Advent Series 204: Week 4

It is kind of like the home stretch in a marathon, that last week of Advent.  We have gone to parties, made cookies, shopped for friends and family, sent cards and accomplished other more sundry tasks.  We are generally exhausted and so on this night we do a great deal of nothing together.  It is our movie night.  Whatever favorite Christmas movie we haven't watched yet gets watched as we hang out on the couch or on the blow up mattress in front of the tv.  This year we watched ELF - one of our all time favorites.  We had already watched White Christmas and Sound of Music.  (Why Sound of Music is on our Christmas movie list I am not quite sure but we always watch it this time of year.)

FAMILY ACTIVITY:  Movie night and sleeping under our Christmas tree which always ends with a fabulous game of eye-spy.  Popcorn, hot cocoa, and Christmas cookies are generally on the snack list.

FOCUS:  Love.  As John 3:16 states, love is the reason God sent His Son to earth.  And so we celebrate that love on this night.  We rejoice that God's love has no bounds and is unfathomable.  We also rejoice that Love Incarnate will one day come again with Christ's Second Coming.

DINNER:  An easy-peasy dinner is on the menu this evening.  I usually order out for pizza or something else equally paper plate worthy.

ADVENT READINGS AND WREATH: We read week 4 out of Christ in Christmas: A Family Advent Celebration.  We also read John 3:16-21 and Acts 1: 6-12.  As always we light all the previous candles and add this last one.  I usually review the meaning and reason for each candle as we light with the kids.  We end the nights devotion by reading up to the appropriate page in The Advent Book.

ITINERARY:  This night is super relaxed so we just kind of go with the flow.  I don't think we even lit the fourth candle on this night.  We had a carpet picnic and hung in the living room all night.  We lit the candle the next night at dinner.

I think this night is my favorite Advent Night when it is combined with sleeping under the tree and playing eye-spy.  I think because we don't have any plans and it is just us.  We have a chance to chill out together, joke around, and laugh.  This year we all fell asleep mid-way through the eye-spy game.  Fabulous memories!

Advent Series 203: Week 3

The third week of Advent we light the JOY candle and have a JOY party at our house.  The guest list varies and some years it is just us and the kids.  This year we invited my parents over to celebrate with us.  In past years we have invited elderly neighbors, new friends, old friends, family, and generally anyone we thought could use some joyful celebrating.

When our kids were younger this was their favorite week hands down for two very specific reasons.  1.  It is a "party" therefore there are food items in our menu that I normally don't have around the house like Totino's Pizza Rolls.  2.  It is an appetizer party which means the kids can graze all night and not have to sit at the table to eat.  They still like it a lot but the novelty of walking around and eating has worn off.

FAMILY ACTIVITY:  This night is a true group effort.  The kids help me come up with the appetizer menu and help prepare the food.  That is all part of the fun of the evening.  We have also on this night in the past gone caroling as a way to spread JOY.  We always include a family dance party with old Christmas songs.  Our favorite cd is "Yule be Swingin'".

FOCUS:  Joy.  We have joy because of Jesus.  Joy isn't bound by circumstances but is fully dependent on Christ.  When we have Christ in our hearts we have Joy.

DINNER:  Appetizers.  Be sure to let the kids pick out some of the appetizers!  You may be surprised by what they choose.  Every year at least one if not both of my kids ask for a raw veggie tray and other good for you stuff.

ADVENT READINGS AND WREATH:  We read week 3 out of Christ in Christmas:  A Family Advent Celebration and we also read Psalm 100 and Luke 2:8-20

ITINERARY:  Because this is a party the evening is run a bit differently than the others.  We start with food and dancing and fun and light the first three candles.  At the end of the evening when everyone has had their fill we sit down and read the devotional and the appropriate pages out of The Advent Book.  If we go caroling on the same night we usually do that first and then come home to party.

Advent Series 202: Week 2

For our second week of Advent we light the Peace Candle and celebrate my husband's cultural background.  He is Filipino and both of his parents grew up in the Philippines.  Consequently, they have some very different Christmas traditions from when they were younger.  We love this night when we can spend quality time with Lolo and Lola (Tagalog for Grandpa and Grandma) and hear their stories from when they were children.  Jason's Dad, Lolo, is at a rehab center currently healing from some major surgery so we moved the whole operation to his room at rehab!  (Except for the wreath, I wasn't sure exactly where it would fit and it isn't about the wreath anyway.  We lit that another night when we were home.)

FAMILY ACTIVITY:  There are lots of differences in the way Lolo and Lola celebrated Christmas when they were children and the way traditional Americans celebrate it.  One of the biggest differences is the tree.  So on this night we decorate a Filipino Christmas Tree the way Jason's parent's remember doing it as children.  And while we are doing it we get to hear lots of fabulous stories of when they were young.  Like when Jason's Dad's brother would go back to visit houses he had already visited in hopes of collecting more coins.  Gifts are not a traditional part of Christmas in the Philippines, instead on Christmas Day the children would go house to house in the village giving the traditional greeting of pressing the top of the hands of their elders to their forehead and wishing the inhabitants "Maligayang Pasco" or Merry Christmas in Tagalog.  In exchange they were given small coins to spend on candy or a toy.

This is our Fil-Am Tree.  He is a bit smaller than usual because he had to fit on the small bookshelf in the room.  Notice the hanging ornaments, totally American and added by Lola so that Dad would have pictures of his grandchildren on his very own tree.  The orange at the base are origami creations by my son.

FOCUS:  Peace.  We have peace on this earth amidst strife because of Jesus Christ the Prince of Peace.  He came into the world to restore our relationship with God and to defeat evil once and for all.  We will see the fulfillment of this peace in all things when Christ comes again.

DINNER:  In past years, I would make a traditional Filipino Christmas Dinner with Lola's help including lechon (a traditional way to roast pork), sticky rice and vinegar sauce.  I always add an american green in there.  Traditional Filipino veggies are hard to come by and harder to get used to eating (at least the kind I have tried!)  This year because of the change of venues and Lolo's special diet we didn't do dinner with his folks but it was a wonderful night full of stories and laughter.

ADVENT READINGS AND WREATH:  We read week 2 out of Christ in Christmas A Family Advent Celebration by Dobson, Swindoll, Boice, and Sproul. We also read Isaiah 9:6-7 and Luke 2:1-7.  

ITINERARY:  Each Advent Night runs about the same.  We start with dinner and then move to the activity and end the evening with The Advent Book by the Stockmans.

HOW TO: Making a Filipino Christmas Tree involves glueing tissue paper flowers to the tips of bare branches.  In the islands the kids would have found a bare mangrove branch to decorate.  In my opinion the end results reminds me of a cherry blossom tree. Lolo said that they actually have a tree in the Philipines that is very similar to the decorated tree but couldn't remember the name of it.  I tried to find it but it turns out that lots and lots and lots of trees flower in the islands and without Lolo I have no idea which he is referring to.

I love watching Lola work with her hands.  This year I documented it in photos.  From the top here are some simple directions for your very own tree.

We used streamers, according to Lola they are the closest we have here in the states to the kind of paper they would have used.  (Even the poorest families would have decorated a tree but used old newspaper instead.)  I purchased three colors.  Pink, white and green.  The branch is an oak branch out of the yard mounted on a wooden base. 

Fold the pink streamer on itself into a 2-3 inch rectangle.  Depending on how full you want your flower make the rectangle 4-6 layers.  Fold the rectangle in half length wise.  Cut a petal shape out keeping the folded side intact.  (According to Lola it can be any shape you want BUT hers are always a simple elongated shape with a small notch cut out of one tip.)  Fan the petals out.  

Repeat the first few steps with the white streamer making your rectangle half as large. This part isn't photographed.  Instead of cutting a petal shape simply cut the unfolded side of the folded rectangle into strips without cutting all the way through so it looks like fringe.  

Insert the white center into the pink petals.  Glue in place and twist the ends of the pink petals around the white center.  (Now when Lolo and Lola were children they used cornstarch and water with a bit of vinegar.  We just used good old Tacky glue.)  

Once the flower is together pick a branch and glue it on.  If the flower doesn't want to stick take a strip of green paper and wrap it around the base of the flower and branch.  

For the leaves follow the directions for the pink petals.  Then separate them and use one or two at a time.  glueing them to the branches in intervals.  

We also made white flowers with pink centers.  

My favorite shot of the night is the one of Lola's hands and Mera's hands working to place a flower on the selected branch.  Beautiful!

It was a wonderful afternoon and evening of hearing stories, teaching my kids about their heritage, and celebrating the birth of Christ.

Musings about Mary

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.  When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.  But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

Luke 2:16-19

I think these verses give us a glimpse into why Mary was chosen to give birth to the Messiah.  First off, the arrival of shepherds reeking of sheep in tattered clothing blathering on about the angels in the sky didn’t freak her out.  (Of course their blathering is from personal conjecture.  The Bible says nothing of how they first acted upon entering the stable BUT they were hurrying and probably more excited than they had ever been.  All of Israel had waited 400 years from the last prophet to see the birth of the Christ.  If it were me – I would be blathering quite loudly, except I have never physically been in the presence of baby Jesus which may lower the volume a bit.) Secondly, she was a willing participant in all the goings on during that night.  Obviously, she had to be a part of the birth.  But beyond that; she didn’t hide in the stall with the mules.  She was found with Joseph and Jesus in the stable.  And thirdly, she treasured each moment and pondered them.  She remembered and then thought over and over about the events of that night and probably the angel’s visit to her and Joseph that got them into this predicament as well.  

So let us be like Mary so that God can chose to do amazing things for us as well.  1.  Don’t be easily offended.  (no matter how reeking or tattered)  2.  Actively participate in your own story.  (even when it is shocking or hard to believe)  3.  Remember what God has done and think about it often.  (make a list if you have too)

My guess is that Mary did those things even before she was visited that first time by the angel.  My guess is those three seemingly simple things caught the special attention of the God of Universe.  Wouldn’t you like to have that kind of attention?

Advent Series 201: Week 1

During the first week of Advent on the night you have decided to have your families Advent night gather the family and start a wonderful family tradition.  Below is how we do Advent in my house with some of my favorite book suggestions.  Remember to pick and choose what you like and what works for your family.  Advent is about bringing Christ back into the center of Christmas and about carving out meaningful time with your kids during a crazy busy season.

FAMILY ACTIVITY:  Our first Advent Night is always the night we decorate the tree.   Decorating the tree, for us, is a wonderful time of remembering Christmases past because most of our ornaments are either homemade or from a special event or place.  

We spend lots of time this night talking about favorite traditions and looking at old photos.  I started a book of pictures taken every year in front of our tree.  I even was able to locate a few pre-kids and stuck those in.  The kids love to look through the pictures and see how they have grown.   Looking back is a way to be assured of our future.

FOCUS:  Hope.  The Israelites had hope that God would one day send a Savior.  They knew God was faithful because of all that He had already done for them.  Biblical hope is different than worldly hope.  It is not a wish or an inclination that something will happen.  It is the sure knowledge that God will do what He says He is going to do. It is like that gift wrapped under the tree.  It is already there, we just have to wait to open it.  That is HOPE.  Just as the Israelites had hope that God would one day send the Messiah, we have hope that Christ will come again.

DINNER:  On this night I go all out by setting the table with my Grandmother's china and cooking a special meal that everyone really likes.  (Don't think lots of work, just think about what they love.  This year I threw a roast in the oven.  Microwaved some veggies and had some fresh bread.)  We also let the kids drink out of cut glass goblets this year as a special treat.  

ADVENT READINGS AND WREATH:  This year we are using Christ in Christmas A Family Advent Celebration by Dobson, Swindoll, Boice, and Sproul.  The book is well laid out with hymns to sing if you are of that mind, Scripture readings, a short reflection and prayer.  Because our kids are older (9 and 12), in addition to that reading we are looking up and reading the verses our church uses for Advent.  This week it was Micah 5:2-5 and Luke 1:26-33.  

ITINERARY FOR THE EVENING:  We all sit at the dinning room table.  My husband or I begin by taking about what season of the year it is.  Then we light the first candle and say something like, "This is the Hope Candle. "  One of us prays for our dinner.  We begin eating.  During the meal we begin looking up verses and reading them engaging the kids in conversation.  Obviously this will vary greatly on the age of your kids but talk with them about the verses on their level.  And discuss with them the idea of hope.  

Then we blow out the candle and move into the living room to decorate our tree.  

Meet John Trout.  Our Christmas Tree.  We name our tree every year.  A strange tradition that came from I don't know where.  This one was named for John, the gentleman who helped us with our tree purchase, and his interesting trout charm which may have been carved out of bone.  You can call him J.T. for short.

 After decorating the tree and at the end of every day during December we get out our copy of The Advent Book by Jack and Kathy Stockman.  It is a grown-up lift a flap book that we have used since my daughter was 4.  (That was the year she almost memorized the Christmas story out of Luke thanks to that book.)  Each day has a different beautifully decorated door to open with a picture and Scripture inside.  The beauty is that each day you start at Day 1 and just add one more so your kids are hearing the story from the beginning each time.

Now that the kids are older they read the pages out loud.  It is a wonderful time to hang on the couch and be together.

That is it.  That is our first Advent Night each year.  It did take me a few go rounds to find what worked, what I had time for, and what was meaningful for my family.  That is why I include them in the planning each year and ask what they would like to do again.  Then they do the thinking for you!

One last book worth looking into is Mary's First Christmas by Walter Wangerine, Jr.  I love this book for two reasons.  1.  It shows Jesus as a little boy and how His life would have been like because Mary is telling her Son the story of His birth.  2.  It is cut into 4 chapters that are short enough to read out loud in one sitting.  We read through this book each year, usually one chapter a week.

Advent Series 103: How to

If you have read the previous two Advent Series, you are probably wondering how on earth all of that information can be used to teach your kids.  Well, the history part was just for you and because I love history and learning stuff.  Your kids probably don't care that Advent started in the 4th Century or that Martin Luther may have been the first to start using it as a tool for teaching families about Jesus.

But the rest of it is super useful because it is the starting point of our journey toward Christmas.  

This How to is the basic get you started kind.  Each additional Advent Series will have specific ideas about how we do Advent in our home with extra ideas from others.  Pick and choose what you like.  

The wise men and their trusty camel
are still traveling to the manger.
This year I noticed for the first time
a golden price tag on the bottom of the
camel.  He cost 35 cents.    

This is my Grandma's Nativity Set I
inherited.  It is in remarkably good
condition with the exception of the
bull.  He has a crazy horn that no
amount of twisting will help and is
missing portions of his base.
I love it, crazy horn and all!  

Planing Advent for your family can be overwhelming but have no fear!  I and those who have come before me are here to help.

First and foremost, take a deep breath and remember that this is not to add to your "To Do" list.  It is a tool to help you and your family focus on Jesus this Christmas.

This is my super simple, easy peasy plan for "putting" Advent into your already outrageously busy Christmas season.  

1. Think about all that you do during this horrendously busy season.  Then think about what you truly enjoy to do.  Cross off or resource as many of the unenjoyable things as possible.  There are things like laundry that have to be done but do you really have to mastermind the entire gift list?  Or be in charge of the work Christmas Party again?  
2. Sit down with your calendar (and your family if necessary) and choose one night a week during Advent and mark it in permanent marker - ADVENT NIGHT.  Don't let anything interrupt that night that is why you used permanent marker!  
3. Decide ahead of time how much effort and time you will give to organizing and planning your 4 individual Advent nights.  (Stick to your plan, don't feel guilty or inadequate for not keeping up with the Joneses - YOUR ARE NOT THE JONESES!  Unless your last name happens to be Jones, then I would say YOU ARE NOT THE SMITHS!)
4. If you have older kids or even younger ones that are quite rambunctious and need something to put their minds too, let them help you plan.  Kids are a wealth of information and creativity if asked.  They may surprise you with some unthoughtof tradition or activity they love.
5. DO IT!  

That is it!

Advent Series 102: Meaning of

There are many symbols of Christmas but the iconic symbol of Advent is a wreath.  This is our wreath sans a new three wick white candle for the middle.  I am still searching for a reasonably priced one to replace the used one.  I started using a three wick for the middle because I like the way it looks and we talk to the kids about how God sent His Son, part of Himself to earth to save us and how the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary so that she could have God's Son.  This is a great way to incorporate teaching the Trinity into Christmas, if only the retailers near me would cooperate. (I refuse to pay $30 for a candle simply on principle.)

Our Advent Wreath surrounded by a virtually indestructible
Nativity set made by my uncle.  Thanks Uncle Gary!
Except for an occasional disappearance of the
kidney-bean-like Jesus,
 we have had hours of fun playing with this one.
Going on a Jesus-hunt is actually pretty fun too!

But I digress, back on point.  The Advent wreath actually comes from a German non-christian tradition of lighting candles surrounded by evergreens as a way to instill the hope of spring on cold winter nights.  This tradition was borrowed by Christians during the Middle Ages and, at first, was no more than a countdown.

However, as wreaths have been used both in homes and in churches the candles and the wreath itself have gradually acquired various meanings.  If you have heard meanings other than the ones listed below, they are not wrong just different.  The meanings are so relatively "new" in Church history that they haven't been standardized.  Praise God for that!!!!   There is much more scope and freedom in choosing what is meaningful for your family. 

Meaning of the Wreath

The evergreens symbolize everlasting life and Christian growth.  The circle represents God's unending love and victory.  The candles all together represent Christ as the Light of the World.  Their color, traditionally blue or purple except for the center candle which is always white, signify the royalty of Jesus our King.  The white Christ Candle, the big one in the middle, symbolizes His purity. Some also suggest that the 4 small candles represent the 4,000 years of waiting between Adam and the birth of Christ or the 400 years between the last Old Testament prophet and the New Testament.  Each candle also has it's own meaning.  (If you aren't particularly fond of the meanings below look on line and choose what works for you and your family.)

1st Candle - Week 1 

Color: Blue or Purple*

This is lit the first Sunday in Advent (or whenever you do your first Advent night - more on that in Advent Series 103:  How to and Advent Series 201:  Week 1).  It is called the Prophecy Candle or the Hope Candle.  It opens the period of waiting expectantly for Christmas Morning and Christ's Second Coming.  It pierces the darkness of the world.

2nd Candle - Week 2

Color:  Blue or Purple*

This is lit the second Sunday in Advent.  It is called the Bethlehem Candle or the Love Candle.  It symbolizes the preparations made to receive Christ and cradle Him in our hearts. 

3rd Candle - Week 3

Color:  Pink*

This is lit the third Sunday in Advent.  It is called the Shepherd's Candle or the Joy Candle.  Historically Advent was a somber season of fasting and preparation however, the third Sunday was always the exception.  It was a day of feasting and rejoicing.  (In some Catholic traditions it is called the Mary Candle and her Magnificat is read during service.)  It marks the point in the wreath where more candles are lit than not.  Light overcomes the darkness.  

4th Candle - Week 4

Color:  Blue or Purple*

This is lit the forth Sunday in Advent.  It is called the Angel's Candle or the Peace Candle.  It represents the peace on earth the angels sang and Christ brought with His birth.  We will see the culmination of this Peace with His Second Coming.

5th Candle - Christmas Day

Color:  White

This is placed in the center of the wreath and is lit on Christmas Morning.  It is the Christ Candle and symbolizes the completion of God's plan of redemption.  In some traditions all the candles on the wreath are changed to white on Christmas Morning with the lighting of the Christ candle. 

*A short disclaimer on color:  I don't use the traditional colors for the candles in my Advent wreath because I am a girl and I like things to be pretty and blue and purple don't match my other Christmas decorations.  I use red because they match and I like the way it looks.  Freedom in Christ means that superficial things like the color of a candle can be discarded if they have no particular purpose.  (And candle color for an Advent wreath is mentioned no where in the Bible.)  If you like those colors and their meaning by all means use them to your hearts content.  But remember, there is no condemnation in Christ.  Just one more reason why I love my God!!!!

Advent Series 101: History Of

Years ago I attended an Advent Workshop and it stuck.  It wasn't a foreign idea to me having grown up in a Lutheran Church.  I remember the lighting of the wreath every service and the special services mid-week.  I even remember the meaning of most of the candles, which is proof that God still does miracles in teenage girls.  But then I grew up and went to college and got married.  Advent became another empty tradition of the church until, that is, I had my first child.

That was when I heard about an Advent Workshop being held at our church and how it would teach us to use Advent as a tool to train up our children in the way of the Lord.  Okay, thought I, I am game, so I went.  And boy am I glad I did!  Almost 10 years later and I just finished facilitating my 6th Advent Workshop and Wreath Making Extravaganza using some of the original information with permission and lots of extras from people along the way who have shared how they keep Christ at the center of their Christmas.  

As the first in this month long series I am going to touch on some of the history of this traditional liturgical season and some of the symbolism found in it's accoutrements.  (More on symbolism in Advent Series 102: Meaning of) Be sure to check out my page regularly for ideas for each week of Advent.  I know I am starting a bit behind the 8 ball but don't worry, I won't keep you waiting too long.  I plan to have Advent Series 201:  Week 1 written and published later today!

Advent means arrival or coming depending on whose Latin translation you look at but either way you see it, Advent is a season of patience and preparation.  We wait for the arrival of the Christ at Christmas and we wait for His Second Coming.  I always tell my kids when they get a bit antsy, "You only have to wait 4 weeks, the Israelites waited 400 years!"  That usually quiets them down.  

This season of the church calendar started way back in the 4th or 5th century as a preparation for Epiphany. Epiphany occurs in January and focuses on various events in Jesus' life such as the visit of the Magi, His baptism and early miracles.  This was a time for new Christians to be baptized and welcomed into the church, while members of the church examined their hearts and focused on penance.  People observed the original 6 weeks of this season with fasting and it is recorded in early church documents that it was treated as a second Lent.  

Sometime in the 6th century in Rome the term Advent was first used and the focus shifted to the Second Coming of Christ.  Then, in the 9th century Advent took it's modern time frame of only 4 weeks and those all before Christmas.  During the middle ages - approximately the 16th century - an additional focus was added, the anticipation of the Christmas morning, the birth of Jesus.  

 No one is sure who first began using Advent as a means to teach families about Jesus but many attribute it to Martin Luther.  The custom of the Advent Wreath is a German custom and Luther is well known for developing ideas for teaching faith at home so it is plausible that he did use an established church season and a non-christian tradition for the education of families.