Happy First Year to Me

It's my first blogging anniversary! One year ago today, I took the plunge, after many months of indecision.

One of the big questions for me was: Who is my audience? Much as I enjoy writing for its own sake, writing is a form of communication, so if no one reads what I've written, then it's not worth the time, to me. So, who will read, and what will they want to hear?

Then a fellow blogger and a friend in real life--Mary at Entelechy and Notes from Solar Cabin--encouraged me to write with family and friends in mind, and with that advice and encouragement, I started in. After a number of weeks, I installed a site meter, just to see if anyone at all was visiting, and was pleased to see that I was getting a few hits a day--enough to keep going, I thought.

My family and friends began to tell me they were reading and enjoying my blog, and I was delighted! Other bloggers found me too, and I've been surprised at the blessing of online friendships. (I could write a whole post on that, but I'll just comment that they tend to be based on mutual encouragement--and who can't use more of that? I surely appreciate you all--Diane, Tonia, Ann V., Kathie, Jenny, and Wendy especially have been so warm and affirming.)

Now, I don't even know who all reads here--usually over 60 people a day, and not the same 60 every day. Today, on my anniversary, my hit counter says 18, 441 people have visited since last February when I installed it. Can you believe it? A small percentage of those are one-time Googlers, but the rest of you are frequent or infrequent visitors--and I am so grateful! Your time and attention are a great gift to me.

But I am still asking myself the same questions. Who is my audience? What should I write about? How much of myself and my family should I share? Do they care? (And what do they care about?)

Because of my uncertainty (or perhaps it's an unwillingness to commit), I have settled on the variety show format--book reviews, family news and pictures, quotations, on-line participation posts, devotional thoughts, liturgical awareness posts (have I coined a new phrase?). It's been fun wearing all these different hats and trying to be creative at each one.

But I'd love it if, to celebrate my anniversary, you'd leave me a comment on this post--even if you're reading it later on this week. Tell me what kind of posts you especially enjoy, or just introduce yourself and tell me where you're from! I see certain cities or countries showing up regularly and I wonder--missionary? U.S. miltary? national? I've even prayed for some of you!

Because it is a relationship, between writer and readers. (Oh, and I so appreciate those of you who told me in a Christmas card that you are a reader! You haven't missed our online newsletter, by the way--it's just going to be late this year.) But since this relationship is by definition mostly a monologue, I don't want to spend a lot of time rambling about things no one is really interested in--and I might just need encouragement to write more on certain topics that readers enjoy.

So, to de-lurk and leave me a comment (when you don't comment, you're called a "lurker"--and you don't want to be one of those, do you?), click on the "comments" link at the end of this post, type your comment in the box that comes up and sign it with your name, pseudonym, city, or whatever identifier you wish to leave. Then select Anonymous (right below the comment window) and type the letters you see in the window below that. Hit Preview, if you wish to see how your comment will look, and end by clicking on Publish. Hopefully Blogger will behave itself and you won't have any problems.

If you'd rather send me an email, that's fine too! Use hens_pace@yahoo.com.

I will consider each comment or email a great treasure--and thanks in advance for celebrating with me!

And a blessed New Year to each and every one of you!!!

Books Read '06

It's been enlightening to keep a list of books I've read this year. I finished more than I would have guessed, but what's really of interest to me is how many I didn't finish--and all of them non-fiction! Many of them were given to me at the same time last year, for Christmas and then for my January birthday. I think I started too many at once. Should I give up non-fiction this year, or become more disciplined to finish what I start?

Mama's Bank Account, by Kathryn Forbes (I loved it--click for my review)

A Mother's Rule of Life: How to Bring Order to Your Home and Peace to Your Soul, by Holly Pierlot (I loved this Catholic homeschooling mom's testimony of bringing order to her home and her soul through a daily rhythm of prayer and labor)

Night, by Elie Wiesel (eloquently concise--a quick read, but so powerful)

Girl With a Pearl Earring, by Tracy Chevalier (absorbing)

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred B. Taylor (on tape) (brilliant children's literature, written from the perspective of a black family faced with segregation and racial attacks in the Depression-era South)

Lincoln, the Christian (I've misplaced the book and can't recall the author. My in-laws picked this up at a garage sale, and it was a fascinating read, as the author quoted Lincoln himself, and recounted interviews he had conducted with men and women who had known Lincoln. Whether the author was an actual historian or someone with an agenda to prove was a constant question in my mind, but it wasn't hard to give him the benefit of the doubt. I read much of this aloud to Papa Rooster while we were travelling in and around Lincoln sites this summer.)

Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind, by Ann B. Ross (delightful--click for review)

Better Off: Flipping the Switch on Technology by Eric Brende (really thought-provoking and a good read--click for review)

The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd (on tape) (I loved the mother-daughter themes and imagery throughout, and wow, can this author do metaphors! Christians may need to overlook some syncretism with the Mary imagery, but doing so, I found it profoundly beautiful.)

The Chosen, by Chaim Potok (wonderful story of two Jewish fathers and their two sons; one father is a picture of legalism, the other of grace...yet there is a certain grace, born of love, given by each son. I especially enjoyed the inside look at Jewish scholarly culture.)

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, by Malcolm Gladwell (one of the few non-fiction books on my list, you'll notice--but it's full of stories of how certain trends took off and reached the "tipping point" into wild popularity. Papa Rooster read this as a business book, but it's fascinating on a human interest level. It's not so much about selling things as it is about desseminating ideas.)

Blue Shoes and Happiness, by Alexander McCall Smith (on tape)

The Full Cupboard of Life, by Alexander McCall Smith (on tape) (these books are both part of the delightful The Number One Ladies' Detective Agency series)

Baa, Baa Black Sheep by Rudyard Kipling (this may be a short story, but my version is bound like a little book, so I'll count it. Sad and revealing.)

Digging to America, by Anne Tyler (on tape) (fascinating fiction about the American experience, from the perspective of an Iranian family and a thoroughly American one who are drawn together by the adoption of their Korean daughters)

Christ the Lord, by Anne Rice (yes, the author of Interview with a Vampire has found Christ--she shares that story at the very end of the book--and she has written this beautiful account of his life as an 8-year-old, the story of his family's journey from Egypt to Jerusalem to Nazareth. She does an excellent job, as the movie The Nativity Story does, of portraying the danger and political unrest of the times, and she portrays the young Jesus believably, as a child-like questioner of his own story.)


Read aloud to my kids and thoroughly enjoyed:

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Walk the World's Rim

The Witch of Blackbird Pond

Johnny Tremain (we listened to this one on tape together)

...and many, many shorter books!

Unfinished:

John Paul the Great: Remembering a Spiritual Father, by Peggy Noonan (3/4 finished. The only reason I haven't finished this one is that Papa Rooster and I were reading this one aloud to each other on a road trip, and I keep thinking we'll read it again next time we're on a road trip, but then we leave it at home. He admires JP2; I admire Peggy Noonan. And vice versa, but...more this way.)

Making Room: Recovering Hospitality as a Christian Tradition by Christine D. Pohl (I'm 2/3 of the way through this fascinating survey of church history on hospitality. I'm highly interested in the topic, but I think she's using too many words to make her points. I suspect it's a dissertation re-worked into a book.)

Talking with God, Francois Fenelon (modern version by Hal M. Helms) (I'm 3/4 of the way through this one. It's so good, I don't want to rush it! I've been reading it devotionally, but obviously not daily. I think I need my own copy, though, to mark in--this one is borrowed.)

The Little Way of Saint Therese of Lisieux: Into the Arms of Love (compiled by John Nelson) (3/4 finished--a beautiful devotional read. In this edition, her letters are interspersed with Scripture and passages from The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis. Again, I need my own copy to mark favorite passages. Lent to me by the same friends who lent the above--thanks Barbara and Stephen!)

Surviving Your Adolescents: How to Manage and Let Go of Your 13-18 Year Olds by Thomas W. Phelan (halfway through. I see a trend here--this book also was lent to me, and I think I've been holding off on reading it because I want to take notes or something. It's very, very practical but I won't remember half of his great suggestions unless I write them down.)

Crunchy Cons by Rod Dreher
Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge
When You Don't Desire God by John Piper
(I've read about one chapter of each of these books. They were all given to me at the same time last year, along with a number of these other non-fiction books and Mama's Bank Account. I tried to read the non-fiction first, and reward myself with Mama, but couldn't do it; Mama kept calling.

Next up:

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield--as soon as Papa Rooster finishes it. (I gave it to us for Christmas, based on the recommendations of so many bloggers!)

For many more year-in-review booklists, see Semicolon's roundup here.

After-Christmas Commentary: Christmas Day

We spent Christmas alone, just our family, for the first time in seven years. (Usually Papa Rooster's parents come over for the morning, but this year they drove in to Chicago to spend the whole day with his brother and his family. On Tuesday they all came to our house.)

We had Morning Prayer together and then turned our attention to the sea of gift bags that surrounded the tree. I wrap most of the younger two's gifts so that they can have the satisfaction of rrrrrripping that paper off. But the older ones don't care, and since it's faster than wrapping, I go for the gift bags most of the time, wrapping the item up in an opaque plastic bag--to discourage peekers--before stuffing tissue paper on top. Quick, reusable, and needing little in the way of decoration, the only problem with them is that you can't easily stack them under the tree!

For posterity (and character development in the grand plot of this blog), it may be of interest to report on a few of the most successful gifts, especially the ones that didn't cost much. How does one keep Christmas from becoming a financial nightmare when trying to please six children?

First, one asks them for a list, and one gives immediate feedback on the list. "Don't hold your breath, dearie, for the laptop. Better not count on that iPod, either. How much do Heelies cost?" (Upon researching the latter question, these gym shoes with built-in wheels in the heels are not to be had--anywhere--for less than $70, and since the requester, Bantam11, is outgrowing shoes every six months, it was lovingly explained that he should not expect these under the tree.)

Having accepted financial realities, they usually shift focus to smaller things they'd like to have, and I do my best to please, while staying out of the expensive stores. I didn't even set foot in the mall this year; their gifts all came from Target, Aldi, Dollar General, Half.com, and Bath and Body Works (I had a 33% off coupon!).

And I always supplement and surprise them with garage sale and resale shop finds. These items are not usually on their lists, but they were, for one reason or another, too good to pass up, and the kids usually recognize that same quality in them. One of my biggest scores this year cost me a mere $10 at a garage sale last summer and delighted all three of the Bantams--a Lego spaceship, UFO, boat, jail and X-wing fighter, plus two zip-lock bags of assorted Lego parts including 4 much-fought-over foundational bases. They divvied everything up very amicably and seem extremely pleased to possess and play with these models even though they did not have the pleasure of assembling them. The X-wing fighter, it turns out, is a discontinued model worth at least $45 on Ebay, and I am just the coolest mom ever, to have had the luck to find it and the sense to buy it!

We did very well at Dollar General: sticker books and paint-with-water books delighted the younger crowd; Chicklet4 adores her porcelain ballerina doll and feathery princess tiara; Bantam 7 fools us all with his spy binoculars; Bitty Bantam's light-up bouncy ball was a hit all around, and Blondechick14's request for a jar candle was easily met there. One of the coolest things I found there was a $20 electric piano, on sale for $10, which seems to be remarkably good quality (i.e. it's still looking and sounding good after 48+ hours in our home). The keyboard folds in half so that two players can play it at once, and it has all kinds of settings and accompaniments. We gave it to the two piano lesson-takers, Bantams 7 & 11.

In keeping with the musical theme, the two boys each got a $3 harmonica, which delighted them both, and Bantam11 is already playing recognizable tunes. I saw them at the music store while buying the piano books ($11) they had requested--Bantam 11 is eager to learn some easy Beatles arrangements, while Bantam 7 will work up some simple Disney movie musical numbers. While I was there, I checked for any deals on Broadway-type karaoke/accompaniment CD's which we could use for auditions, and found a reasonable 2-disc anthology of choices for Blondechick14, who's been anxious to start working on her next audition.

A few more scores:

Bantam 7--an I Spy book and the only McDuff book we didn't have, both for quarters at a resale shop. (I Spy and McDuff are way up there on his list of favorites.) He also asked for and received boxers and black stretchy gloves, thin enough that the fingers fit in the trigger section of an Airsoft gun. Having just seen the first one for the first time (these poor deprived fourth-borns), he was thrilled to receive Toy Story 2 (we ordered a like-new DVD from Half.com for half the price of one from Target)

Bantam 15--a graphic novel based on H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds (which he asked for and I purchased with my teacher's discount at Borders), black leather gloves ($7 at Aldi), 3-D puzzle of the Capitol (still in the shrink-wrap, $2 at a garage sale), books on the military (from garage sales), and a new backpack

Chicklet4-- picture books from garage sales, especially a version of Cinderella, which accompanied a darling Cinderella pumpkin coach from Odd Lots ($8, and it goes with a playset she received for her birthday last September, thus revitalizing that possession)

Bantam 11--a CD mix that Blondechick14 made for him, a CD holder, cologne, skateboarding stickers (which delighted him almost as much as Heelies would have), and a plush tiger rug/blanket from Aldi (this was his expensive and most thrilling gift at $17)

Blondechick14--small purse, large purse, winter coat that converts to vest (all on clearance at Target), earrings, footless tights, body spray, and 2 DVD's (which I did not have the foresight to order from Half.com)

Bitty Bantam--play fruits and veggies from the dollar aisle at Target (he and Chicklet are playing picnic all the time now) and a chunky toddler schoolbus I found at a garage sale.

Papa Rooster and I had agreed to not exchange gifts for Christmas, since we spent beaucoup bucks earlier in the month on a family gift--a heavy-duty, won't-break treadmill, for all the runners we have in our house now! And he gave me a special anniversary gift for our 20th--a sapphire-and-diamond cross on a gold chain, with matching sapphire studs. Beautiful (he has great taste), and they were on sale. Still, it's a good thing we economized on the kids, dontcha think?

Perhaps our best Christmas gift cost us nothing at all, and it arrived on Christmas afternoon--the news that my sister-in-law (Pilot Brother's wife) had given birth, on Christmas Eve, to my newest niece, and that they were both healthy and well!

Which brought our minds around to other free gifts we enjoy--health, family, friends, salvation, and meaning in life, all because of the gift of another baby born 2,000 years ago. It's a cliche, but it's true--the best things in life are free!

After-Christmas Commentary: Christmas Eve

(I know I said I'd have pictures. It would help if I remembered to take the camera with me places. Or to take pictures when the camera is right there. It's not one of my strong points, alas.)

It was a busy Christmas Eve. After the Sunday morning service, we came home, had a quick lunch and then met old friends at the theater to see The Nativity Story. (What a perfect time to see it!) It was utterly beautiful. We will buy this and watch it year after year.

One thing I hadn't appreciated was how much of a teenager's movie it would be. But the main character is a girl of 13 or 14, suddenly forced into growing up fast as she finds herself expecting a child and basically married to a young man, a decade older than her, who accepts the roles of husband and father. If not a typical love story, it is certainly a tale of their "relationship," as they get to know one another and try to understand their place in the larger story of Israel and its Messiah. It's a powerful coming-of-age story, too, for Mary especially, as she leaves childhood behind and accepts motherhood and marriage with beauty and grace. Joseph, too, shoulders the challenges of marriage and fatherhood, social pressure and physical exertion with a nobility that most 23-year-old men of today would be hard-pressed to summon up. He is the hero of the movie, and Mary a most humble heroine. Our teenagers were moved.

Old friends and their extended family joined us at our church's 5:00 family service; then we all went to Macaroni Grill for dinner with my husband's parents. (Going out for Italian food on Christmas Eve is one of my husband's fond memories from childhood. His family always went in to New York City that night for dinner and then over to this church where his dad was a professional singer in the choir. I once heard the men and boys sing carols on Christmas Eve; it was one of the most beautiful sounds in one of the most beautiful settings ever. Enlarge the indoor picture here, and imagine it. It will take your breath away.)

After that, we went back to church for the 9:00 candlelight service in our not-so-breathtaking rented surroundings. Papa Rooster officiated and gave a lovely ten-minute homily. Incredibly, Chicklet4 and Bitty Bantam(20months) stayed awake and played happily in the church office with Bantam7 babysitting, so I was able to read Scripture and lead the Prayers of the People before joining my older kids in the rear of the congregation. A gentleman who appeared to be a visitor kept watching our row with a curious consternation, and I could tell he was trying to figure out how many kids I actually had, as their numbers kept revolving. At one point, Bitty Bantam escaped from Bantam7 and wandered partway down the center aisle before he was apprehended and whisked out of sight once more, which amused rather than annoyed this gentleman, I was relieved to see. It was a beautiful service despite the antics in the back row.

Bitty Bantam and Chicklet fell asleep on the way home. We put them to bed, let the older kids open our traditional "one gift each" on Christmas Eve, had a little eggnog, sent the rest of the kids to bed, wrapped three more gifts, filled the stockings, and tumbled into bed ourselves.

Of her flesh he took flesh:
He does take fresh and fresh,
Though much the mystery how,
Not flesh but spirit now
And makes, O marvellous!
New Nazareths in us,
Where she shall yet conceive
Him, morning, noon, and eve;
New Bethlems, and he born
There, evening, noon and morn--
Bethlem or Nazareth,
Men here may draw bated breath
More Christ and baffle death;
Who, born so, come to be
New self and nobler me
In each one and each one
More makes, when all is done,
Both God's and Mary's Son.

--Gerard Manley Hopkins
(from "The Blessed Virgin Compared to the Air We Breathe")

Fourth Sunday in Advent

Collect for the day:

Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Papa Rooster's paragraph for the church bulletin:

The shift towards the Incarnation that began subtly last week becomes more explicit on this final Advent Sunday. We are still anticipating the Lord’s second coming but we are also turning to the commemoration of his unique and unrepeatable first coming. Advent is the most “Marian” of all the Church seasons, and this Sunday epitomizes that quality. The tradition of the Church has understood Mary as the “New Eve,” the “Ark of the New Covenant”, and the “Burning Bush” that manifests His presence at the Incarnation. But none of this comes about because of Mary in and of herself. It is because she is full of grace—the gift of God’s overshadowing presence, the Lord with her—that she becomes blessed. She says to Gabriel, “Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” As Mary says, “Yes” to the Lord’s grace, the mystery, the promise and the hope of Israel is born in her. As one of the Collects for the day prays, may the Lord likewise “at his coming… find in us a mansion prepared for himself.”

Odds and Weekends

Yesterday was the shortest day(light hours) of the year. From now on, the light will be increasing. I pointed this out to Papa Rooster this morning, and he said that this fact is one of the reasons that we celebrate Christmas on December 25. Advent falls during the darkest time of the year, and darkness reaches its fullest point during this season. One of the great themes of Advent is how Christ is the light breaking into the darkness. But once the light is increasing daily--we have Christmas!

He said that the feast of John the Baptist (or his birthday) is celebrated just after the summer solstice--as the daylight has reached its longest and now will be daily decreasing. "He must increase, I must decrease," John the Baptist said of Christ.

Sounds like those Church Fathers really put some thought into these things!

***

I just realized that I never reported a couple of amazing answers to prayer.

Remember my father-in-law had a cancerous tumor removed from his kidney? It turns out that it was completely benign, after all!

And the mom of four kids in our theater group who was diagnosed with sinus cancer? She was all scheduled for surgery when they discovered from a biopsy, that hers is an incredibly rare form of sinus cancer (only 30 cases) that is not nearly so bad as most sinus cancers usually are; she doesn't need surgery, and they expect treatment (I'm not sure if it's chemo or radiation) to take care of it. She said if she could turn cartwheels in an email, she would be!

Thank you, Lord, for answering our prayers in these ways.

***

Speaking of answering prayers, I received an anonymous comment back on this post asking:

It troubles me that you assume God supported Peter Roskam, or any candidate for that matter. Did God not listen to the prayers of Tammy Duckworth or her supporters?

I answered:

I didn't say or assume that God supported Peter Roskam or that He didn't listen to the prayers of other candidates.

I said, "We believe God was in this"--as He is in everything. I believe God works all things together for good and to accomplish His purposes. I believe He has good works for Peter to do in Washington. I don't know if prayer was what "accomplished" the outcome of the election, and I didn't say that...but I do know that Peter is a man of prayer and that his campaign was grounded in prayer.

Perhaps the same is true of Tammy Duckworth--I have no way of knowing.

If Peter had lost, would I feel that God had not answered our prayers? No, I would have assumed that He had chosen to answer them in His own way and for His own purposes. I hope believing, praying Duckworth supporters--or Christian supporters of any losing candidate--trust Him in the same way!

I would have to say the same thing if we had received bad news in either of these cancer cases, that God had certainly heard our prayers and He had answered them in His own way and for His own purposes.

We are just so grateful, and we praise God, that His purposes included protecting the lives of these dear people!

***

What happened with that blog award contest? I'm sure some of you are wondering.

I am too. The fine print says the winners will be announced in the January edition of Christian Women Online. I am not holding my breath, since one of the other blogs has soooo many more readers than I do, but I'll let y'all know what happens!

***

What happened with that property you were looking at?

The listing realtor seems to be on vacation! But we've brought the matter to our church vestry as well as to some of the clergy of our region, and everyone is excited and willing to support the project. We have a number of praying, discerning friends "listening" along with us, and no red flags have been raised other than to get a thorough inspection of the property.

Personally, a couple of related, neat things have happened in the past week. One amazing thing is that we have friends with a home of similar value who would like to move into our elementary school district--and they said they'd be interested in our house if the timing works out!

One of my prayers has been that if we have to move, that someone we know would buy our house--someone who could overlook fingerprints on the walls, dirty carpet and all our junk, and be willing to wait for paint and new carpet after we're moved out. I can't imagine the nightmare it would be to pack up a bunch of our stuff and put it into storage, move our furniture around while we paint, re-carpet, and try to keep homeschooling in the middle of it all--and then have to keep the house picture-perfect for months after that.... You see why I've been praying!

Also, based on what they're expecting to get for their house, our house is worth even more than we realized--Yay!

The other exciting news is: I talked to the area director of our children's theater organization. We have six chapters already, divided up by counties, and I asked him if he'd ever considered adding a Kenosha County--it's immediately north of one of their other chapters, Lake County in Illinois. He said, yes, he had--and if we move, he'll do it. That news totally rocked our kids' world! They'd love playing the role of the theater veterans. Renting our facilities to the theater group three times a week--we'd hold all classes and practices there--would also be a source of immediate income for our church, and if I agree to be the Area Coordinator, it's a paid position. So who knows? It could be part of God's provision for this whole thing.

***

Sunday, Monday and Tuesday will be very full days for us, celebrating with our church, with friends, and with family. But I'm hoping to post some pictures at least.

Blessings to all as we await and prepare for the celebration of Christ's birth!

Check Her Out

The Forgetful Muse--a.k.a. Blondechick14, a.k.a....well, you know, some of you--is BACK!

Though her link has been there in my sidebar, she's been on a blogging hiatus of many months. But now, she's got a new vision for her blog. She asked if she could remove some of her old, school-related posts and make her blog more about herself and her interests. She's also planning to update it regularly in the future, and she'll probably be much better about posting photos than I am. She's got some good ones up already. (She took them all, even the ones with her in them.)

So for her uncensored take on our family, go visit!

Our Twentieth on the Twentieth

We were both young and stupid; 21 years old, one semester of college left, and no idea what we were doing after that. We just knew that whatever came next, we'd do it together.

God led us through a short valley, up hills and into the desert for several years, on to an oasis, through a few more rocky places, and finally to a pleasant pasture. Our second decade has been a well-watered garden, indeed.

Twenty reasons why I would marry my husband all over again...

He loves me no matter what.
He's seen in my ugliest moments, he knows all my worst traits, and he still considers himself wildly blessed to be married to me.
He makes sure I know it.
He cranks up "You're My Better Half" and sings along, and I know he's singing it to me.
He's miserable when we're apart.
He writes me romantic, poetic, profound notes for my birthday, our anniversary, and Mother's Day--and reminds the kids to make cards for me too.
He really thinks I'm gorgeous.
He's a man after God's own heart, full-hearted in his worship of God and passionate about the Bride, the Church.
Following God's leading, he has led me on a journey I never would have made alone, on a path I never would have picked--to places neither of us could ever have imagined!
Without him, I doubt I would have ended up with six children, or at our amazing, paradigm-shifting church, or been part of the ministries we've learned from and served with.
He's always on the same page as me in parenting.
He stretches me intellectually and spiritually.
He encourages me in writing and teaching.
He encourages me to get together with girlfriends.
He thinks deeply and carefully about theological, spiritual and relational issues.
He is a man of prayer and of the Word.
I respect him.
I trust his wisdom and discernment.
He's funny. Especially when showering. (Alone.)
He's handsome, thoughtful, and loving...and he's my other half.

Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. (Genesis 2:24)


Kiss me,
out of the bearded barley
Nightly,
beside the green, green grass
Swing, swing,
swing the spinning step
You wear those shoes and I will wear that dress

Oh, kiss me
beneath the milky twilight
Lead me
out on the moonlit floor
Lift your open hand
Strike up the band and make the fireflies dance
Silver moon’s sparkling,
so kiss me

Kiss me,
down by the broken tree house
Swing me
upon its hanging tire
Bring, bring,
bring your flowered hat
We’ll take the trail marked on your father’s map

Oh, kiss me
beneath the milky twilight
Lead me
out on the moonlit floor
Lift your open hand
Strike up the band and make the fireflies dance
Silver moon’s sparkling,
so kiss me

Third Sunday in Advent

Papa Rooster's commentary for our church bulletin:

Advent 3—Gaudete Sunday or Rose Sunday

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice! The Lord is near.” (Phil. 4)

Our preparation for the Lord’s coming is infused with joyous anticipation. Our Lord, the Rose of Sharon, brings joy when He comes. This joy is symbolized by the rose-colored Advent candle, and sometimes by rose-colored vestments. The reality is that our penitence and preparation is filled with promise. The curses of the fall are reversed in the Lord’s coming, all of the prophecies of healing, provision and release are fulfilled, and John the Baptist ushers us into this joy. It is his ministry to show how the fulfillment of our joy consists in the Lord’s increase and our decrease. We carry on his ministry, poised as we are between the Lord’s first and second comings. Joy is the rosy-hue that tints all present struggles while we await the Lord. In faith, we can be like John who as an unborn babe recognized Christ through the veil of two wombs and leapt for joy. The Lord’s coming glory is still veiled to us, we see only “through a glass darkly,” but the joy of the Lord is our strength. Rejoice in Him always, and pray without ceasing.

Collect for the Third Sunday in Advent (from the Book of Common Prayer):

Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

I've been really lazy lately about putting up any pictures, even though I had good ones to go with certain posts.

So I've decided to reform my ways, post these pics now, and in a week or two, move them back into the archives with the posts they belong with!

So here's one that shows what Bitty Bantam was doing during one performance of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, back in October.

I was in the audience. He was back in the Green Room with the cast who was not onstage, being covered with kisses! Remember the Evil Narnians' makeup included black lips? Yeah, the Hags adored him. The pink stuff is from the Good Narnians. Doesn't he look like he enjoyed it?

That's Papa Rooster's mug in the background. It looks like BB got Daddy's lips!

This goes with Blondechick14's birthday post back in November.

She took this one herself, holding the camera out at arm's length. If you haven't been around teenagers much, they're all amazing one-handed, no-viewfinder photographers!

Okay, these are obviously from Halloween.

But what may not be so apparent is that Chicklet4 is a princess (she forgot her tiara in this picture). You may or may not recognize Jack Sparrow, from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, there on the right.
And the fellow with the beard only audience members of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe will recognize--he's Scratch, the White Witch's sidekick. I got to use my theater makeup skills on the two of them!

Bitty Bantam is a cow. But you knew that.

And these are from the costume party/surprise birthday party Papa Rooster and I attended on the weekend before Halloween.

Papa R.--or should I say Father R?--wore his black cassock and passed very respectably as Neo of the Matrix movies, despite the gray in his beard.

I'm Arwen Evenstar of The Lord of the Rings books/movies. Note the elf ears, from our theater group's makeup kit! Gosh, these theater makeup skills have come in handy this fall.

One of Blondechick14's friends took this shot of her back in the early fall, and it's going to be the new picture that her link in the sidebar takes you to.

Did you know there are links in the sidebar that show pictures of the cast of characters in this blog? It says "Who's Who (In Pictures)."

Check 'em out, if you never have--before B14's old picture is gone forever! (Not really).

I think these are self-explanatory. They don't go with any particular post.

(There is no explanation for the orange kerchief; it was just kind of a random dress-up.)

At Midnight Tonight...

...the ball ends for Cinderella! The coach turns into a pumpkin, the horses back into mice...

Oops, I have Cinderella on the brain. We've had two rehearsals since the auditions, and one more this weekend--then we're off till January!

What I really mean to say is...

Voting for the Sweet Scent Blog Awards ends at midnight tonight! (That's CST.) Click the graphic in my sidebar for the list of nominees and the email address to send your votes to.

And you should get your tickets for Rogers & Hammerstein's Cinderella SOON, because the shows will all be SOLD OUT, believe it or not, even with the additional Thursday night performance, if you wait till late January:

Friday, February 9th - 7:00 pm
Saturday, February 10th - 2:00 pm (the family show--all seats $8)
Saturday, February 10th - 6:00 pm
Thursday, February 15th - 7:00 pm
Friday, February 16th - 7:00 pm
Saturday, February 17th - 2:00 pm
Saturday, February 17th - 6:00 pm

If you want good, front-section seats, call or email us right away!

And don't forget...the ball ends at midnight tonight...
:)

Today I'm finishing up a guest-blogging stint at Advent for Evangelicals. Please join me there!

Hi! I'm "guest-blogging" today at Lindsey's lovely site, Advent for Evangelicals. Please meet me there!

Dear Readers Who Attend Our Church,

I realized last night that I probably should ask you all not to broadcast the news that we might possibly be leaving our church. Of course, we're nowhere near knowing if this will even work out, and we'd really hate to cause any unneccessary feelings of instability at the church. Also, when the time is right, we'd like that announcement to come from the top, with the full support of our senior pastor and vestry--not as a grass-roots rumbling that the church leadership just confirms.

Many of you are our good friends and we completely trust you with the information I have shared. We know that you will pray for us as we discern and try to follow the Lord's direction. But we'd prefer that our investigations not become common knowledge yet.

Thanks so much for your discretion--and your prayers!

Potential

Well, we toured the property in Kenosha yesterday. We are praying about starting a church and faith community there.

Last time--over a year ago--we were just going along with our friends out of curiosity, and we didn't care much for what we saw. This time, we looked everything over as possible buyers--when the eye tends to be more critical, in my experience--but we liked it a whole lot more!

There were a number of things that were actually a lot better than we remembered. One of the big surprises was the church. I had completely forgotten all the stained glass--quite lovely, and two especially beautiful windows in the front. It was bigger than we remembered, seating at least 500, and it was older too, built in the late 19th century. I would have pegged it in the 30's or 40's, based on the carmel color of all the woodwork. The sanctuary really could be lovely with a fresh coat of paint and new carpet.

The school building was not three stories as I remembered but two, plus a newer two-story wing added on--quite large. All the classrooms--ten or so?--were so spacious, bigger than I remembered, and all had high ceilings and lots of windows. We could easily imagine some of them being turned into dorm-style rooms--they could hold an awful lot of bunkbeds! And lofts, if need be--the ceilings looked to be 16 feet tall.

There was a large lunchroom in the basement, with a wood laminate flooring that was nicer than I remembered, complete with round tables and chairs. (Everywhere we looked, they were leaving desks, bookshelves, dishes, etc.--even a snowblower.) The only room that was smaller than I remembered was the kitchen, thank goodness--I was overwhelmed by it last time. It was fully stocked with pots and pans and even a school-size quantity of plates, cups, saucers and glasses. There was even an old pizza oven--apparently one of those "they don't make 'em like this anymore" items.

Best of all, there was a gym with a 3/4 basketball court and--a stage!, larger than I remembered, with working red velvet curtains.... The kids were already staging plays. They are excited and ready to move now--a complete turnaround from when we first casually threw out the idea awhile back.

Oh, and how did I forget to mention the complete children's library that came with the school? They had to drag me out of there. I kept recognizing friend after old friend, and many friends-of-friends that I'd heard about but had yet to read for myself. I'm still drooling.

As for living quarters, there were two more buildings full of rooms. The old convent had a total of 14 private rooms, furnished with beds, desks and dressers. Downstairs there were three rooms which had their own bathrooms, and upstairs were two community bathrooms with showers and 11 bedrooms with sinks in the corner of each room. The rooms had sort of an institutional feel, but they had a nicer, warmer design than I remembered, and replacing the linoleum flooring with something warmer would do a lot!

The convent also contained a library, a small office space or two, a good-sized kitchen with a pass-through window to a small dining room, a full basement with laundry and rec rooms, and a chapel that is Papa Rooster's favorite room in the whole complex. It has pews (with kneelers!) for maybe 25 people, some lovely stained glass windows, and a beautiful marble altar on a marble dais. The whole convent is set up perfectly for those who want to make a personal retreat.

We'd probably live next door in the rectory, which was set up with four suites for unmarried priests. Each suite had a bedroom with its own bath, and an adjoining room with lots of bookshelves (yessss!) that would have been used as a study. There is one large living room and closets galore--not sure why they needed so many closets, some of them huge, but I can sure imagine filling them. There were some more office spaces that could easily be used as bedrooms, plus a kitchen, dining area, powder room, full basement with laundry (and laundry chute accessible from each floor, the sight of which warmed this mother's heart!) and another rec room area.

And all this for possibly a little more than double what we'd get for our house if we sold it...can you believe it? Papa Rooster could keep his current job, too, for as long as need be; his commute will actually be cut in half if we move.

The only disappointment, to us, is that there is so little green area that comes with it. But there is Lake Michigan, which you can see from the front doors, a ten-minute walk straight down that sidewalk. It is public there too, although we want to find out what the beach is like at that point. The kids said they saw a small area, big enough to play soccer in, though we didn't really see it--the ground was all snow-covered. We didn't drive around the neighborhood much either, to see if there was a nearby park. But it may be that God just wants us to embrace urban living and the kind of ministry that goes with living in an urban area, and we're very open to that.

We wouldn't go into this alone, however. Our next step is to present our vision to the clergy of the Chicago-area AMIA (Anglican Mission in America) churches and ask them all to support it. It would serve as a center for retreats, as well as a place to send those desiring discipleship and training over an extended period of time, who would serve in the community, L'Abri style. It would be a place of prayer, as we envision community members meeting daily for morning and evening prayer, at least, not as a strictly-enforced requirement, but as an availability that retreat-goers could join in. Healing ministries, service ministries, education for the children of the community and for aspirants to the clergy--all of these would be part of the vision.

Which we need to write up! It's been in our heads for so long, it shouldn't be too hard.

Thanks in advance for your prayers as we take these next steps. It is our sense that we are to take them, trusting God to close the doors if this is not the way in which we are to walk. It does seem that He is doing something here!

Second Sunday in Advent

Collect (prayer) for the Second Sunday in Advent (from the Book of Common Prayer):

Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.


Papa Rooster's commentary for our church bulletin:

If we are to be ready for the Lord’s coming, we must heed the prophet’s warnings and forsake our sins, as we pray in this morning’s Collect. The call to repent sometimes seems harsh because we are fond of our sins! But the purpose of repentance is to bring mercy and comfort. The Day of the Lord will come like a thief, but the Lord is patient, not willing that any should perish. His wish is that we repent and grow in grace. John the precursor, the one who “prepares the way” for such comfort, tells us that Christ alone can give it. John says that Jesus is more powerful than him because He will baptize with the Spirit. The Church knows the Holy Spirit brings conviction of sin. She also knows Him as the Comforter.

Hint, Hint...

Don't forget to vote!

From the Christian Women Online website:

This is your chance as...readers to show your appreciation by casting a vote.

The nominations have been tallied, and we are ready to vote on the final three in each category. The voting polls will close on December 15th at 11:59 pm central time, at which time we will once again tally the votes. The winners will be announced here, in the January 2007 edition of Christian Women Online.

You may only vote for one blogger per category, and you can vote in all or several categories. Votes will be accepted via email to:
editor@christianwomenonline.net

Consolations...and Investigations

Found out a couple things about the kids' auditions.

Bantam11's little part as the Footman does include one line! ("Your Majesty..." or something.)

Blondechick14 couldn't have done anything better to have gotten the part of Cinderella; she just wasn't as close to the directors' sense of the overall "type" they envisioned for the part.

Bantam7 was in the very last, painful group of cuts made. "He sang great, he moved well, he smiled the whole time....it was strictly his age. We just had to comb through that list one more time."

IF we move, there is a sister chapter of our theater group about 45 minutes from Kenosha--doable by most suburbanites' reckonings (sigh)--and we just found out they are actually a county with dwindling numbers, so the competition wouldn't be quite as stiff just to get in to a show!

***

Next investigation toward a possible move--we are going up there this Sunday afternoon to look at a property for sale, along with some good friends who might join us. There are 4 buildings on this lot: an old Catholic church, a brick three-story-plus-basement school building, a convent (a building with a little chapel and apartment-type bedrooms), and a rectory (a single family home--not sure how many bedrooms).

We looked at this property about a year ago, at the suggestion of our friends who've been asking us to come there, but we really weren't interested. Not only were we not hearing any kind of a call to Kenosha at that time, but we'd been envisioning a beautiful rural setting for the community we'd been dreaming of, and this lot has not even a blade of grass that I recall (maybe a narrow strip between buildings). It's mostly parking lot.

But it could really work for a L'Abri-type community of families, singles, students and visitors on retreat. The asking price is not that expensive, compared to land in our area, and since the property has been on that market for a couple of years, we can probably get it for even less. We've even been offered assistance in fund-raising.

So we must go take another look.

Pray for us, please, that we will have ears to hear the Lord's voice, and hearts and minds to discern the Lord's will.

Virtual Prayer Books

Two of yesterday's commenters said that that they had just read the story of the ten virgins, because they were following along with the Advent readings found at this site. So I checked it out, and sure enough, listed there are the Scripture readings prescribed by the Anglican Book of Common Prayer!

If anyone else is interested in reading a cycle of Scripture throughout the year that pertains to the liturgical season of the church (i.e. Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, etc.), there are several sites (listed in my sidebar under "Links") that are essentially virtual prayer books. All but the first include daily readings from the Old and New Testaments, a Gospel, and the Psalms, along with beautifully worded "Collects" or prayers, which take you through an annual theological cycle. There is a daily rhythm as well--an opening verse, a confession of sin, verses of praise, etc.

The nice thing about these sites is that they include the Scripture readings--no precious minutes wasted searching for where you left your Bible or looking up the passages. (Especially if you're trying to squeeze in a quiet time before the kids wake up!)

One of the simplest versions is The Divine Hours, an abridged and adapted form of the Book of Common Prayer. This page updates every few hours, with Scripture and a few prayers. These are very short services intended for prayer and Scripture reading several times a day. (They do NOT include the full cycle of Scripture readings known as the lectionary or the Daily Office.)

I made this site my home page on my laptop, so whenever I sit down here, I am reminded to pray before I do anything else. (One caveat: I haven't explored the rest of this site.)

The other versions are both more extensive variations from the Book of Common Prayer (or England's version of it, called the Book of Common Worship). If you're just looking for the Scripture readings, use this site (called Morning and Evening Prayer in my sidebar). Click on "Today's Prayer Service," and then scroll down to anything that says "Reading." (There are three--the OT, NT and the Gospel.)

If you'd like to see all the readings and prayers without clicking, try the sites from Common Worship (listed in my sidebar as Morning Prayer, Prayer During the Day, Evening Prayer, and Compline or Bedtime Prayer--the perfect prayers and reading to end the day).

Morning and Evening Prayer, however, will guide you more fully through petitions and intercessions. As a busy mom focused on my own family and its activities, I need the prompts to help pray for other parts of the world, for the Church at large, for the human race--and even to pray for myself better than just asking for help with the tasks of the day.

This wouldn't be the words I would find, but isn't this exactly what one SHOULD pray for oneself?

Almighty and eternal God, so draw our hearts to you, so guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so control our wills, that we may be wholly yours, utterly dedicated unto you; and then use us, we pray you, as you will, and always to your glory and the welfare of your people; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.


And for others?:

God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.


I should mention that the Daily Office, in its complete form, will take you through the book of Psalms once a month. It is said that the Psalms contain a complete theology. The Psalter was so important to the early church that in order to become a bishop or overseer, you had to have the entire Psalter memorized!

So go check 'em out, and make one your home page!

Thanks to Tonia at Intent and Ann V. at Holy Experience of Listening for first bringing The Divine Hours site to my attention, to my friend Nancy B. who first showed me the Morning and Evening Prayer site (Mission of St. Clare), and to John H. at Confessing Evangelical, who had the Common Worship links in his sidebar and gave me the idea to do the same and write this post!


Oh, and I have to recommend Confessing Evangelical's Advent post. (He keeps talking about collects in it; a collect is a prayer that collects all the themes of the service or season.) Enjoy!

In Other Words

"One response was given by the innkeeper when Mary and Joseph wanted to find a room where the Child could be born. The innkeeper was not hostile; he was not opposed to them, but his inn was crowded; his hands were full; his mind was preoccupied. This is the answer that millions are giving today. Like a Bethlehem innkeeper, they cannot find room for Christ. All the accommodations in their hearts are already taken up by other crowding interests. Their response is not atheism. It is not defiance. It is preoccupation and the feeling of being able to get on reasonably well without Christianity."
~ Billy Graham ~

We Christians, too, can fall asleep, in a sense--lulled by the same kind of distracted busyness. Our hands are full, our minds preoccupied, our lives crowded. We are saturated with activity to the point that we mistake saturation for satisfaction. And we slumber.

Advent begins the traditional liturgical year of the church with a wake-up call. The daily Scripture readings for the first two weeks of this season are full of apocalyptic images, of light breaking into darkness, of the need to be prepared for "the day of the Lord." Advent reminds us that Christ came once as a baby; he will come again as King and Judge.

One of Sunday's readings ended with these verses:

"But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man." (Luke 21:34-36)

Lord, wake me from the slumber induced by the cares of this life. Help me be spiritually wide awake and alert: able to hear your call, ready to do your bidding. Help me be as one of the five wise virgins, who had oil in her lamp and was prepared for the coming of the Bridegroom!

Oh, come Lord Jesus, come!

First Sunday in Advent

Last year for our church's Advent bulletins, Papa Rooster wrote little summaries of the tradition and theology for each Sunday. I'm a little late with this one, for this past Sunday:

This first week of Advent is introduced with the antiphon, “Our King and Savior now draws near: Come let us adore him,” and the response at the lighting of the first Advent candle, “Lord, grant us your light, that being rid of the darkness of our hearts, we may come to the true light which is Christ.” As the annual cycle of our sun diminishes, the Church sees the Advent of Christ’s Light increasing. His light is not bound to our times and our seasons, but He has entered into time and becomes the Light-source for all times. Whereas the ancient pagan festivals looked forward to the resurgence of the earthly sun, the Church anticipates the Sun of Righteousness whose light never fades. It is this “Sun of Righteousness”, as Malachi prophesies, who will bring healing in His wings. The Church begins praying this Sunday to remain awake, to put on the armor of light, which is Christ, the Light of the world. The world around us may grow dim, the cosmos itself will one day be rent, but we will be sustained by His Spirit.

And this was the Collect or prayer for the First Sunday in Advent:

Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Head, Speak to Heart, Will You?

Both Papa Rooster and I are surprised at how SAD we feel.

You want to give your children good gifts. You want opportunities and growing experiences for them. And we're not sure how many other chances they'll get...as we continue to seek the Lord's will about a possible move in the near? future.

So I find myself having to remind myself of the very things I've been telling my children. My head knows that God has a plan, that He works all things together for good, that He will use this experience to teach every single cast member things they need to learn, if they are submitted to Him. My head knows that if we move away, God will provide other opportunities and experiences for my children. But my heart is having trouble keeping up. Will God really provide for us there as He has here?

It's not just about my children, either. It's about leaving my own network of friends and support: the homeschooling friend that swaps kids with me on Fridays, my writing class, my church friends, and my friends from the theater group, who are also, many of them, my homeschooling support group.

Will God really provide for us? We're considering starting a church--and actually, more than a church--a faith community. Will people come? Will it be able to support us financially (eventually)?

It almost seemed like a sign, that if Blondechick14 had gotten this role and Bantam7 had gotten a part in the show--because it might be their last opportunity--then I would know that it was God 's way of saying, "See, I have a plan; I'm giving them this experience before you move, and I'll provide there like I have for you here."

We've been walking in a well-watered garden for many years, and now we may have a desert awaiting us. So I'm anxious, and sad----for Blondechick14, especially. Bantam7 doesn't know what he's missing, and he really likes ushering. But this would have been a perfect role for Blondechick (in terms of typecasting, which is an unavoidable reality in children's theater), and I know she would have learned so much and done so well.

So.

Methinks we've had plenty of drama over the last week, and it's time to get back in a homeschooling groove and make up some of those lost hours! We're a day or two behind in most subjects, and I have a writing class to teach this afternoon.

But my heart isn't quite in it today.

Disappointed

Well, it looks like it's disappointment and not celebration that is now on the calendar for today. Prior to 3 p.m., we didn't know what to plan for.

Blondechick14 didn't get Cinderella. She is a Ballroom Dancer and a Your Majesty Dancer (whatever that is...we shall find out).

Bantam7 got cut.

Bantam11 is a Townsperson and he's also pleased to be the Footman of Cinderella's coach (a non-speaking role, we think).

Two good friends of ours also got cut.

Sigh.

More later...I need a nap.

There Was a Moment...

There was a mythic moment last night, during Blondechick14's audition. She was reading the lines where Cinderella tells her stepsisters what she imagines it must have been like to dance with the Prince at the ball:

"He leads you around the crowded ballroom, then out onto the terrace. And he takes you into his arms...."

Maybe it was the shape of her face, or her half-closed eyes. It might have been her fair uplifted arms, or the dreaminess in her voice. But for a moment, I forgot she was my daughter. She was the quintessential Cinderella. She was a mythic image, a part of the True Myth (summarized here by Mike at Lord of the Kingdom):

All myths and all religions, [C.S Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien] argued, contained some aspect, some distorted reflection of the True Myth, which is the Gospel as revealed in the Bible. Myths - and especially intentionally pre-Christian myths such as The Lord of the Rings - were meant to reflect and point to the one Myth that has entered history and reality in the Person of Jesus Christ. God’s story - the Gospel - is found in all the distorted writings and imaginings of fallen people, people who still bear the image of God but are unable to apprehend or express the full meaning of the True Myth.

In every one of us, there is a person longing to be raised from obscurity to significance. We seek to break out of isolation and into relationship. In our separation from God, there is a place which desires union with Him. We long to be taken into his arms of love.

"I don't care what the directors think," one of the other fathers said to Papa Rooster. "Tonight, she WAS Cinderella." We knew what he meant. We'd seen it, too.

Just for a moment.

[biting nails nervously]

Well, call backs went really well for Blondechick. After several elimination rounds of reading and singing, it appeared that she was one of three Cinderellas left standing....

Now we watch a website for the cast list. It's not supposed to be up till 2:00 tomorrow afternoon, but we're hoping it's early.

I only have ten fingernails.

Yesssssss!

Blondechick14 and Bantam11 NAILED their auditions!

And Bantam7 was AWESOME, although he got a little nervous and flubbed a little part. But he was entitled--it was his first time, and he was the youngest one auditioning! He still wowed the crowd.

135 kids auditioned tonight. I feel sorry for the directors, who are going to have to cut 45-50 of them, and for those kids, many of them first-timers, who are going to be disappointed.

We just hope Bantam7 makes that cut.

***

It's after midnight, and we just got a phone call. Blondechick is called back tomorrow morning...to read for Cinderella!!!!

What a Surprise!

It's my Friday to homeschool my friend's six children as well as my own--and today, we've been practicing everyone's auditions as well (since tonight is the Big Night, remember). The two babies are napping, and I just let the older kids have the rest of the day off, because we got some major SNOW last night! (It was the noisiest snowfall I've ever heard--it sounded like gravel hitting our roof. It must have been very wet.)

So they're all outside, the lunch dishes are done and I'm waiting on a load of laundry to dry (so that I remember to hang up Bantam11's shirt for tonight). I just sat down at the computer to see who might have visited me here in the past day or so. To my surprise and growing excitement, I found several visitors had come over from this site today--the day Christian Women Online was going to announce the finalists for the Sweet Scent blog awards...

And I'm a finalist! One of three, in the category called "Best Home School Award--Makes homeschooling something to be desired." I am so tickled! Thank you so much to all those who took the time to nominate me--there had to be a number of you. It is so encouraging to me!

So next comes a voting period, between now and December 15. Just email your vote(s) to editor@christianwomenonline.net. You are not required to vote in every category, but it's a good opportunity to check out some great Christian women's blogs!

In fact, one of the other finalists in the Home School category, Home is Where You Start From, is my friend Jenny in CA, who has been one of my most encouraging commenters. I will be as thrilled if she wins this award as I imagine I will be if I do! And Lindsey at Enjoy the Journey is, I am just realizing, the same lady who set up a site called Advent for Evangelicals, which I was going to recommend in another post on Advent. Both her sites look great.

The kids are back inside drying off, Bantam11's shirt is done, and it is time to get ready to leave for auditions.

Thanks again, everyone!

Ahhhh, Auditions

So what is really going on at our house, besides Mom thinking about Advent, is auditions. Friday night. We have three kids auditioning this time, as Bantam7 will become Bantam8 just three days before the final performance of this show, which means--he's eligible, finally!, after sitting out six shows. (Not really sitting--he's ushered at every one of 'em.)

So how many times in the past 3 weeks have I heard "I Feel Pretty," "Luck Be a Lady," and "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile"? I'm not even counting. And not just heard, but watched, complimented, criticized, helped choreograph, praised and applauded my lil' hands off. And finally now, the rehearsed moves are starting to look natural, the little pauses to remember what's next are gone...and I'm so proud of them I can't contain myself!

Bantam7 sure doesn't look like a first-timer as he kicks his cane to his shoulder and swings it around to "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile." It's a perfect song for his big, toothy grin, complete with a gap and a half-grown-in tooth. Bantam11 has worked up some great hat moves: he twirls it around before donning it; he does a 360 on his toes and completes the spin with a deft settling of the hat on his head; and he drops to one knee, clutching bowler to breast as he sings, "And so the best that I can do is pray." Blondechick14's only "prop" is a full-skirted white dress, but it twirls becomingly as she delights in her "prettiness," and what she does with her voice and her face is marvelous!

Oh, the show they're auditioning for? Cinderella--not the Disney but the Rogers and Hammerstein version (with a few extra songs such as were thrown in to this production). Blondechick14, of course, would love the title role. (She and about 60 other girls, so we're not holding our breaths.) Bantam11 has a good chance at a minor speaking role, we think, considering the dearth of boys trying out, and he's surely guaranteed a partner in the ballroom scenes. Bantam7 is hoping for one of the four white mice who are turned into horses. We're not really sure what other parts there will be for the youngest kids, except maybe a townsperson or villager. He's probably too short to waltz at the ball, if that makes sense, but one never knows!

Papa Rooster and I are foregoing a Christmas party in order to attend the entire night of auditions. It's just a great variety show, for one thing, and for another, it's been a delight to watch this group of kids progress. Shy kids have become confident, those who could barely squeak out a note a year ago now sing out ringingly, and kids who once were rooted to the carpet now surprise us with their grace and agility. And there are always the new kids to throw a few wild cards into our neat speculations on who will get what part!

So. Friday.

We're excited.

Advent Traditions in Our Home

Friends with a new baby asked us recently about Advent traditions in our home, especially any distinctively Anglican ones. As I described yesterday, there aren't any distinctively Anglican traditions besides the Book of Common Prayer, but we usually do a few simple things:

We put up a Christmas tree and decorate it.

We set out a creche or manger scene.

We have an Advent "calendar"--given to us YEARS ago by a reader of this blog!--thank you! It really is a collection of 24 little books which tell a part of the Christmas story every day; after you have read the booklet for the day, you hang it on the Christmas tree.

We have an Advent wreath which we light on Sundays--sometimes with a short liturgy, sometimes without. (Advent officially begins a new liturgical year on the church calendar, so it always begins four Sundays before Christmas--not neccessarily on December 1.)

We try to keep up with the Daily Office readings prescribed by the Book of Common Prayer. During the year, we go in phases of doing parts of Morning Prayer with the kids, or only doing the readings, or only one of the readings--depending on the church season and how much time we have in the mornings and what other goals we may set for that time.

During Advent, however, I think the readings are incredible. They put an entirely different slant on Advent, because of their focus on waiting, penitence, anticipation of the second coming of Christ, preparation for that day and for possible persecution in the end times--and more waiting. They disconcert, but they deeply prepare.

These readings have generated some great discussion with my older kids--no one talks about the end times anymore! And the emphasis on preparing oneself for the two "comings" alludes to what some have called a third "coming"--the coming of Christ and the Holy Spirit into our hearts regularly as we continually struggle with that "not I, but Christ" concept. "Who is sitting on the throne of your heart?" we ask our kids, admitting that we, too, often push Christ off and decide to sit there ourselves for awhile, until we confess our pride and independence and humbly ask him to ascend His throne once again.

We are planning to incorporate the Jesse Tree readings this year as well. I have avoided the Jesse Tree in the past because it has seemed like too much work--you are supposed to make or shop for a series of ornaments that symbolizes each person or concept in the readings. Ann V. just made it a lot easier with this booklet, her accompanying meditations and her permission to use your Christmas tree as your Jesse Tree (thanks, Ann--I needed that!). You still have to cut out and mount the ornaments though, and I confess I'm not quite ready to commit the time. I think we will just print out the drawings from this site, let the kids color them, hole-punch them and put 'em on the Christmas tree. If we like it, we can invest more into it next year.

I also found, as I was researching (on the Catholic websites, mostly), a couple more traditions we may try. One is to take the Wise Men from your creche and start them out a long distance away from the stable, bringing them a little closer every day. In our home, we may put the stable at one end of the fireplace mantel and the Wise Men at the other and move them by tiny increments (very tiny, as of course they don't arrive until Epiphany, in January).

Another tradition is to "prepare the manger for Jesus" with good deeds. I know we are justified by faith, not works, but let's think of this as a variation on a sticker chart. You encourage your kids to be kind, to share, to serve--you know the list--and whenever you "catch them doing something right," they get to place a straw in the manger (a shoebox?) to "make the bed soft for the baby Jesus." (Actually, there's some good theology there--don't we make our hearts soft in the same way?) I think younger kids especially would enjoy this activity.

What traditions have been most meaningful in your home?

Anglican Traditions

I've been asked twice in the past week about Anglican traditions, as they relate to Advent and to house blessings.

Guess what? There are no distinctly Anglican traditions. Just about everything Anglicans do is explained and accessible on about a zillion Catholic websites.

(Except for house blessings. I googled on that phrase and came up with precious little that looked Christian, and few details on the ones that did. Lots of pagan rituals out there for house blessings though. Hmmm, a project for Papa Rooster?)

So why are there no distinctly Anglican traditions? That's because the Church of England never jettisoned the good stuff from the Catholic Church. Like Luther and the other Reformers, they wanted to purge the church of excesses--but when they were at their best, they managed not to throw out the baby with the bathwater. They kept those prayers and traditions which had been handed down from the first apostles. In fact, they wrote them down in a more accessible form than the Latin mass (that is, in English, and in one volume instead of seven)--and the Book of Common Prayer was born. I suppose you could call the BCP the one "tradition" that is distinctive to Anglican worship!

This week I happened to run across this post by John H (a Lutheran) at Confessing Evangelical in which he said:

But just because something is done in the Roman Catholic Church doesn't mean it should be cast aside by evangelicals ...I've found the following words from the Swedish Lutheran bishop Bo Giertz particularly helpful in setting out what truly distinguishes evangelical Christianity from Roman Catholicism:

Such external things as confession, bowing our knees, making the sign of the cross mark no distinction between Protestants and Roman Catholics. Luther himself went often to confession, he bended his knees both at home and in the church, and in his little catechism he suggests that a Christian should make the sign of the cross both morning and evening. In such matters there is no difference between the pope and ourselves except that we consciously remove all ceremonies that are unscriptural, but make use of all others in evangelical freedom, when they serve the edification of believers. (bold type in original)

Papa Rooster, as an Anglican priest, owns, studies and borrows from Catholic and Orthodox liturgies because they date back to the earliest days of the church. He reads the "Church Fathers"--the earliest Christian writers--to learn those things which have been believed and practiced by all Christians at all times in all places --"quod ubique, quod semper, quod ab omnibus credituni est" ("what has been believed everywhere, always, and by all"). That was the now-famous maxim of St. Vincent of Lerins (434 AD). While Scripture was his ultimate source of Christian truth, this test was what he and many have used to distinguish between true and false tradition.

And there are so many rich traditions--and some good theology--that were completely lost in the reactionary decisions of the Reformation. No disputing that a reformation was needed, but even Luther didn't want to leave Catholicism. Mark Sides at Stones Cry Out says this is his "almost daily lament: the sad absence of grandeur, pomp and circumstance, pageantry, beauty, tradition, and sense of history that so characterizes, and so impoverishes, the Evangelical church in America.... It is possible that we have gone well beyond what Luther, Calvin and other early Protestant leaders intended."

Since Protestantism rejected church traditions that they believed were not directly rooted in Scripture, other traditions arose to fill that void which are even less Scriptural. Christmas, for example, is a season in the liturgical year that has become filled with secular, consumeristic traditions; in the liturgical year, the season of Christmas doesn't even begin until December 24--no trees, no gifts, no parties or Christmas carols before that date (if we followed church tradition only). The traditional focus of Advent is on waiting--not only for the baby Jesus, but for the second coming of Jesus--and so it is a penitential season, like Lent, as we examine and prepare ourselves for his comings. (And Easter.... There are so many beautiful symbols and services that the church needs to resurrect during that season--but I'll save that for later.)

Bottom line? For Christian family traditions, borrow freely from our Catholic and Orthodox brethren! They're generally rooted in the earliest traditions of the church.

Tomorrow I'll outline some of our family traditions as well as some we're considering.

After-Thanksgiving Thanksgivings

We're back!

I'm so thankful for...

...safety while traveling to my parents' home in Ohio and back.
...safety for my other relatives who also traveled there.
...a great visit with our family:
...Professor Brother and his wife and his three daughters--my kids' cousins.
...Air Force Uncle and his wife and their son and daughter, my cousins--who are close in age to my oldest kids and seemed to them like new-found cousins! (which they are: they are first cousins once removed.)
...my Grandma, my kids' Great-Grandma, still going strong at 94 3/4.
...my parents--for their health and energy and hospitality to us all.
...an afternoon with my mother's twin cousins, their husbands and their brother.
...a new little girl "cousin" (my kids' second cousin) born in another state on the day after Thanksgiving.
...extended family who all know and serve the Lord.
...beautiful weather while we were there.
...a great yard and a full basement for the kids to play in.
...enough Airsoft guns to go around to keep even the teenagers healthfully and happily outdoors.
...a 5.7 mile run through the country enjoyed by Papa Rooster and his 3 older boys.
...a most tasty and more-than-adequate supply of eats and treats.
...Eirik's dad coming home from the hospital while we were gone.
...the news that his tumor was BENIGN, not cancerous, after all!
...a day of rest after our return.
...our own live-in priest (Papa Rooster) to lead us in a quiet communion service at home this morning.
...a fire crackling away in our fireplace.
...an overflowing supply of seasoned firewood from the two trees we took down 1.5 years ago.
...strong boys eager to build muscle by splitting wood!

Happy Birthday, Junior High Girl

Fourteen years ago today, I fell in love for the third time.

First there was my husband...and then four years later, a son. Twenty-two months later, on a Sunday morning, I gazed upon a tiny, pink bundle of femininity and began a new love relationship--with a daughter. And I was a little bit scared.

I had always known that I could be a mom of boys--I had two younger brothers growing up, and I could manage them just fine. But I don't have a sister and didn't have many girlfriends as a child, and during my second pregnancy, I realized that I actually was uncomfortable--afraid, in fact--of the idea of having a daughter.

Junior high was a tough time for me. It was then that I formed the opinion that girls--with the exception of my best friend since grade school--were not safe. My experience with junior high girls was that they could be sweet to your face, but make fun of you as soon as you left. They preferred beauty to brains. They were fake, insincere, moody, manipulative and sometimes downright mean. Maybe these girls improved during high school, but I wouldn't have noticed. I didn't trust any of 'em. (Though I wanted to and tried to.)

At the Christian college I attended, things totally turned around and I made wonderful girlfriends. And I've been blessed with rich female friendships ever since. But a daughter of my own...what if she was like a junior high girl? Or like I was, as a sister, bossy and controlling? Would we get into fights like my mom and I did sometimes when I was a teenager?

During my pregnancy, I faced these fears squarely. I prayed with a healing prayer minister about the wounds to my own femininity, and we prayed for me to be able to accept and take joy in a daughter, if the Lord decided to give me one. We didn't even know, at that point--I just had a strong feeling.

Well, that tiny little pixie in pink captured my heart--and brought new challenges into my life. I expected a daughter to be compliant, as I had been as a child, but Blondechick had a will--and a charm--of her own. When she was three, Daddy put her to bed and sat down to have a little talk with her about an earlier disobedience. At the end of his little speech, she reached up and tweaked his nose.

Fast forward 11 years.

She is a junior high girl...and she is a joy.

She is beautiful--inside and out. As a sister, she is trusted by her nearer brothers and adored by her youngest siblings. She loves babies and is highly regarded as a babysitter outside our own family. She has many friends, of both genders, because she is fun to be with and she knows how to draw people in--it's been a talent of hers since she was a toddler. She is a singer, a dancer and an actress, who's becoming a reader as well. As a Christian, she is sensitive to the Lord and to what He wants to teach her.

And as a daughter? We have grown so close that she seems like a sister. Of course, there are times when that will of hers pushes hard against her parents' authority and we have to draw the hard line. Of course, she still needs discipline and direction. But we talk, we shop, we cook, clean and eat together. We "mother" the little ones together. We trade shoes, jewelry and clothing. We pray, sing and listen to music together. We discuss her academic subjects as well as her hopes, fears and dreams.

What if we had put her in school for junior high? We thought about it.

I would have missed out on the joy of having a junior high girl around all the time; the constant companionship (taxing though it is sometimes on an introvert) of a daughter, a "sister," a friend. She might have turned into one of those junior high girls! And I would have missed out on the healing of this experience. For my fears--through prayer, obedience, and God's grace--have turned to joy.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! (Ephesians 3:20-21)

Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of a junior high girl.

Happy Birthday, darling daughter!

Update on Grandpa Rooster

Well, Grandpa Rooster is still in the hospital. He's doing well, though. Still no official pathology report, but the initial one said that the tumor looked completely encapsulated, just as it had appeared on the MRI--great news! He's completely off his pain meds except for something pretty mild--Darvocet, I think? He's walking around and generally doing great, except for distension in the abdomen which they say is due to retention of fluid. So they started him on Lasix, a diuretic, today.

If you're praying...please pray that his kidneys will recover quickly and get to back to work normally now!

Of course Grandma would like to have him home for Thanksgiving, but if he is, it will be a low-key holiday for them. We'll be gone, visiting my family in Ohio.

***

In other health-related news, we just heard that the mom of a family in our theater organization, thinking she had a simple sinus infection, just found out that she probably has cancer of the sinuses--in the bones right next to the brain. They'll do a biopsy next week.

Would you join me in praying for this mom and their family? They have four children.

We are just in shock.

Lord, have mercy.