Christmas Traditions

 We have a couple of things that have become tradition for our little family. Because I was so sick last week and completely lacking in any kind of energy we really have taken a step back and simplified this Advent season. Our number one priority is to do our Jesse Tree readings in the evening. Any thing besides that is nice, and fun, but not necessary to us having a "good" Christmas (whatever that means). However, there are 2 things that have become tradition for us that we were able to quietly and calmly do last week.

 The Christmas Parade

We live one block off of  Main Street, so attending the Christmas parade has become a fun tradition. This year the boys and Aaron went without me because I was just too worn out to go. But they had a good time.

Decorating Our Christmas Tree

We have evolved to the tradition of doing this on an evening with hot chocolate and Christmas music on. This year I was able to totally let go and let the boys do all the decorating while I enjoyed the scene from the couch.

Aaron explains to Nathaniel what one of his ornaments is.

Every year the boys get an ornament from their Rapier grandparents. This is tradition in the Rapier family. It is so fun to look through the ornaments and explain to the boys why they are significant and what memories are attached to them.

 Jeremiah gets some helping reaching a top branch.

 Nathaniel gets to help put on the star.

The finished product!

 Look at these handsome boys!

Jeremiah with his favorite ornament:

Baby's 1st Christmas (which for him was December 2005)

 

Nathaniel with his favorite ornament: a monkey!

We are getting further on in to December and the blog-o-sphere is full of posts about crafting, decorating, cooking, simplifying, surviving, and slowing not to mention the always hot debate of how Christians should celebrate the holiday intentionally.

I must admit, so far, I am not feeling much of the Christmas spirit. I am not really even feeling much of the Advent spirit (which is how our little family usually titles this season). The Jesse tree is up. Our Christmas tree is up and lit but as yet unadorned. The stockings are hung but I have no idea how else to dress up the mantle. I feel completely uninspired. I don't even really want to listen to the Christmas music that I usually have to make myself wait until Thanksgiving to put on.

I can't quite put my finger on it. This vague unrest I have. This undefinable weight I feel pressing me continually.

The boys are, of course, completely enthralled. They watch excitedly from the back of the van for Christmas lights. They sit in front of the (undecorated) tree and play with the Nativity (Nathaniel calls it his "activity" set) and read the special Christmas books. Jeremiah sits and looks at the World Vision Christmas catalog for hours debating whether we should buy someone a sheep or some chickens, or maybe a duck?

And I think that may be the source of my heaviness. I have learned a lot this year about children who live in poverty, children who are taken into slavery so that we can eat chocolate,
orphans, Haiti, child sex trafficking, people who are suffering for believing in Jesus. This week while 3 friends on Facebook posted their joy at the birth of a new child, I knew of 3 friends who had lost their unborn children, all at different stages of pregnancy.

I am overwhelmed.

Every day the knowledge of the darkness in this world presses on me and I feel the pressure building. Every day I feel like I am stumbling about in the darkness of my own sin.

I am a do-er. I fix things. I want action. I plan.

But outside of Jesus these things cannot be fixed.

As I type this out, trying to process, I realize: that is the waiting work of Advent. Acknowledging the dark is what makes the Light shine brighter.

And that is where I am right now. Lingering on the depth of the darkness. Not quite sure how to see the Light. Not quite sure how to be part of furthering the Light and pushing back the darkness.

Our Advent - the Jesse Tree

We started doing Advent readings as a family last year. We found it such a great way to as a family carve out quiet time in which we could focus on the coming of Christ. We knew we wanted to continue the tradition but I wanted to find some way to do Advent readings that would be more interactive for the boys.
I had heard and read about the concept of a Jesse tree and after finding out that one of my favorite blog authors had written a Jesse tree devotional I decided we should try it. I must say, it has been a blessing to us.

What is a Jesse Tree?
There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, and the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. - Isaiah 11:1-2
The name comes from the verse, the idea being that Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophecy. As we walk through the waiting of Advent we read stories from the Old Testament that point to the coming of Christ. Following the history of the Bible shows us the need for the Savior. The world's need for redemption as well as our own.

How we do our Jesse Tree.
There are many ways to do a Jesse tree. There are many different devotionals. I chose The Glorious Coming: A Jesse Tree Advent Celebration by Ann Voskamp because I liked the writing style (reminds me of Walter Wangerin & Frederick Buechner, favorites from my growing years) and because the e-book came with print outs for the tree ornaments. Some families make and/or collect ornaments to match the stories but I liked the idea of the boys having an ornament to color while we read the devotional. You don't even actually have to have a real tree - you can use paper on the wall or even a dead branch from outside.

Our devotional time is simple and relatively short. The light in the dining room is already dimmed because we eat mostly by candle light and the light from the tree. The boys each color an ornament while Aaron reads the scripture and short devotional. They then hang the ornament on the tree and get their piece of candy out of our Advent calendar. As they munch we look at the ornaments already hung and talk about the stories. We try to finish with a Christmas hymn (Jeremiah likes O Come, O Come Emmanuel and Nathaniel likes Angels We Have Heard On High for the "glo-o-o-o-ria, in excelcies deo" part).

What I like
The scope of Biblical redemptive history- I love that we are reading the familiar stories in the Bible with our eyes on Jesus. God had a plan for the world's salvation and glimpses of promises and grace shine throughout the Bible. To be considering this faithfulness and love during Advent is amazing. I think this walk through the Bible can help the boys string together the stories they learn in Sunday school and is another tool for teaching that the Bible is not just a book of tall tales or moral fables but it is the true story of God's redemptive work.

The physical & visual reminder - I love that there is a separate tree in our house designated for this remembering. Throughout the day we see with our eyes the reminders of God's love and faithfulness. I can talk about different ornaments with the boys throughout the day. They can walk up to the tree and finger and marvel. I kept this tree simple with hand strung cranberry garland. I added nativity ornaments that I found and more ornaments are added every night. My idea is that this is a tree the boys can touch.
The other part of the physical and visual reminder that I did not consider initially was that others coming into our home will see it and question us about it. This gives the boys (and us) an opportunity to give a brief explanation and even presentation of the gospel. It is like a small "altar" in our home. It's very presence speaks to what we want to remember as the truth of Christmas.

Creativity & Interaction - Right now the creativity is simple crayons and printed ornaments. But I can see possibilities for more creativity as the boys grow. I like that we interact over the ornaments, tree, and stories. We color and hang. We talk and ponder.

The Jesse Tree is a good way for our family to mark Advent. It works for us with small children (no fire, smile) and provides a good way for us as a family to focus on Christ in a very thoughtful way during this season that can so easily become busy, stressful, materialistic, and self-centered.

Advent III

What Did Mary Ponder?

So the shepherds got up and ran as fast as they could to the city of Bethlehem, to a particular stable in that city, and in that stable they gazed on one particular baby, lying in a manger.

Then, in that moment, everything was fixed in a lambent, memorial light.

For there was the infant, just waking, just lifting his arms to the air and making sucking motions with his mouth. The holy child was hungry. And there was his mother, lying on the straw as lovely as the lily and listening to the noises of her child. “Joseph?” she murmured. And there was Joseph, as sturdy as a bard, just bending toward his Mary. “What?” he whispered.

And the shepherds’ eyes were shining for what they saw.

Exactly as though it were morning and not the night, the shepherds when out into the city and began immediately to tell everyone what the angel had said about this child. They left a trail of startled people behind them, as on they went, both glorifying and praising God.

But Mary did not so much as rise that night. She received the baby from Joseph’s hands, then placed him down at her breast while she lay on her side on straw. With one arm she cradled the infant against her body. On the other arm, bent at the elbow, she rested her head; and she gazed at her small son sucking. Mary lowered her long, black lashes and watched him and loved him and murmured, “Jesus, Jesus,” for the baby’s name was Jesus.

“Joseph?” she said without glancing up.

And Joseph said, “What?”

But Mary felt silent and said no more. She was keeping all these things – all that had happened between the darkness and the light – and pondering them in her heart.
From Walter Wangerin´s The Manger is Empty

Ever since I became a mother I have wondered about Mary. What were her thoughts and feelings as she carried Jesus in her womb. As she went through her first birth alone and in a stable. As she saw her son for the first time. As shepherds and wisemen came to visit. As she experienced each new phase of Jesus´growth and development. I remember the moment of my first son´s birth. I remember the first minutes and days of being a mother being filled with pure wonder at this new life and pure fear at my responsibility to care for it. And of course the primal, overwhelming, all encompassing love that blossomed in my heart the minute I laid my eyes on him. My emotions and concerns as a mother are deep and complex, how much more so must Mary´s have been as she knew she was the mother of God´s son.
One of our little familys Christmas traditions is to read the Christmas story as told by Walter Wangerin in The Manger is Empty. It is a beautiful telling of a story I have heard my whole life. It moves me deeply and there are always tears in my eyes at the end. I am reminded through the telling that this story is true. It happened to real people. And it is amazing!

Advent II

One of my favorite Christmas CD's is one I have been listening to since college. I love Harry Connick Jr.'s smooth voice and jazzy arrangements. This CD has a nice mix of reflective songs and fun celebratory songs (Parade of the Wooden Soldiers sends me and Jeremiah marching around the kitchen). I have no idea what Harry's spiritual state is but he wrote 2 songs for this CD that help me keep focused on what I want to remember during the Christmas season.

--

A quiet ballad this song stills my soul.

The Blessed Dawn of Christmas Day

The blessed dawn of Christmas day

As honestly as children pray

The warmth that melts the eve away

The holiness of alpenglow

-

I rose to join the glorious morn

Whose calm and splendor would adorn

The virgin mother's infant born

The blessed dawn of Christmas day

-

I pray one day my heart will see

The light of God's eternity

And know that Jesus died for me

Now close, my eyes

So I may rise

At blessed dawn of Christmas morn

--

With a funky, soulful beat this song lifts my spirits and reminds me of the simplicity that I long for. It also is the cause of much dancing and finger snapping between me and my oldest son.

I Pray On Christmas

I pray on Christmas

That the Lord will see me through

I pray on Christmas

He'll show me what to do

-

I pray on Christmas

He'll help me understand

I pray on Christmas

He'll take me by the hand

-

I pray on Christmas

That the sick will soon be strong

I pray on Christmas

The Lord will hear my song

-

I pray on Christmas

That God will lead the way

I pray on Christmas

He'll get me through another day

-

I pray on Christmas

All our problems gonna be worked out

I pray on Christmas

God'll show us what love's about

-

I pray on Christmas

To do your will each day

And I pray on Christmas

That I'll be with you in heaven some day

-

I pray on Christmas

That God will lead the way

And I pray, I really pray on Christmas

He'll get me through another day.

Advent Begins

Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus
1. 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.

2. 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.

I find such a dichotomy in myself at this time of year. On the one hand I love the Christmas season. I enjoy the music, the lights, the decorations, the gifts, the food, and the time with family. On the other hand part of me dreads this time of year. I dread the busy-ness, the extra planning and cooking, the way my children behave on an inconsistent schedule, the focus on material things, the pressure for each Christmas to be meaningful and full of tradition now that we have children.

As I have struggled with this torn-ness the past few years I am realizing more and more that in order for me to enjoy this time of year I prefer to think of it as Advent. It is more in my personality to stand back from the hustle and bustle and reflect on Christ's coming to earth in a more quiet and intentional way. This year I am specifically setting aside a few minutes each day to read and reflect on this marvelous gift we have been given. I am reading from a book called In the Days of the Angels by Walter Wangerin (a terrific writer that you must read) and also trying to read a chapter a day in the book of Luke. For our family devotions after dinner we are reading from The Book of God, the Bible as a Novel also by Wangerin. I am by no means super-spiritual and my Advent reading takes no more than 20 minutes out of my day. I find that it keeps me grounded and focused in what can otherwise be a season that flies by in a flurry.