TulipGirl

Tonight we assembled our Advent wreath.  Along with tapers purple and pink and a pillar of white, the boys have arranged magnolia leaves, spanish moss, acorns and bits of grass.  We turned off all the lights in the house, and were goofy for a few minutes in the dark.  Then I lit a candle that I was holding, gave it to one of the boys, lit another, until we were each holding candles.  We took our candles outside and saw how much even our little candles brought light to the dark neighborhood.

We returned to the table, and my oldest lit the first candle, the prophecy candle.

Isaiah 9: 2 – 6

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.

3 You have enlarged the nation
and increased their joy;
they rejoice before you
as people rejoice at the harvest,
as men rejoice
when dividing the plunder.

4 For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,
you have shattered
the yoke that burdens them,
the bar across their shoulders,
the rod of their oppressor.

5 Every warrior’s boot used in battle
and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning,
will be fuel for the fire.

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.

We talked about why we observe Advent.  We talked about light, darkness.  We talked about prophecy and the incarnation.  When I told the boys to look up hymn #194, my oldest got excited, “I love that one!”  We’ll be singing it together each day this week.

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, O come, thou Lord of might,
Who to thy tribes, on Sinai’s height,
In ancient times didst give the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.

O come, thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell thy people save,
And give them victory o’er the grave.

O come, thou Dayspring from on high
And cheer us by thy drawing nigh;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

O come, thou Key of David, come
And open wide our heav’nly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.

Advent has become a special part of our family’s tradition.  It looks a little different each year, grows, changes. . .   I’ve shared bits of it in the past, but wanted to gather in one place what Advent looks like in our home for a reference for the future and for those who are curious.   What we do changes each year, and so I’ll share what we’re doing this year.

Why does our family observe Advent?

Advent is a time of anticipation, preparation.  Advent is looking towards the coming of Christ, both His incarnation and His coming again.  It is a time of expectant waiting.   When I was about 8 years old, I remember making an advent wreath at the Base Chapel on Adak.  My mom has told me that as a child, it was important to me to have the rituals and traditions of faith.

Advent is a tradition, not a worship practice that is directed by the Bible.  Yet, the Bible is replete with both prophecies looking toward the future–to the Incarnation and our salvation–as well as enjoinders to remember what God has done for us in the past.

For me, traditions are a catalyst for remembering, for refocusing.  As an adult these are important to me because they direct my heart and thoughts to the Lord, as well as help me take special time with my boys.  The holidays can be stressful. . . observing Advent is a way for me to focus on the Lord and not be swept up by the commercialism, the frantic pace, and the distractions around me.

If you are new to the idea of the Advent season, this article is a good overview.  If observing Advent prompts your heart to worship, that is a good thing.  But please remember this is not something that all families do or need to do to celebrate the Incarnation.

Advent Wreath

We make an advent wreath each year.   Advent wreaths usually have four candles around a circle, one to light each week, with an additional candle in the middle to light on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.  Each Sunday in Advent is focused on a specific theme, and the corresponding candle lit that Sunday (and possibly each day of that week.)

Our wreaths tend to be rather non-traditional, as we started using an advent wreath and lighting the candles when we were in Ukraine and had to be creative with what we had at hand.  One year we used a small mirror as the base with four votive candles in the corners and a pillar candle in the middle.  The boys were quite small that year, and I wanted something I could easily put out of reach of little hands, and this one fit on our small shelf.   Another year, we made one which was more traditional, using live evergreen branches to make the wreath.  The past few years the boys have gone on a nature walk and gathered greens and other outdoorsy items, we’ve arranged them on a plate, and affixed the candles to the plate with a bit of modelling clay.

Badgermum has clear instructions on how she makes her Advent wreath.   The more crafty and creative among us can check out these instructions and inspiration.

Lighting the Candles

Each Sunday in Advent, we gather around the table, light the candle, sing Advent hymns, read Scriptures and pray together.  Some years we do that each evening, some year we do that just on Sundays.  Since we have four boys and there are four Sundays in Advent, each boy gets a turn lighting the candles.  I’ll be posting our hymns and readings each week.  You can also find Advent readings online:

Teaching Mom: Advent

Advent Readings (PCA)

Advent Readings (PCA)

CTK Advent Devotional (PCA)

Advent Readings

Advent in the Home (ECUSA)

Camille’s Kid-Friendly Advent Readings

Advent Calendar

In addition to lighting the candles on the Advent wreath on Sundays, we’ll be opening a door on our wooden advent calendar this year.  (This is the one my MIL has, ours is a little different.)  I have meshed our weekly candle lighting and readings with daily door-opening and reading Bible verses I printed out.  Each little compartment also had either four pieces of candy or an activity written on it.  Activities are things like drink hot cocoa together, make homemade playdough, watch a holiday movie, bake cookies.  These are activities I want to remember to do this holiday season, but tend to happen only if I plan ahead.  This little calendar helps me plan ahead as well as be a surprise to the boys.  I also have a few small gifts that go along with the calendar and activities — things like speciality instant cocoa, Christmas mugs for each of the boys (bought on clearance last year!), microwave popcorn to go with the movie.  Obviously those don’t fit in the little compartments, but I put a little note behind the calendar door and pull them out of the closet when they open the door.  Like I said, I have to plan ahead to do these fun holidayish things, and this helps me actually do fun things with the boys that otherwise fall to the wayside when I get busy.

Other families observe advent in ways that we aren’t this year.  When our boys were little, we had a Jesse Tree that was passed along to us by Auntie L.   Several friends use these ideas for Jesse Tree devotions.  Other families use books like Jotham’s Journey or Christ in Christmas.    Some of these ideas may work for you — or none of them might be right for your family this year.   Advent can be a catalyst for preparing our hearts for worship, but if it becomes another holiday stress than its purpose is defeated.

Blessings to you and yours this Advent season!

A friend from church called up the other day, and in the conversation mentioned that she’d been reading my daily “giving thanks” posts. I shared with her that I chose to post the short lists of things for which I’m thankful each day, in part because I’ve been very anxious recently. It’s not situational, it’s not unusual environmental stress. Instead, it’s just been extra tension, extra anxiety.

And for me, I knew that refocusing on God and His gracious gifts would calm my anxious heart.

“. . .do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
– Phil 4:6-7

Not that I think this is a magic bullet, a formula to follow, a substitute for medical aid. . . But for me, I know that I needed to spend time meditating on how good the Lord has been to me, being thankful for all His kindnesses, for the amazing generosities and small details of goodness that have come from God. And I am thankful that He has calmed my anxious heart.

Cultivating a thankful heart, looking to God as provider and sustainer, each day this month I’m posting that for which I’m thankful. . .

* My immediate family
* My extended family
* God’s faithfulness this year
* Singing with joy
* Brothers and sisters at St. Paul’s Missionary Baptist Church

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. I Th 5:18

Cultivating a thankful heart, looking to God as provider and sustainer, each day this month I’m posting that for which I’m thankful. . .

* My second son’s birthday
* His thoughtfulness
* His expressive eyes
* His love of the unusual
* His patience

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. I Th 5:18

Cultivating a thankful heart, looking to God as provider and sustainer, each day this month I’m posting that for which I’m thankful. . .

* My youngest baby’s birthday
* His rascaliness
* His crazy laugh
* Flexible fun
* Family

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. I Th 5:18

Cultivating a thankful heart, looking to God as provider and sustainer, each day this month I’m posting that for which I’m thankful. . .

* Boys who like brie
* Cannolis and coffee-milk
* Encouragement from unexpected quarters
* Long, long-distance calls
* Laughter

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. I Th 5:18

Cultivating a thankful heart, looking to God as provider and sustainer, each day this month I’m posting that for which I’m thankful. . .

* Hope PCA
* Membership vows
* Professions of faith
* Covenant community
* Preaching of the Gospel

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. I Th 5:18

This year my parents and sister will not be coming down for Thanksgiving, breaking with a not-quite-tradition which we hadn’t quite established. Last year we had a casual, immediate family only Thanksgiving dinner with the kids pitching in a lot. This year we’ll continue with the low stress theme, but probably have a few guests. To keep it low key, however, we do need to do a little bit of planning ahead. These are my notes, to access as we go along and to refer back to next year — not advice for anyone else’s Thanksgiving! Though, feel free to share your keeping it simple Thanksgiving ideas with me!

Tentative Thanksgiving Dinner Menu
Dad’s Roast Turkey and Stuffing (I’ll make, my Dad’s recipe)
Gravy
Green Bean Casserole (R9, make ahead)
Red Mashed Potatoes
Green Peas (C7)
Corn (C7)
Dinner Rolls (baked from frozen)
Cranberry Sauce (make ahead)
Hot Mulled Apple Cider (T10)
Pumpkin Pie
Ambrosia (J12, make ahead)
Bailey’s Irish Cream (continuing a Kyiv tradition)

Maybe. . .
Green salad? Pumpkin dip? Appetizer?

Other things to keep it simple. . .
Remember to check the oven is on “bake” not “broil”
Remember 10 am Thanksgiving service at church
Remember to thaw the turkey
A glass of wine while cooking
Do as much ahead of time
Kids participate
Peaceful music

Cultivating a thankful heart, looking to God as provider and sustainer, each day this month I’m posting that for which I’m thankful. . .

* Peace, not as the world gives
* Cowboy songs and stories, as delivered by R9
* Low key holiday shopping, online and in person
* New neighbors, a foreclosed house sold
* Simple Saturdays

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. I Th 5:18

Cultivating a thankful heart, looking to God as provider and sustainer, each day this month I’m posting that for which I’m thankful. . .

* Learning, reviewing CPR
* Having never to actually use CPR
* Sharing the ups and downs of wedding planning
* God’s amazing mercy
* Hubby’s patience

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. I Th 5:18

Cultivating a thankful heart, looking to God as provider and sustainer, each day this month I’m posting that for which I’m thankful. . .

* Being still and knowing He is God
* Blank books
* A friend who lets me grump then helps me laugh
* Old Bisbee Roasters coffee
* Long distance phone calls

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. I Th 5:18

Cultivating a thankful heart, looking to God as provider and sustainer, each day this month I’m posting that for which I’m thankful. . .

* Positive feedback from some of Hubby’s job feelers
* The ability to type and think and write papers
* That I’m okay with myself not being able to pull all-nighters like I used to do
* Good neighbors
* Yummy tea when I’m out of coffee

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. I Th 5:18

Cultivating a thankful heart, looking to God as provider and sustainer, each day this month I’m posting that for which I’m thankful. . .

* A working washer and dryer
* A working heater
* The financial means to pay large library fines
* A Paris lithograph for the dining room, a gift from Hubby
* Energetic boys

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. I Th 5:18

Cultivating a thankful heart, looking to God as provider and sustainer, each day this month I’m posting that for which I’m thankful. . .

* Hubby making a big pot of borsch
* Cooler Florida weather
* When Mondays are over
* Hulu.com
* God’s faithfulness

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. I Th 5:18