The Peace that Comes



 It is the 2nd week of Advent. I'd like to say that my life has become filled with long hours of thoughtful contemplation of the wondrous gift of the Christ child that was given to us on that Holy Night so many years ago by a Father whose love for us surpasses any human understanding.

 But as you know, the speedometer of life accelerates faster and faster as the actual day of Christmas draws nearer and nearer. For me, Sunday is the busiest day of the week especially at this time of year. Yesterday was no exception, and as I wrote last week, it is the day when I need to intentionally see God in everyone and everything that is around me. Isn't it ironic that on the Sabbath Day of the week, I have to intentionally look for God amidst the distractions and business around me? It is with great humbleness that I confess that I say prayers with almost every breath as I go throughout my day on Sunday mornings into the early afternoon.

 It is as if I am on a tight rope. It is not that I fear falling, but if I don't keep my eyes on God's will for me, I am susceptible to allowing fear and anxiety to creep in which will in turn not allow God's light to fully shine through the work he has called me to do.

  I am always amazed at the peace that comes when I do intentionally look for God in everything and everyone that comes along in my day. The thing that is truly amazing is that this gift of peace is available to each of us each and every second of the day all the days of our lives. All we have to do is to stop, look and listen and we will receive that peace that God gives us so freely. This is not easy to do, and that is what is so interesting. We all crave peace in our lives, all of us do. It is there for us to receive, but we have to first stop being distracted by the busyness, we have to look for God in the world he has created for us, and we have to listen to God's voice in our hearts in order to receive the peace he wants to give us.

 What I have come to understand in the season of Advent, even if it is only a limited understanding, is that my life can be filled with peace all of the time if I accept the gift of peace that God freely gives to me. The circumstances of my life may change from moment to moment.

  Life may throw any number of distractions my way which could easily avert my attention from looking for God.  But the gift of peace is always there in EVERYTHING if I intentionally accept it. We all have that gift available to us. 

 My hope for myself is that my practice of intentionally looking for God and receiving his peace on Sundays will extend into an everyday practice each day of the year. With God's help, this hope can be realized.

Peace is the gift that was given through the birth of Christ Jesus that comes for all of us each and every day of our lives. "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by
the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."  Romans 15:13

Linking  on 12/14/12 to Patty at Finding Serendipity

 

DIY Angel Necklace

This is my first EVER do-it-yourself post so I am a little nervous.  The steps are pretty simple and easy so hopefully you will be able to follow along. I am linking to Nesting Place so hop on over to see some really awesome DIY crafts for the holidays!

This week in Sunday school we are learning about Elizabeth and Zacharias the parents of John the Baptist as well as the annunciation to Mary that she was chosen to be the mother of Jesus. In both stories, the Angel Gabriel appears, so an angel craft for the kids to make and take with them was inspired. I can not take credit for the idea of this cute little easy to craft necklace. My girls made their own at a recent holiday outing and wore them home just in time for me to need a craft idea for Sunday school. So here in a few simple steps is how you make these very easy angel necklaces.

 You can get most of these materials at a craft store like Michaels or Joanne Fabrics or Hobby Lobby.

 Make sure these rings will not slip over the silver bead that will be the head of the angel. Another option is using a small washer that you can find at the hardware store. Either option gives the look of a halo when completed.

 These butterfly clips can be found at any office supply store or maybe even Target. I got mine at Office Depot.

 The ribbon color can be whatever you choose. I chose gold just because I liked it with the silver clips and beads. The important thing is to get the thinest ribbon you can purchase. It makes it easier to string the bead and halo ring.

 Measure and cut each ribbon to 30 inches. The above photo shows 24inches and the excess hanging over is my extra 6 inches to make a total of 30 inches. :-) Each spool of ribbon should give you six 30 inch strands.

 Loop the ribbon on the top half of the butterfly clip and tie a double knot making sure the knot does not slip.

 Slide one silver bead through both strands of ribbon to make the angel's head.

Then slide the gold ring or washer on top of the bead to form a halo. No need to knot off the head and halo as the gravity of wearing the necklace will keep them in place,

 Tie a knot at the end of the ribbon in order to form the necklace. Make sure the knot is big enough that the angel's head and halo do not slip off when the necklace is not being worn.

And that's it! Very easy and simple but sweet especially for little friends to make. I am looking forward to making these with the children this Sunday. I hope that you may find this a fun craft to do with your little ones too!

Throw Back Christmas-Forest Brook Style!

When you think of the 1950's many people think of bobby socks and puddle skirts and sock hops and you know, anything that resembles the first Back to the Future movie when Marty McFly meets his teenage mom and dad.

 It was a time when new home construction was on the rise and many pre-planned "modern" neighborhoods were springing up all over the country in what became known as the suburbs of America.

 It was a time too when newly married young couples were buying their first ever homes and starting families of their own. 

 The new suburbs were wildly appealing with the latest in home design and the opportunity to live in a community with other families that looked pretty much like their own. This chunk of time in American history was also the time when my own neighborhood and home were built.

The original families of my neighborhood formed a tight community, kids played for hours in each other's back and front yards, neighborhood traditions were begun like 4th of July, Halloween and Christmas celebrations.

 Moms and dads and kids all became friends and memories were made and good feelings attached to the 'hood.

  As the years went on some neighbors stayed the same, some neighbors moved on, new neighbors moved in and some of the original kids moved back to raise their own families.

Although the neighborhood has changed pysically over time the things that have remained contant are the camaraderie and tradition that was originally initiated. This camaraderie and tradition was, is, and forever will be the heartbeat of Forest Brook.

   We feel blessed to live in this neighborhood with such wonderful friends and traditions like the annual Christmas tree lighting.

 It is a place in which I am happy to be able to raise my girls where they will have wonderful memories with friends that will last a lifetime. Those memories will be a part of the history that will continue the heartbeat of Forest Brook for generations to come.

The Grinch Who Stole Christmas!

Am I the only parent out there that feels like the Grinch when it comes to parenting children during the holidays? Please tell me that I am not alone! I know that it is so very hard to be little, it is, especially when there are so many things to distract your attention during the holiday season. But at the end of the day, regular rules of the household need to be followed in order for us to all get along together. Here are some of the most recent Grinchy comments made by yours truly here in The Avery House:

No, you can not have a candy cane right after you have just brushed your teeth and it's time for bed!

No, you can't stay up to watch Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer!

(Why do the networks insist on starting children's Christmas programs so late?

Don't they know we have an 8:00 0'clock bed time?)

No, you can't have Christmas cookies for breakfast!

No, you can't string lights on the dog and plug her in!

Please stop using the baby Jesus as a hacky sack toy!

Glitter and glue do not belong in your sister's hair-

I know you thought you'd make her all sparkly, but this is not the way!

No, you can not ride the lighted reindeer in the front yard.

Please, please, please don't try and climb the Christmas tree again!

No, the dogs may not have a candy cane

and no their poop will not smell like a candy cane if they eat one!

And my list is sure to go on as this season continues.



So you see my dilemma. Am I the Grinch who Stole Christmas??? Well, I certainly hope not. I really don't feel like my heart is 3 sizes too small. I mean, I am sure my little Cindy-Lou-Who's would probably disagree with me and say, "You're a mean one Mrs. Grinch!" But there has to be some semblance of order in the house, right? Please tell me I am right! Otherwise, well, I guess I will just accept my fate as being a Grinch!



Advent Lessons and Carols

Yesterday was the first Sunday in Advent which marks the beginning of the liturgical year. The Advent start of the year is counter-cultural in every way. With the start of Advent not only does the liturgical chuch year begin at the end of the regular calendar year, but also with the season of Advent we are asked as Christians to slow down and to wait and to watch as we prepare our hearts while living in a world that speeds up in a frenzied rush to get to the end of the Christmas journey before it has even begun. To slow down and to really take the time to prepare my heart for the Nativity of the Christ child takes a lot of painful effort. It would be much easier to get swept into the whirl of all of the holiday happenings and to simply say, "I am too busy," to slow down and to wait and to watch. I was reminded of the painful effort of slowing down on the very day that Advent began. I awoke Sunday morning knowing that I had one million things that I had to do all before noon.

 As the Children's Ministries Director at our church I am in charge of the Nativity Pageant this year. It has been my hope that in this production and through the participation of such a wonderful program that the children, parents and myself would feel the blessing of the event in which we are involved. To get to that point, however, I as the leader need to slow down, to watch and to wait. I will admit that with the busyness of the holiday season, I sometimes forget to start my mornings with prayer and intentional willingness to let God guide me through the day as He intends not as I intend. Yesterday however, with so much on my morning breakfast plate, I did intentionally stop and ask God to guide me step by step through the day as I taught my morning Sunday school class, led the children's worship services and finally conducted the Nativity Pageant interest meeting. Along each step of the way yesterday, I felt God's guiding hand and encouragement in the smiles of the children I was teaching, in the assistance of the volunteers who graciously offered amazing words of encouragement, in the parents who enthusiastically signed up to help with the Nativity Pageant and in the never-ending support of my dear friend and boss Deacon Amy Morehous who truly is the wind beneath my wings in Children's Ministries.

 At the end of the day, Howie, Sophie and I made our way back to the church to listen to Emma-Caroline and our wonderful church choir sing in the Advent Lessons and Carols.

 As I sat in the dimly lit church listening to the voices of all God's Children, I heard God's voice whisper, "I am with you in everything." I am with you in EVERYTHING! That's just it, God is with us in everything that we do.

 The watching and waiting and slowing down is not the hope that we will experience God incarnate only on Christmas Day, it is the hope that we will experience God incarnate every day during the entire year in EVERYTHING that we do.

 As I continue on my Advent journey to Christmas, I will intentionally slow down and watch and wait in order to see God in all the people and things and happenings in the world around me. He is there in everything. All I have to do is to open my heart  to see him and to find him there. For everyone I would like to quote a Chistmas carol I have been hearing on the radio, "May every day be Christmas and may every day be blessed . . .may God bless you and keep you come what may." Amen

Vintage Ornaments

 I remember the strands of old fashioned lights gleaming in the the dark of the night as they embraced each bough of my childhood Christmas trees. In my child mind I would ponder why we didn't have the modern type lights that were smaller and perhaps a tiny bit more sparkely.

 We would pull out all the old ornaments and place them carefully on the tree making sure each one dangled in it's designated home for the holidays. I would lay on the floor with my head near the tree stand, needles brushing against cheek, looking up into the beauty that was our Christmas tree. Every year my fondness for the ornaments grew and I began to appreciate those "old" ornaments and colorful lights.

 Each ornament held a memory of my Christmases past and they became like old friends as I gently would place them on the tree for our family to enjoy. Our old fashioned lights did eventually turn to the smaller strands sometimes in color, other times in white. New ornaments were made or bought or received and added to the collection. Old ornaments perhaps got retired or broken and tucked into a box.

 This year as my own family brought out the boxes of ornaments, we each remembered times of when and where and for what occasion each ornament was obtained. The girls eagerly found spots for each ornament making sure that they dangled and sparkled in the glow of the tree lights.

 In my days of blogging, I have seen others like my friend Paige use vintage ornaments to place in bowls or baskets or glasses to add pops of color throughout the house for the holidays.

  I have always liked the beauty of the vintage ornaments with their aged patina but never had any luck in finding any to call my own. On a trip to a local antique market that just opened across the street from the girls' elementary school, I finally discovered several Woolworth's boxes of vintage Christmas balls.

 I chose a few boxes in gold, silver and red and found two more unique "golf ball" ornaments in beautiful shades of blue.

 As I carefully placed my new found vintage ornaments in a silver tray, I couldn't help but think of where these ornaments had spent Christmases past. It made me happy to pull these beauties out from their old tired boxes for them to once again join in the celebration of Christmas present.

 Soon these vintage ornaments will be joined by my own family's vintage ornaments as my mom has offered to give me the ones that I grew up with . I can't wait to have a reunion with my old ornament friends and to introduce them to the next generation of their caregivers.

 In life, things can be classified as exactly what they are, just things. But things take on life when memories of an individual or a group are attached to them.

              It is not the things that make the moments in life special; however these things can help us to recall times of joy which keep our memories fresh and help us to make up our own life stories. May all the things that make up your Christmases past bring back joyful memories of time well spent with family and friends during the holiday season.
**** Linking on 12/11/12 to Southern Hospitality for a Linky Party*****

Feliz NaviDOG!

I know y'all have heard the term "Putting on the Dog." Right? I have heard that expression my whole life and, well, you know, I really never have known what it meant, for real. So with Google at my fingertips, I looked it up. Here is what the folks at the "Free Dictionary" had to say: Put on the Dog-to make things extra special or dress formally for a special event. Yeah, I don't know, I never really thought that a person who got all gussied up in fancy clothing looked anything like a dog. But oh well! I am sure that idiom is steeped in some kind of history of which this dictionary did not care to share. Well, for me, the photos below are much more exemplary of the phrase "Putting on the dog!"

 I hope these make you giggle. Our 17 year old dog Lucy was quite unamused!

Macy was more cooperative sporting the reindeer antlers. Ah the things we humans do to our fur-babies! Happy Weekend Y'all!

 

Finding the Sweet Spot in Vulnerability

This past summer a number of things occurred in my life that made me subconsciously close down shop. I stopped taking photographs with my digital SLR, I stopped blogging, I didn't want to make new friends, in essence I didn't want to be vulnerable. On the surface I may have seemed fine. I have to admit that even to myself I was completely fine. I functioned on a level that was "normal," completing all of the daily tasks that make my little world inside the Avery House keep going. I was "happy" and felt like perhaps, just maybe, I had outgrown my prior interest in photography, blogging, reaching out to others (yes, I categorized friendships as an interest. Sad, I know.)

 It never really hit me that I had shut all of that out because of the fact that each and every one of those interests were possible ways in which I could become vulnerable. And vulnerable was NOT on my agenda any more.
It was not until recently, after 5 months of holing up in my Amy lock down mode, that I realized what I had been doing. Howie mentioned, "Hey, do you even use your camera any more?" "Sure I do," I replied,  "like all the time, but my SD card is broken and I just don't have time to get a new one." As the words rolled over my lips I knew how really silly what I was saying sounded. So I went out a couple of weeks later, bought a new SD card, dusted off my camera and started shooting photos again. They say that in anything that you enjoy there is a time that you find your "sweet spot" and it just all starts to click. Ironically, I think that there is a sweet spot in vulnerability too. If we don't allow ourselves to become vulnerable, then we miss out on making meaningful connections with others in our lives. Through becoming vulnerable we show courage and we encourage others to join in. We move along together in that vulnerability into the life that we were meant to lead. As Advent approaches, I think of how amazing it is that God sent the most vulnerable human form, the infant Jesus, to become the Savior of us all. In vulnerability we are born again and resurrected into the person we were intended by God to be. As I ease back into my interests I am ripping a band-aid off to expose a very tender heart. But I am thankful for the opportunity to find that sweet spot in vunerability. It gives me hope and gives me life. And the vunerability is well worth the uncomfortableness in order to really live my life as God has planned for me to live it. For everyone, I hope that you are able to find your own sweet spot in vunerability and to know that you are not alone in your efforts.

Sharing at FindingSerendipity.