Jesse Tree - Second Wednesday In Advent

Slowly advancing through the ages we are still with Moses and today we learn of the blessing that God taught Moses and Aaron, so the symbol for today is that of a hand extended in a blessing.

Here is today's reading: Numbers 6:22-27
To view this week's symbols from the Domestic Church click here.

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Jesse Tree - Second Tuesday in Advent

Today we are introduced to the ten commandments and so the obvious symbol is the traditional slates of rock with the commandments engraved into them by the very hand of God.

Today's reading is Exodus 20:1-17
To view this week's symbols from the Domestic Church click here.
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Veni, vidi, vici

I came, I saw, I conquered....

Julius Caesar

I came, I saw... I fell!
Christi

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Jesse Tree - Second Monday in Advent

Today, on the second Monday in Advent we are introduced to Joseph and his famous coat of many colours and so the symbol chosen for today is a coat of many colours. This is a symbol the children will really enjoy colouring as you read today's reading, Genesis 37:1-36.

Here is the link to the second week of symbols as created by the Domestic Church.












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Jesse Tree - Second Sunday in Advent

What a beautiful image for this Second Sunday in Advent for the Jesse tree. A single lit candle representing the following:

"The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. "

which is taken from today's reading Isaiah 9:2-7.

Here is the link to take you to the Domestic Church's symbols for the second week of building a Jesse Tree.

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Happy St Nicholas Day

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Where are all the children???

Its only eight thirty and I have not seen hide nor hair of any of the younger set for at least half an hour. Now where can they be? Not already tucked into bed and courting sleep filled with sugar plums and Saint Nicholas? Could that possibly be where they are?

Makes me wish this lively old saint came every night!




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WARNING!!!! HOLLY BERRIES ARE POISONOUS!

How do I know? Because Cecilia ate one the other night causing quite a stir amongst the children. They came tearing to me pale faced and stumbling over their tongues. "Mummy, mummy Cecilia ate some Holly Berries - she has Holly berries in her mouth."

I quietly picked her up and carefully dug around inside her mouth as she screamed in rage at me. I massaged out some red bits and a small chunk of holly berry. Yup, she had indeed consumed at least one Holly berry. Initially I was not worried. Had I not just researched whether or not Poinsettias were poisonous only to learn that they are NOT.

No - that is not a type o. My tired brain simply was not working properly. Poinsettias might typically be red but they are NOT Holly Berries ... Something finally clicked in my brain and I had my husband hold Cecilia while I not so calmly typed into google 'Are Holly Berries poisonous'.

The first link I came upon was rather impressive as it cautioned that Holly Berries are poisonous and if your child had ingested some to call the poison control immediately. Feeling even less calm I then searched for the poison control number and a very nice and CALM lady asked important questions like the child's age weight and then told me she was okay if she had ingested less than five... We were pretty sure it was only one berry but I was to call poison control back if she started to vomit...

Here are some important links. This one is about poisonous plants and this one is about dangers the holidays can bring into our homes. I think a review of these links will become a Holiday tradition in our home!

POISON CONTROL NUMBER: 1-800-222-1222
and
here is their site.

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Houston... we have....

ADVENT CANDLES!!

We were a few days late getting them this year but I can't think of a more fun way to get a set of Advent Candles than how we did it this year. It was worth the wait.

Just where did we get them you ask that it was such an exciting event?

Well, our oldest son is now working at a lovely church as their DRE and the church is within an hour from us so he invited us to their Advent Wreath making potluck dinner on the 4th. We met our second oldest daughter and her family there as well as Alicia (Jonathan's fiance) and it was a great time. We took some photos of the kids playing together and a few photos of some of the wreaths that were made. However, those photos are on my husband's phone so... it'll be a while before I get my fingers on them. Once I do though I will post them - I promise!

One of the best parts of the party after getting to spend time with my adult children and their growing families was getting to remeet one of my readers. 'Just Jo' and I met 2 years ago at the Envoy Institute's first annual conference. I was pregnant with number 13 and Jo, at 12 children thought her family was complete, so she offered me her maternity clothes. However God had a surprise for her and a few weeks later she informed me that she too was expecting... So we are both mums of a bakers dozen and it was so much fun chatting with her at the pot luck. Hugo and her husband chatted for some time as well.

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Second Sunday in our Advent...

How has your Advent being going? Are you finding it hard to stay focused on quietly waiting the birth of our Saviour when the rest of the secular world is already partying and maybe even your own church is already celebrating the Christmas Season when it is really still Advent?

It is hard to find that balance between allowing your children and family to participate in Christmas parties and activities that are already happening while also observing the quiet waiting that Advent asks of us. Most years I try to have a number of Advent activities planned and last year we had home made Advent calendars that had activities and prayer suggestions behind the numbers on them. And if we should want to have a party during Advent we try to plan it as close as possible to one of the many Feast days that are in December. We have St Nicholas Day, The Immaculate Conception, Saint Lucy, Our Lady of Guadeloupe to choose from.

This year after a whole month of serious illness in our family I did not really have time or energy to plan much in the way of activities. I did manage to make three Advent chains with the younger children, which we did last year. I love this simple activity. Chains are a sign of bondage and this paper chain that we make out of purple and rose coloured construction paper is a wonderful visual reminder not only of how we are coming closer to Christmas and the birth of the Light of the world, but also a reminder of how Christ's birth, death, and resurrection saved us from the bondage of sin. This chain can actually completely replace the traditional calendar if you choose to do so and can simply be paper links the child tears off daily or you can choose to write on each link an activity, small sacrifice or prayer intention for you to do as an individual or family. It is also a very inexpensive activity so that you can easily afford to make one for each child and ease that tension that sometimes comes as children struggle to remember who opened the last window on the calendar.

I have only two other activities planned for Advent, one is an open house on the Feast day Of Our Lady of Guadeloupe and another is a spiritual exercise built around the Cardinal Virtues. I had hoped to have this exercise researched and written in time for the first Sunday in Advent but this was not the case as we were still recovering from the long illnesses that struck in early November. So we will either begin it tonight or tomorrow; the second Sunday in Advent. My hope is to help create more peace in our home than there has been recently through the study of the virtues and how they help us as well as the the resulting 7 Capital sins that can trip us up through the lack of practicing the virtues in one's life.

Our children are good children and are usually very happy but over the past months some bad habits have formed and we need to weed these out sooner than later. What better time to focus on this than Advent and what better way to replace a bad habit than to practice a good one. I plan on sharing this activity later with my readers but first I have two priests reading it to make sure that there are no glaring errors in it. So once more I suggest that you stay tuned!

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Jesse Tree - First Saturday in Advent

The reading for this day are filled with betrayals and the resulting anger due to Jacob stealing his Father's blessings in earlier in the chapter. But the crux of the reading seems to be God's promise to Jacob as revealed in this dream:

...which he saw a ladder resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 There above it stood the LORD, and he said: "I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."

Hence the symbol for the first Saturday is that of a ladder and again, here is the link to the Domestic Church's page for this week's symbols.


The reading for today is Genesis 27:41-28:22
(Which is the same as Genesis 27:41-46 and Genesis 28:1-22)



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Jesse Tree - First Friday in Advent

On this day, the first Friday in Advent we are reminded of God's testing of Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his son Isaac. When God sees that Abraham loves Him enough to do even this - God sends a ram to take the place of Isaac. A foreshadowing of Christ's sacrifice for us a ram is the typical symbol for this day.

Here is the page from Domestic Church for the symbols of this week.

Today's reading is Genesis 22: 1-19


(photo credit - go here and enjoy awesome pictures of various wildlife!)


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Jesse Tree - First Thursday in Advent

On the first Thursday of Advent we are reminded of the promise made to Abraham by God to:
"... make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing." This event is symbolized with a tent and here is the link to Domestic Church with their symbols for this week.

Here are the readings:
Genesis 12: 1-7
Genesis 13: 2-18



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Anonymous Comments

As of today anonymous commenting has been blocked on this blog. I am sorry for this as I know some readers are not registered with google and, as such, will no longer be able to comment unless they register. However, I have yet to receive a nasty comment (and I mean NASTY!) that was NOT anonymous.

I am tired of cowards.

One of the more recent nasty comments was like a kick in the stomach and took my breath away. I could not understand what I had done or written to unleash such a vicious comment. I don't like that an anonymous person was able to leave such a stain on my day. And, as I believe that all nasty comments that are left anonymously are left by cowards... I sincerely doubt I will have to moderate any more nasty ones. These individuals simply will not have the courage to leave their name attached to their ugly words.

I have no problem publishing varying views from my own and I don't mind publishing comments that are critical of me. I have done so in the past. But some comments are just plain ugly and not deserving of being published and so my readers have not been subjected to them. But I am no longer willing to subject myself to them because, you see, while I have not published the ugly nasty comments - I have still had to read them.

Now if someone wants to be incredibly rude, offensive and/or vulgar... they will have to do so while leaving a trail that can be followed. This will allow me to be able to report them to Google should I warrant it necessary.

Again I apologize to the readers who have taken advantage of the anonymous comments to leave positive, interesting and sometimes critical comments while also including a first name. I am sorry that the cowardice of others has forced me to take this route. I hope you will understand.

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Jesse Tree - First Wednesday in Advent

This, the first Wednesday in Advent, takes us back to the 40 days of the flood and Noah and is typically represented with a dove over water with what I think is an olive branch in its beak.
Click here to go to Domestic church to find the matching symbol.

Readings
Genesis 6:11-22
Genesis 8: 6-12




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Jesse Tree - First Tuesday in Advent

The reading for today is about the fall and the resulting expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Some like to represent this with an apple - especially one with a bite out of it. Others will use a serpent. The Domestic Church combines the two images.

Here is the reading for today which is Genesis 3: 1 - 24









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Jesse Tree

Last year I was a lot less active than I am right now... as I was quickly advancing to my due date so we took the season of Advent off last year to focus on preparing for two babies... baby Jesus and our baby - who was due so very close to His birthday. We were blessed with Cecilia's arrival after about 36 hours of labour at home during the Christmas season but thankfully not on Christmas day! (In truth, though long - it was a very easy labour. Delivery was a little tricky and recovery - a nightmare, but Praise be to God, Cecilia was a very healthy baby!)

As a result of the hiatus we were on I had time to create many posts for the Jesse tree advent activity. I am going to repost these for the readers who wish to use them again this year. I hope you find them helpful... and I apologize for being late with Sunday's. As you know we have been ill most of November and I think (and pray) we have turned the corner...

So here is the link to last years introduction and let the waiting begin!

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Jesse Tree - First Monday in Advent

God's Creation; the reading for this day reflects the first days of the creation so many different symbols can be used. Some prefer to use a symbol of God, others of the wonderful earth that God created.

Here is the reading , which is Genesis 1: 24-28.

Again, to use the symbols for this week from the Domestic Church, click here.





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Jesse Tree - First Sunday in Advent

The Jesse Tree is similar to a family tree - in this case Jesus' family tree. This tree, with its symbols, takes us through what some refer to as the first Advent. The long wait for the Messiah, our redemption, which started with Adam's and Eve's fall from grace through to the incarnation and the first Christmas in Bethlehem.

So the first symbol chosen is the tree which symbolizes the family tree we are building during Advent.

Here is the reading for the first Sunday in Advent which is 1 Samuel 16: 1-13

I am using the Domestic Church website and following their readings and symbols. To use their symbols for this week click here. To see their page about the Jesse tree click here.






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Needing God's Armor

Since man's life on earth is a time of trial, and all who would live devotedly in Christ must undergo persecution, and the devil your foe is on the prowl like a roaring lion looking for prey to devour, you must use every care to clothe yourselves in God's armor so that you may be ready to withstand the enemy's ambush. - Saint Albert of Jerusalem (1149-1215)

And how do we clothe ourselves in God's armor: prayer, fasting, frequent reception of the sacraments and feeding our minds with good materials, whether spiritual reading or movies about the Saints and/or religious documentaries. What things do you do to keep yourself clothed in God's armor? Any good movies or documentaries you can suggest, reading materials? Feel free to leave your ideas in the comment section.

In the meantime I pray you all have a Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving. We are still struggling with illness and now have a 4 year old who might be having a response to a recent MMR vaccination which only 5% of the population experiences.

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