Wednesday, November 30, 2005

An Advent Devotion - 4

SCRIPTURE:
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him — the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD - and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. ~ Isaiah 11:1-4

REFLECTION:
It is sometimes very difficult to not judge or be critical of others. We are all tempted to judge people by their outward appearances. Society rates people by what type or style of clothing they wear, if they have the newest and best things, how much money they make, the colour of their skin, their weight. The Christmas season tends to over emphasize outward appearance - who gets the most and most expensive presents. By judging only on the way people look, we miss out on the opportunity to get to know the person behind the mask; we miss out on developing relationships. This year let us take some time to really get to know someone before we judge them.

PRAYER:
Lord, Help us to be forgiving and generous to others. Help us not to judge, but to extend your grace. Amen.

ACTIVITY:
Make a Jesse Tree.
The Jesse Tree is much like an Advent Calendar. It follows Jesus' ancestors throughout the Bible. Each day you place a decoration on the Jesse Tree and read the Bible verse describing what the decoration represents.
Here are a few links:
http://www.cresourcei.org/jesse.html
http://www.msgr.ca/msgr-2/jesse_tree%2000.htm
http://www.domestic-church.com/CONTENT.DCC/19971201/FRIDGE/FRIDGE1.HTM

SONG: Lo How A Rose E'er Blooming
Theodore Baker
© Public Domain

Lo how a rose e'er blooming,
From tender stem hath sprung,
Of Jesse's lineage coming,
As saints of old have sung.
It came a flower bright,
Amid the cold of winter,
When half spent was the night.

Isaiah 'twas foretold it,
The Rose I have in mind,
With Mary we behold it,
The virgin mother kind.
To show God's love aright,
She bore to us a Saviour,
When half spent was the night.

This flower so small and tender
With fragrance fills the air,
His brightness ends the darkness
That kept the earth in fear.
True God, and yet true man,
He came to save His people
From earth's dark night of sin.

STORY/POEM: Christmas Trees (A Christmas Circular Letter) by Robert Frost
QUOTE: "From home to home, and heart to heart, from one place to another, the warmth and joy of Christmas, brings us closer to each other." ~ -Emily Matthews


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An Advent Devotion - 3

SCRIPTURE:
"In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'" ~ Matthew 2:5-6

REFLECTION:
The Lord is coming. Prepare the way of the Lord. We prepare for many big events in our lives. Weddings, births, funerals, moving day, our careers, etc. all involve some sort of preparation. Why do we prepare? If we don't prepare we could run into many problems. We prepare because we want the day to go smoothly; we prepare because we want to fully enjoy and appreciate the occassion. Just as we prepare for these major events in our lives, so we should prepare for Christmas. As we begin our prepartion for the birth of God's Son - Jesus, ask yourself how you can prepare to celebrate the Christ child: in your life, in your home, in your community.

PRAYER:
Loving God, we ask you to be with us in a special way during this time of preparation. Help us to prepare our hearts, as well as, our homes, gifts, and decorations for Your coming. Amen.

ACTIVITY:
Make and/or Send Christmas Cards.
Share the blessings of the season with others.

SONG:
Of The Father's Love Begotten
Aurelius C. Prudentius, John M. Neale, Henry W. Baker
© Public Domain

Of the Father's love begotten,
Ere the world began to be;
He is Alpha and Omega,
He the source, the ending He.
Of the things that are that have been
And that future years shall see;
Ever more and ever more!

O, ye heights of heaven adore Him,
Angel hosts; His praises sing;
Pow'rs, dominions, bow before Him
And extol our God and King;
Let no tongue on earth be silent,
Ev'ry voice in concert ring;
Ever more and ever more!

Christ, to Thee with God the Father,
And, O Holy Ghost, to Thee;
Hymn and chant and high thanksgiving
And unwearied praises be:
Honor, glory, and dominion
And eternal victory;
Ever more and ever more! Amen.

STORY/POEM:
The Wind in the Willows (Chapter 5 - Dulce Domum) by Kenneth Grahame

QUOTE:
"The joy of brightening other lives, bearing each others' burdens, easing other's loads and supplanting empty hearts and lives with generous gifts becomes for us the magic of Christmas." ~ W. C. Jones


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An Advent Devotion - 2

SCRIPTURE:
"Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour." ~ Matthew 25:13

REFLECTION:
Keep watch! God tells us to keep watch and wait because we do not know when he will be coming. Wow! That requires us to stretch ourselves; it means we didn't plan it; it's not in our schedule book, it's uncertain. It requires patience too and we all know that waiting isn't always an easy thing to do. In our world of fast food, instant communication, high speed, palm pilots, and over-activity, our attitude is changing -- we want it, we want now, and we want to schedule it into our lives. Gone are the days of patiently waiting for something. Standing in the check out line at the grocery store for more than a couple of minutes can fray our nerves. Not knowing is not always a bad thing. There's a thrill in the unexpected. It's like a wrapped present - there's an excitment of not knowing what to expect. Let's take some time to slow down. Look around and admire God's creation. Let's try to bring back some of the awe and mystery. Let's spend some time on the lookout for God -- keep watch!

PRAYER:
Loving God, we ask you to teach us patience in the waiting. Help us to savour every moment. Please bring back into our lives the awe and mystery of who You are. Thank you for doing the unexpected. Amen.

ACTIVITY:
Organize Your Christmas Decorations.
As you get out your Christmas decorations this year, take an inventory of them. Try to organize them - make a list of all the items you have and purge the decorations beyond repair. That way when the sales start you will know what you need and where they will fit.

SONG:
Come Thou Long Expected Jesus
Charles Wesley, Rowland H. Prichard
© Public Domain

Come Thou long expected Jesus,
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel's strength and consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.

Born Thy people to deliver,
Born a Child and yet a King;
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
By Thine own eternal Spirit,
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all sufficient merit,
Raise us to Thy glorious throne.

STORY/POEM:
Little Women (Chapter 2 - A Merry Christmas) by Louisa May Alcott

QUOTE:
"What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future. It is a fervent wish that every cup may overflow with blessings rich and eternal, and that every path may lead to peace." ~ Agnes M. Pharo


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An Advent Devotion - 1

SCRIPTURE:
"Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience." ~ Romans 8:24-25

REFLECTION:
God gives us so many things; he asks in return that we believe, that we have hope and faith in him. We have not seen God. We have not seen Jesus. Yet we are asked to believe in what we haven't seen. Even more, we are asked to wait in patience. All this is the very nature of hope and belief. The Advent season is a time of waiting and hoping. We remember that Jesus was born to save us and to give us hope.

PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, Thank You for the hope You offer us and for love that holds us so close to You. Help us to care for others the way You care for us. Amen.

ACTIVITY:
Make your own Advent Wreath.
Your advent wreath could look traditional (circle of evergreen) or perhaps candles lined up, really whatever works best for you.
You will need 5 candles (4 tapers and one pillar). The colors of the candles vary, usually 3 purple or 3 blue candles (the colours of royalty) and one pink or rose coloured candle. The pink candle is lighted on the 3rd Sunday of Advent (or can be lit on the Sunday just before Christmas Day). If you cannot find the colour candles you want, you could use all the same colour candles. The 5th Candle is in the middle of the wreath, usually a large white pillar candle. This candle represents Jesus Christ and is called the Christ Candle. It is usually lit on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
The 4 taper candles can represent many different themes - Hope, Peace, Love, Joy are the traditional ones.

SONG:
O Come, O Come Emmanuel
Dimitry Bortniansky
© Public Domain

O come, O come Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel,
Shall come to Thee, O Israel!
O come, Thou Rod of Jesse,
Free Thine own from Satan's tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save
And give them victory o'er the grave.

O come, Thou Dayspring come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
And drive away the shades of night
And pierce the clouds and bring us light.

O come, Thou Key of David come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high
And close the path to misery.

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high
And order all things far and nigh;
To us the path of knowledge show
And cause us in her ways to go.

O come, Desire of nations, bind
All peoples in one heart and mind;
Bid envy, strife, and quarrels cease;
Fill all the world with heaven's peace.

STORY/POEM: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

QUOTE: "Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love." ~ -Hamilton Wright Mabi


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Christmas is Coming

My girls had their Christmas party with their school friends on Saturday. We had 9 children in the house. It was great and everyone had a wonderful time. The kids were so good. I just love hosting children's parties, especially Christmas ones!!!

Sunday, we put up the tree, prelit one. I was so worried that it wouldn't work. We bought it in October from Wal-mart and we never tested it. I think I got to hang about 5 decorations - the girls did the rest and the tree looks spectacular!!! I'll add a pic when hubby downloads them off the camera. Hopefully soon.

This year is our first year doing an Advent Wreath. I've always wanted to do one. The girls like lighting the candles, but I have to do something to make it a little more exciting for them and me.

I've started creating Advent Activities too. So I'll add those here too.

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Tuesday, November 08, 2005

PCC Prayer & Praise Night

Last night was the Pregnancy Care Centre's Evening of Prayer & Praise. It was really awesome there were around 40 people there, give or take. We heard some updates about the Centre and had a great singing time and then I really felt the prayer time was the best. We prayed about the abortion issue, clients, the staff, and the volunteers.

Usually when I pray in a group, I feel all nervous and am thinking about what I'm going to say while others are praying. Not last night. I felt totally comfortable and the words really did seem to come easily. I felt the presense of the Holy Spirit. It was just such an awesome time.

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Thursday, November 03, 2005

Good Day but Yucky

I started volunteering at my kids' school today. I had so much fun. The kids were awesome. For the morning I'm with my daughter's kindergarten class and for the afternoon I'm with a Grade 1 class. Most of the kids know who I am because I walk my children to school and they see me every morning. Also my girls are friends with them. Anyway that was the good part of my day.

Now for the bad - I feel crappy. I've had a sore throat for a couple of days (I took medicine before I left for school today). And now my head aches - an awful ache. I called hubby and asked him to bring home KFC for supper tonight because I just don't feel like cooking.

And because I feel so yucky I don't feel like writing much either, but I had to mention my wonderful day at school.

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Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Halloween

Why do we "celebrate" Halloween? What's the point?

I've been rethinking my views on this. I don't "celebrate" it. My kids don't go trick or treating and we don't hand out candy. My famiy knows about Halloween and participates in activities in school (the school does not celebrate Halloween either - they have a weird and wacky day the Friday before).

Halloween scares me but not in the occultic sense. There is just too much pressure for the kids to have an awesome costume and to get as much candy as you can. It just seems way too greedy for me. Then at school the kids have to compare and rate how much candy they got (I also don't like this about Christmas either). How much candy is really good for you?

I'm also not too keen on young children being exposed to all the gore. I mean we have restrictions on movies, TV shows, video games, etc. but it's okay to display it on Halloween. I know my daughters don't like it and it bothers them.

I just don't get what the big deal is. Why can't we have fun parties - perhaps instead of calling them Halloween they can be about Autumn, Fall Festivals, Harvest time (maybe an extention of Thanksgiving?).

Anyway enough with my ranting. Just had to share some of my thoughts.

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