Can you believe it’s almost Christmas? I wanted to show y'all a beautiful example of a more modern tradition called the Chrismon Tree. The first Chrismon Tree was created by a woman named Frances Spencer for her Lutheran church in 1957. Chrismons mean "Christ monograms" and are ornaments of symbols that signify Christ. The ornaments are gold and white and are often hung on a Christmas tree in the church. The symbols for Christ include stars, crosses, fish, crowns, and the alpha and omega. The symbols remind us of Christ's identity and His story. They can be made from paper or metal but most of them are made from needlepoint. Chrismon Trees are lovely and are a wonderful reminder of the true meaning of Christmas which, of course, is the birth of Jesus Christ, Our Savior!

Only nine more days until Christmas! Tonight a custom is celebrated all over the world which is known by many different names; La Posada (The Inn), Golden Nights, and Seeking Shelter. The events in the journey of Mary and Joseph from Nazareth to Bethlehem are commemorated at this time. This is a beautiful tradition where villagers with candles sing and go door to door, seeking shelter for Mary and Joseph. They sing songs and pray as they are rejected night after night. Finally, on the last night of Las Posadas, Mary and Joseph are allowed into a chosen home. The figure of baby Jesus is laid in a manger and everyone gathers around and sings a lullaby. Then everyone pours back into the streets for firecrackers, feasting and merrymaking. If you want to celebrate this tradition in the home, before your evening devotion, assemble the family and sing advent songs as you process the creche figures of Mary, Joseph and the don- key into the living room. Put the figures in a special place of honor and light a candle next to them. Remind your children that we are trying to create an atmosphere of consideration and unselfishness for Mary and Joseph. Or you could allow each of your children to make up for the harsh treatment that the holy couple received by hosting the figures in their room for the day. Instead of processing the figures into the living room, process them to the door of the first child’s room while singing Advent songs. Explain to your children that when it is their turn, they should do everything possible to create a warm and loving atmosphere for Mary and Joseph. Suggest cleaning their room, clearing a spot on their dresser for the figures, placing fresh evergreens around the figures, or ribbons, etc.

Tonight (December 12) at sunset, the feast for St. Lucy's or St. Lucia's Day begins! The feast lasts from tonight at sunset until tomorrow night at sunset. Saint Lucy or Santa Lucia was a young girl who grew up in Italy in the 4th century. She is one of the earliest Christian martyrs. She was killed by the Romans in 304AD because of her religious beliefs. St.Lucy was born into a rich family but desired to dedicate her whole life to God and to give all of her worldly possessions to the poor. She brought food to persecuted Christians that were hiding in the Roman catacombs. The catacombs were dark and in order to find your way around, you needed to carry candles. St. Lucy wanted to bring as much food as possible to the people but needed to keep both of her hands free. She solved this problem by attaching candles to a wreath on her head. St. Lucy’s Day is celebrated in many countries. Every aspect of the day has special significance since it comes on one of the darkest days of winter. The name Lucy or Lucia means “light” and she is remembered wearing a crown of candles both of which bring light and hope to the darkest time of winter. St. Lucy is also depicted wearing a white dress which symbolizes her baptisimal robe and a red sash which symbolizes her martyrdom. A traditional way to celebrate is to make saffron buns. Saffron buns are a delicious sweet yeast bread curled into S shapes and baked.

Happy St. Nicolas Day! Saint Nicholas was a real person. He was the Bishop of Myra in the 4th century and took part in the great church council of Nicaea which gave us the Nicene Creed - the one we recite every Sunday in Church! It is said that he was extremely concerned with the welfare of children and there are many legends about his good deeds. Most of the Christian world still remembers Saint Nicholas and celebrates his life on December 6. He is depicted as a bishop of the church, with his cope, mitre, and crozier. When people dress up as Saint Nicholas, they dress like a bishop and when they make cookies on his feast day, the cookies are cut out in the shape of a bishop with a staff. But in the United States he has become known as Santa Claus or Jolly old St. Nick and instead of remembering him on his feast day, he is believed to give gifts, with the help of elves and flying reindeer, on Christmas morning. Saint Nicholas Day and the eve of his feast are an excellent way to re-educate our children on the true role of Saint Nicholas. He cared for children and for the poor. He gave to people who were in need. He would never have wanted to be the focus of Christmas! Saint Nicholas gave because Jesus had already given everything. Saint Nicholas would point us all back to Jesus.

Advent is all about slowing down, waiting and preparing our hearts for the coming Lord. Our world pushes us in a different direction. It tells us to rush, to worry, to frantically try to find that perfect gift. This Advent, why not try something different for all of the adults in your life*? Shop now and shop in a radically different way. This year, instead of buying gifts, John and I made donations to a ministry that we love and that is making a life and death difference in the lives of the precious people in Haiti. We feel like our gifts really mean something now. @konbithaiti *Note that I said "adults" because I don't think this should be done for the children in your life.

Tomorrow is the first day of Advent! Each Advent, we wait with the prophets and with all of creation for the birth of the promised Savior. The prophets’ call grows silent for 400 years and then suddenly, out of nowhere, the Almighty God stretches forth His hand to a small town and calls a seemingly insignificant young girl and she says “yes”. The God of the universe humbles himself and makes himself flesh, to fully humble himself, and to fully walk with us in our sorrow. He takes the form of a helpless babe. It is a great mystery. It is the Incarnation. It is God with us, Emmanuel. This event is so spectacular, so exceptional, and so important that time itself starts here. The first day of the Church year is the first Sunday of Advent. Advent comes from the Latin “Adventus” and simply means "coming." The Season of Advent begins four Sundays before Christmas and is a time for us to prepare not only for the celebration of the coming of Christ as a babe on Christmas Day, but also for the Second Coming of Christ when He will return in triumph to judge the world.

Advent is only 11 days away! Advent simply means “coming” and is the season where Christians all over the world prepare their hearts for the coming of the savior, Jesus Christ. I am excited that my book, A Thrill of Hope: Celebrating Advent at Home can be your guide. It is filled with Advent traditions and recipes from around the world as well as the history of the season and family devotions. Available now on Amazon! The link to purchase is in my profile!

Sometimes you just need to leave the well beaten path. We could have done morning devotions around the kitchen table as usual but my youngest asked to do devotions at this “really cool spot” she had found. A request and a hesitant “yes” combined to become sacred space. An ordinary country road transformed with whirlpools and roaring white waters. We watched together in awe.

This day has been full of emotions. All kinds of emotions. My husband and I watched with tears as our 16 year old drove herself to school for the first time. Those sweet early morning and afternoon pick ups with her have now been replaced (tears again!) with early morning and afternoon pick ups with our 15 year old who entered public school for the first time ever. I returned home with tears but also joy as I embark on another year homeschooling my oldest and my youngest. It’s so hard to feel it all at once. Anyone else feeling torn today?

We just celebrated my youngest daughter’s birthday and her birthday cake request was one of my all time favorites...Hummingbird Cake! My mother always made it for us growing up and she was famous for it at our church. Everyone always hoped that she would bring it to the church picnics. If you are not familiar with the cake, it is a moist three layer cake with cream cheese frosting (see, I do like cream cheese frosting!) with cinnamon, banana, crushed pineapple and toasted pecans. If that sounds weird to you, trust me, it’s magical. Turns out, it was submitted to Southern Living Magazine in 1978 and has been their most popular cake ever! Are you guys familiar with it? Maybe it's just a southern thing? If you’d like to try this amazingness, here’s the link to the original recipe:https://www.southernliving.com/.../hummingbird-cake-recipe Bonus - you can always make a dad joke and say that actual hummingbirds are in the cake. My husband does... every. single. time. Enjoy!

The women on my mother’s side are quilt makers. Quilts were passed down when my great great grandmother died and when my great grandmother died. They were made into pallets when grandkids spent the night and some were so precious they were displayed on a quilt rack. When I was in elementary school, my grandmother decided it was time to make each of her granddaughters a quilt. Mine was a pastel dream: calico patterns in pale pink, lavender, baby blue and yellow. I LOVED that quilt. When it was time for my oldest daughter to have her own room, I knew just what to do. I painted her room a perfect shell pink and tied it all together with my grandmother's quilt at the foot of her bed. My daughter had a passionate love for black Sharpies. It didn’t matter how well I hid them, she always managed to find them. One day, as I was making her bed, I noticed to my horror long black Sharpie slashes on her quilt. I do not remember if I yelled or not but I do remember being so, so sad. I didn’t want to keep my beautiful quilt hidden but I also didn’t want it marred by Sharpie! I made a choice right then to leave that quilt with her. I straightened it every day, ruefully noticing new additions of pink nail polish and pen. My daughter is 16 now. Yesterday I took her to the DMV to get her driver’s license. She nervously obeyed the instructor’s tasks and she passed. She’s a driver now! When we got home, she excitedly asked if she could drive herself to the beach to meet her friends. Of course I said “yes” but then she just left. Just like that, she drove away without me. The little girl who scribbled on my grandmother’s quilt was not little anymore. She’s a young lady who is gaining independence and will one day become a mother of her own. I look at that quilt now and gosh, I am so thankful for those Sharpie marks! It makes me sick to imagine not having those precious little slashes across the solid pink squares. What caused me such pain is now one of my greatest treasures. What if I had kept that quilt hidden away, safe from harm? Squares that were lovingly pieced and stitched by my grandmother were layered with my little girl’s scribbles. It's such a treasure!

Today is Pentecost! Pentecost is the day that the church celebrates the gift of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the church. It is a major feast day, coming right after Christmas and Easter. Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he instructed his disciples to wait and pray in Jerusalem until they received the gift that they had been promised. A Comforter would come that would bring a baptism of fire and power. The disciples waited and prayed in the upper room for nine days. On the ninth day, the day of Pentecost, a loud noise like a driving wind filled the house. Then tongues of fire appeared which parted and came to rest on each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues. A really cool thing about Pentecost is that it occurred during a Jewish holy day where devout Jews from every nation were staying in Jerusalem. When the people heard the sound of the roaring winds, a large crowd gathered and were confused because they heard the disciples speaking in their own particular language. The people were astounded because they knew that the disciples were Galileans and could not figure out how the Galileans were speaking their language. In the crowd’s own languages, the disciples were speaking of the mighty acts of God. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, many were saved on that day, the followers of Jesus were given understanding of what had happened and what was going to happen. They were also given boldness and direction. In this awesome moment The Church, the Body of Christ was born! Many churches have a Holy Spirit hole in the roof of the church where a dove would be dropped down, red flower petals or flaming straw(!!!!). Celebrate this special day in your own home by putting a red tablecloth on your table or making a red food like red velvet cake.