Christmas Happenings

Been busy making sweet Christmas memories the last couple weeks with more to come this week.  So far it has included a trip Silver Dollar City.  It truly is the most wonderful time of the year celebrating an old fashioned Christmas.  Our favorites to see is The Dicken's Christmas Carol, The Living Nativity and The Homestead Pickers.  There are so many lights throughout the town and the hot chocolate is dee-lish!  If you didn't have the Christmas spirit when you came you are sure to have it when you leave!

We had our 2'nd annual gingerbread house decorating day at my sisters.  Of course it's just us girls that participate in this since Dakota no longer has an interest in decorating gingerbread houses.  hehe!  He did join us after he got off work  and we all enjoyed a nice lunch together. :)

We also made Christmas cookies, have been watching lots of Christmas movies and wrapping presents.  We've been having our Advent devotions and we decided to open our "Jesus gift" this week.  We were all surprised at how much money was in our box and really enjoyed looking through the World Vision Catalog to pick out gifts to send.  We decided on a Bible translated in a child's language, vegetable seeds for 1 family, and a rabbit.  We decided that our Jesus gift is definitely a new family tradition!  This week will be filled with my "mom's only" homeschool Christmas party, cleaning, grocery shopping, baking, and finishing up school for Christmas break, and somewhere in there I've got to take my car to get looked at.  Then Saturday begins the family festivities!  Can't wait!  God is good and has been blessing us greatly!  Hope you all are enjoying the Holiday season as much as we are!

Second Sunday in Advent

Okay, so I'm a little late getting this post in seeing as it's Monday, but better late than never right?

For the second Sunday/week in advent our theme is LOVE.

We relit our first candle in remembrance that Advent is a time of preparation and that we are preparing our hearts.

Then we re-lit the 2'nd candle in remembrance that Jesus came to earth to tell us of God's love.  We read John 15:9-11, Philippians 1:9-11 

We discussed many things about love.  Including the many voices of love, both silent and verbal.  Such as a smile, a kind gesture, or a good deed.  We encouraged each other to use our voices of love this week, continue to fast and pray and give to our "Jesus gift".

Our final scriptures were found in James 1:22 and 1 Thessalonians 3:12

The versus we read during the week during our nightly devotions will all focus on love.

First Sunday of Advent Ideas

Today marks the beginning of the Advent season an I am so excited about some of the things we are doing this year to celebrate the birth of our Saviour. 

For the first Sunday in Advent our theme was "preparation".  We discussed the meaning of Advent and the symbolism of the wreath.  Before we lit the first candle we turned off all the lights and sat in darkness.  We talked about how before Christ came, the world was in darkness.  There was no hope.  Then God sent His son to be the Light of the world.  We lit the first candle to remind us that we must prepare our hearts for His coming.  The verses that we read were found in Isaiah 9:2,6-7 and Romans 15:4.  Our Bible verse/thought for the entire week is found in Isaiah 40:3,5 and says "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for your God;...and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed..."

We made a Christmas chain of red and greens to help us count down the days till Christmas.  On each individual chain I wrote a verse to include with our Advent devotions.  The first weeks chains will all go with our theme of preparation, the second week - love, third week - joy, and the fourth week - God's love.  In past years we wrote names of people that needed prayer on each chain.  You could do either way or include both on your chain.

Our next thing we discussed is fasting.  To make the remembrance of the birth of our Saviour more meaningful I am encouraging our family to fast during the coming weeks before Christmas as part of our  preparation of our hearts to worship God.  In Matthew 6:16 says "when ye fast" NOT "if ye fast" and the same in Matthew 6:6 "when thou prayest" NOT "if thou prayest".  Fasting and praying is a significant part of Christian life.  Remember when you fast that it does not always have to be from food.  Other ideas can be television, computer, music, etc.  What you choose and when you choose is between you and God.

We also decided to give a gift to Jesus.  I wrapped up a small box and cut a hole in it.  This box will sit on our dining room table.  We are going to fill it with pennies, nickles, dimes, quarters, and dollars.  A few days before Christmas we are going to open it, count our money and decide where we want to give our gift.  Maybe and orphanage, a love offering to a minister, a needy family or a ministry.

Each night as we gather for our advent devotions we are going to take time to give God praise.  To examine every part of our days to see God's fingerprints and share the blessings that God has given us with each other.

Tomorrow we will be reading in Titus 2:13, Tuesday we'll read Isaiah 25:9, Wednesday will be Genesis 49:18, Thursday will be Psalm 33:20-22, Friday we'll read Isaiah 26:8, and Saturday we'll read Isaiah 33:2 All the verses this week are on preparations, waiting, hoping and trusting. 

Last year a lady from our homeschool group recommended a book called Celebrating the Christian Year by Martha Zimmerman and a lot of the ideas came from this great book.  If you are looking to make Christ more a part of the all your holidays this is the perfect book for you!

The Jesse Tree

This year I have decided to do a Jesse Tree as part of our Advent. The Jesse tree represents the family tree, or genealogy of Jesus Christ. It tells the story of God's salvation plan starting with the creation and continuing through the Old Testament to the coming of the Messiah. The name comes from Isaiah 11:1 "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots".

Click Here for a link to a free Jesse Tree Advent book. It is in pdf form and includes printable ornaments for each day along with daily devotions.

A Christmas Prayer Chain

Tonight as we sit down as a family for Advent we are going to make a red and green paper chain. On each loop we will write down the names of family and friends. From now till Christmas we will cut off one loop each morning and spend the day praying for the person whose name is on the loop.

Prepare Him Room

December is just a few days away and as the Christmas countdown continues most people discover that their time is consumed with countless holiday chores such as shopping, cooking, cleaning, Christmas programs and much more. If you have ever thought or even dared to say aloud "I can't wait till Christmas is over" I have the thing for you. In hopes that it will bring you tidings of great joy, I urge you to slow the pace down a bit this year and enjoy a time of spiritual renewal and reflect what the Christmas season truly is about.

A few years ago my family did just that. We began celebrating Advent. It has hence become a family tradition. The word Advent literally means "arrival". It is a time for preparation for the coming of something....or Someone. It is a time set aside to prepare our hearts to receive Christ the coming King. It is a reminder of the waiting that was done by the Hebrews for the birth of the Messiah and also a reminder that we, as Christians are waiting for His second coming, when those who have "prepared Him room" will forever be with the Lord. Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas. Some families gather for activities only on Sundays, we have chosen to have nightly devotions and activities. I purchased an advent wreath. This is not really necessary but I like the symbolic meaning and thought it would add a special touch to our nightly Advent devotions. The circle of the wreath reminds us of God Himself, His eternity and endless mercy, which has no beginning or end. The green of the wreath speaks of the hope that we have in God, the hope of newness, of renewal, of eternal life. The candles symbolize the light of God coming into the world through the birth of His son. The 4 outer candles represent the period of waiting during the 4 Sundays of Advent, which themselves symbolize the four centuries of waiting between the prophet Malachi and the birth of Christ. The light of the candles remind us that Jesus is the light of the world and to remind us that we are called to be a light to the world as we reflect the light of God's grace to others. (Isaiah 42:6)

There are 4 candles circling the wreath. Traditionally there are 3 purple and 1 pink. In the center is a white candle representing Christ. Instead of purple and pink candles we use 4 red candles. It's just a personal preference. The first Sunday, which is tonight, we will light the first candle. It is the candle of Hope. It represents the promise of a Savior. We will read Isaiah 9:6-7 and then light the candle. Every night this week when we gather for our Advent devotion and activities we will light the same candle again. The second week of Advent we will light the candle of Peace, the third week is the Candle of Joy, the fourth week is the Candle of Love. Then Christmas Eve we will light all the candles along with the white Christmas candle that celebrates Jesus Christ the Light of the World. On this night I prepare ahead candles for each family member and with the lights off we light our individual candles from the Christ candle to represent how Christ shines thru us and how we are to be a light in this dark world.

My goal is to share with you our Advent journey. Some nights we will have serious devotions and talks, others we may gather and sing Christmas carols, or play games, maybe even make Christmas cookies, but whatever we do, the purpose will be to slow down, reflect and grow.

My hope is that you will join me in this journey and truly experience the fullness of this most wonderful time of the year.

Advent

Celebrating Advent is a wonderful way to welcome Christmas into your heart and home.

The word Advent means "arrival". Christmas time is a season of preparing for the coming of something......or Someone. It is a time specifically set aside to ready our hearts to receive Christ, the coming King.

As Christmas nears it seems that our days get fuller. Our time is consumed with countless holiday chores, shopping, cooking, entertaining. Before we know it everything begins to run together in a blur. Advent is a way to pause and reflect on the wonderful news that God has given the world a Savior.

An advent wreath is traditionally made of evergreens symbolizing God's eternal love. Four candles - three purple and one pink - are arranged around the wreath. A white candle is placed in the center of the wreath. Each candle represents something and is to be lighted at specific times.

Advent begins the fourth Sunday before Christmas. Some families gather every night for activities and others just on Sunday. My family gathers every night. We always have a devotion and pray together. Sometimes we sing or make a craft, the possibilities are endless.

Week one - The Candle of Hope. This represents the promise of a Savior. A good passage to read before lighting one purple candle for hope is Isaiah 9:6-7

Week two - The Candle of Peace. This represents the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. Micah 5:2 and Luke 2:1-5. Light two purple candles this week for hope and peace.

Week three - The Candle of Joy. This represents the tidings of great joy the angels announced to the shepherds. Luke 2:8-14. Light three purple candles for hope, peace and joy.

Week Four - The Candle of Love. This represents God's love for the world when He gave His only begotten Son. John 3:16 and Luke 2:15-20. Light three purple candles for hope, peace and joy and light the pink candle for love.

Christmas Eve - The White Christmas Candle. This represents Jesus Christ as the Light of the World. Isaiah 9:2 and John 8:12. Light all candles.

So instead of getting caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season. Find a perfect resting place, renew your spirit and transform this year's Christmas celebration into the best ever.