Here are a few pictures of the Advent Calender, as I promised. I used those little miniature things you can buy in craft stores (I think they are for making cards), and that was actually a fun way of coming up with ideas. I did not try to get my Christmas to-do list onto an Advent calender. A lot of our days are things like “pizza night†or “paint your nails.” I also have a lot more cards than days, so there is still selection, even at the end of the stretch.
When we got it out this year, my three-year-old kept pulling a chair over to it and asking questions about it, and then requested an Advent calender bedtime story – so I think at least in thrill factor it has been a success!
Oh- one last thing – I buy candy and occasional Advent presents to also be included, even for Daddy. I actually think in future years we may end up with an envelope for each kid, because I always see more things that I want to add, and since they are so easy to do (try “drink egg-nog†or “have an orange eating partyâ€) it is not overwhelming at all.
Blessings on you all – I hope your Advent prep goes well!
I just couldn’t resist when I saw all this talk about the Advent excitement! As is very obvious by the last couple posts, my little family has been very blessed to live near my parents and celebrate the Sabbath with them. My Mom is a bit of a superhero, and I am sure that if we didn’t ever do anything by ourselves at our house, my kids would still grow up loving Christmas and the Advent season. But just not doing anything at our house would be (to put it mildly) pretty dumb.
A couple of years ago, my husband and I decided to make an Advent calender. A friend of mine had told me that her mom would make a calender out of old cards, and the kids were on a rotation of days, so what was inside was specific to them. We thought this was a great idea, but when we started trying to get down to business, it started getting out of control, and a lot bigger!
The basic idea was that we wanted to put things in our Advent calender like “Get the Christmas tree today” or “Make Christmas cookies” or “Look under your pillow for a surprise.” The concern (I would think an obvious one for mothers) would be having your Advent calender contradict the spirit of the moment. I can easily see trying to persuade Continue reading ‘Advent Calender’
Sometimes married women without children start wondering if God is punishing them by withholding babies. They may feel guilty for past sins, whether real or imagined. Could be they feel guilty for just assuming they could have babies any time they wanted, or maybe there is an abortion or infidelity or sexual immorality in their past. Whatever the reason, it is easy for them to assume that they don’t deserve the blessing of children and that God is giving them just what they deserve.
The only problem here is that God just isn’t like that. He does punish the evil-doer, that is true. But He forgives those who come to Him in repentance and faith. And His forgiveness is like nothing else on earth. He tosses all remembrance of our sin as far away as it can get. He turns the stains of sin into the color of fresh snow. He doesn’t just forgive; He delights to forgive. Continue reading ‘Is God Punishing Me?’
Once Advent has started, we celebrate a little more rambunctiously at our Sabbath table. For starters, we have an Advent silver wreath-shaped candle holder that sits in the middle of the table. Lots of people make an an Advent wreath from fresh greens. Either way, whichever you have, it’s a great tradition. Each week during the Sabbath liturgy, I light one more candle. So, week one I light one candle and then we put it out at the end of the meal. Week two I light the first week’s candle, then the new candle. Week three and four follow suit. And then Christmas Day I light the one in the middle, the candle for the Christ Child.
Now if you want to follow this exactly according to tradition, that will involve some purple and pink candles. I think Jim Jordan (maybe) has something about this somewhere. I remember finding some info on it a couple years ago. But we stick with white with a red candle in the middle, or vice versa.
Also, each Sabbath I usually have a treat for all the grandkids. The first week it is the Christmas jammies. This way they can wear them all month long. I hand out the Advent Continue reading ‘Great Ideas’
Things are quiet at my house! My son’s family is visiting my daughter’s family at Oxford, and that makes a grand total of nine children and five adults all under one roof (my niece Brooke is visiting the Merkles as well). They will be celebrating Thanksgiving together and have invited a family from Australia to join them.
They were surprised last year to find out that the British (at least some of them) view our Thanksgiving as an anti-British holiday. That surprised us all. My daughter explained that it had nothing really to do with the British, but all to do with thanking God for His provision. But because the first to celebrate were English people who were leaving town for higher ground, I can see why it could be misunderstood. At any rate, my transplanted kids will be roasting a turkey and serving it up with all the trimmings, some of them carried over in a suitcase.
But here on this side of the ocean we are awaiting the arrival of our twin grandbabies. We will gather today around our table to celebrate the arrival of yet another Sabbath, and who knows? Maybe next Sabbath our twins will be here! Or, perhaps by the first Sabbath in December. Either way, the anticipation is growing. Continue reading ‘Happy Sabbath’
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