For the last two years, during Advent we've read daily from The Jesse Tree, a beautifully illustrated book that follows a traditional sequence of daily Jesse Tree readings from the Old Testament. The frame story used in this version by Geraldine McCaughrean involves a curmudgeonly man carving Jesse Tree figures in a church and a little boy who asks constant questions about the figures. In response, the carver tells each Bible story, explaining why it is included on the tree. We enjoyed these daily Advent readings and will read them again.
This year we're reading from The Christmas Mystery as a change. This book also has one chapter to be read each day, but the chapters are significantly longer than those in The Jesse Tree. The Christmas Mystery does tell the story of the nativity, but not directly. The frame story hinges on an unusual Advent calendar, the story the calendar tells,
and what that story means for the "real" world. The calendar's story takes the frame story's characters on a delightful run in their imagination through
geography and history, focusing on the history of the Christian church. In the end, though, the author abandons the magical tale, substituting an unbelievable and mundane explanation driven by the author's
political biases. The failure of Jostein Gaarder, the author, to weave the threads of the story into a satisfying conclusion left me disappointed
If you skip over the forced realism in the ending (simply omit that section of the last chapter), the magic of the story will still
delight. Parents should be aware that for several chapters the young protagonist
hides the mystery (including a visit to their home from a strange man) from his parents through deception and outright lies, until
the parents discover the secret. The parents are blamed for their something but
the boy is never chastised for his lying. Also, in a couple of places some dubious theology is expounded. These flaws will keep this from being a regular Advent reading in our home, but with judicious editing as we read we'll enjoy it this year.
Since The Christmast Mystery doesn't include the Jesse tree component, each morning we're also reading a traditional Jesse Tree story from The Advent Jesse Tree. We're not making the ornaments or doing anything extra with this--just reading the scripture and bits of the devotional reading from the book.
Showing posts with label Advent. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Advent. Show all posts
Monday, December 1, 2014
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Advent Preparation
I haven't put a lot of thought into Advent this year. However, I did pull out the resources I have. (Not candles, though; I'm not sure I have candles yet. Oops.)
One I haven't used before, although we've done a Jesse tree in various forms for many years, is the Jesse Tree book. I need to go through it and match it with the sheets I printed to supply us with inspiration (and tracing patterns if needed) for the pictures for each story. (We've done lots of different types of images in the past; this year I thought we'd draw or trace pictures onto plastic cut from milk or vinegar jugs, then color them.) Since I'm using our tabletop tree for a baby shower the first week in December, it won't do for our Jesse tree this year, but it isn't big enough to handle four daily ornaments for 25 days anyway. We usually use it for our weekly ornaments. (See next paragraph for more on that.) We have a larger tree that is still small that we rescued from the church discards--I think it will serve as our Jesse tree this year.
I think the weekly reading/listening/looking/doing plan we've used for two years will still work this year, particularly since I haven't taken the time to revise it.
Our Advent calendar is homemade (ours is shaped differently than the one pictured at the link), and each year I fill each opening with slips of paper. We've tried using the Jesse tree scriptures, but that doesn't fit our routine, so two years ago I started putting one "helpful deed" slip for each child in each opening. I want the focus to be on hearts, not deeds, though, so this year I added scriptures to point us to our attitudes. I'll include the list at the bottom of this post.
Last year we put the nativity out one piece at a time, with the baby coming last. This year I'm thinking of incorporating Noel Piper's nativity Advent calendar story into this routine, although I need to come up with more items since our set doesn't have very many pieces.
We'll read poetry from Ambleside Online's Christmas poetry collection.
I don't yet know what I'll do with the Christmas books and videos. I've sometimes wrapped them all and had the kids open one each day. That has some downsides, so I think last year I just set them out in a basket right at the beginning. I think the Nutcracker may have to be retired--I bought a new copy last year thinking to avoid the Arabian dancer, but this version has her too. My boys are far too visual to tolerate that, apparently.
Here now is the list of tasks and scriptures for our Advent calendar:
Make a card for a teacher at church.
(Romans 12:8: If we can encourage others, we should encourage them.)
Hug someone.
(Romans 12:10: Love each other as brothers and sisters and honor others more than you do yourself.)
Clean one kitchen counter.
(Romans 12:7: If we can serve others, we should serve.)
Write a special note for each of your siblings.
(Romans 12:8: If we can encourage others, we should encourage them.)
Say "thank you" whenever someone does something for you.
(Romans 12:8: If we can encourage others, we should encourage them.)
Help your brother make his bed.
(Romans 12:8: If we are good to others, we should do it cheerfully.)
Tell each person in the family "I love you."
(Romans 12:10: Love each other as brothers and sisters and honor others more than you do yourself.)
Help your sister with her chore.
(Romans 12:8: If we are good to others, we should do it cheerfully.)
Tell your sister something you really like about her.
(Romans 12:8: If we can encourage others, we should encourage them.)
Tell your brother something you really like about him.
(Romans 12:8: If we can encourage others, we should encourage them.)
Tell your mom something you really like about her.
(Romans 12:8: If we can encourage others, we should encourage them.)
Tell your dad something you really like about him.
(Romans 12:8: If we can encourage others, we should encourage them.)
Clean up next to your bed.
(Romans 12:7: If we can serve others, we should serve.)
Put a nice note on each person's pillow.
(Romans 12:10: Love each other as brothers and sisters and honor others more than you do yourself.)
Take your dirty laundry basket to the laundry room.
(Romans 12:7: If we can serve others, we should serve.)
Help Mom with a chore.
(Romans 12:8: If we are good to others, we should do it cheerfully.)
Help Dad with a chore.
(Romans 12:8: If we are good to others, we should do it cheerfully.)
Fill the bird feeder.
(Romans 12:7: If we can serve others, we should serve.)
Let someone else go first.
(Romans 12:8: If we are good to others, we should do it cheerfully.)
Fill someone's water glass.
(Romans 12:7: If we can serve others, we should serve.)
Put away all the dishes, not just yours.
(Romans 12:8: If we are good to others, we should do it cheerfully.)
Find a beautiful leaf and give it to someone.
(Romans 12:8: If we are good to others, we should do it cheerfully.)
Put the shoes in the sunroom back in their bins.
(Romans 12:7: If we can serve others, we should serve.)
Pick up the coats from around the coatrack and hang them up.
(Romans 12:7: If we can serve others, we should serve.)
Clean your desk.
(Romans 12:7: If we can serve others, we should serve.)
One I haven't used before, although we've done a Jesse tree in various forms for many years, is the Jesse Tree book. I need to go through it and match it with the sheets I printed to supply us with inspiration (and tracing patterns if needed) for the pictures for each story. (We've done lots of different types of images in the past; this year I thought we'd draw or trace pictures onto plastic cut from milk or vinegar jugs, then color them.) Since I'm using our tabletop tree for a baby shower the first week in December, it won't do for our Jesse tree this year, but it isn't big enough to handle four daily ornaments for 25 days anyway. We usually use it for our weekly ornaments. (See next paragraph for more on that.) We have a larger tree that is still small that we rescued from the church discards--I think it will serve as our Jesse tree this year.
I think the weekly reading/listening/looking/doing plan we've used for two years will still work this year, particularly since I haven't taken the time to revise it.
Our Advent calendar is homemade (ours is shaped differently than the one pictured at the link), and each year I fill each opening with slips of paper. We've tried using the Jesse tree scriptures, but that doesn't fit our routine, so two years ago I started putting one "helpful deed" slip for each child in each opening. I want the focus to be on hearts, not deeds, though, so this year I added scriptures to point us to our attitudes. I'll include the list at the bottom of this post.
Last year we put the nativity out one piece at a time, with the baby coming last. This year I'm thinking of incorporating Noel Piper's nativity Advent calendar story into this routine, although I need to come up with more items since our set doesn't have very many pieces.
We'll read poetry from Ambleside Online's Christmas poetry collection.
I don't yet know what I'll do with the Christmas books and videos. I've sometimes wrapped them all and had the kids open one each day. That has some downsides, so I think last year I just set them out in a basket right at the beginning. I think the Nutcracker may have to be retired--I bought a new copy last year thinking to avoid the Arabian dancer, but this version has her too. My boys are far too visual to tolerate that, apparently.
Here now is the list of tasks and scriptures for our Advent calendar:
Make a card for a teacher at church.
(Romans 12:8: If we can encourage others, we should encourage them.)
Hug someone.
(Romans 12:10: Love each other as brothers and sisters and honor others more than you do yourself.)
Clean one kitchen counter.
(Romans 12:7: If we can serve others, we should serve.)
Write a special note for each of your siblings.
(Romans 12:8: If we can encourage others, we should encourage them.)
Say "thank you" whenever someone does something for you.
(Romans 12:8: If we can encourage others, we should encourage them.)
Help your brother make his bed.
(Romans 12:8: If we are good to others, we should do it cheerfully.)
Tell each person in the family "I love you."
(Romans 12:10: Love each other as brothers and sisters and honor others more than you do yourself.)
Help your sister with her chore.
(Romans 12:8: If we are good to others, we should do it cheerfully.)
Tell your sister something you really like about her.
(Romans 12:8: If we can encourage others, we should encourage them.)
Tell your brother something you really like about him.
(Romans 12:8: If we can encourage others, we should encourage them.)
Tell your mom something you really like about her.
(Romans 12:8: If we can encourage others, we should encourage them.)
Tell your dad something you really like about him.
(Romans 12:8: If we can encourage others, we should encourage them.)
Clean up next to your bed.
(Romans 12:7: If we can serve others, we should serve.)
Put a nice note on each person's pillow.
(Romans 12:10: Love each other as brothers and sisters and honor others more than you do yourself.)
Take your dirty laundry basket to the laundry room.
(Romans 12:7: If we can serve others, we should serve.)
Help Mom with a chore.
(Romans 12:8: If we are good to others, we should do it cheerfully.)
Help Dad with a chore.
(Romans 12:8: If we are good to others, we should do it cheerfully.)
Fill the bird feeder.
(Romans 12:7: If we can serve others, we should serve.)
Let someone else go first.
(Romans 12:8: If we are good to others, we should do it cheerfully.)
Fill someone's water glass.
(Romans 12:7: If we can serve others, we should serve.)
Put away all the dishes, not just yours.
(Romans 12:8: If we are good to others, we should do it cheerfully.)
Find a beautiful leaf and give it to someone.
(Romans 12:8: If we are good to others, we should do it cheerfully.)
Put the shoes in the sunroom back in their bins.
(Romans 12:7: If we can serve others, we should serve.)
Pick up the coats from around the coatrack and hang them up.
(Romans 12:7: If we can serve others, we should serve.)
Clean your desk.
(Romans 12:7: If we can serve others, we should serve.)
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival: Holidays, vol. 1
Our reading assignments came from Volume 5 and the Parents Review, but in contrarian fashion I'm drawing inspiration from the end of Volume 2:
Holidays provide an opportunity to rethink our treasured values and beliefs as we help our children experience them through family and community observances. We also have the opportunity to encourage true humility as we focus on ideas larger than ourselves.
Our topic today is holidays, and as a bevy of holidays approaches, we certainly benefit from wise inspiration. So, onward!
Preparing
nak explains Time Value , helping us to see how we really *can* fit everything in to the time available.
Ritsumei, in Thought Breeds Thought, beautifully visualizes the wonder of great ideas.
amy in peru also reminds us to think about the ideas behind the holidays in Unwrapping the Holidays .
Laura reminds us They Would Sell Their Souls for Love; we must not lose sight of their needs in the busyness.
Penney Douglas includes ideas for celebrating in Holidays Charlotte Mason - Style , but she also reminds us to remember our children's needs as we prepare.
Celebrating
Friederike exhorts us: "I love the Christmas time and advent when we get ready for it w/ baking cookies, singing and playing Christmas Carols, practicing Christmas play, decorating just to celebrate our saviors birth"
Alisha mulls gift giving in Three Gifts For Christmas.
Angie shares Holiday Activities for the Coming Months.
Adding to The Beauty shares a Poetry Study ~ November 2011 ~ Thanksgiving.
Blossom reminds us to focus On Holiday- the Charlotte Mason Way {maybe} .
Janelle Cole shares some Christmas Traditions.
Phyllis Hunsucker thinks about Advent already? .
Your lovely blog hostess (that's me) has last year's plan for Advent (which will be this year's plan as well) and also a look at the end result of our Jesse Tree observance from a prior year.
Coping
Lanaya advises on Staving Off Impishness During Time Off of School.
Gladys Schaeffer sends Greetings and Salutations with a reminder to keep our priorities in line.
Educating
Laura Grace Weldon presents Mentor: Fancy Name For Grown-Ups Kids Need.
Lisa presents How We Implemented the Charlotte Mason Method.
Barb presents Four Fabulous Fauvist Paintings to Study .
Denise presents An Ancient Mathematical Crisis « Let's Play Math!
Nature study has our focus:
Bethany presents Chestnut Trees.
Pamela Jorrick presents Lassen, saying, "Living in Northern California, we have abundant resources for nature studies right out our back doors. This week, we visited a volcano to go along with our geology studies."
Next Time
A list of upcoming Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival topics is available here.
Next up: Music Appreciation & Composer Study on December 6.
CM Series:
vol 4 pg 30-32 - Music, the Great Joy we owe to Hearing.
vol 6 pg 217-218 - Musical Appreciation
PR Articles:
Art and Literature in the Parents' Union School
Music and Art in PNEU Schools
We want to read your post in the next edition of the charlotte mason blog carnival; submit it using our carnival submission form.
"The old, old story has all its first freshness as we tell it to the eager listeners; as we listen to it ourselves with their vivid interest it becomes as real and fresh to us as it is to them. Hard thoughts drop away like scales from our eyes; we are young once more with the children's young life, which, we are mysteriously made aware, is the life eternal. What a mystery it is! Does not every mother, made wise unto salvation, who holds a babe in her arms, feel with tremulous awe that, that deep saying is true for her also, 'The same is my mother'?" Volume 2, p. 281
 |
| Our piney woods, in a rare snowy moment. |
"Humility does not think much or little of itself; it does not think of itself at all. It is a negative rather than a positive quality, being an absence of self-consciousness rather than the presence of any distinctive virtue. The person who is unaware of himself is capable of all lowly service, of all suffering for others, of bright cheerfulness under all the small crosses and worries of everyday life. This is the quality that makes heroes, and this is the quality that makes saints." Volume 2, p. 284May we all seek and receive God's grace in this endeavor!
Our topic today is holidays, and as a bevy of holidays approaches, we certainly benefit from wise inspiration. So, onward!
Preparing
nak explains Time Value , helping us to see how we really *can* fit everything in to the time available.
Ritsumei, in Thought Breeds Thought, beautifully visualizes the wonder of great ideas.
amy in peru also reminds us to think about the ideas behind the holidays in Unwrapping the Holidays .
Laura reminds us They Would Sell Their Souls for Love; we must not lose sight of their needs in the busyness.
Penney Douglas includes ideas for celebrating in Holidays Charlotte Mason - Style , but she also reminds us to remember our children's needs as we prepare.
Celebrating
Friederike exhorts us: "I love the Christmas time and advent when we get ready for it w/ baking cookies, singing and playing Christmas Carols, practicing Christmas play, decorating just to celebrate our saviors birth"
Alisha mulls gift giving in Three Gifts For Christmas.
Angie shares Holiday Activities for the Coming Months.
Adding to The Beauty shares a Poetry Study ~ November 2011 ~ Thanksgiving.
Blossom reminds us to focus On Holiday- the Charlotte Mason Way {maybe} .
Janelle Cole shares some Christmas Traditions.
Phyllis Hunsucker thinks about Advent already? .
Your lovely blog hostess (that's me) has last year's plan for Advent (which will be this year's plan as well) and also a look at the end result of our Jesse Tree observance from a prior year.
Coping
Lanaya advises on Staving Off Impishness During Time Off of School.
Gladys Schaeffer sends Greetings and Salutations with a reminder to keep our priorities in line.
Educating
Laura Grace Weldon presents Mentor: Fancy Name For Grown-Ups Kids Need.
Lisa presents How We Implemented the Charlotte Mason Method.
Barb presents Four Fabulous Fauvist Paintings to Study .
Denise presents An Ancient Mathematical Crisis « Let's Play Math!
Nature study has our focus:
Bethany presents Chestnut Trees.
Pamela Jorrick presents Lassen, saying, "Living in Northern California, we have abundant resources for nature studies right out our back doors. This week, we visited a volcano to go along with our geology studies."
Next Time
A list of upcoming Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival topics is available here.
Next up: Music Appreciation & Composer Study on December 6.
CM Series:
vol 4 pg 30-32 - Music, the Great Joy we owe to Hearing.
vol 6 pg 217-218 - Musical Appreciation
PR Articles:
Art and Literature in the Parents' Union School
Music and Art in PNEU Schools
We want to read your post in the next edition of the charlotte mason blog carnival; submit it using our carnival submission form.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Advent Calendar
Updated: Recently (this is in November 2011) our small group at church has been studying Gospel in Life by Timothy Keller. One session focused on worldviews, and one of the worldviews listed was the "religious" worldview, as opposed to the Christian worldview. I realized that many of my attitudes truly reflected more of a religious worldview than a grace-centered Christian one, and the activities in this post reflect that. We may still use some variant of this during Advent this year, but I will frame it as our practicing kindness just like God showed kindness to us, showing our gratitude to Him by emulating Him in our own small way, practicing during this season so we can develop habits to last all year. Since our family focuses on Jesus as the Light of the World during Advent, we can think of these activities as encouragement to let the light of Christ shine through us. We should *not* in any way think of good deeds as preparing ourselves for anything--Christ has already done the work of propitiation and the Holy Spirit does the work of sanctification.
=========================================
Several years ago we constructed an Advent calendar out of toilet paper rolls. We've been putting Jesse Tree scriptures in each box, but this year I plan to fill the tubes with colored slips of paper, one per child per day with a good deed suggestion on it. (Each child will have a designated color. Each day's calendar opening will have one slip of each color, so that each child will get a new slip each day.)
Here's my tentative list of deeds:
Make a card for a teacher at church
Hug someone
Clean one kitchen counter
Write a special note for each of your siblings
Say "thank you" whenever someone does something for you
Help your brother make his bed
Tell each person in the family "I love you."
Help your sister with her chore.
Tell your sister something you really like about her.
Tell your brother something you really like about him.
Tell your mom something you really like about her.
Tell your dad something you really like about him.
Clean up next to your bed.
Put a nice note on each person's pillow.
Take your dirty laundry basket to the laundry room.
Help Mom with a chore.
Help Dad with a chore.
Fill the bird feeder.
Let someone else go first.
Fill someone's water glass.
Put away all the dishes, not just yours.
Find a beautiful leaf and give it to someone.
Put the shoes in the sunroom back in their bins.
Pick up the coats from around the coatrack and hang them up.
Clean your desk.
Also, we have a rack in our fireplace to hold wood, but we don't use it, so I'm going to make it a manger for the Advent season. Each time a parent notices a child doing something praiseworthy, that child will be given a piece of hay to put in the manger. The idea is to fill the manger with hay before Christmas, at which time we can have a ceremonial placing of the baby in the manger.
This all ties in to the idea of preparing our hearts for the coming of Jesus, focusing on the idea of his second coming which we are awaiting.
=========================================
Several years ago we constructed an Advent calendar out of toilet paper rolls. We've been putting Jesse Tree scriptures in each box, but this year I plan to fill the tubes with colored slips of paper, one per child per day with a good deed suggestion on it. (Each child will have a designated color. Each day's calendar opening will have one slip of each color, so that each child will get a new slip each day.)
Here's my tentative list of deeds:
Make a card for a teacher at church
Hug someone
Clean one kitchen counter
Write a special note for each of your siblings
Say "thank you" whenever someone does something for you
Help your brother make his bed
Tell each person in the family "I love you."
Help your sister with her chore.
Tell your sister something you really like about her.
Tell your brother something you really like about him.
Tell your mom something you really like about her.
Tell your dad something you really like about him.
Clean up next to your bed.
Put a nice note on each person's pillow.
Take your dirty laundry basket to the laundry room.
Help Mom with a chore.
Help Dad with a chore.
Fill the bird feeder.
Let someone else go first.
Fill someone's water glass.
Put away all the dishes, not just yours.
Find a beautiful leaf and give it to someone.
Put the shoes in the sunroom back in their bins.
Pick up the coats from around the coatrack and hang them up.
Clean your desk.
Also, we have a rack in our fireplace to hold wood, but we don't use it, so I'm going to make it a manger for the Advent season. Each time a parent notices a child doing something praiseworthy, that child will be given a piece of hay to put in the manger. The idea is to fill the manger with hay before Christmas, at which time we can have a ceremonial placing of the baby in the manger.
This all ties in to the idea of preparing our hearts for the coming of Jesus, focusing on the idea of his second coming which we are awaiting.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Advent Wreath
Our family Advent plan hasn't been significantly revised in several years at least, so this year we're revising it. My first order of business has been the "ceremony" surrounding the Advent wreath. Each evening during Advent we light the candle(s) for the week and read a scripture, talk about the theme for the week, and usually sing a carol related to that theme. Each week we hang an ornament on a small Christmas tree, to reflect the theme for that week. This year I think I want to have a theme song or chorus for all of Advent, if I can find something suitable. I have changed the scriptures we're using and the theme for each week, and I may even ditch the pink and purple candles in favor of natural ones--I'm not sure about that yet. I am still not sure about the symbol we'll use for each week, partly because I don't have my ornaments accessible right now and I'm not sure I have suitable ornaments for the symbols I've tentatively chosen. Three of the four scriptures correspond to portions of Handel's Messiah, so we'll probably incorporate that as well.
Expect this post to be revised periodically, up to the beginning of Advent 2010.
Much of what we're doing this year comes from "Celebrating the Church Year with Young Children," a favorite resource for spiritual training.
Symbol: Crown
Expect this post to be revised periodically, up to the beginning of Advent 2010.
Much of what we're doing this year comes from "Celebrating the Church Year with Young Children," a favorite resource for spiritual training.
Our intro for each candle-lighting "service":
We are in the season of waiting and hoping. Our Advent wreath reminds us of our waiting, because each week we wait for a greater and greater light. The prophets [week 4: gospel writers] are very special friends of God. They tell us God’s word to help us know the wonderful things happening for us.
Week 1
Scripture: Isaiah 9:2
The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned.
Music: Messiah Part I, No. 11
Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus
Art: The Light of the World, William Holman HuntSymbol: Sun or star or candle
Crafts: Toilet paper roll candles
Light holes craft from Preschool Art, p. 131Week 2
Scripture: Isaiah 9:6
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Music: Messiah Part I, No. 12
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
Art: Adoration of the Lamb, Jan van EyckO Come, O Come, Emmanuel
Symbol: Crown
Week 3
Scripture: Micah 5:2
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times. “
Music: O Holy Night
Art: The Census at Bethlehem, BruegelSymbol: Bethlehem star, most especially the Natal Cross
Crafts: Black paper silhouettes of buildings on dark blue paper, then put glue in star shape and sprinkle with glitter.
Stained Glass Melt from Preschool Art, p. 116
Week 4
Scripture: Luke 1:26-38
One month later God sent the angel Gabriel to the town of Nazareth in Galilee with a message for a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to Joseph from the family of King David. The angel greeted Mary and said, “You are truly blessed! The Lord is with you.”
Mary was confused by the angel’s words and wondered what they meant. Then the angel told Mary, “Don’t be afraid! God is pleased with you, and you will have a son. His name will be Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of God Most High. The Lord God will make him king, as his ancestor David was. He will rule the people of Israel forever, and his kingdom will never end.”
Mary asked the angel, “How can this happen? I am not married!”
The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come down to you, and God's power will come over you. So your child will be called the holy Son of God. Your relative Elizabeth is also going to have a son, even though she is old. No one thought she could ever have a baby, but in three months she will have a son. Nothing is impossible for God!"
Mary said, "I am the Lord's servant! Let it happen as you have said." And the angel left her.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Shipwrecked at the Stable
Many years ago dh and I started observing Advent as a season of preparing for Christmas, much as Lent is a season of preparing for Easter. Every day during Advent and the twelve days of Christmas (spanning the period from Christmas to Epiphany), I read from Watch for the Light, a book of readings by various authors. Yesterday’s reading from Brennan Manning was really long, but one passage particularly struck me:
The shipwrecked at the stable are captivated by joy and wonder. They have found the treasure in the field of Bethlehem. The pearl of great price is wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. Everything else is cheap, fake, painted fragments of glass.
The question for all of us is what we will really aim at next Christmas. If all we are going for is a placid decency, routine prayer, well-behaved worship and comfortable compassion, then we have effectively parted company with the shipwrecked and have no fellowship with the pearl-finder.
I wonder, if we were to stop people at random in the street on December 24 and ask them what they want most for Christmas, how many would say, "I want to see Jesus"?
I believe that the single most important consideration during the sacred season of Advent is intensity of desire. Paraphrasing the late Rabbi Abraham Heschel, "Jesus Christ is of no importance unless he is of supreme importance." An intense inner desire is already the sign of his presence in our hearts. The rest is the work of the Holy Spirit.
May we all begin to see the world in which we live as artifice and show and to seek wholeheartedly after the true reality.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Advent Jesse Tree
I have previously posted our plan or schedule for observing Advent and then Christmas. This year, since our kids are older, we’re adding in a true Jesse Tree observance. We use the devotions in The Advent Jesse Tree during breakfast each day, then sometime later in the day the kids use assorted craft supplies to make a symbol related to that day’s story to hang on their "tree". (The trees are construction paper creations taped to the shutters in the kitchen.) I don’t provide a lot of input into how the symbols should be constructed, although for my 3yo I do sometimes cut out a shape for him if he asks me to. I also sometimes provide general suggestions for ways a symbol might be constructed, but mostly the project is theirs. I’ll try to post a picture later in the season, since the "trees’ are turning out to be quite interesting.
UPDATE:
UPDATE:
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Advent 2006
This year, the CEO and I decided to change our Advent approach. We wanted to follow the traditional formula of using Advent to prepare for the coming of the Saviour, not as an infant but as a King. We wanted to put the focus more on preparing our hearts for Christ when He returns. We used a couple of resources to help us with this.
Celebrating the Church Year With Young Children
The Advent Jesse Tree: Devotions for Children and Adults to Prepare for the Coming of the Christ Child at Christmas
Based on the recommendations in the Celebrating the Church Year book, but then also trying to follow a more traditional Advent schedule (such as described here), we created a schedule for the Advent and Christmas season. Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, and then the 12 days of Christmas each had a separate scripture reading, hymn, thought to ponder, ornament for the tree, and art. We also listened to Part I of Handel’s Messiah.
We may rearrange the hymns and art next time around, but overall this worked well for our children, ages 1, 3, and 5. Each night we lit the candle(s), read the scripture, talked about the thought, and sang our hymn. Each week we put up the appropriate ornament, and displayed the new art selection. After the candle lighting each night, the children took turns using the candle snuffer to put out the candles (with our help, of course). At supper we listened to the Messiah, and the children are now spontaneously singing some of the pieces at other times.
With the oldest, almost 6, we used the assigned text in the Jesse Tree book referenced above during her Bible time each day. We did not use the daily Jesse Tree ornaments because last year that was too much for the middle child, and I think it would still be too much for her this year too. We wanted to keep our focus very narrow this year, and that seems to have been effective. We did read the devotional from the Jesse Tree book to the kids each night before bed.
We’re still fine-tuning this, but so far this has been a reverent Advent season.
Celebrating the Church Year With Young Children
The Advent Jesse Tree: Devotions for Children and Adults to Prepare for the Coming of the Christ Child at Christmas
Based on the recommendations in the Celebrating the Church Year book, but then also trying to follow a more traditional Advent schedule (such as described here), we created a schedule for the Advent and Christmas season. Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, and then the 12 days of Christmas each had a separate scripture reading, hymn, thought to ponder, ornament for the tree, and art. We also listened to Part I of Handel’s Messiah.
We may rearrange the hymns and art next time around, but overall this worked well for our children, ages 1, 3, and 5. Each night we lit the candle(s), read the scripture, talked about the thought, and sang our hymn. Each week we put up the appropriate ornament, and displayed the new art selection. After the candle lighting each night, the children took turns using the candle snuffer to put out the candles (with our help, of course). At supper we listened to the Messiah, and the children are now spontaneously singing some of the pieces at other times.
With the oldest, almost 6, we used the assigned text in the Jesse Tree book referenced above during her Bible time each day. We did not use the daily Jesse Tree ornaments because last year that was too much for the middle child, and I think it would still be too much for her this year too. We wanted to keep our focus very narrow this year, and that seems to have been effective. We did read the devotional from the Jesse Tree book to the kids each night before bed.
We’re still fine-tuning this, but so far this has been a reverent Advent season.
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Christmas
Christmas lasts from Christmas Day through January 6. We’ll continue to light all the Advent candles, including the Christ candle, every night during this period.
- Luke 2:1-20
- Christ Candle
- We celebrate because Jesus was born.
We celebrate because Jesus is our King. - Hark, the Herald Angels Sing
- Nativity ornament
- Handel’s Messiah, Part I, 13-17
- Art: Adoration of the Magi
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Advent Week 4
Week 4 this year consists solely of Christmas Eve.
- Isaiah 9:6
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
- Peace candle
- Jesus brought peace to our hearts.
When He returns He will bring peace to the world.
- O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
- Dove ornament
- Handel’s Messiah, Part I, 12
- Art: Nativity
Advent Week 3
- Isaiah 12:2-6
2 Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust and not be afraid.
The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation."
3 With joy you will draw water
from the wells of salvation.
4 In that day you will say:
"Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name;
make known among the nations what he has done,
and proclaim that his name is exalted.
5 Sing to the LORD, for he has done glorious things;
let this be known to all the world.
6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion,
for great is the Holy One of Israel among you."
- Joy candle
- Jesus saved us from our sins, which gives us joy.
- Joy to the World
- Bell ornament
- Handel’s Messiah, Part I, 8-11
- Art: Christmas Announcement
Saturday, December 9, 2006
Advent Week 2
- 1 John 4:9-12
9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
- Love candle
- God sent Jesus because He loves us.
Jesus came because He loves us.
We show love to God by loving other people. - O Holy Night
- Heart ornament
- Handel’s Messiah, Part I, 5-7
- Art: Chancel Cross
[Update: Alternatively, use van Eyck's Adoration of the Lamb, which you can find at the Web Gallery of Art.]
Saturday, December 2, 2006
Advent Week 1
This is our current plan for Advent, Week 1:
- Jeremiah 33:14-16
14 " ‘The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will fulfill the gracious promise I made to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.
15 " ‘In those days and at that time
I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line;
he will do what is just and right in the land.
16 In those days Judah will be saved
and Jerusalem will live in safety.
This is the name by which it will be called:
The LORD Our Righteousness. - Hope (prophecy) candle
- God keeps His promises
God promised to send a savior
Jesus promised to return - Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus
- Noah’s Ark ornament
- Handel’s Messiah, Part I, 1-4
- Art: Jesus, Light of the World
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