For the 2nd week of Advent, I had the brilliant (crazy?) idea to plan each day around a Christmas song. We would practice the song, talk about what it meant (if not self explanatory), and do some sort of activity or craft related to it.
December 8: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Hark! The herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled
Joyful all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies
With angelic host proclaim
Christ is born in Bethlehem
Hark! The herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King
Christ by highest heaven adored
Christ the everlasting Lord
Late in time behold He'll come
Offspring of a virgin's womb
Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see
Hail the incarnate Deity
Pleased as man with man to dwell
Jesus, our Emmanuel
Hark! The herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King
Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace
Hail the Son of Righteousness
Light and life to all He brings
Risen with healing in His wings
Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth
Hark! The herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn king
After reading about the angels proclaiming Jesus' birth to the shepherds, we got busy on our craft. We made these singing angels out of small hand bells, wooden balls, and wired ribbon. We added sparkly pipe cleaner halos, googly eyes, and pipe cleaner which served the dual purpose of holding the wings on and being arms. The boys chose for their angels to hold a snowflake, a heart, and a star. Then we added some glitter to the bell because, well, who doesn't need to sparkle?
December 9: White Christmas
I'm dreaming of a white ChristmasJust like the ones I used to know
Where the tree tops glisten
And children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snow
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all
Your Christmases be white
For the activity to go with the song, we focused on the line "with every Christmas card I write." I pulled out my cards, which all needed to be signed and addressed. The boys got busy with some craft paper, glue, ribbon, stamps, ink, and (of course) sequins and began creating their own beautiful cards to send. Our wish for all of you is that your days be merry and bright.
December 10: Holly Jolly Christmas
This day almost got cancelled. I discovered that morning that the boys had been peeking ahead to see what kinds of activities would be coming up in the next days. I got pretty upset with them and even typed up an alternative song/activity:
Because, clearly, the kids ain't been nuttin but bad. As a result, Mommy and Daddy are mad. In both senses of the word, as a matter of fact.
After taking a few moments to settle down, I decided to take this opportunity to show grace to my boys and to have a serious discussion with them about just what that word means.
Santa Claus keeps lists of "naughty" and "nice" little boys and girls. He brings presents to the "nice" ones as a reward for their good behavior all year long. He brings lumps of coal to castigate those who have been "naughty."
Unlike Santa, God encourages each of us to realize that we are, indeed, "naughty." We all do bad things. We all have bad thoughts and attitudes. Every. Single. One of us should be written on that "naughty" list and receive nothing but a lump of coal. But that's not how God operates. God loves us so much that, even though we are naughty, he gave us the BEST gift. He gave us Jesus. Jesus who lived a perfect life and then died to cover our "naughtiness" (a.k.a. sin) with his "niceness" (a.k.a. righteousness).
"But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8
Because of God's gift and sacrifice, we are able to have Holly, Jolly, Christmas.
Have a holly, jolly Christmas;
It's the best time of the year
I don't know if there'll be snow
but have a cup of cheer
Have a holly, jolly Christmas;
And when you walk down the street
Say Hello to friends you know
and everyone you meet
Oh ho
the mistletoe
hung where you can see;
Somebody waits for you;
Kiss her once for me
Have a holly jolly Christmas
and in case you didn't hear
Oh by golly
have a holly
jolly Christmas this year
We had a nice day, with lots of kisses under the mistletoe and our very own "cup of cheer," which was hot cocoa with whipped cream, sprinkles, and candy canes all served up in our favorite holiday mugs. Yum.
December 11: We Three Kings
We three kings of Orient are
Bearing gifts we travel afar
Field and fountain, moor and mountain
Following yonder star
O star of wonder, star of night
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to thy perfect light
Born a king on Bethlehem's plain
Gold I bring to crown him again
King forever, ceasing never
Over us all to reign
Frankincense to offer have I
Incense owns a deity nigh
Prayer and praising all men raising
Worship Him, God on high
Myrrh is mine: its bitter perfume
Breathes a life of gathering gloom,
Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying
Sealed in a stone-cold tomb
Glorious now, behold Him arise,
King, and God, and Sacrifice
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Sounds through the earth and skies
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to thy perfect light
We read the story of the three wise men from the Jesus Storybook Bible (if you don't have this book, you need it...seriously, go buy it...now). Then we read all the lyrics to the song and we talked about what in the world those gifts were that the wise men brought. Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh revealed that Jesus was the King of Kings, He was God with us, and he would die as a Sacrifice for our sins. I love the doctrine in this song.
Then we went out and bought our own "star of wonder" for the top of the boys' tree. They had had a sparkly pokey ball on the top for years. It was unbreakable, and that's why I liked it. They, however, were wanting a "real" tree topper. They picked out a beauty. They like shiny things.
December 12: Joy to the World
Joy to the world
The Lord is come
Let earth receive her king
Let every heart prepare Him room
And heaven and nature sing
And heaven and nature sing
And heaven, and heaven and nature sing
Joy to the world
The Savior reigns
Let men their songs employ
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and streams
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy
No more let sin
And sorrow grow
Nor thorns infect the ground
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found
Far as the curse is found
Far as, far as the curse is found
He rules the world
With truth and grace
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness
And wonders of His love
And wonders of His love
And wonders, wonders of His love
We talked about what it meant for "every heart" to "prepare Him room." The boys were very thoughtful about this, discussing what kinds of things take up room in our hearts. They noticed that, especially at this time of year, commercials and stores want you to fill up your hearts with all kinds of stuff you don't really need. We took a good look at all of our stuff that is filling up our house and our hearts and decided to prepare a little bit of room for Jesus by finding some things that are still in good or great shape and donating them.
By preparing room in our hearts, we managed to fill up the laundry room! Proud of my little men and their generosity.
December 13: Here Comes Santa Claus
Here comes Santa Claus
Here comes Santa Claus
Right down Santa Claus Lane
Vixen and Blitzen and all his reindeer
Pullin' on the reins
Bells are ringin', children singin'
All is merry and bright
So hang your stockings and say your prayers
'Cause Santa Claus comes tonight
Here comes Santa Claus,
Here comes Santa Claus,
Right down Santa Claus Lane
He's got a bag that's filled with toys
For boys and girls again
Hear those sleigh bells jingle jangle,
Oh, what a beautiful sight
So jump in bed cover your head
'Cause Santa Claus comes tonight
Here comes Santa Claus,
Here comes Santa Claus,
Right down Santa Claus Lane,
He'll come around when chimes ring out
It's Christmas time again
Peace on earth will come to all
If we just follow the light
So let's give thanks to the Lord above
'Cause Santa Claus comes tonight
Here comes Santa Claus,
Here comes Santa Claus,
Right down Santa Claus Lane,
Vixen and Blitzen and all his reindeer
Pullin' on the reins
Bells are ringin', children singin'
All is merry and bright
So jump in bed and cover your head
'Cause Santa Claus comes tonight
Peace on earth will come to all
If we just follow the light
So let's give thanks to the Lord above
'Cause Santa Claus comes tonight
So let's give thanks to the Lord above
'Cause Santa Claus comes tonight
The slip of paper behind the door in the advent calendar read, "Here Comes Santa Claus...to the Aviation Museum!" There was a really cute model train display, a beautiful tree, and a very funny Santa all set up in the historic atrium. Santa bribed the boys with treats like you would puppies. He played a little game of chase with them and then sneaked up behind them while they were looking at the trains...all so I could get a picture.
We also wandered around looking at all the planes and motors and other artifacts around the museum. The afternoon was complete after a good amount of time was spent in the education wing making crafts and playing with the flight simulators, which was by far the kids' favorite part.
December 14: Silent Night
Silent night, Holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon virgin mother and child
Holy infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace
Silent night, Holy night
Son of God, love's pure light
Radiant beams from thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus, Lord at thy birth
Jesus, Lord at thy birth
Silent night, Holy night
Shepherd's quake at the sight
Glories stream from heaven above
Heavenly hosts sing Hallelujah
Christ the Savior is born
Christ the Savior is born
After singing the song, I started up a conversation about the shepherds from the last stanza. Not only were shepherds on the bottom rung of the social ladder of Jesus' day, it was often the youngest children from a family who would often stay in the fields overnight tending the flocks. These were not the great men to whom we would choose to share our good news. God does not choose like we choose. He values every person without regard to age or social standing. We talked about who the "least" in our society are and how we can care for them, being the hands and feet of God in the world today.
This day was a bit of a hodgepodge, as we also indulged in eating some shepherd hooks (candy canes), and we made a countdown to Christmas craft. The boys are pretty excited that there are only 10 days until Christmas!
Can you believe it?
Are you ready?
No comments:
Post a Comment