Let the Christmas Festivities Begin!

While many people have already kicked their Christmas tree to the curb and darkened their doorsteps by removing the Christmas lights, Christmastide is just getting started.  Traditionally, Christmas celebrations began on Christmas Day, December 25 and did not end until Candlemas, February 2.  Can you imagine how crazy retailers would be if they had to clear out Christmas after February 2 and get Valentine's Day up immediately??

Personally, we don't take down our Christmas decorations until after Epiphany, January 6.  You might recall that Epiphany celebrates the day when the three wise men (aka kings) brought gifts of frankincense, gold and myrrh to the infant Jesus.  I really enjoy Christmastide because I just don't want Christmas to end at midnight on December 25.  I'm so relieved that Christian tradition supports me on this.  Want more interesting Christmas fun facts that will keep you celebrating beyond December 25?

• The Twelve Days of Christmas was written for the time between Christmas and Epiphany.  The first day of Christmas is Christmas Day and you get the 12 drummers drumming on January 5, the eve of Epiphany.
• After the Reformation, some Protestant groups disavowed the celebration of Christmas.  During a Calvinist reign in England, Parliament forbade the celebration of Christmas
• In Massachusetts, with its Puritan roots, up until the 1830's anyone who missed school or work on December 25 was subjected to a fine.
• Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on January 7, but it's the same day as Christmas in the Western church - December 25.  How?  The Orthodox churches follow the Julian calendar and Western churches follow the Gregorian calendar.  By calculating the difference (about 13 days), January 7 is December 25.
• December 26 is Boxer Day in Canada and England.  The feast celebrates the day the priest emptied the "poor box" which was full after Christmas.  Boxer Day is the day when many people give gifts to people who serve them during the year - mailmen, barbers or stylists, etc.
• In many parts of the world, some or all of the gifts are not opened until Epiphany because that was the day the Magi brought gifts to the Christ Child.

Still ready to take down that tree now?  Leave it up - celebrate a bit more!  Think about moving your "tree calendar" next year.  Don't put up your tree the day after Thanksgiving.  Wait a little longer and then you won't rush to get it down on December 26.

Merry Christmas and a Blessed Christmastide.

cindy

The Meaning of It All

December 21, 2012 is gone and, despite the fears of many, the world did not end.  Unfortunately, for the parents and families of the Sandy Hook victims, a big part of their world ended a week ago.  Here in our hometown, a sixteen year old girl died and her friend was injured when a sixteen year old boy hit them in a tragic accident.  These senseless deaths are magnified by the fact we are so close to Christmas.  For many people, Christmas seems meaningless this year.

Christmas is a cheerful, frivolous giddy time, but the real Christmas has more meaning than the shiny secular version.  Christmas is about a baby in swaddling clothes and the silent night filled with angels singing.  It's also about a power that is bigger than violence and stronger than depression.  We frequently hear that Christ is the reason for the season.  I don't think that's quite correct.  He is the reason. Period. End.  In all times, in all seasons, this year, next year and next Tuesday, Christ is the reason.

The most beautiful paradox is that while Christ is the power bigger than evil, He didn't come to earth that way.  Jesus became human in the form of a helpless baby in a violent world.  He was born into an occupied country.  He was homeless and poor.  Shortly after He was born, in an act of domestic terrorism (or genocide), the leader of His nation (not the occupying government) ordered the slaughter of all male children under the age of 3.  His parents fled to a foreign country in an effort to escape the violence of their own.  Eventually, he died a violent death.  He was not immune to senseless violence.  But in the end, Christ conquered death to show us that ultimately, God brings good from even the most horrific events.  We wait in joyful hope for that good.  Hold on to the simplicity of faith in a baby who brings healing to a broken world.

Merry Christmas

cindy

DIY First Communion Veil

Tomorrow is our big day.  First Communion and Confirmation.  The veil is the cherry on the top of the the First Communion ensemble.  It's also the easiest part to make.

I made my own bridal veil and it was important to me to make my daughter's First Communion veil.  They are not expensive to buy - you can get them anywhere you find First Communion dresses and even in bridal sections of craft stores.  But why buy when you can make your own?  (I should note that the following images are not mine, but come from various commercial sources.  You can find any of these images and corresponding vendors through a Google search of "communion veils," but I have also linked the pictures to the source website.)

First, you need to decide what the headpiece will be.  You can use a crown

A headband

Or a bow, barrette, cluster of flowers

They are all basically made the same way.  First thing is picking the right veil material.  You want sheer bridal fabric, not a coarse tulle.  The bridal tulle comes in wider widths than other fabrics and the wider the fabric, the fuller the veil can be.  You can also buy fabric that is already trimmed in lace or finished or do it yourself.  Finishing can be as simple as a rolled hem with a serger.  I didn't finish the ends of the veil, preferring to keep it simple.  Most store bought veils are finished.

After you determine the beginning width of the veil, decide how long you want the veil.  My daughter wanted a veil that went over her shoulder near her elbows.  That's about 24".  After you cut the tulle to your desired length you can cut the edges in curves.  We didn't do that, creating a more horizontal feel.

Using a clear monofilament thread (fishing line), create tiny gathers and use a hand needle or machine stitch to gather the veil.  If you use a hand sewing method, use a machine zig-zag stitch to fasten the gathers.  Make the gathers as full or loose as you choose.  

Now it's time to attach the gathered veil to the headband.  In our case we had a headpiece we purchased. My daughter wanted it to be more like a headband, so we cut it.

If you leave the round headpiece intact, you can sew the veil at the gathers directly onto the headpiece.  If you stretch it around the ring, you will have a veil that is loose on top of the head.  That's fine if it's the look you want.

Otherwise you can gather it more tightly.  Transparent combs are excellent for this and can be found in the bridal sections of most craft stores.  Hand sew the gathered veil onto the comb.  You can add beads, crystals, ribbons or flowers.  We just used it like it was part of the headpiece.

And there you have it - a veil that is very versatile in its look, but constructed in the same easy method.

cindy

Beauty for Ashes

Today begins Lent, the season that prepares Christians for the commemoration of the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  We start this season with ashes to remind us that we come from dust and to dust we shall return.  Many see it as a time of sadness and mourning.  But Lent is really a time of transition, where we can renew our commitment, come home and change our lives.

The Year of the LORD’s Favor - Isaiah 61

 ¹ The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, 
   because the LORD has anointed me 
   to proclaim good news to the poor. 
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, 
   to proclaim freedom for the captives 
   and release from darkness for the prisoners,^[a] 
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor 

   and the day of vengeance of our God, 
to comfort all who mourn, 
 ³ and provide for those who grieve in Zion— 
to bestow on them a crown of beauty 
   instead of ashes, 
the oil of joy 
   instead of mourning, 
and a garment of praise 
   instead of a spirit of despair. 
They will be called oaks of righteousness, 
   a planting of the LORD 
   for the display of his splendor.

Today I received ashes, but in 40 days I hope to celebrate in the beauty of the Lord's resurrection on Easter.

cindy

A Visit Back in Time

Some of you may have read that we traveled to California last week for a choral festival in San Juan Capistrano.  While the kids were in rehearsal, Christian and I toured the historic Mission of San Juan Capistrano.

Founded in 1776 by the Franciscan friars, it includes the oldest standing building in California, Father Serra's chapel.

 
This is the place the swallows fly to every March on St. Joseph's day (March 19).  I have seldom visited places so beautiful.

This is the original mission church, which collapsed in the 1800s.

Christian was not really interested in going in for the tour (he wanted to sit in the car with his iPod Touch), but once he was inside, he loved it!

My favorite part was that you could stay there forever, thinking about all the people of faith who lived there.

I could stay there for hours exploring the little corners and places that were so peaceful and serene.

There are so many other pictures I took, but they would fill a book.  In the meantime, if you're in southern California, this is someplace you must see.

cindy

Advent Season

It's now December and everyone is rushing around getting ready for Christmas.  This year I'm celebrating Advent.  I know Advent comes every year and it's a time of preparation for the birth of Christ, but I am so busy getting ready for Christmas that I forget about Advent.  Not this year - First Things First.  If you don't know what Advent is about, here's Advent in Two Minutes:

I'm making a concerted effort to teach my kids about Advent.  In addition to putting treats in our Advent "house", I'm including a verse from the Bible that anticipates the birth of Jesus.  We also have an Advent wreath and light it every night as we read the verse.

Another new tradition (can it be a tradition if it's new?) is to set up our "Bethlehem" and populate it one person at a time.  We have a Fontanini set and they name each person and provide a back story. I know they are not Biblically based, but I want my kids to understand each person and his/her perspective living in Bethlehem at the time of Jesus' birth.  Here's an empty Bethlehem:

My son mentioned the sheep were dead, but they are just sleeping :)

So what are you doing to prepare?  Are you preparing for "Christmas" or Christ's birth?  One more reminder:

Cool, huh?

cindy

First Things First

It's not going to happen this year.  I am not going to run like a mad woman doing for the sake of doing.  I will have a meaningful holiday season.  These are my mantras as the Season looms like an approaching storm.  Notice I capitalized "Season" as if it is a threatening entity instead of the joyful and spiritual time anticipating the coming of the Kingdom.

First things first


I will not be making gifts this year.  In previous years I have made many of our Christmas gifts, especially for extended family.  I love being able to do this, as I firmly believe a handmade gift is more meaningful and personal.  However, without more advance planning, creating items at the last minute can result in sloppy gifts that are made at a time when I should be enjoying the holiday season.

First things first


I will carefully plan and purchase gifts using online resources, especially considering so many of our family members live out of state.  The free shipping and discounts I expect to see in the next week should work well with this plan.  (Just writing this has resulted in several great gift ideas.)  If I can get that done soon without mailing or wrapping, I can focus my attention on family and home.

First things first


I will make a concerted effort to get the Christmas decorating completed by the end of the Thanksgiving weekend.  In the past I have dragged out all of my Christmas decorations only to gradually put them up over a long period of time.  That has deprived us of the cozy Christmas home we expected because it was cluttered with storage bins and packing paper.  If it's not done by the end of the Thanksgiving weekend, we will have a more simple cozy Christmas with fewer decorations.

First things first


I will get the Advent calendar out before Advent begins and fill it with quotes from the Bible preparing for the coming of Christ.  I will set up our nativity and populate it each evening with a new character in an effort to teach my children about the time and place where Jesus was born.  I will involve my family in decorating our Christmas tree together with ornaments that reflect our memories of times and places we have enjoyed together.

First things first


I will not focus too much on the things and tasks I need to do, including the items mentioned in this post.  The most important thing about Thanksgiving, Advent and Christmas is to enjoy time with family and friends in joy and charity, so things and tasks are less important.

First things first


cindy

The Quality of Life

The other day I heard a radio interview with Roger Ebert.  I remember Roger Ebert as the other half of the famous movie critics Siskel & Ebert.  Gene Siskel died about 7 years ago, but Roger was still working as a film critic with the Chicago Sun Times and on TV after Gene's death.  In 2006, he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, which subsequently became cancer of the salivary glands and then cancer of the jaw.  He had many treatments and surgeries to rebuild his face which was ravaged by cancer.  Today, the entire bottom of his face is gone and he can't speak because of a tracheotomy.  He uses a computer to speak for him. 

As I listened to the radio interview, I thought it was so sad that his life was basically over because so much had been taken from him.  I caught myself and realized - hey, the guy isn't dead yet.  Actually, he attended the Toronto Film Festival and still writes a regular movie column and well known blog.

While I was looking for pictures of iron lungs for my post about vaccines, I found this story about a 61 year old woman who has lived her entire life in an iron lung.

She lives alone in her house but has plenty of friends and family who visit.  She's very cheerful and satisfied even though she has spent most of her life in a tank.  Again, I found myself thinking her life was so tragic and wasted.

I've had some time to think about my reactions to both of these stories.  How dare I judge the quality of anyone's life?  I just assume that someone who suffers or is disabled can't be happy living through that.  My faith immediately tells me that is wrong, but I'm still struggling with it.

Tonight I read a reflection on Jesus' words to his disciples:  "As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you."  How much better can life get than to have your Savior and friend look you in the eye and tell you He loves you as much as God loves Him?  Yet each of these disciples Jesus spoke to would go on to suffer fear, deprivation, doubt and horrendous painful deaths.  God's love doesn't guarantee a "happy" life, at least not by the standards I've been using.

Upon further reflection, I think I'm beginning to understand that suffering can be a gift.  It provides a person the opportunity to witness to God's goodness and mercy in the midst of pain.  Jesus tells us not to be afraid, but to rejoice in the times of trial.  It's not so easy to live life for God's glory when you're living it for your own comfort and enjoyment.  A person who is suffering can give a powerful testimony to God's love and mercy, and show the rest of us that the value of life isn't measured by what we consider health and wealth.  Just look to one of the best examples of this testimony:

A "quality life" is not a life of good health, wealth and worldly happiness.  It comes from the knowledge that life, no matter what the circumstances, is a precious gift from God that is meant to be lived for His glory.



cindy

Louisville

This week Kentster and I are in Louisville, Kentucky for the National Pastoral Musicians Conference.  Yep, I took a week off work for a "romantic getaway." :)  It's been a nice trip so far and the kids are having a great time with their aunts in southern Illinois.  

Louisville is a very nice city - it reminds me of St. Louis where I grew up.  Hot, humid and has a river separating it from the next state.

The conference is interesting too.  For those of you who don't know (and I doubt very many people do), the Roman Catholic Church in English-speaking countries is implementing a new Roman Missal on the first Sunday of Advent this year.  (WHAT?!?)  That probably sounded like gobblygook to most people.  What it means is that the words to many of the prayers used in the American Catholic church for over 40 years have been retranslated (changed).  What that means for music directors like Kentster is that they are all looking scrambling desperately seeking the perfect new musical setting for the mass.  It's made for a fascinating conference this year.

See the Louisville Slugger in his mouth??  

We've also had some fun here in Louisville.  We had a great dinner last night at Joe's Crab Shack:

Me after a few drinks

We also worshipped at a beautiful Taize prayer service:

Today was the "goodie" day where the publishers give out music samples at listening (and sight reading) sessions.  That's fun.  I'm also sure the liturgy tomorrow will be inspiring.  I'm also enjoying the fact that it doesn't get dark here until after 9:00 p.m.:

Best of all, I get to spend an entire week with the love of my life, my very best friend, my wonderful husband.  God, husband, family - it looks like I have my priorities in order this week.

cindy

Happy Birthday Church!

Happy birthday Church!  Did you know that Pentecost is the birthday of the Church?  The birth of Christianity is celebrated this day - the day voices of all races and languages came together and heard each other with one voice.  Acts 2: 1-11.  So let's party!  The Holy Spirit is the guest of honor and will blow out the candles.  St. Peter set the table and St. Paul brought the guests.  But this is no ordinary birthday party.  We are guests, but the guest of honor is bringing the gifts. The Holy Spirit brings wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord.  Isaiah 11:2-3.  Everything is set at the table and the party is ready to begin.  Will we be there?

The most important thing I need to remember is to accept the gifts that God gives us through the Holy Spirit.  He is the guiding force in our lives, in everything we do, but only if we accept the gifts given freely.  I need to live in Him, walk beside Him and love through Him (the Holy Spirit), with Him (Jesus Christ) and in Him (God the Father).  I personally choose to stay close to the Church because I know it will survive all trials and the gates of Hell shall not prevail over it.  Matthew 16: 17-19.  And there are trials - both for the Church and for each of us personally.  Hold onto the Rock and wait for the day when we will all speak with one voice -  just like the first Pentecost.

cindy