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Posts Tagged ‘Advent’

Apple Trees and Epiphany

Posted in Faith, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on 6 January, 2014| 5 Comments »

It’s Epiphany today, when Christians remember the Magi who visited the infant Jesus and his parents, bringing gifts. But we’re still officially (I think) in the church’s Christmas season. I’m rather a hapless Anglican when it comes to the liturgical calendar. But I think it’s still legitimate to share a song that has delighted me in my meditation on the incarnation this year, prompted by an conversation which included the Engineer’s godmother, Song. She has just completed her Old Testament PhD on the Song of Songs, so we now have to call her Dr Song. And she pointed out to me that the carol Jesus Christ the Apple Tree, that I’d loved for a while whilst being puzzled as to its origins, has its roots (badoom-tish) in the Song:

Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest
is my beloved among the young men.

Song of Solomon 2:3

The song has also been on my mind as I’ve been reading my bible this season. There are a lot of trees in the bible aren’t there?

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Getting Festive in the Vicarage

Posted in Family, Fun, tagged , , , , , , , on 16 December, 2013| Leave a Comment »

We have our Jesse Tree up. And the Christmas tree. We’ve not quite managed to retrieve the card holder from the cellar yet. I have made my first batch of mince pies. Things are beginning to feel festive. And this weekend, the Queen has been practising her festive cookies for a competition in school. She made the cookie cutters from aluminium herself in the tech lab. In the slideshow below is a picture is of the ones she made and iced with pukka homemade royal icing as a practice run before making some more to take to school for the event today.

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Advent: Winters to Glorious Summers

Posted in Church, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 13 December, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Glen Scrivener has produced another great spoken word piece this Advent. Christmas in Dark Places reminds us that:

He took on our frailty, he took on all comers

To turn all our winters to glorious summers.

Such a fantastic reminder as I gaze out on our bleak and misty winter churchyard, looking like a scene from Great Expectations. You can download the mp4 for use too.

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Messy Advent Giveaway

Posted in Church, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on 9 December, 2013| 30 Comments »

If you’re like me, you probably have one or two (= about a hundred) things left to do to prepare for Christmas. Here in the Vicarage, we have been reading a few of the Jesse Tree readings at teatime but have so far failed to actually get a suitable twig to hang the decorations from. We’ve been pulling the decorations from their tin as we read. And then popping them back, saying ‘We must get a twig to hang these from’. And failing. Are things a bit upside down in your house too? Maybe you even have a few (all the?) pressies still left to buy. Or you need some encouragement in the final flapping. So, in a spirit of festive helpfulness, I have six paper copies of The Ministry of a Messy House to give away in time for Christmas.

Tell me below the latest you’ve been up wrapping on Christmas Eve in the comment box below and on Sunday evening I’ll draw six names out and post your book out first thing next Monday.

MMH IVP marketing tweet

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An Unexpected Advent Thought from the Vicar’s Wife

Posted in Church, tagged , , , , , , , , , on 2 December, 2013| Leave a Comment »

This morning I clicked through to read the Advent thought from my publisher. And guess whose book it came from? Happy First Monday of Advent everyone!

 

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Advent Approaches: A Couple of Reading Resources

Posted in Church, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 20 November, 2013| 3 Comments »

For my devotions recently I’ve been reading the bible on my tablet, using the YouBible app and the Book of Common Prayer reading plan. The reading plan often includes 4 or 5 psalms, which I have been finding very helpful. Yesterday the set readings included Psalm 94, which spoke right into a busy week filled with sadnesses for people I love:

When the cares of my heart are many,
your consolations cheer my soul.

Psalm 94:19

Reading the Bible and meditating on it are one of the consolations that God provides. And since Advent is coming I’ve been thinking of finding a devotional to take me towards Christmas. We’ll have our family Jesse Tree of course. But I see that the e-book Good News of Great Joy is available again this year. I very much enjoyed following John Piper’s rather eclectic thoughts which often take you in unexpected and stimulating directions, so I think I’ll be returning to that again. I’ve also just been reminded of David Murray’s Children’s Bible Reading Plan which looks very easy to use and has been designed for his 8 and 7 year old children. I might wave it at the Vicarage kids and see if any of them are up for giving it a go over Advent. Or even starting this week.

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Advent Approaches – Christmas Time

Posted in Church, tagged , , , , , , , , , on 18 November, 2013| Leave a Comment »

This morning UCCF have launched a spoken word video for Advent and Christmas – great animation and words with a gentle challenge. Another option for your Christmas services, along with Someone is Coming and Joseph.

 

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Actually Advent: A Late Resource

Posted in Faith, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 18 December, 2012| 1 Comment »

I’m sure you’re all super-prepared for all the Advent happenings in your parish. But just in case you aren’t (or want to be extra-super-prepared for next year) I thought I’d share this brilliant alt.Advent series from Scripture Union that I just came across. They are posting a 2-3 minute daily animation of part of the Christmas story every day of Advent. The full animation, combining all the clips, is 47 minutes long – perhaps something to have on hand for early risers on Christmas Day…

These would be great for family devotions or to show in a service or school assembly. I might even show a few to the kids over tea this week. SU have posted a good number of other videos on their YouTube channel that would be useful for services or family bible times.

Here’s today’s lovely section of the story:

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePB5LiRETkQ%5D

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Actually Advent: Waiting Messily

Posted in Church, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 4 December, 2012| 1 Comment »

Christmas treeThings are gearing up for Advent activity in the parish. Tonight is our Messy Christingle service – the first that’s been held since we’ve been here. Early in Advent seems like a good time for this service and gives us an opportunity to advertise other Christmas services to our Messy Church folk, some of whom don’t attend on Sundays. We’re excited about the service and the opportunity we have to tell people the Christmas story and spend time together. I made 1.5kg of pastry this morning which this afternoon will be turned into mince pies to share afterwards.

So we’ve been in church just now, moving chairs and getting the ancient decorations out. The tree lights work, thankfully, but there is rather a lot of tinsel debris around where we’ve unravelled the silver from the gold from the red and sparkly shreds have floated to the floor. The church is not looking as ethereal as one might hope for Christmas because at the same time as we were tinselling, the builders were in knocking great lumps of plaster off the walls. They tell us the plasterers are coming on Thursday so hopefully the walls will be reinstated for the school Christmas service next week and the Infants’ Nativity the following week.

So it looks like we might have a bit of a Messy Advent here. Thankfully our God didn’t expect tidiness when he came to earth all those years ago. In fact he came *because* of the mess. That means we can wait in the mess as we look forward to his arrival.

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Actually Advent: Good News of Great Joy

Posted in Faith, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on 2 December, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Good News of Great JoySo it’s actually Advent, and I only got my act together this morning to download this lovely free e-book from John Piper onto my cheap and cheerful table that I use for daily bible reading. Thankfully, the readings began today, so there’s even time for you to download it too and not be too far behind. This morning’s reflection called me to meditate on my need for a Saviour. And events during the day reminded me of that too – tired children and busy parents do not make for a godly Vicarage.

Thankfully, a large nap and answered prayer made our afternoon happier than our morning. A big Sunday lunch with parish friends was followed by a chilly walk with Dreamer and Freddie the dog. Then we decorated our Jesse Tree – only having to cover two days in one go, lit our Advent candle and thought about Jesus our Saviour, opened our chocolate Advent calendar (with extra sweeties for the non-opening children) and gave thanks for a new audio bible in Ethiopia, prompted by a lovely Bible Society calendar that came in the post.

So far so good. But it’s honestly fine if we miss a few days in the chaos. The Saviour came to forgive both messiness and missingness – our sins of commission and  those  of omission.

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