1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD—
3 and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.
Isaiah 11:1-3
This is the first Sunday of Advent. As a Quaker there is no liturgy, to speak of, but I am enthralled with traditions that give fullness to the Word and Promise. Thus, I love Advent and all that comes with it. Our Advent meal, which will culminate with the lighting of the first purple candle symbolizing HOPE, will be a simple potato soup with toasted and buttered homemade bread. It is a simple meal, but one that we have created with our own hands, from raising the potatoes to making the bread. There is much to be grateful for.
Then, we will watch our fourth movie in the "Thirty Days of Christmas" movie-thon tradition we established when we first married. Each night we select one Christmas movie, starting with "Miracle on 34th Street" and ending, of course, with "It's a Wonderful Life." We have already enjoyed "A Christmas Carole" and I have resolved to read the story in its entirety this season.
Very little decorating has started. With the "natural" Christmas theme for the Airman this year, I don't want to start too early. Next weekend, however, we will begin with the porch and outdoors and move our way in. After my funk from last year, no Dundee cakes were made nor tree decorated, I have resolved to pull myself up by my bootstraps and get 'er done. And, that has made all the difference. I want the Airman's time home to be warm, loving, comforable, and, most of all, peaceful. Knowing he'll be gone next year and with all the stupidness going on in the world, I want to treasure every single moment.
What is one of your favorite Christmas traditions?
Long ago, I started a tradition where we served hors d'oeuvres on Christmas eve. It came about when I wanted to try some fun foods at the Holidays but our Thanksgiving and Christmas menus were set in stone.
ReplyDeleteNow, Stephanie does the same thing in her home. :)
I'm sure this Christmas will be VERY special for you. Our friends that we spent Thanksgiving with are expecting their Marine son home for Christmas. He leaves for Afghanistan in January.
White Chritmas is our favorite Christmas movie.. Its watched several times. We made the decision years ago to keep our girls at home on Christmas. We visit grandparents on a convient day sometime around Christmas. WE knew our time with the girls as kids are limited and I would hate for them to look back and see the holidays as stressful times instead of the joy its suppose to bring. We also dont go all out on gifts but spend the day together. Cooking, playing and relaxing..
ReplyDeleteWe will start decorating next weekend. I use real cedar out side along the edge of the porch along with the lights. The goats get the treats after Christmas is over..
Matty, sounds like your traditions are lovely:-) I was thinking of you yesterday! My cousins folk art store in Sutton, MA hosted Charles Dickens great-great grandson who performed A Christmas Carol--superb! He is traveling in the US now. My cousin Judy is not only an artist but a historian and she is now illustrating ACC for 2015. I got a sneak peak at her illustrations and they are wonderful! http://valfa.com/calendar/events/a-christmas-carol/
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