Christmas Memories and Traditions | Dr. Jeff Crawford

This week on RonnieFloyd.com, Pastor and several Cross Church staff members are sharing their Christmas memories and traditions. Today, we hear from Dr. Jeff Crawford, President of Cross Church School of Ministry and Cross Church Teaching Pastor. You can read more from Pastor and other Cross Church staff members about their Christmas traditions at RonnieFloyd.com now thru December 24.

I credit my parents for my love for Christmas. The Christmas season was always a BIG deal to Mom and she was the master of the home when it came to putting up the decorations, baking goodies, playing Christmas music, etc. But the Christmas tree was Dad’s domain. With Dad being an over-the-road truck driver, I grew up in a modest home in Fort Smith with my two older brothers and younger sister. Sometime after Thanksgiving, when Dad was home from one of his trips in his truck, we would load up the whole family and head out to get the tree – always a live tree! Sometimes it would come from a tree lot but other times we would go to old family land in Kibler and cut it down ourselves and bring it home tied to the top of the car, a la Christmas Vacation! Dad would also lead the annual ritual of hauling the ladder out of the garage to string lights on the house and through the assorted bushes in the front. But Mom was the one who steered the Christmas traditions. She shopped for the gifts, wrapped and placed them under the tree, and made sure we all knew when A Charlie Brown Christmas was airing on TV – before the advent of the DVR when you had one, and only one, shot at a TV show. Both Mom and Dad are believers, so Jesus was always THE center of Christmas in our home.

I think that most of us never realize the impact our parents have on us and how much of them is in us until we grow up and have families of our own. When Julie and I were first married, I never thought of anything but a LIVE Christmas tree, with all the mess that comes with them. And multi-colored, big-bulb lights are the only lights allowed on the roofline of my home – just like Dad used to hang. We play lots of Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, and even some Elvis Presley in our house when it comes to Christmas music selections. Julie has taken the lead on so many other Christmas traditions for our family, some of them brand new – like every Christmas Eve the kids all get a new set of pajamas to wear to bed. Our house is always full of the smells of baked treats from Thanksgiving all the way through Christmas, and we always DVR A Charlie Brown Christmas so we can watch it when we want to watch it – some years more than once.

But Jesus is always the focus. A tradition our family celebrates is Advent. With a family wreath and candles, we gather around once a week from Thanksgiving through Christmas morning to read Scripture, share thoughts, pray, and sing carols. It is, I think, my favorite Christmas tradition of all.

Dr. Jeff Crawford
President, Cross Church School of Ministry and Teaching Pastor, Cross Church
@jeffcraw4d