The fourth light of Advent is the light of humankind--
The light of hope that we may learn to love and understand.

Advent, week 3

The third light of Advent is the light of beasts--
All await the birth, from the greatest and in least.

Window Stars!

Nicholas and I enjoyed making window stars this morning. You can find a simple tutorial here.

He then made a Christmas tree transparency by using star and hole punches to punch holes in a Christmas tree and then gluing a sheet of yellow kite paper behind it. It looks beautiful in the sunshine, but unfortunately, all we got was a rainy cold picture!

The second week of Advent...

How are you celebrating the second week of Advent? Let me know, and I'll add you here!

Mamashawn at Fellow Traveler's has a beautiful Advent spiral.

The second week of Advent is the light of plants--
Plants that reach up to the sun and in the breezes dance.

St. Nicholas Day, revisited

Because St. Nicholas Day was on a Sunday, our celebrations were a bit rushed. Not only was there the whole "clergy family" thing to contend with, but the children's choir, which my two oldest are members of and which I direct, was singing at the 8:15 service.

Saturday night, we set out our shoes in front of the fireplace along with a carrot for St. Nicholas's horse.


Daniel tried to confiscate it, but we saved the carrot!


Then we all curled up and read our favorite St. Nicholas Day book, The Baker's Dozen: A St. Nicholas Tale.


We kept things pretty simple, or should I say St. Nicholas did-- just some chocolate coins, a peppermint stick, and a small chocolate St. Nick.


And today, some wooden "cookies" along with another visit with the book.

Nicholas, give me the spirit of giving.
Teach me that it really is
more blessed to give than to receive,
and that to whom much has been given
much will be expected.
Help me to overcome my fears
that if I give generously
I will suffer want.

Advent Evening Prayer

I posted our morning prayer a few days ago. This is what we've been doing for evening prayer.

First, we make the Sign of the Cross.

Light and peace in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Thanks be to God.

We light the candle(s) on the Advent wreath as we sing, to the tune of the Doxology.
Creator of the stars of night,
Your people's everlasting light,
O Christ, Redeemer of us all,
We pray you hear us when we call.

Come, Sun and Savior, to embrace
Our gloomy world, it's weary race,
As groom to bride, as bride to groom,
The wedding chamber, Mary's womb.

At your great name, O Jesus, now
All knees must bend, all hearts must bow.
All things on earth with one accord
Like those in heav'n shall call you Lord.

Psalm 146
Praise the Lord, my heart!
My whole life give praise.
Let me sing to God
as long as I live.
The Lord keeps faith forever,
giving food to the hungry,
justice to the poor,
freedom to captives.

The Lord opens blind eyes
and straightens the bent,
comforting widows and orphans,
protecting the stranger.
The Lord loves the just
but blocks the path of the wicked.

Zion, praise the Lord!
Your God reigns forever,
from generation to generation.
Hallelujah!

If we didn't read the Scripture or saint's story this morning, we read it now.

Intercessory prayer-- we each take a turn, followed by the Lord's Prayer.

Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation.
You bring forth light from darkness.

Stained Glass Cookies

From Advent: Lighting the Path to Christmas
















YUM!

Circle Time: St. Nicholas

I meant to have this up earlier this week, but we've been so busy with homeschooling and Advent and life, that time just got away from me.

This week, we're centering circle time around the following St. Nicholas story that I found at my favorite St. Nicholas site, the St. Nicholas Center.

Once upon a time there lived far away in the East a pious man, the Bishop Nicholas. One day he heard that far in the West was a big town. In this town all the people had to suffer hunger, the children also. Then Bishop Nicholas called his servants who loved him and said to them 'Bring me the fruits of your gardens and the fruits of your fields that we can still the hunger of the children in that town.' The servants brought baskets full of apples and nuts, and on top lay honey cakes which the women had baked. And the men brought sacks of wheat. Bishop Nicholas had all these things taken onto a ship. It was a beautiful ship, quite white and the sails of the ship were as blue as the sky and as blue as the mantle of the Bishop Nicholas. The wind blew into the sails and sped the ship along, And when the wind grew tired the servants took to the oars and rowed the ship westward. They had to sail for a longtime; for seven days and seven nights.

Postcard from Italy St Nicholas Center Collection

When they arrived in front of the big town it was evening. The roads were empty, but in the houses there burnt lights. Bishop Nicholas knocked at a window. The mother in the house thought a late wanderer had come and she asked her child to open the door. Nobody was outside. The child ran to the window. There was nobody outside the window either. But instead, there stood a basket filled with apples and nuts, red and yellow, and a honey cake lay on top. By the basket stood a sack which was bursting with golden wheat grains. All the people ate the gifts and once again became healthy and happy.

Today St. Nicholas is in the heavens. Every year on his birthday he starts on his journey down to the earth. He asks for his white horse and journeys from star to star. There he meets Mother Mary, who gathers silver and golden threads for the shift of the Christ Child. Mother Mary says to him: "Dear St. Nicholas please go again to the children and bring them your gifts. Tell them, 'Christmas is nigh and soon the Christ Child will come.'"

The earth is wide and great. There, where St. Nicholas cannot go himself, he asks a good and pious person to go to the children and take them apples and nuts and tell the children of the coming of the Christ Child.

http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=300

We sing Jolly Old St. Nicholas, of course. Another song, Here Comes St. Nicholas, can be found here. You can find even more St. Nicholas songs here and here.

Of course, little ones best participate actively, so we throw in this echo story "St. Nicholas, the Generous Bishop" from the St. Nicholas story.

We're all rather squirrely this time of year, so our circle time is much looser than usual, but this is it in a nutshell-- a story, some songs, an echo fingerplay, and then we're off.

Advent all around!

I love some of the posts I've seen around the blogosphere about Advent: Lighting the Path to Christmas.

Over at Rockin' Granola, she posted some beautiful pictures of the stained glass cookies, as well as some great ideas on using some of the stories.

Eileen at Little Acorn Learning created a beautiful Advent calendar with lovely stars.

If you're using the Advent book, I'd love for you to let me know so I can link you from my blog as well!

And this is why we tell the story...

"Once on this Island" is one of my all-time favorite stories. Great score, beautiful music, powerful lyrics, all attesting to the incredible power of a good story told. What's not to like?

In our family, we tend to approach Advent with an eye towards social justice. At a time of year when we've just celebrated the bounty of the harvest and counted all our blessings, it seems practically criminal not to look towards those who do not live in plenty and who seek justice.

One of my favorite Advent books is Winter Saints by Melissa Musick Nussbaum. In just a few short days, we've already heard the stories of Isaiah, St. Catherine Laboure, Dorothy Day, St. Andrew, and Rosa Parks. And we're only on the first week of Advent! We'll be keeping company with a "great cloud of witnesses" and what I really like about Ms. Nussbaum's book is that she approaches Advent with an eye towards social justice well.

While reading the story of Rosa Parks to my children, I realized that the story was told differently to me as a child. When I first heard it, Rosa Parks was almost portrayed as lazy, a tired seamstress who just didn't want to sit where she was supposed to on the bus.

In reality, Rosa Parks was a tireless woman who had been studying the works of Ghandi and the concept of non-violent protest. In reality, Rosa Parks was the mother of a two-week-old daughter and had just worked a full day when she was arrested. In reality, Rosa Parks had known for a while that she was going to take a stand--or a seat--for equality. The Montgomery bus boycott wasn't a spur of the moment action, but a planned protest, and when Rosa Parks said, "Do what you have to do. I am not moving," she did it knowing full well the repercussions of her actions.


There is a temptation, when telling the stories of heroes and saints, to make them out to be victims. They're oppressed, put down, treated unfairly. I'm coming to realize that this does them a huge disservice. In many cases these saints and heroes walk up to their fate with eyes wide open, knowing the consequences of what they are about to choose... and they choose it anyway. That's what makes them saints and heroes.

And this is why we tell the story. We tell it not because we want our children to feel sorry for those who have gone before them, but because we want them to be empowered by them. We want them to hear the stories of brave men and women who chose what was right and true and just not only when it was convenient to them, but even when it was not.

For out of what we live
And we believe,
Our lives become the stories
That we weave.

Advent Morning Prayer

I wanted to share with you what we're doing for Advent morning prayer. This is in place of our devotions.

We make the Sign of the Cross.

Lord, open my lips.
And my mouth shall proclaim your praise.

Then we sing O Come, O Come Emmanuel and light the Advent wreath.

Psalm 85: 9-14
I listen to God speaking:
"I, the Lord, speak peace,
peace to my faithful people
who turn their hearts to me."
Salvation is coming near,
glory is filling our land.

Love and fidelity embrace,
peace and justice kiss.
Fidelity sprouts from the earth,
justice leans down from heaven.

The Lord pours out his riches,
our land springs to life.
Justice clears God's path,
justice points the way.

Scripture reading. This is very short, only a few verses. We're following the schedule in the Advent Seasons of Joy book. We also might have a short saint's story at this time.

The Lord's Prayer

And we end with one of the kids blowing the candles out.

Congratulations, Courtney and Amber!

In honor of my two oldest who got great joy from the Random Number Generator, I decided to give away two Advent:Lighting the Path to Christmas e-books instead of one.

Congratulations to Courtney from Zuzu's Perch and Amber at Green Love! You each won a copy of Seasons of Joy Advent book!

I enjoyed reading all of your Advent traditions and aspirations. We do have a "Cyber Monday" special going on right now. For a limited time, you can get the Advent and the Winter books for only $20!

Thank you so much for participating. This was my first giveaway, and it was a lot of fun. I'll definitely have to do it again.

Cyber Monday Special!

For one day only, you can get both Advent: Lighting the Path to Christmas and Winter Seasons of Joy for only $20! Just visit the Seasons of Joy store here.

Also, it's not too late to enter the giveaway. I'll close the post down to comments and draw a name tomorrow afternoon when we're finished with school.

We had a lovely first Sunday of Advent. Church was beautiful. I love singing the Advent hymns while the acolyte lights the first candle. The angel tree was up in the lobby so we could choose an angel and help a child have a Christmas. In the afternoon, I dropped the three oldest children off at church to rehearse the Christmas pageant and I ran to A C Moore for some craft stuff we'll need this week. Then it was back to church for choir rehearsals. My little cherubs sound so sweet singing "Walk Softly, Walk Gently" and "The Camel Song". Our Chapel Choir was excellent. They learned the song they'll be singing with the grown-up choir in a clock tick, and their own song, Advent Celebration, is wonderful. Finally, I met with my teen choir. We spend as much time laughing as we do rehearsing, but it's worth it.

Back at home, we had dinner and lit the Advent wreath and said evening prayer. We also read a short devotional about Dorothy Day, one of my favorite saints. The Advent calendar door was opened, and little stones and gems dot the road upon which Mary and Joseph are beginning their journey. And tomorrow is another day, ready to be filled with adventures and love and Advent joy.

Advent Spaces

The family blanket we made several years ago and a basket full of Christmas books


A few Christmas toys: a basket full of Nativity figures, a nesting St. Nicholas, a basket of Christmas lacing shapes, and a Santa bucket filled with Christmas-themed Peek-a-Blocks. More toys to come!


My absolute favorite Christmas decoration, a small Nativity transparency


A little corner in our school room


Another Christmas favorite-- a Christmas plate from Wendall August Forge given to me by the chorus at Grove City High School when I was finished student teaching


Some lights and a little St. Nick on the piano


The mantle. I was happy to find Advent candles and an unused Advent calendar in the attic, although the candles were a tad bit bent. Ah well, it adds character!


Joseph, leading Mary on her donkey towards Bethlehem


The creche, waiting for its occupants


The Advent nature table with the stone path laid out. Last year, it was on a smaller shelf, and I'm a little disappointed that my starry sky doesn't cover the whole background.

There's still lots more decorating to do, but you know the best part? There's a whole month to make the house lovely for Christmas!

It's a Thanksgiving Weekend/Black Friday SALE!

Tonight through Sunday, buy the $50 4-seasons set, and get the Advent book FREE! You can read more here.

Also, don't forget our Advent book giveaway! We'll choose a winner on Monday.

Finally, have you become a fan of Seasons of Joy on Facebook? I'm posting some great links to wonder-filled Advent activities as I find them.

I hope you had a peaceful and relaxing Thanksgiving day. We had a lovely day, filled with family and good food and good times. And then tomorrow, I do the shopping marathon to finish up the Christmas shopping. One of my Advent goals is to have everything bought that needs to be bought in a brick-and-mortar store by the first Sunday of Advent. I really strive to have my children not step a foot in a store throughout Advent, because the commercialism seems to cause a bad case of the gimme's, even in the nicest of children!

Free Giveaway! Advent: Lighting a Path to Christmas

In Thanksgiving for finishing up the book in time for Advent (and it was dicey there for a while, let me tell you!) I'm going to give away a copy of my newest ebook, Advent: Lighting a Path to Christmas, which I posted about here. You can also read an except here.

Want to enter? Just leave a comment letting me know your favorite Advent tradition. Don't have one? That's OK! Just let me know what your goals, hopes, or wishes are for Advent. If your contact information isn't included as part of your profile, please leave your email address so I have a way to contact you.

Want extra entries? Just blog about the giveaway, tweet about it, or post a link on Facebook, and you can leave a separate comment for each additional entry.

A winner will be chosen at random on Monday, November 30.

An excerpt from Advent: Lighting a Path to Christmas

The first light of Advent is the light of stone--.
Stones that live in crystals, seashells, and bones.

The second light of Advent is the light of plants--
Plants that reach up to the sun and in the breezes dance.

The third light of Advent is the light of beasts--
All await the birth, from the greatest and in least.

The fourth light of Advent is the light of humankind--
The light of hope that we may learn to love and understand.

This lovely verse has been attributed to Rudolf Steiner, although I have not been able to verify this, nor have I found who translated it into English. Regardless, it captures the evolution of the season—from Advent to Christmas, from sedentary and thoughtless rock to active and thought-full people, from darkness to light. Advent, from the Latin word adventus, or “coming,” carries us through the dark of winter and into the coming of Christ.

Advent is traditionally a time of preparation for Christmas. We prepare not only our homes, but our hearts, for the coming of the Christ Child. It is my hope that this guide will help you to create a peaceful and gentle Advent season, both for you and your children. This is especially important in this consumer age, when Christmas decorations are on display before we’ve even passed Halloween! You may find yourself at odds with what the world is selling, but Advent is a time of in-breathing and introspection. Outward, all is still, but inside, we’re doing great inner work.

As the days grow shorter and colder, I invite you to walk this journey with me. Quiet your heart and your mind, and trade in the busyness and meaningless noise of the season to create a more meaningful and peaceful Advent for your family. I promise you won’t forget it.

While writing this seasonal guide, I’ll confess that I had a niggling fear in the back of my mind. I worry that already overtaxed mothers would read this and add a whole new list of “musts” to their already crowded lives.

Please do not see this as another thing on your to do list. This guide is meant to be a jumping off place, a one-stop shop for ideas and inspiration. It is not intended to be one more thing to stress you out. More important than any of the doing is the striving to create an atmosphere of peace, light, and anticipation.

If it seems overwhelming, or if the practice of keeping Advent is new to you, I would suggest just choosing one or two things to do each week or each day. Perhaps you’ll make or buy an Advent wreath or calendar, or maybe you’ll choose to set up a nature table. I personally think the most important thing you can do is to follow the “inner work” section in the Appendix, because centering yourself and understanding the “why” behind keeping Advent is essential if you are to pass the spirit of Advent on to your children.

I’d also like to encourage you not to let perfection be the enemy of the good. If you can’t afford beeswax candles or 100% wool felt, don’t let that stop you from setting up a wreath or making a craft. Those expensive wooden Nativity figures are wonderful, but so, too, are little table puppets made from cardboard tubes and scraps of paper. If you don’t have time to make sugar cookie dough from scratch, the world won’t end if you buy cookie dough in a tube.

Most of all, have a gentle Advent. In these days of cold and darkness, strive towards warmth and light, and may it bring joy, hope, peace, and love to you and your family.

Advent: Lighting a Path to Christmas

The first light of Advent is the light of stone--.
Stones that live in crystals, seashells, and bones.

The second light of Advent is the light of plants--
Plants that reach up to the sun and in the breezes dance.

The third light of Advent is the light of beasts--
All await the birth, from the greatest and in least.

The fourth light of Advent is the light of humankind--
The light of hope that we may learn to love and understand.

Centered around this verse, Advent: Lighting the Path to Christmas gently walks you through the mineral, plant, and animal kingdoms, ending with a celebration of family and humankind. At this time of year when darkness and cold prevail, we hope this guide will help you create a peaceful and warm home, leading up to the celebration of Christmas. This book does have Christian elements, although secular alternative have been offered when possible, and does not cover the typical Advent saints' day celebrations (St. Nicholas, Santa Lucia, etc.)

$10 for the ebook, which will be delivered to your in-box within 24 hours (possibly longer over the weekend)

Come visit our Advent page at the Seasons of Joy website to purchase.

An apology... and an announcement!

Unfortunately, I will not get my post on evening routines up today. I had one of the days where my to-do list was a mile and a half long.

But fortunately (I hope!) one of the things I am working on is completing the new Advent Seasons of Joy book! It's a four-week journey through Advent, with stories, songs, traditions, rhythms and routines, crafts and handwork, nature tables, recipes, and more. It doesn't include the Advent saints, but does have plenty to keep you and your family focused on traveling the spiral Advent path. Crossing my fingers and saying a prayer, it will be finished next week. I hope to have a bit of a sampler up early next week as well.