2014 Advent Devotional

The 2014 Advent Devotional is here!

I hope you enjoy using this scriptural devotional with your family. Last year we passed it out for our families at New Life (our church) and I just kept it "branded" with the New Life logo.

If you would like to use this with your church, please feel free to do so. There are some helpful FAQ on the first page in case this is your first time celebrating Advent.

New Life Advent 2014

2013 Printable Advent Devotional

I did a little tweaking to the Advent Calendar Devotions to make them fit into the 2013 (slightly shorter) Advent season. I also made them a cinch to cut out and fit into your Toilet Paper Roll Advent Calendar (or whichever calendar you are using). I hope you find it helpful! Click the link below to access it!

Advent Devotional

Let me know if you have any suggestions to make it better! This just started out as something that would fit my family, but I am glad to know that it has blessed many other families and churches over the years!

2012 Advent Calendar and Devotional

I did a little tweaking to the Advent Calendar Devotions to make them fit into the 2012 (slightly shorter) Advent season. I also made them a little easier on the eyes and a cinch to cut out and fit into your Toilet Paper Roll Advent Calendar (or whichever calendar you are using). I hope you find it helpful! Click the link below to access it!

Advent Devotional

Let me know if you have any suggestions to make it better! This just started out as something that would fit my family, but I am glad to know that it has blessed many other families and churches over the years!

Resurrection Eggs

Today is the day we are starting our Resurrection Eggs!

We thought it would be fun for our kids to open one egg per day for the 12 days leading up to Easter. Since the eggs tell the story of Jesus' life, death and resurrection, we will plan to review the eggs we've already opened on previous days and then be able to review all of them on Easter Sunday. It's similar to our preschool Advent calendar that told the story of Jesus' birth.

Ours are "homemade" since the branded kind are so expensive! We made them with our MOPS group for less than $2 a piece, as compared to $20! Here are some pics:

The things that we had to gather up were:

Palm Branch
Silver Coin
Cup (we used a little plastic communion cup)
Praying Hands (we used a laminated picture)
Piece of Leather
Thorn
Nails
Dice
Spear (we used a small lego sword)
Linen
Stone
Egg Cartons
Plastic Eggs

Here are the scriptures we are using with the items:

1. Palm branch

“Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them,’Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to Me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.’”


The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks (coats) and sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road."
Matthew 21:1b-3, 6-8

2. Silver coins

“Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests and asked, ‘What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?’ So they counted out for him thirty silver coins. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.”
Matthew 26:14-16

3. Cup

“Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying,’Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’”
Matthew 26:27-28

4. Praying Hands

“They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I pray.’ He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death’" he said to them. ‘Stay here and keep watch.’ Mark 14:32-34

5. Leather Whip

“ Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged (whipped) Him.” 
 John 19:1

6. Crown of Thorns

“Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. "Hail, king of the Jews!" they said.”
Matthew 27:27-29

7. Nails in the Cross

“So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). Here they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.”
John 19:16b-18

8. Die

“When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.
‘Let's not tear it,’ they said to one another. ‘Let's decide by lot who will get it.’
This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said,
‘They divided my garments among them
and cast lots for my clothing.’ So this is what the soldiers did.”
John 19:23-24

9. Spear 

“The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.” 
John 19:32-34

10. Linen Cloth

“As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.”
Matthew 27:57-60

11. Stone

“There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.”
Matthew 28:2-4

12. Empty

“The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.’”
Matthew 28:5-6

It's not too late to make your own! This is a great activity for Easter Sunday if you can pull it together before then.

The Family Together in God's Presence

Allen made reference to this at our business meeting on Tuesday night, but it is worth reading the article in full if you haven't ever done so.

The Family Together in God's Presence was written by John and Noel Piper in the 90's but I feel like it could have been written 50 years ago or 3 years ago. In my experience, families used to do this back in the day and families just started doing this 3 years ago. We are some that started doing it 3 years ago and have learned so much since then.

I think Piper sums up what we have learned very well and Noel gives some wonderfully practical tips on how to do it.

Christmas Pictures in Review

We had a beautiful Christmas together.

We started off the festivities in Sachse with my family on the 23rd. Spending time with their Nanny, Papa and Aunt B was a highlight for sure. It was brief, but worth it. Nanny and Papa attempted to wrap a picture of the kids' new trampoline, but I'm pretty sure it was lost in translation. It came through loud and clear when Allen put it together the day after Christmas. They are loving it and I have to be quite honest, I like it myself. Practicing my old cheerleader jumps is pretty fun and Taylor Joy keeps asking me, "Mom! Who taught you to do that?" I'm not sure I'll be brave enough to try any flips anytime soon though. We are coming up on our 10 year high school reunion this year. Crazy how that silly thing called time flies!

We headed over to McKinney on Christmas Eve morning to spend some time with Mima, G-pa, Aunt Lizzie, Aunt Cathy and Uncle Ryan. It was way too brief, but so much fun. Notice the wonderful quality of my pictures below? Yeah? Yeah! That's what I thought. Thank Mima and G-pa for that. I think Cathy might win the award for most thoughtful gift this year. She got me this awesome book that I can't wait to dig into.

We headed to Frisco to see our friends Ryan and Cate for an excruciatingly quick 10 minute hello and gift drop-off in the SNOW! Yes, it was really coming down on our way there and back. Beautiful!

We came home to get settled back in and spend a low-key Christmas Eve and Christmas in our home. It was a fun night and day of fire burning in the fireplace, cold weather, sweet devotions together, yummy meals and blessing each other with thoughtful gifts. I am so thankful that we sat down before Thanksgiving and actually planned out our budget and gifts this year. I was able to make gifts for the kids and our family that were thoughtful and also useful and well received. I made capes for the kids since they love Word Girl and Captain Huggieface and love to pretend they are the Rescue Kids. I love it that it promotes them using their imagination, as opposed to another battery-operated toy. We also got them a tent with a tunnel that we thought they would enjoy since they love making forts. I made necklaces for Taylor Joy, family, some friends and myself. I was so blessed by our Advent time this year and hearing the kids recite the entire Christmas story on Christmas when we had gone through the whole thing. Taylor Joy's prayer on Christmas Eve was the most memorable thing about the entire day. Such a blessing to hear her articulate everything we have labored to teach her about Christ and Him coming into the world to save us from our sins. It was a beautiful day to remember the sacrifice that Christ made in coming into the world and to praise Him, not only for that, but also for the evidences of His grace that we have seen in ourselves and in our children in the past year. It was a tough year with lots of changes that took place, but nonetheless a praiseworthy year for the things the Lord did in and through us.

Here's a video slideshow of our Christmas:

Make a Smilebox photobook

Advent Scriptures for your Calendar

photo courtesy Arvind Balaraman

Here is this years' Duty Chronicles Advent Calendar...

Advent 2013

And in case you haven't seen, here are some ideas for Advent activities to do with your kids. The point being to spend quality time with them, not rushing around trying to get the right supplies or check this off your to do list. Add some to your family time together and just enjoy it!

Hopefully the Advent Calendar + devotional will help all of us to become more consistent in worshipping with our families each day. Let me know if you have any other fun ideas to reinforce Christ this season! Here are some great ideas that our family uses or that I have heard of other families using:

Christmas Card Prayer Box – make a prayer box that will hold your Christmas cards from last year. At family worship every night, have the kids choose one card from the box and  pray for that family.
OR
Christmas Card Prayer Sticks - we are utilizing these throughout the year and the kids love it! They even ask to keep some in their room to pray for them on their own. I love that!

Advent Wreath – a picture of ours is here as well as a description of the 4 weeks of Advent

This goes along nicely with the Advent calendar to reinforce the “waiting” period. We use battery-operated candles so the kids can take charge of doing this without burning the house down.

Kids’ Play – reenactment of the Christmas story, do a scene each day or reenact the whole thing on Christmas. Don’t worry about costumes, pull out sheets to wrap around yourself, grab a kitchen towel and keep it on your head with a headband or rubberband. Get creative! Your kids will love putting their costumes together!

Manger Ritual – putting Jesus in a “manger” on Christmas Day, empty basket under the tree until Christmas (great for small toddlers, with knowledge that you will explain “waiting” to them everyday)

Christmas Songs – O Little Town of Bethlehem, Joy to the World, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, O Come All Ye Faithful, Silent Night, Go Tell it On the Mountain, Angels We Have Heard on High, Away in a Manger, What Child is This (these are just a few well known Christmas/Advent songs). Focus on one song per week so that your kids can actually learn the words and tune.

Stargazing - pretend you are a Wise man, grab a constellation map and gaze at the stars. Imagine where the Star of Bethlehem would have been and talk about how bright it would have to be to guide you miles and miles to the newborn king!

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Toilet Paper Roll Advent Calendar

I've been wanting to make a tutorial since so many people have asked me specifics about how I made this last year. Well, after getting the Christmas stuff down from the attic this weekend, I decided to take it apart and re-number my calendar so that it would be a countdown rather than just the dates on the rolls.

So, here is your handy dandy tutorial...for making a toilet paper Advent Calendar.

Toilet Paper Advent Calendar

Materials:

25 toilet paper rolls
25 toilet paper sized pieces of coordinating scrapbook paper
several rolls of coordinating ribbon or tulle
stickers that number 1-24, plus an additional "Christmas Day" sticker (depending on if you are counting down or simply putting the dates)
Decorative accents (rub-ons, stickers, etc.)

Instructions:
1. Cut out papers to fit around toilet paper rolls so that they cover the entire roll. Tape the top piece.


Glue the wrong side of the paper.


And tape the end to secure it.


2. Cut pieces of ribbon or tulle about 6 inches if you want it to stick out and sort of "poof" at the edges (for tulle).

3. Tie two pieces together. Feed through one toilet paper roll, making sure the tied part is staying on the outside. Feed the other end through another toilet paper roll and tie the loose ends as tight as you can. If you fail to tie them tight enough you will be able to see spaces in between toilet paper rolls. Continue this until you have completed.





Make sure you are putting them in the order you would like. Last year I used the calendar starting with 1 and going up to 25. This year I decided I would prefer to start with 24 and end on Christmas Day (0), to make it more like a countdown.

4. To hang the Advent Calendar, I tied a piece of ribbon and fed it through the very top toilet paper roll so that the knot wasn't showing and hung it from a wreath hanger that is in our dining room.



It's just a fun and cute way to remember where we are (in relation to Christmas and how far away it is) and to let the kids feel involved in getting them out each day. It also serves to keep us consistent. My family goes through scriptures of Jesus' birth as well as prophecies that point to Christ. We ask questions to focus our day on Christ and sometimes we have an activity that reinforces what we have learned. We sing Christmas songs and pray as a family.

If you would like a very simple Advent devotional, here is the link to download ours.

Duty Chronicles Advent Devotional

Show some link love if you make this craft or use our devotional. Thanks!

Advent

So...you've heard me talking about Advent...what is Advent?

You know that last year I made a cutie Advent calendar out of toilet paper rolls (or you do now)...



You know that some sort of wreath goes along with it...



But you have no idea what Advent is.

Advent is the season leading up to Christmas, beginning 4 Sundays before Dec. 25th.

What's the point, you ask?

I'm glad you did.

It's best put by Noel Piper, in Treasuring God in Our Traditions:

"We are a people of promise. For centuries God prepared people for the coming of His Son, our only hope for life. At Christmas we celebrate the fulfillment of the promises God made - that he would make a way to draw near to him."

So, during the 4 weeks of Advent we are anticipating the coming of Jesus. Advent means "coming." Just like God's people were waiting for the salvation that was foretold all throughout the Old Testament, so we wait as they did, only we know the outcome, JESUS!

Again, Noel:

"Advent is a season of looking back, thinking how it must have been, waiting for the promised salvation of God, not knowing what to expect. And at the same time, Advent is a season of looking ahead, preparing ourselves to meet Jesus at his Second Coming."

What's the purpose of Advent Candles?

As far as Advent Candles, we light one each Sunday, so there should be candles for four Sundays plus Christmas Day. As the lights get brighter and brighter, we reflect on how Jesus truly is the "light of the world." Here is my Advent cheat sheet:

Week 1:
This week we light the very first candle--the Prophecy Candle. This candle represents not only the Biblical prophecies about Christ's birth, but the very feeling of anticipation which God's people experienced over hundreds of years as they awaited His coming. Advent encompasses both the arrival of the Christ child and His second glorious coming!

Week 2:
This week, we will be lighting the Bethlehem Candle. First light the Prophecy Candle, then the Bethlehem Candle.
The Bethlehem Candle represents the preparations made for the coming Christ child. Even though no room was available for Mary and Joseph when they came, God had orchestrated events so that Caesar Augustus called for a census to be taken. Joseph and Mary had to leave Nazareth so that they could register in Bethlehem and the prophecies were fulfilled.

Week 3:
This is the week of the Shepherds' Candle for Advent.
The shepherds represent the message of great joy that is brought to the world about Jesus' birth. Light the first two candles and then the Shepherds' Candle.

Week 4:
This week's candle is called the Angel Candle and it represents the love which God shared with the world when He sent His Son, Jesus! Light all four Advent candles this week.

Christmas Day –
Today we light the past 4 candles of Advent and then the white candle, which represents Christ! Our Messiah, Jesus, Light of the World is finally here!


What's with the Advent Calendar?

We use the Advent Calendar for our daily devotions each day. I print off our reading and we put them in the toilet paper rolls that are hung on the wall. It's just a fun and cute way to remember where we are and to let the kids feel involved in getting them out each day. It also serves to keep us consistent. We go through scriptures of Jesus' birth as well as prophecies that point to Christ. We ask thoughtful, provoking questions to focus our day on Christ and sometimes we have an activity that reinforces what we have learned. We sing Christmas songs and pray as a family.

Sometime this week I am going to make my Advent calendar available, as well as post some ideas for Advent/Christmas crafts, activities and traditions. Please let me know if you have some good ones I can post with mine. I hope this helps and I hope you will consider starting this with your family. I am going to try to make it really easy for you to get started by making mine available and sharing all of the good ideas I have learned from others along the way.

Some of Noel's questions I want to always consider...

Can others see why I am celebrating?

Am I celebrating Christ?

Am I focusing on God's gift so that my appreciation for Him grows?

"May our decorations, gifts, festivities or lack of them - never block our view of him but always point us toward him." -Noel Piper

Easter Reflections/Ideas

I know this is late coming and it's because Easter caught me a bit off guard this year. Just as we took the month of December to do our Advent activities and reflected on the birth of Jesus and what His coming into the world means for us, I wanted to spend a good part of this week reflecting on the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus and what that means for us as believers.

I have recommended it before, but will do so again, Noel Piper's Treasuring God in Our Traditions has some great ideas for making Easter meaningful for both you and your children. For the past two years we have used her idea for the Easter Mountain and Taylor seemed to understand it more this year.

I wasn't able to implement this idea this year, but will definitely do it next year...Lent candles. It is the same idea that's behind the Advent candles but you snuff out a candle each week during Lent. Since we have very young children I would probably condense the time period and make it shorter. On Easter Sunday, all the candles are lit to represent the resurrection of our Lord, the Light of the world! I think this is a great idea as well.

Tomorrow we will be making the traditional Resurrection Buns. This will be a first for me, so I hope they turn out. Taylor Joy and I will be making them in the morning with me explaining each step to her and how it symbolizes the burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And then we get to eat the yummy goodness! So fun!

Also, though we've never really participated in Easter egg hunts, a few families from our church decided to do one this year that would be particularly meaningful. In addition to hiding candy-filled eggs, Resurrection Eggs will also be hidden. After the hunt is over, we will go through each egg in order and explain the real story of Easter to our children. We plan to paint crosses and have a picnic lunch as well. I am excited to share the day with other precious families in our body. I just pray it doesn't rain!

I'll leave you with a meditation from my hubby:


In preparation for this weekend’s worship service, I would encourage you to consider the gravity of the event we remember today and the significance it holds for you and me. Listen to Matthew’s description:

“Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, ‘Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?’ For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up…So, when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, ‘I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.’ And all the people answered, ‘His blood be on us and on our children!’ Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified” (Matt. 27:15-18, 24-26).

What a beautiful, terrible, irony. The sinless Son of God traded for the sinful Barabbas, accused of rebellion and murder. Instead of desiring justice for a known criminal, the crowd persuaded Pilate to cater to their rebellion against God and murder Jesus.

This event takes on further signifance when you understand that in Hebrew, “Barabbas” means, “son of daddy.” On Good Friday, Jesus, the sinless Son of God was crucified instead of you and me - sinful sons and daughters of sinful daddies. Truly did Isaiah prophesy: “But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned - every one - to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Is. 53:5-6).

Consider the Great Exchange tonight and praise God for sending his Son to assume your guilt and your punishment.

Taylor's Questions

During family worship we have incorporated a book, called the Family Worship book into our time together. Although there are many great resources in the book, the main thing we use right now are a compilation of catechism-type questions aimed at children and we have been teaching Taylor Joy the answers to those questions. Hopefully the answers are not just rote and memorized, but we are trying to incorporate the answers into our daily living as well, so she's getting it all the time.

I finally got around to getting this on video. All the people who have been a part of our family worship say, "You have GOT to get that on video!" and I finally had the time and got her to cooperate.

Some recent bloopers during family worship that make me laugh (not in the video) are when asking her how God made Adam and Eve and she said, "God made Adam's bottom and Eve from Adam!" and also blurting out that Adam and Eve wrote the Bible! Silly girl!

Enjoy the video!

First Week of Advent

It's the first week of Advent. Get excited! We decorated the inside of the house this weekend after a wonderful Thanksgiving in Dallas with our families. Taylor Joy keeps saying, "Mommy, Christmas is pretty."

On another note, Advent in the Duty home started yesterday. We are doing the 24 days leading up to Christmas. Since I can't do anything the traditional way, here's how our Advent looks.

Our calendar:




Made out of toilet paper rolls, scrapbook paper, ribbons and cute extras, I made this with my own two hands with love and excitement for the Advent season. I created an advent calendar detailing relevant scriptures, activities to do together and questions to discuss during family worship time. Each day will have it's appropriate page inside of the toilet paper roll. Thanks to all who donated rolls to our cause. Know that lovely pearls of wisdom are being stored in the place where your toilet paper hung. Now that's beautiful.

Our wreath:




Honestly, I just plain didn't like any of the Advent wreaths that I saw. So, I bought this wreath at Michael's and the candleholder as well (for the Christ candle) and then placed them all snugly inside. I decided to buy battery-operated candles for the candles so that Taylor Joy can help "light" them and so that we can leave them on all day.

Here are some scriptures to consider this week, the Prophecy Week:

Isaiah 7:14
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.

Psalm 62:5-6
My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him.
He only is my rock and my salvation: He is my defense; I shall not be moved. (KJV)

Hebrews 10:23
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful...

Micah 5:2
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.

Isaiah 40:31
Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.

2 Corinthians 12:10
That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Isaiah 11:1-2
Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse,
And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him,
The spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The spirit of counsel and strength,
The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

John 15:4
Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

Jeremiah 23:5-6
"Behold, the days are coming," declares the LORD,
"When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch;
And He will reign as king and act wisely
And do justice and righteousness in the land.

"In His days Judah will be saved,
And Israel will dwell securely;
And this is His name by which He will be called, 'The LORD our righteousness.'"

Ephesians 1:9-12
And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment--to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.

Galatians 4:4-5
But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

Malachi 3:1
"Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming," says the LORD of hosts.

Isaiah 42:1, 5-6
Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold
My chosen one in whom My soul delights.
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the nations.

Thus says God the LORD,
Who created the heavens and stretched them out,
Who spread out the earth and its offspring,
Who gives breath to the people on it
And spirit to those who walk in it,

"I am the LORD, I have called You in righteousness,
I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You,
And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people,
As a light to the nations. (NASB)

Isaiah 60:1-3,19-22
"Arise, shine; for your light has come,
And the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.

And, our Advent Cheatsheet:

Symbolism of the Advent Wreath

• The four candles represent the 4,000 years prior to Christ's coming and the four weeks of Advent.

• The unlighted candles represent the dark ages before Christ's coming.

• The lighted candles represent Christ, the Light of the World. Each week we light one more candle and that represents the idea that the coming of Christ is closer.

• The circular form of the wreath symbolizes that God has no beginning and no end.

• The green of the boughs indicates hope--just as the green of spring indicates new life.

• The word Advent means the coming of promise.

A Challenge

Allen and I were pleasantly surprised to receive mail regarding this family devotional challenge, especially with John Newton's face on the front. Allen just finished up reading John Newton's biography, so that was a familiar face to see.

This is a challenge to spur families to intentionally disciple their children. It gives parents a free 52-week Bible reading plan to use and there are people all around the nation that have committed to doing this. How exciting! What if revival really started in the homes because of this!


Some practical tips from John Newton:

"I think, with you, that it is very expedient and proper that reading a portion of the word of God should be ordinarily a part of our family worship; so likewise to sing a hymn or psalm, or part of one, at discretion; provided there are some people in the family who have enough of a musical ear and voice to conduct the singing in a tolerable manner: otherwise, perhaps, it may be omitted...If you read and sing, as well as pray, care should be taken that the combined services do not run into an incovenient length."

In addition, here is the sermon Allen preached 2 weeks ago regarding Home Discipleship and an Online Hymnbook sorted by Title and with demos to hear the tune.

Purpose of Family Worship
Family Discipleship

Are you up for the challenge? Comment here if you are going to do this and we can spur each other on!

Come Thou Fount

Come Thou Fount as sung by Taylor Joy. As for the mommy commentary, she starts off singing "Holy Holy" and then begins with "Come Thou Fount" (with my assistance).

In case you are unfamiliar with the words here they are so you can follow along.

Come, thou Fount of every blessing,
tune my heart to sing thy grace;
streams of mercy, never ceasing,
call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,
mount of thy redeeming love.

Here I raise mine Ebenezer;
hither by thy help I'm come;
and I hope, by thy good pleasure,
safely to arrive at home. (this is where she leaves off)
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
wandering from the fold of God;
he, to rescue me from danger,
interposed his precious blood.

O to grace how great a debtor
daily I'm constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter,
bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
prone to leave the God I love;
here's my heart, O take and seal it,
seal it for thy courts above.

This is one of the hymns we have sung in family worship recently and we now stick with a song for several weeks so that Taylor can get the hang of it before switching to a new hymn. We are now on "Be Thou My Vision". We are trying to pick hymns that aren't only easy to sing (that's a necessity at our house), but also ones that are rich in theology and Taylor Joy may be able to sing. Enjoy her little concert!