God of all ages,
in the birth of Christ
your boundless love for your people
shattered the power of darkness.
Be born in us with that same love and light,
that our song may blend with all the choirs of heaven and earth
to the glory of your holy name. Amen.
A Prayer For Christmas
Filed under theology
Happy Christmas!
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found.
May your Christmas be filled with joy.
Filed under design
Still & My Life with the Saints
Still by Lauren F. Winner
Still by Lauren Winner is aptly subtitled “Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis.” It is a collection of reflections from the middle, from a place of messiness, doubt and despair. That terrain is familiar to many and the ability to feel less alone in those moments by reading this book makes it worthwhile.
Winner directly informs readers that this is not a memoir. If you are looking for juicy details about her marriage falling apart, you won’t find them here. In the moments the book got the most personal and vulnerable, it connected most deeply with me as a reader. But I understand why there is a sense of discretion, and at times, detachment, in the writing as well. Winner is very respectful of her ex-husband, placing the blame for their shaky marriage and its dissolution squarely on herself and her issues. If she had delved more deeply into the personal, this respect would have been hard to maintain.
The writing is poetic and beautiful, as readers have come to expect from Winner. “Notes” fits well, as the chapters vary in length from a few sentences to many pages, and include many quotes and ideas from poets, writers, theologians and friends.
Overall, there is a hope in Still. Instead of fleeing when she felt far from God, Winner stayed in her church, stayed in her community, and learned to feel God’s nearness again. Her means of doing so may not work for others in the middle (and this book is very far from setting itself up as a model for others or self-help by any means) but it is a testimony that one can feel engulfed by anxiety, doubt and despair and start to believe more deeply again. And that is a beautiful message to the church. (8/10, expected to release January 31, 2012, I received an advanced copy from the publisher, which in no way affected my review.)
My Life with the Saints by James Martin
Winsome and wickedly funny, My Life With the Saints is part history, part theology and part memoir. Sharing about his own life and discovery of a variety of saints in the Catholic Church, James Martin helps readers to see the encouragement we are able to find from other Christians (living and dead) while striving to follow God with our own unique gifts and experiences.
Far from being dry, Martin’s interactions with the saints serve as a model for how others can study the saints for themselves, as companions and friends. He includes men and women, from many different ages of the church. As a Jesuit priest, Martin has a thoroughly Roman Catholic theology of the saints, but I think protestants can also learn a great deal from this book. (9/10, seeing Father Martin on Colbert again reminded me to pick this up off my shelf. Thanks Stephen.)
Last Minute SALE
Last minute sale in my etsy shop, 25% off for ONE day (Wednesday the 21st) with the coupon code LASTMINUTE – order a gift, you print, so no express shipping needed.
Filed under design
Christmas at Home
Part of a continuing series on celebrating the church year.
Before I jump in with my usual list of ideas, I want to note that for some people, Christmas is not the most wonderful time of the year. It reminds them of old pain, or of all the ways things are not the way they are supposed to be. This advent sermon by Jeremy Jones is worth listening to if you or someone you love is suffering this Christmas.
The twelve days of Christmas stretch from Christmas to Twelfth Night (January 5th.) It is one of the great feasts of the church, and a time of joy. For me celebrating Advent is the only way to stretch Christmas out throughout the season without hitting fatigue. So, consider these suggestions with that in mind!
Obviously, most people celebrate Christmas by giving gifts. It’s a good opportunity to share joy with ones we love. Perhaps you can start some fun family traditions for the Christmas season, like playing games or a special read aloud.
One of the ways you can continue your Christmas celebration is by keeping up your decorations for all twelve days. Leave out your nativity scenes to play with, moving the wise men as they follow the star (to arrive on Epiphany.) You can sing carols and light your advent wreath (all four outer candles and a center Christ candle) at meals.
We will probably select from this devotional to study some of the characters of Christmas more deeply than we did in our Jesse Tree (or, finish in years we get behind!)
Many families have Christmas traditions that emphasize Jesus’ birthday, serving a special cake or decorating with Happy Birthday Jesus signs.
Save your new years dieting resolutions one week, and keep baking and feasting throughout Christmas. The last several years, I haven’t started baking until Dec 15th at the very earliest, and gave most of that away.
Later in Christmas is a good time to throw a party. In both Richmond and Birmingham, we had friends with that tradition. Most everyone is back home for Twelfth Night, and there are less conflicts than in December!
In the spirit of the season, here are a few free printables for y’all, sized at 8×10:
gloria | luke 2 | hark the herald
What are your family Christmas traditions? Any good ideas for celebrating for 12 days? May your days be filled with joy!
Filed under church year, free printables, theology
Fourth Sunday in Advent
Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Filed under theology
Dreaming Big
When I was a kid, I wanted to be a television journalist. I could see myself standing on the steps in front of the Capitol building or the Supreme Court, explaining the day’s political news. Wanting as much preparation as possible, I got involved in a local television show (Action News for Kids) and even anchored a primetime special (7:30p is primetime, right?) I knew how to dream big.
Sometime during high school, I began to realize that this might not work out. Good journalists work long hours, especially if I made it to the national level. I wanted to be a mom. I am not sure I have dreamed big very often since.
I am trying to think through jobs I might want to have in the near or distant future, and it is harder to dream big than I would have previously believed. Adulthood has made me practical. I’ve been a little surprised that I’m selling things in my etsy store (and several custom cards outside of etsy.) But it’s hard for me to dream big about owning my own business. I hate self promotion. It’s not a guaranteed stream of income (and not very much at this point.) But I like the flexibility.
Maybe I need to learn how to dream again. I’m not really sure how to go about doing that, but it’s worth considering.
Filed under family life
In Which I Am A Curmudgeon
I’ve watched the Elf on the Shelf trend for several years, and I am going to come out and say it: I just don’t get the popularity among Christian families.
Doing something every day (even for a season) makes it a pretty big deal. An elf that reports in to Santa and plays tricks around your house? What message is that sending?
We don’t do Santa. There are lots of reasons, but primarily because gifts are not the focus of our Christmas celebration. However, I can see how Santa could be a fun part of a Christian family’s Christmas without taking it over. Santa could bring one special gift. You don’t have to emphasize the naughty and nice element. This is certainly an area where freedom abounds.
I’ve said before, and will say again for clarity’s sake, it would be weird if all a family’s traditions were religious in nature and had deep theological meaning. It’s good to have fun traditions and family culture. I am not knocking that at all.
But Christmas is about incarnation. God in flesh, who came to dwell with us. It’s an amazing picture of grace.
How does the elf on a shelf fit into an incarnational Christmas celebration? God doesn’t keep a naughty list. He knows how sin easily entangles us. I want my children to know God’s holiness and to strive to follow Jesus in obedience. But I also want them to know that God wants repentant hearts more than compliant exteriors. Jesus came to call sinners, not the righteous.
The things that we spend the most time and energy on during Advent and Christmas are going to be things that draw us to this great story of incarnation. The hope and longing for a rescuer, then the joy at His appearing.
That’s not to say that we won’t watch Frosty or drive around looking at lights or do a myriad of other things that are not Christ-centered. But none of those things are daily, central parts of our celebration.
Maybe I’m wrong and your elf is gracious and kind and brings your child a Jesse Tree story every morning. Feel free to share if you’ve figured out a way to reconcile the elf to your Christmas celebration. I’ve just spent several years a little mystified watching this trend explode.
Filed under parental ponderings, theology
Third Sunday in Advent
Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.
This is one of my very favorite collects. We don’t generally pray them at our new church, so I was happily surprised that we said this together in worship today, when we also happened to join the church.
Filed under theology
Pondering Christ
Sally Clarkson has long been an encouragement to me as a mother, and her blog post on pondering Christ as a foundation for a philosophy of parenting is a must-read.
Radical, self-giving love is hard to make into a formula or six simple rules to be sure your children follow Jesus. But it’s what we are called to, as parents and as followers of Jesus.
Filed under parental ponderings
| Barbery
| Fitzpatrick
| Zusak
| Tickle
| Ricks
| Lupton
| Green
| Metaxas
| Wolters
