Celebrate Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter,
Birthdays, and 12 Other Special Occasions with Purpose

Bill & Penny Thrasher

M OODY P UBLISHERS
CHICAGO

2010 by
B ILL T HRASHER AND P ENNY T HRASHER

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New American Standard Bible, copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton Illinois 60189, U.S.A. All rights reserved.

Edited by Pam Pugh
Interior Design: Ragont Design
Cover Design: Dog Eared Design
Cover Image: iStock, 123RF and Kirk DouPonce

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Thrasher, Bill
Putting God back in the holidays : celebrating Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, Birthdays, and 12 other special occasions with purpose / Bill Thrasher and Penny Thrasher.
p. cm.

ISBN 978-0-8024-8674-5

1. HolidaysReligious aspects. I. Thrasher, Penny. II. Title.
GT3930.T49 2010
394.265dc22

2010017749

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Dedicated to our merciful God who knows how to meet each one of us in our darkest moments as well as our brightest; and to our precious family, extended family, and friends with whom we have had the privilege to spend our holidays; and to Gods people with a sincereprayer that they will feel both understood in their struggles and aided in their celebrations of the holidays.

E very culture has holidays. These are days set apart to celebrate religious or historical events that are significant to the individuals who live in that particular culture. It is the nature of humans to remember and celebrate significant events. I believe that is because we are made in the image of God, and God is big on celebration. The Old Testament is filled with instructions from God on how the people of Israel were to celebrate certain historical events and certain spiritual realities. In the New Testament, Jesus entered into religious and cultural celebrations, including weddings. He instituted a special celebration for His followers focusing on the importance of His sacrificial death, which made possible our salvation.

Throughout history, individual Christians have differed on how, when, and whether or not to celebrate cultural holidays. There is certainly room for disagreement. I have chosen to recognize that we are citizens of two kingdoms. The spiritual kingdom is moving us toward an eternal time of celebration in the presence of God Himself, which will be like nothing we have ever known on earth. Our celebrations of religious holidays are designed to reflect that eternal celebration. We are also citizens of an earthly kingdom and have the opportunity to be light in the midst of darkness. I believe that cultural holidays give us an opportunity to reflect the light that we have received from God. In so doing, we may be Gods instrument in bringing men, women, and children to experience the forgiveness and eternal life that Christ came to offer. To withdraw from these holidays is to miss this spiritual opportunity.

Bill Thrasher has selected a variety of religious and cultural holidays and has in this volume given us practical ways to celebrate in a Christ-honoring manner. This is a book that is long overdue, and I am grateful for the time and energy that Bill and his wife, Penny, have put into its preparation. It is my prayer that this book will help many Christians do what they sincerely desire to do: take every opportunity to receive and reflect the love of Christ to family and friends.