Our Plans for Advent

Well, this seems to be the year that God REALLY wants me to let go of my "plans", and let Him direct our Advent and Christmas season. I shared a few days ago about the little blessing that came into our lives a bit unexpectedly this past week. And now, both of my older girls are down with a nasty cold. Little Sparrow is making the adjustment into our family very well, with only a few teary moments here and there, which had allowed me to be able to take some time to sit down yesterday and lay out our plans for the Advent/Christmas season. I was feeling pretty good about it, and then both Little Chickadee and Jenny Junco awoke this morning with sore throats, stuffy/runny noses, clogged up ears. They are both pretty miserable. Jenny Junco seems to have been hit the hardest and tomorrow is her Sweet 16 birthday! Either that or she's exaggerating her symptoms a bit to get dad to buy in on her staying home from school tomorrow! I don't mind though, I don't think anyone should have to go to school on their birthday! But, because mom was busy nursing we didn't do one thing that I had planned for today, and to honest, it's okay! As Anne always said, "Tomorrow is always fresh!"

With that, I wanted to share our plans for Advent. I'll tell you, between the books I have and all the wonderful resources available on the internet, as well as the inspiring posts from some of my wonderful blogger friends, I had a VERY hard time narrowing it all down, and to be honest, I'm not even sure I did. So, as you read this, keep in mind that my idea is to plan much, with the hope of doing some. As I've found already, the best made plans often fall through, and sometimes what looks good on paper doesn't play out as well in real life. But I would rather have a lot of plans and ideas and only do a few, then have a few and do nothing. Make sense? So, here's the outline, and remember, we didn't do a THING that is on this list for Sunday, so we might try to add some of that in tomorrow, especially since Jenny Junco will be home all day.

Alphabet Advent as soon as I found Jennifer's idea for an Alphabet Advent, I knew that I was holding the basic framework for our Advent season right in my hands! Having Little Sparrow with us this year makes this the perfect fit! And so we begin in earnest with the letter A, as we learn about Advent, Adam, Alpha and Omega and the Angels! There are 26 days in this Advent season, so each day we will focus on the next letter in the alphabet! I am really looking forward to this! I will also be using this Christmas Alphabet as copywork.

In addition, as part of our Advent/Christmas studies (we are taking a break from our regular studies until January 4), Little Chickadee will be using this Advent Calendar. The focus of the first fourteen days of this calendar is on fourteen women of the Old Testament and their parallels to Mary. Then we will take a closer look at Mary, and then finish with a study of the O Antiphons, which I will supplement using the Jessica's WONDERFUL resources. I am very excited about using this Advent Calendar with Little Chickadee, as I has already planned to begin a study of the women of the bible with her after the first of the year. I believe this will make a wonderful introduction.

The Saints of Advent
I'll be posting more specifically over the next few days as I finalize our plans for celebrating the various feast days of the Saints of the Advent season. But I have decided to make these with Little Chickadee. We will probably hang them on the Jesse Tree with the other ornaments. I'll be simplifying this a bit and just cut our letters out of construction paper

New Liturgical Calendar We will begin a new Liturgical Calendar. This will be in the school room and used primarily for Little Chickadee, but is a good visual reminder to all of us of the cycle and seasons of the Christian year.

Advent Wreath
As we have for the past few years now, we will have an Advent Wreath as part of our observation and celebration of the season. Something new I found this year is the Blessing of the Advent Wreath (.pdf document). I also found a blessing for The Christmas Tree (.pdf document), and Nativity/Manger Scene (.pdf document). Each Sunday during Advent, we will light the corresponding candles and say these lovely prayers that Jessica was so generous to share.

Additionally, as part of our Advent/Christmas learning, Little Chickadee and I will also learn about the Salvation History with the Advent Wreath. I haven't decided if I will make a smaller Advent Wreath for the school room, or just the one we use as a family. I may also try to make a paper advent wreath to go along with this project. And, since this is Little Sparrow's first Advent/Christmas with us, I am going to do this project.

The Jesse Tree
Another tradition we have done for a couple of years now is the Jesse Tree. Someday I AM going to make some pretty ornaments, but we'll be printing these ornaments again this year and using them. I may also have Little Sparrow color some of the coloring pages (another wonderful resource from Jessica!). Little Chickadee may want to color some as well, but I'm thinking that with the coloring and activities that are included in the Advent Adventure curriculum, it may prove to be a too much. This is a project I will be doing during the day, primarily with Little Chickadee. Something new I adding this year is a Jesse Tea.

Nativity Set
Can you believe that last year was the FIRST time I had ever had a Nativity set as part of my Christmas? My mother did not care for celebrating Christ's birth at Christmas. She claimed that as no one knew for sure when Christ was born that it was unbiblical, and so the focus of our Christmas was always centered around Santa Claus. It has taken me a LOT of years to free myself from that mind set, but once I surrendered my life to Jesus Christ and became a fully devoted follower of Him, I couldn't celebrate this season any other way but to give honor and reverance to the Christ of Christmas.

Our nativity set grows throughout the season, beginning with an empty stable. Mary and Joseph, who are traveling to Bethlehem, take their place on a the mantle, about mid-way on the other side of the room. As part of our Sunday Advent celebrations, we move them a little closer each week. They will arrive at the manger on Christmas eve. Baby Jesus is tucked away in a "secret" place, where he will remain until his arrival in the manger on Christmas morn. The shephards are in the "fields", near some plants on a shelf, watching over their flocks. They will arrive Christmas night. And then the Wise Men are on a shelf, further still, and will not arrive until the Epiphany, January 6. We don't begin moving them around the room until after Jesus is born.

This year as part of our daily studies, I am also going to print this paper nativity set for Little Chickadee and Little Sparrow. I think it will they will enjoy coloring it and putting it together.

Holy Heroes Advent Adventure
The girls and I enjoyed this so much last year, we're doing it again this year! I am not sure if Jenny Junco will join us again this year or not, and Little Sparrow may be a bit young yet. This may end up being part of my Advent/Christmas studies with Little Chickadee.

Somday, probably about the same time I get my Jesse Tree ornaments made, I'd like to put together and Advent/Christmas notebook to keep all of these ideas in! For now, I'm just glad I have some things on paper and here at my blog as well.

Christmas Novena
This year I personally will be praying the Christmas Novena, also known as The Christmas Anticipation Prayer. This is my first experience with this, but something that I think is both beautiful and meaningful and I am really looking forward to it.

The Christmas Novena is said 15 times a day beginning on November 30 (St. Andrew's Day) through December 24.

Hail, and blessed be the hour and moment at which the Son of God was born of a most pure Virgin at a stable at midnight in Bethlehem in the piercing cold. At that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee, to hear my prayers and grant my desires. (Mention your intentions here) Through Jesus Christ and His most Blessed Mother.

There is also a 9 day Christmas Novena that begins on December 16. You can read more about that here.

Jessica prays A Christmas Rose Novena, which begins December 12. The novena is prayed 12 times a day for 12 days to honor the twelve years of Christ's childhood. You can read more about it here.

If you are looking for other novena's, I found this website tonight that contains 183 variations. If you are not familiar with what a novena is and would like to learn more, visit this site.

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Let Us Keep Christmas

Whatever else be lost among the years,
Let us keep Christmas still a shining thing;
Whatever doubts assail us, or what fears,
Let us hold close one day, remembering
It's poignant meaning for the hearts of men.
Let us get back our childlike faith again.

~ Grace Noll Crowell

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A Change of Course

Well, as God's word says, "Man makes his plans, but God directs his steps." And while it had been my intention to devote much of these past few days to finalizing and in some cases, formulating our plans for Advent, God had other plans.

Over the past few days we've added a new addition to our family, in the form of a foster child. And so my days have been consumed with helping this precious soul to make the transition and adjustment. As you can imagine, it can and is very overwhelming for these children. My heart really goes out to them, and more specifically to this little blessing that God has chosen to entrust us with. I am not at liberty of course to discuss the specifics regarding the case or to post pictures, I am not even sure how frequently I will refer to him/her in my posts, but in the event that I do, I have chosen to refer to him/her as Little Sparrow. I apologize if the "him/her" is confusing, I am reluctant to even reveal the gender of the child. We were trained to offer no information, and as a good foster parent, I need to fervently obligate myself to that. I would however covet your prayers for this child, and for us and we find our way and settle into the "new normal" :0)!

I am going to be sitting down this afternoon and trying to pull some things together, however last minute it may be! I'll try to post links to any resources that I find, in the event there's anyone else out there scrambling to pull ideas and resources together!

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Your Sweet Potatoes Will Thank You!

Grandma's Sweet Potatoes

3 cups mashed sweet potatoes (3-4 potatoes)
1 cup sugar
1 stick margarine (I use REAL butter at Thanksgiving!)
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs

Whip together, put in greased casserole dish.

Topping
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 stick margarine
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup pecans
1 teaspooon vanilla

Mix and spread over potatoe mixture.

Bake covered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, then uncovered for an additional 5 mins.

SO much better than marshmallows!

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From Our Nest to Yours . . .

A Very Warm and Happy Thanksgiving to All of My Blogging Friends!

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The Year of the Lord - The Time of Your Life

The whole point of the Year of the Lord is that there is more than one way to experience time. The understanding of time that most people live with is only one way to experience it. We could call it the worldly or profane understanding of time. It is an image of time as a straight horizontal line with a middle point, where we stand, called the present. This line is always moving past us like a conveyor belt. On the left is the past, where present moments flow and immediately cease to exist. On the right is the future, which is always moving toward the present, but never really actually arrives.

This model is almost completely abstract. In other words, we never actually experience any of it. The present is gone before we're aware of it, and the past and future lie outside our grasp. Anxiety is built into it. Each human possesses only a limited quantity of this kind of time, constantly passing us by, never to return.

The view of time is not necessarily bad, it can be a useful tool. All human progress, in a sense, depends on it. But its not the whole or most important part of the picture. It is not the way we experience time in the deeper parts of ourselves, on the level or our hearts, and it is not the way God experiences time. Above and below this abstract, one-dimensional timeline is, well, reality. This is the world we actually experience, in which we "live, and move and have our being" as Paul said, the world of "I am" as God introduced Himself to Moses. The present moment is eternity.

For most of human history, people experienced time very differently. The pattern was not a line, but a circle or cycle. The cycle of sun, moon and stars; of the seasons; of the birth, life and death of plants, animals and human beings. Everything went away, but in some way everything always came back. We can be sure that people living with this image of time still got anxious about things, but anxiety wasn't built into the system itself.

This image of the cycle contains a lot of truth. It expands the one-dimensional timeline into a two dimensional circle and so takes in a lot more of reality. It is less abstract than the line, truer to experience, and incorporates the fundamental pattern of creation. Years, seasons, months, weeks, days and hours all come from this model of time. Birth, life, death, and re-birth are all in it. What it doesn't include is the possibility of growth. In this cycle, the more things change the more they stay the same.

The Year of the Lord, the Christian understanding of time, is a variation on the cycle. The timeline, as we've said, is a one-dimensional model. The cycle is two-dimensional. The Year of the Lord is three-dimensional. It is modeled on the spiral, a circle that grows outward and upward. It grows in a vertical direction, as well as horizontally, combining the straight line of past, present and future with the height and depth of eternity. Like a spiraling tornado, it sucks one dimensional time up into three dimensional reality. It uses time to break us out of time. It hallows or sacralizes time and transforms it into eternity. Year, season, month, week, day and hour all make concentric circles that lead deeper and deeper into the center, the present moment, where we live in the presence of God. The present is the Presence.

from Holidays and Holy Days
by Christopher Hill

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A Need for Grace (4)

I own that I am disposed to say grace upon twenty other occasions in the course of the day besides my dinner. I want a form for setting out upon a pleasant walk, for a moonlight ramble, for a friendly meeting, or a solved problem....

~Charles Lamb( 1775- 1834)

- for collecting a basket of tiny acorns from mighty oak trees.
- for the feel of my daughter's hand in mine as we walk along a wooded path.
- for the calming sound of a purring kitten.
- for the warmth of flannel pajamas on cool mid-Autumn nights.
- for a season to reflect upon and be thankful for the abundance that is already ours.

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The Christian Year - Living the Abundant Life

The point, as Jesus of Nazareth said, is "to have life and have it abundantly.", to live deep, rich, adventurous lives our souls were made for. By observing the christian year, we open ourselves up to experience and live in that abundance.

If you have never observed the christian year, at first glance it might seem like a lot of meaningless rituals, pointlessly repetitive activity governed by ancient, complex guidelines and regulations. You might read a book that outlines the various feasts and holy days and seasons, but it would give you no idea of what it is really like or why people still observe it. Books can be useful and help to distill experience and opinion, they are useful for educating, but to really experience it you must observe it for yourself and truly get a feel for it.

The key to finding the balance is between taking it seriously and taking it lightly, that is, taking it in the right spirit. If I were to say, "I don't see any reason for observing all of these holy days and feasts and seasons, it's too much work and planning and preparation.", I would clearly be taking it in the wrong spirit. Seen rightly, the observance of the days and feasts and seasons are in service to the experience, it is both fun and meaningful. If we didn't have fun, if it didn't draw us into a closer, more personal relationship with our Heavenly Father (the abundant life), the framework would be pointless. But to experience the fun, to live the abundant life, the framework is essential. You can't play a game, compose music, or even dance to it without following rules, patterns and steps. But if the movements and the steps become the most important thing, you've lost the spirit - and the point.

Some might find this approach frivolous, but the Apostle Paul said, "Where the spirit of Christ is there is freedom." "Love God and love your neighbor", said His Master. Notice the order, from a right relationship with the Creator springs the joy that goes out to other created beings. The christian year is a way to put our hearts in right relationship. The Year of the Lord shows our hearts, senses and imaginations what there is to love about God. If we don't know how to dance, how can we invite others to join in?

- taken from Holidays and Holy Days
by Christopher Hill
(edited)

"Once we are aware of the greatness of events as expressions of God's love, once we see and live their sacramental value, then we are liberated into a greater life; the winds of eternity blow about us, and the infinite skies are our home, and we too, walk the eternal hills."

~ Gerald Vann
The Pain of Christ and the Sorrow of God

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The Liturgy of the Hours

I realize I've made several posts today. That tends to happen when I spend a lot of time reading and researching. Please understand that my blog is as much a gathering place of ideas and information for my personal use as it is for others. :0)

Text taken from Warehouse 242

What is the Liturgy of the Hours?
At its center is a desire to acknowledge God’s presence throughout the day, and it teams that with a rhythm or structure of prayer. It’s really an ancient response to the very relevant questions: How do I pay attention to God in the midst of the motion
of life? How can I actually hear God’s voice and discern between God’s voice and mine? Today if you were to observe the liturgy of hours fully, you would pray eight set times a day:

NIGHT / 3AM - Matins, sometimes referred to as Vigils or the Office of Readings
DAWN / Lauds or Dawn Prayer
FIRST HOUR / 6AM - Prime or Early Morning Prayer
THIRD HOUR / 9AM - Terce or Mid-Morning Prayer
SIXTH HOUR / NOON - Sext or Midday Prayer
NINTH HOUR / 3PM - None or Mid-Afternoon Prayer
LIGHTING OF THE LAMPS - Vespers or Evening Prayer
BEFORE RETIRING - Compline or Night Prayer

What are its Origins?
As early as in the Psalms we get snapshots of praying at different times in the day. Here are a couple of references from the Psalter: "in the morning I offer you my prayer"; "At midnight I will rise and thank you"; "Evening, morning and at noon I will cry and lament"; "Seven times a day I praise you".

This Jewish practice of praying throughout the day and night continues on as the Early Church emerges. In the book of Acts, we see followers of Jesus praying the third, sixth and ninth hour and at midnight (Acts 10:3, 9; 16:25; etc.). These prayers included reciting the psalms, reading of the Old Testament, Gospels, Acts, and epistles. They also had a practice of praying the Lord’s Prayer three times a day.

By the 4th century the structure of the hours were essentially in place. In the 6th century a guy named Benedict, eventually St. Benedict, came along and put greater guidelines around these prayers. He focused on the connection the spiritual life and the physical life, saying: "To pray is to work, to work is to pray". Praying the hours came to be known as the "Divine Office" (office coming from the Latin word for work).

This perspective has carried on; Mother Theresa said, “We pray the work.”

How do you integrate observing the Hours if you aren’t living in a monastery? Well, the good news is that St. Benedict was passionate about non-monks observing the Hours; so, we can be relieved about that.

The hope of observing The Hours is that we gain a rhythm of paying attention to God. We unite our desire to grow more spiritually aware with intentional ways to honor that desire.
In the midst of our frenetic schedule--one that may often be reactionary--praying at set times can help us orient our day–and reorient our day--to God.

You may want to start with just five minutes of prayers in the morning, and then add afternoon and evening prayers as you go along. Try praying one line or verse from the book of Psalms and then sit in silence. While it may feel unnatural and awkward at first, you are creating a pause to hear God’s voice. Waiting is so counter-culture, but it gives space for God to whisper love and guidance to us.

Not only can you add spaces of silence, you may also use whatever natural rhythms you have. Perhaps you decide you will pray a certain prayer every time you:

Brush your teeth
Take a showering
Start your car
Every time you check your email or opened the cell phone

If you would like to explore praying the hours, this website will provide
prayers for you during the different hours of the day.

This is available in .pdf, here.

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Observing Advent

As promised, I am going to begin posting some of the ideas and resources our family uses to observe and celebrate the liturgical year, and since it begins with Advent, that's where I'll begin!

The word Advent means "coming" or "arrival." The focus of the entire season is the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ in his First Advent, and the anticipation of the return of Christ the King in his Second Advent. One of the things that our family has used to guide us in our understanding in recent years has been an Advent Wreath.

The Advent wreath is a Christian tradition that symbolizes the passage of the four weeks of Advent in the liturgical calendar of the church. It is usually a circular evergreen wreath, symbolizing eternity, with four or five candles. Beginning with the first Sunday of Advent, the lighting of a candle is accompanied by a Bible reading and prayers. An additional candle is lit during each subsequent week until, by the last Sunday before Christmas, all four candles are lit. Some Advent wreaths include a fifth, "Christ" candle which can be lit at Christmas.

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. Candles symbolize the light of God coming into the world through the birth of His son. The four outer candles represent the period of waiting during the four Sundays of Advent, which themselves symbolize the four centuries of waiting between the prophet Malachi and the birth of Christ.

In Catholic churches (of both the Roman and Anglican traditions), the most popular colors for the Advent candles are purple and rose. Purple is the color of penitence and fasting as well as the color of royalty to welcome the Advent of the King. The third Sunday of Advent is known as Gaudete Sunday because in Latin, the first words of the opening antiphon for that day’s Mass are "Gaudete in Domino semper" ("Rejoice in the Lord always"). On this Sunday a rose-colored candle is lit as a reminder that we are called to rejoice. In some protestant churches, the four candles are typically red, while the fifth, center candle, often referred to as "the Christ candle" is white.

Last year our family used a store bought evergreen wreath and five red and white striped candles. The four outer candles were smaller than the larger candle in the center. Each Sunday we lit the candles, read some scriptures and prayed together as a family. On Christmas morning we lit the middle candle and celebrated Christ's birth! It was a beautiful, meaningful time and one we can not wait to experience again this year.

For more information related specifically to the Advent Wreath, check out these sites.

What is the Advent Wreath?
A simple explanation of its meaning and significance.

If you decide you want to make an Advent Wreath, this will help to get you started.
Celebrating Advent with Kids
How to Make an Advent Candle Wreath
These directions are very simple and straightforward. A great resource if this is your first time to observe Advent

For scriptures associated with each week, visit this site. There are many others, just search on "Scriptures for the Advent Wreath" and choose the one you like best.

There are more ideas and resources to guide you in observing Advent than I can possibly reference, and I'll be touching on a few more of these in coming days. Until then, I did want to include a few that have been especially helpful to me.

One resource that we used last year and will do so again is Advent Adventure. I just can't say enough about this wonderful program, and to think that they offer this FREE of charge is almost hard to believe! Going through this program last year with the girls really helped them to understand the true meaning of this most sacred time of year, not to mention the impact it made on me! I grew up in a home without so much as a manger scene. My mother disliked combining Christ and Santa Claus, and sadly eliminated Christ from our Christmas observation entirely! I don't want to make the same mistake with my children!

O Night Divine
This is hands down one of the absolute best resources available, especially this time of year!

Liturgy: Advent and Christmas

Advent Resources from Fish Eaters

Celebrate Advent
from Focus On the Family
Another great guide for beginners!

Celebrating Advent as a Family
A wonderful article from Catholic Mom. I am still reflecting from reading this article! There are a WEALTH of other resources available from this site as well!

Advent Embertide
This is a resource I just came across today and have only been able to scan at best, but definitely want to study further. I am including it here as much for my own reference (and so I hopefully won't lose it), as for you the reader! :0)

And here are a few free publications you can print out and use for easy reference!

Celebrating Advent in the Home (.pdf document)
A wonderful resource from King of Peace

Ways of Celebrating the Season of Advent (.doc)

The Season of Advent (.pdf document)
from The Liturgy Office

I hope that this gives you a little insight into Advent, or at least directs you to some other more knowledgeable resources! As I am devoting a large part of the upcoming days to preparing our home and hearts for Advent, I'm sure I'll be posting more on this subject!

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. ~ Isaiah 7:14

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