So, Christmas is done for another year. In our home, we had a quiet and rather laid back holiday here. We went to the Christmas Eve service at our church...a good thing to do when you, your husband, and your children are all participants in said service. The service was very nice...I love how our church "does" Christmas Eve...simple, not a lot of "peripherals" and to the point. Christmas Day, we opened gifts at our home, then trundled off to my in-law's for more presents & Christmas Dinner. Our nuclear family's gift-giving was simple this year, and we really liked it. We bought the kids each 1-2 things within a dollar amount we determined we could work within, and then bought useful things for the stockings: underwear, toothbrushes, socks, and books. The kids loved what we got them...the ukulele was a big hit with D.S., and the basketball was exactly what D.D. wanted. Engineer-Husband loved his new scarf and stocking full of new socks & "unmentionables." I've also told him we'd make Whoopie Pies...as long as I can keep him from eating all the dough before I bake the cookie part of the Whoopie Pies. Christmas Dinner was delish...my MIL outdid herself again. Engineer-Husband and I cleaned up most of the dishes & kitchen for her before we went home.
The rest of the holidays went thusly:
1)Some shopping done.
2) Time spent together as a family just having relaxing days together.
3) Too much oversleeping.
4) An outing to the Nature Museum...I can't wait to go back!
5) Time spent reading with DD.
6) Playing with new toys and instruments.
7) Watching The King's Speech with good friends...not once, but twice! I can't wait for this excellent movie to come out on DVD...Hollywood can make something you want to spend time & money on, after all!
8) Enjoying New Years' Eve with friends from our church.
9) Being glad that school is going back in.
10) Enjoying doing the grocery shopping with my husband the engineer on Monday when school went in, but he had the day off for New Years' Day...here's to doing the everyday things with the one you love the mostest! Muwah...Love you honey!
And...after some thinking and not as much prayer about it as I should have...I think my word for 2011 will be...now...as in live now...in this moment...do things now...pray now...read the Bible now...you get the point.
So, here's to a new year of NOW! in 2011!
Friday, December 31, 2010
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Of Advent, Conspiracies, and Traditions...Oh My!
I love the Advent and Christmas seasons. They are times of quiet enjoyment with family, trimming the tree, looking at ornaments and telling the kids the story behind them (if there is a story)...of finding out at 7:30 p.m. that we need 4 strings of 100 lights and finding out that Canadian Tire closes at 7 p.m. on Saturdays...of sweets & treats that are special to this time of year...of secret joy in knowing that the gifts we've chosen will be well-received and enjoyed...and of the hurly-burly of the year too (let's be honest).
This year, DH and I decided we wanted to do things differently. We had some ideas in our heads about just how we wanted things to be different. Most of our ideas centred on removing the materialism and crass-commercialism of the marketplace & world from our traditions, and centring them more squarely on the "reason for the season", namely, the Nativity of Jesus Christ. We are unabashedly a Christian home...and God laid it on DH's and my heart this year that we should, perhaps, make sure our Christmas celebration and traditions told a different story than the story told by the toy stores and shopping malls. We also wanted to be careful of not being "Grinchy" and taking the joy & the enthusiasm of the season away from our children...but rather, focus it on a lasting joy, not happiness that is here one minute and gone the next. But, as we were discussing this...how to "do" this and do it right...and meaningfully...and in a way that wasn't "cheesy" but that worked and conveyed the message we wanted it to convey.
Enter: Pastor C. at our church deciding to do Advent Conspiracy in our Adult Bible Class on Sunday mornings. The moment the trailer for this was shown the Sunday before it started, I knew this was for me...and would give me some food for thought about how we could make these changes. The premise for Advent Conspiracy is to substitute compassion for consumption. One of the things that hit home for me, was to learn that what we in the West spend on Christmas is more than enough to solve the clean water problems of the Third World. I know it's not that simplistic...but seriously...that's a pretty big deal. The 4 parts of Advent Conspiracy are thus: Worship Fully (Did you know that Christmas shopping is a worship event for the world? They don't see it that way, but if you look at what worship is, and what is done every year at Christmas...it's hard not to see it as worship), Spend Less (and sometimes in spending less, we spend more...paradoxically!), Give More, and Love All. These discussions and what we have been studying have really been what was missing with us. And, these ideas aren't just for Christmas...they should be our focus all year round, and will also influence our giving at other times of the year (e.g. birthdays).
So, on the first Sunday of Advent, our children came down to find a FisherPrice Little People Nativity Set just for them (and it will be put away when we take the tree down, and will come out again next year at Advent). They have had so much fun with this...the donkey keeps on making a scene though! :) I put all their Christmas story books in one basket...and those books will be put away when Christmas is done, so that they can look forward to them next year. We decided to download the Jesse Tree devotional and accompanying ornaments for us to do each night during Family Worship time...this is such a neat way, for kids & adults, to see the thread of Jesus throughout the Old Testament, and culminating in the Nativity Story on Christmas Eve and Day. The kids have really enjoyed this. As my Christmas present, my husband bought me this Advent Wreath, which we have enjoyed nightly...and plan to use the extensions again during Lent and Ascension, to tie those in for the kids as well.
In terms of how we are doing Christmas, we have decided this year to be really choosy about what we buy for our kids. We avoided the Evil Vortex aka The Dollar Store this year...and for stockings, decided on things like books, socks, underwear, pencils, etc....things that they will actually use and need, as opposed to buying junk for the sake buying junk. We also have bought some candy, too. For their main gifts, we got the kids one or two things that added up to a budgetary amount we felt would be appropriate...these were things that the kids had either mentioned they wanted, or we knew that would be a "perfect fit" for them. We also decided for Christmas to sponsor a child through Compassion Canada. We've been wanting to do this for some time, and now seemed like a really good time for us to do this. We sponsored a little girl from Indonesia. I was particularly burdened to sponsor a child from SouthEast Asia, because of the high incidence of girls and women being sold into sexual slavery...it's absolutely disgusting what happens to these girls, and we felt God was putting it on our hearts to sponsor a girl from one of these countries where this is such a problem. So now, we have another child in our family, so to speak! I'm really excited about this...and this will change how we do things over the next year, too (and that's not a bad thing).
This whole area of non commercial/consumerism is really making me think of why I buy things, what purchases need to be made, and how I can best honour the family budget and be picky. I can buy a bunch of cheaply made things, or I can buy 1 or 2 things that are well-made, and maybe a bit more money, but in the long-run, will last longer and be an overall wiser use of my money. I've also discovered a wonderful store here called 10,000 Villages where I can buy things for myself or others that are fair-traded, and support a lot of developing countries. The items in this store a gorgeous and truly one-of-a-kind. I was pleasantly surprised with what I found there. This is a way for me to bless another person, who needs the income from these goods to survive, really, I can feel good about that. These are all just small things, but a lot of small things add up to a big deal. Yes I am just one person...but God uses individuals to do what He needs done. Jesus was "just one person" too, and what He came and did was a pretty big deal...with enormous and eternal consequences.
So, in my small corner, in my home, with my children, and husband, we are finding ways to bless others, be careful about our resources, and focus not just our Advent & Christmas celebrations and traditions on Jesus, but from that, our whole life and all that we do. I want to show my kids that the reasons we do things stems from what Jesus has done in our hearts and that His work makes a difference in our everyday lives. I want to show my kids that what we do, the choices we make, has an impact both here & eternally. That what we do involves others...and makes a difference to them, hopefully for the better.
Have a blessed Advent & Christmas...and maybe you too, will think about these things and be blessed by them.
This year, DH and I decided we wanted to do things differently. We had some ideas in our heads about just how we wanted things to be different. Most of our ideas centred on removing the materialism and crass-commercialism of the marketplace & world from our traditions, and centring them more squarely on the "reason for the season", namely, the Nativity of Jesus Christ. We are unabashedly a Christian home...and God laid it on DH's and my heart this year that we should, perhaps, make sure our Christmas celebration and traditions told a different story than the story told by the toy stores and shopping malls. We also wanted to be careful of not being "Grinchy" and taking the joy & the enthusiasm of the season away from our children...but rather, focus it on a lasting joy, not happiness that is here one minute and gone the next. But, as we were discussing this...how to "do" this and do it right...and meaningfully...and in a way that wasn't "cheesy" but that worked and conveyed the message we wanted it to convey.
Enter: Pastor C. at our church deciding to do Advent Conspiracy in our Adult Bible Class on Sunday mornings. The moment the trailer for this was shown the Sunday before it started, I knew this was for me...and would give me some food for thought about how we could make these changes. The premise for Advent Conspiracy is to substitute compassion for consumption. One of the things that hit home for me, was to learn that what we in the West spend on Christmas is more than enough to solve the clean water problems of the Third World. I know it's not that simplistic...but seriously...that's a pretty big deal. The 4 parts of Advent Conspiracy are thus: Worship Fully (Did you know that Christmas shopping is a worship event for the world? They don't see it that way, but if you look at what worship is, and what is done every year at Christmas...it's hard not to see it as worship), Spend Less (and sometimes in spending less, we spend more...paradoxically!), Give More, and Love All. These discussions and what we have been studying have really been what was missing with us. And, these ideas aren't just for Christmas...they should be our focus all year round, and will also influence our giving at other times of the year (e.g. birthdays).
So, on the first Sunday of Advent, our children came down to find a FisherPrice Little People Nativity Set just for them (and it will be put away when we take the tree down, and will come out again next year at Advent). They have had so much fun with this...the donkey keeps on making a scene though! :) I put all their Christmas story books in one basket...and those books will be put away when Christmas is done, so that they can look forward to them next year. We decided to download the Jesse Tree devotional and accompanying ornaments for us to do each night during Family Worship time...this is such a neat way, for kids & adults, to see the thread of Jesus throughout the Old Testament, and culminating in the Nativity Story on Christmas Eve and Day. The kids have really enjoyed this. As my Christmas present, my husband bought me this Advent Wreath, which we have enjoyed nightly...and plan to use the extensions again during Lent and Ascension, to tie those in for the kids as well.
In terms of how we are doing Christmas, we have decided this year to be really choosy about what we buy for our kids. We avoided the Evil Vortex aka The Dollar Store this year...and for stockings, decided on things like books, socks, underwear, pencils, etc....things that they will actually use and need, as opposed to buying junk for the sake buying junk. We also have bought some candy, too. For their main gifts, we got the kids one or two things that added up to a budgetary amount we felt would be appropriate...these were things that the kids had either mentioned they wanted, or we knew that would be a "perfect fit" for them. We also decided for Christmas to sponsor a child through Compassion Canada. We've been wanting to do this for some time, and now seemed like a really good time for us to do this. We sponsored a little girl from Indonesia. I was particularly burdened to sponsor a child from SouthEast Asia, because of the high incidence of girls and women being sold into sexual slavery...it's absolutely disgusting what happens to these girls, and we felt God was putting it on our hearts to sponsor a girl from one of these countries where this is such a problem. So now, we have another child in our family, so to speak! I'm really excited about this...and this will change how we do things over the next year, too (and that's not a bad thing).
This whole area of non commercial/consumerism is really making me think of why I buy things, what purchases need to be made, and how I can best honour the family budget and be picky. I can buy a bunch of cheaply made things, or I can buy 1 or 2 things that are well-made, and maybe a bit more money, but in the long-run, will last longer and be an overall wiser use of my money. I've also discovered a wonderful store here called 10,000 Villages where I can buy things for myself or others that are fair-traded, and support a lot of developing countries. The items in this store a gorgeous and truly one-of-a-kind. I was pleasantly surprised with what I found there. This is a way for me to bless another person, who needs the income from these goods to survive, really, I can feel good about that. These are all just small things, but a lot of small things add up to a big deal. Yes I am just one person...but God uses individuals to do what He needs done. Jesus was "just one person" too, and what He came and did was a pretty big deal...with enormous and eternal consequences.
So, in my small corner, in my home, with my children, and husband, we are finding ways to bless others, be careful about our resources, and focus not just our Advent & Christmas celebrations and traditions on Jesus, but from that, our whole life and all that we do. I want to show my kids that the reasons we do things stems from what Jesus has done in our hearts and that His work makes a difference in our everyday lives. I want to show my kids that what we do, the choices we make, has an impact both here & eternally. That what we do involves others...and makes a difference to them, hopefully for the better.
Have a blessed Advent & Christmas...and maybe you too, will think about these things and be blessed by them.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Mid December Daybook
Outside My Window
Night has fallen. Quietly, snow falls from the sky and sprinkles everything shimmery and white. It looks so nice...but I still don't "love" winter.
I Am Listening To
The sounds of the Senators game coming from the TV in the next room. They are playing the Minnesota Wild tonight.
I Am Wearing
A black long-sleeved t-shirt, made in Canada amazingly enough and jeans...and my Simply Adorned necklace.
I Am So Grateful For
A simple Advent season; Advent traditions that centre on Christ and make me mediate on Him and Scripture through the day.
I Am Pondering
My grocery list and the pile of flyers I need to go through to make the grocery list, and my weekly meal menu.
I Am Reading
The first book in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith...I love it thus far; A Not So Silent Night by Verlyn Verbrugge...wow...an amazing book that focuses on aspects of the Nativity story that we don't often think about. I would encourage you to read it and be blessed.
I Am Thinking
Of the pros and cons of doing 1 bit of housework per day as opposed to having 1 day/week to do all my cleaning...not sure what the outcome of this thought process will be, but I need to make some changes in how I clean my home.
I Am Creating
Cards, Christmas and otherwise; inserts for my Simply Adorned necklace.
On My Ipod
Haven't listened to it in awhile...same stuff on there as before!
Towards Rhythm and Beauty
The beauty part of this isn't so hard: my home looks beautiful right now, decorated for Advent and Christmas. I love decorating my home at this time of year. I love each decoration and the story behind it. The rhythm part is ok now, but will change on Monday when the kids are out of school for Christmas break. I'm not sure what structure our days will take, but I have to think of a daily routine to implement for their, and my, sanity. We shall see...
To Live the Liturgy
So, my aim to set aside time at least 3 times each week to have personal devotions is going ok. I'm finding I'm getting things to think about, and that I'm really connecting with the Scripture passages I'm reading in my devotional. I've also started praying the hours...this has been very beneficial for me, because it helps me pray Scripture...and as I do it, I'm memorizing it...which is good, because I love memory work and this isn't "hard." It also structures my prayer time...I've found myself to not do a good job "winging" prayer time...so having a structure to work within is perfect for me. I realize this may not be for everyone, but it's been a God-send to me. I'm working on making hard stops during my day where I stop what I'm doing and just pray...this is good. The other day, I also stopped because I could feel myself losing control, and just went in the other room and prayed till I could get my emotions in check and then I was good to go. Aaaahhh...!
I Am Hoping and Praying
Praying for personal growth & direction right now.
In the Garden
All is blanketed in winter white.
Around the House
So, I reorganized our Linen Closet this week, so that things would be more accessible and organized...and pleasant to look at when you open the door (as opposed to a pile of jumbled stuff ready to dump down on you when you open the door). I love the way it looks. My goal is, starting in March, to deep clean each room in our house...dust walls, wash walls, etc. etc. It needs doing.
From the Kitchen
We now have a new servant in our kitchen: a KitchenAid 4 speed blender. Our old one died a slow and painful (and noisy) death. Thanks to my mom, our early Christmas present is a new blender. Can't wait to try it out. Right now, I just love looking at it!
One of My Favourite Things
Lattes from The Sippy Cup Cafe. They! are! so! good!!!
DD & DS This Week
DD came home today with a Character award for Perseverance. We are so proud of her. She does have a ton of perseverance, and this will serve her well as she gets older. She's skipping around happy about it being Christmas...and enjoying our Advent traditions.
DS came home with a gingerbread house today that he made in class...he was so disappointed to hear that it wasn't for eating and shouldn't be eaten! He is however happy to have a canon that shoots a cannonball in his Playmobil Pirate Advent calendar.
A Few Plans for the Rest of the Week
Hopefully I will be able to connect and talk to my brother this weekend...so far we've been playing text-tag.
Finish up Christmas shopping tomorrow.
Get a present mailed out tomorrow.
Finish up weekly housework tomorrow.
Make some baking on the weekend and enjoy the potluck with the other women at church on the weekend.
Preparing and practicing for morning worship at church on Sunday...the 4th Sunday in Advent!
I will write another post later about my thoughts on Advent, our traditions, a simple Christmas, Advent Conspiracy, etc., later. That's all for now friends!
Night has fallen. Quietly, snow falls from the sky and sprinkles everything shimmery and white. It looks so nice...but I still don't "love" winter.
I Am Listening To
The sounds of the Senators game coming from the TV in the next room. They are playing the Minnesota Wild tonight.
I Am Wearing
A black long-sleeved t-shirt, made in Canada amazingly enough and jeans...and my Simply Adorned necklace.
I Am So Grateful For
A simple Advent season; Advent traditions that centre on Christ and make me mediate on Him and Scripture through the day.
I Am Pondering
My grocery list and the pile of flyers I need to go through to make the grocery list, and my weekly meal menu.
I Am Reading
The first book in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith...I love it thus far; A Not So Silent Night by Verlyn Verbrugge...wow...an amazing book that focuses on aspects of the Nativity story that we don't often think about. I would encourage you to read it and be blessed.
I Am Thinking
Of the pros and cons of doing 1 bit of housework per day as opposed to having 1 day/week to do all my cleaning...not sure what the outcome of this thought process will be, but I need to make some changes in how I clean my home.
I Am Creating
Cards, Christmas and otherwise; inserts for my Simply Adorned necklace.
On My Ipod
Haven't listened to it in awhile...same stuff on there as before!
Towards Rhythm and Beauty
The beauty part of this isn't so hard: my home looks beautiful right now, decorated for Advent and Christmas. I love decorating my home at this time of year. I love each decoration and the story behind it. The rhythm part is ok now, but will change on Monday when the kids are out of school for Christmas break. I'm not sure what structure our days will take, but I have to think of a daily routine to implement for their, and my, sanity. We shall see...
To Live the Liturgy
So, my aim to set aside time at least 3 times each week to have personal devotions is going ok. I'm finding I'm getting things to think about, and that I'm really connecting with the Scripture passages I'm reading in my devotional. I've also started praying the hours...this has been very beneficial for me, because it helps me pray Scripture...and as I do it, I'm memorizing it...which is good, because I love memory work and this isn't "hard." It also structures my prayer time...I've found myself to not do a good job "winging" prayer time...so having a structure to work within is perfect for me. I realize this may not be for everyone, but it's been a God-send to me. I'm working on making hard stops during my day where I stop what I'm doing and just pray...this is good. The other day, I also stopped because I could feel myself losing control, and just went in the other room and prayed till I could get my emotions in check and then I was good to go. Aaaahhh...!
I Am Hoping and Praying
Praying for personal growth & direction right now.
In the Garden
All is blanketed in winter white.
Around the House
So, I reorganized our Linen Closet this week, so that things would be more accessible and organized...and pleasant to look at when you open the door (as opposed to a pile of jumbled stuff ready to dump down on you when you open the door). I love the way it looks. My goal is, starting in March, to deep clean each room in our house...dust walls, wash walls, etc. etc. It needs doing.
From the Kitchen
We now have a new servant in our kitchen: a KitchenAid 4 speed blender. Our old one died a slow and painful (and noisy) death. Thanks to my mom, our early Christmas present is a new blender. Can't wait to try it out. Right now, I just love looking at it!
One of My Favourite Things
Lattes from The Sippy Cup Cafe. They! are! so! good!!!
DD & DS This Week
DD came home today with a Character award for Perseverance. We are so proud of her. She does have a ton of perseverance, and this will serve her well as she gets older. She's skipping around happy about it being Christmas...and enjoying our Advent traditions.
DS came home with a gingerbread house today that he made in class...he was so disappointed to hear that it wasn't for eating and shouldn't be eaten! He is however happy to have a canon that shoots a cannonball in his Playmobil Pirate Advent calendar.
A Few Plans for the Rest of the Week
Hopefully I will be able to connect and talk to my brother this weekend...so far we've been playing text-tag.
Finish up Christmas shopping tomorrow.
Get a present mailed out tomorrow.
Finish up weekly housework tomorrow.
Make some baking on the weekend and enjoy the potluck with the other women at church on the weekend.
Preparing and practicing for morning worship at church on Sunday...the 4th Sunday in Advent!
I will write another post later about my thoughts on Advent, our traditions, a simple Christmas, Advent Conspiracy, etc., later. That's all for now friends!
Monday, December 13, 2010
Muchas Monday
I will journal more later, but for Muchas Monday, I am thankful for:
1) A thin blanket of white over the ground...just enough to make it look wintery and Christmasy.
2) Watching him delight in playing with the kids.
3) Listening to excited giggling of kids playing pirates.
4) Raising voices to the rafters singing carols with other friends and believers.
5) Getting to see the kids' hard work at their Christmas play.
6) Getting good gifts for my children for Christmas...knowing that they are things they want and will play with for a long time to come.
7) Strong coffee on a Sunday morning.
8) The season of Advent...the counting down and counting the days...the lighting of candles in the Advent wreath.
9) Gathering each night at suppertime to light the candle and have our Jesse Tree devotions.
10) Reading other blogs and getting ideas and encouragement from other women.
11) Good friends like F.B. and J.D. to share with, talk with and laugh with...making this Christian gal's walk easier.
12) Dancing with him at his work Christmas party...with him looking at me like that these years later...feeling giddy that he still looks at me like that and knowing he's still in love with me as much or more.
13) Monday sushi!
14) Sock monkey hats.
15) My cast iron skillet.
16) Slatkin & Co.'s Mint Chocolate candles.
17) NFL on a Sunday afternoon.
18) Chai Latte scented candles from Whitewater Premium Candle Co.
19) Doing Christmas differently this year and loving every second of it.
20) Terra vegetable chips and Riceworks Salsa Fresca chips.
1) A thin blanket of white over the ground...just enough to make it look wintery and Christmasy.
2) Watching him delight in playing with the kids.
3) Listening to excited giggling of kids playing pirates.
4) Raising voices to the rafters singing carols with other friends and believers.
5) Getting to see the kids' hard work at their Christmas play.
6) Getting good gifts for my children for Christmas...knowing that they are things they want and will play with for a long time to come.
7) Strong coffee on a Sunday morning.
8) The season of Advent...the counting down and counting the days...the lighting of candles in the Advent wreath.
9) Gathering each night at suppertime to light the candle and have our Jesse Tree devotions.
10) Reading other blogs and getting ideas and encouragement from other women.
11) Good friends like F.B. and J.D. to share with, talk with and laugh with...making this Christian gal's walk easier.
12) Dancing with him at his work Christmas party...with him looking at me like that these years later...feeling giddy that he still looks at me like that and knowing he's still in love with me as much or more.
13) Monday sushi!
14) Sock monkey hats.
15) My cast iron skillet.
16) Slatkin & Co.'s Mint Chocolate candles.
17) NFL on a Sunday afternoon.
18) Chai Latte scented candles from Whitewater Premium Candle Co.
19) Doing Christmas differently this year and loving every second of it.
20) Terra vegetable chips and Riceworks Salsa Fresca chips.
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