Showing posts with label Jesus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jesus. Show all posts

Christmas Musing


It's the day after Christmas. There's still gift bags and tissue paper piled high on the loveseat. The coffee table is full of Christmas bounty. Jason's back to work. Julian is crawling around the house in his new sleeping bag pretending to be a worm. Jane is sleeping off a crazy jam session in her fancy exersaucer. I'm feeling the usual mixed emotions that come with the holidays. This week between Christmas and New Years is always kind of long and strange, especially with school being out.

 We spent Christmas day with my in laws. I'm so lucky to get along with them well. My mother in law made it a relaxed, delicious, beautiful time. We've established a tradition. We open presents at our home and then head over there for breakfast and time with all the family. At some point presents are opened. By noon, everyone heads back to their houses for a Christmas nap. We don't have other family in town so we go back for a nice holiday dinner. There's usually a non-related guest or two that joins us. It's a nice day.


 I do miss my family though. My parents are overseas. My brother is in California and my sister and her family live in Texas. We try to talk, or at least text, Christmas day, but I think that only makes us miss each other more! For me, there's always a little undercurrent that something is missing during the holiday season and I know it's being with my family. Hopefully we'll all be able to celebrate together in 2015.

 I also went into this Christmas thinking that there would not be many presents under the tree. We've had medical  bills to pay off, stuff with the cars, and just a lot of financial drama this year. Jane is pretty small so I wasn't worried about her being disappointed, but Julian has had some major Christmas hauls in past years. I also love finding perfect gifts for friends and family members so, by my own choice, I normally have quite a few people to shop for. This year, we had to seriously slim down the list. We mostly just bought for our kids, nieces & nephews and our parents. 

 Much to my surprise (and gratitude!), we were flooded with gifts from family and friends. The grandparents got the kids' big items: a bike for Julian and a deluxe exersaucer for Jane. I'm pretty sure neither of the children minded that some their gifts from us were not entirely new. Julian even said that this was the best Christmas ever. We all loved hearing that!

Of course, as much as family means and as fun as all the gifting is, the real meaning of Christmas also brings me mixed emotions. I can't express enough thankfulness that I don't have to earn God's acceptance. Jesus made that possible, so celebrating His birth is the highlight of my year. This holiday and the whole Jesus story is about love, forgiveness, acceptance, peace... and it makes me very sad that those are not words that are associated with Christians in general any more. That's another blog post entirely though! 

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Vintage Virgin Mary Religious Art

Just listed a pair of Madonnas in my Etsy shop. I love how patient and peaceful Mary looks- definitely not my mindset these days! So here's my listings and few other favorites from around Etsy.

The Kitchen Madonna from TheRicharmedLife

Chalk ware bust from Brimfieldfinds

Italian bakelite statue from 1EyedJacks
Mother Mary planter from TheRicharmedLife
Italian white Madonna from OurShabbyCottage

Virgin Mary Kokeshi/Japanese style from Benerita
Chalk ware wall hanging from HoneyLocustHills

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Peace

Tuesday, September 18~ 


Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. -Philippians 4:6-7
 


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Good Friday

from Friday, April 6, 2012~



Yesterday was Good Friday. The commemoration of the day and event has been widespread since at least the 4th century (documented by Egeria). What is being commemorated is basically what happened to Jesus once the Jewish leaders turned Him over to the Romans as a troublemaker.* This is recorded in all 4 Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John- click on the book to read the account). 

Within each Christian sect these events* are celebrated differently. The Catholic church observes the most elaborately. In that group,  Good Friday worship services often begin in the afternoon at 3:00 pm (traditionally the time that Jesus may have died). That can consists of the singing (or preaching) of the Passion of St. John's gospel. The Veneration of the Cross is also common. This is when Christians approach a wooden cross (or crucifix) and kneel before it and/or kiss part of it. In addition to these traditions, Holy Communion is practiced. In the Latin Rite of the Catholic church, no masses are said on Good Friday. Good Friday is an official fast day (no food) of the Catholic Church. Many churches (both Catholic and Protestant) also offer the Stations of the Cross.  


My church holds an afternoon service. Within that service we sing songs having to do with the crucifixion. Then we read the Biblical account of the crucifixion. Sometimes there is a short sermon. After that we spend some time in quiet reflection before partaking in communion. We end the service in song. Families are encouraged to do object lessons together. A popular one is always resurrection cookies. (Recipe & instructions found here.) We made a tomb and hill diorama then we did a simple (age appropriate) explanation of the event and then sealed a Jesus figure in the tomb. When we open it Sunday morning, the figure will be gone. (Instructions here.) In the past we've done a stations of the cross sort of thing, but it's been a few years.

Wikipedia actually has a pretty detailed Good Friday account posted with lots of scripture and even more detail about customs all around the world.

*I don't want to be overly graphic, but I think we all are aware of the brutality of the Roman Empire. I've included links if you want more detail. The first thing the Romans did was to strip Jesus naked and flog Him with a whip containing metal components, razor-sharp bones or hooks and lead balls. Flogging sometimes killed, but it always severely weakened the victim. The soldiers then commenced with the psychological torture: throwing a scarlet robe across His shoulders, making Him hold a scepter, and pressing a sharp thorn crown deep into His scalp. They screamed at and made fun of Him, they took the scepter out of His hand, and repeatedly struck Him on the head. Jesus then was in critical condition. A heavy wooden beam was thrust upon Christ’s battered body and He was led away to a place called Golgotha to be crucified.There Jesus was literally nailed to a wooden cross. Historically Romans used thick iron spikes driven through the wrists and ankles. The body would hang from the nails in a way that breathing became difficult as the person would have to push their body upward to grasp small gulps of air. The Roman system of crucifixion was intended to inflict maximum pain. Jesus would have experienced cycles of joint-wrenching cramps, intermittent asphyxiation, and excruciating pain as His lacerated back moved up and down against the rough timber of the cross. (In fact, the word excruciating (literally “out of the cross”) had to be invented to fully capture its horror.) As Jesus felt the end approaching, He was said to cry out, “‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?–––which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?””† and then gave up His spirit. There was darkness and an earthquake large enough to break open sealed tombs. A follower of Jesus asked the Roman rulers to bury Jesus body. A short time later, a Roman legionnaire drove his spear through Jesus' ribs and into his heart to make sure He is dead. Jesus body is then taken and wrapped in a linen shroud and treated according to Jewish traditions and left in a sealed and guarded tomb.


†This is significant to the Christian because we believe that Jesus lived a perfect life but then allowed Himself this death to pay for all the wrongdoing of humanity. We believe God is just and holy and so He cannot tolerate evil and rebellion. When Jesus took on the sins of the world, God had to turn His back on Him.

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Maundy Thursday

Thursday, April 5, 2012~






   It's crazy to me that I have to plan my calendar a month in advance. I can only imagine how crazy it will be when Julian is in school! I am excited to start inviting people to my next jewelry party. (Click on the photo for details!)

   So today is Maundy Thursday. I didn't grow up really acknowledging the day much so I had to do a little research about it.  There is no historical account outside of the Bible of the events of this evening so I will just mention the traditions that are commonly held. Maundy Thursday commemorates the last Passover supper Jesus shared with his disciples on the night before He was crucified. Some churches hold quiet candlelight services. These services can observe any or all of these 3 traditions: foot washing*, communion**, a traditional Passover Seder meal***. 

*Before the Passover supper, Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. By performing this lowly act of service, the Bible says in John 13:1 that Jesus "showed them the full extent of his love." By his example, Jesus demonstrated how Christians are to love one another through humble service. 

**During the meal, Jesus took bread and wind and asked His Father to bless it. He broke the bread into pieces, giving it to his disciples and said, "This is my body, given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." Then he took the cup of wine, shared it with his disciples and said, "This wine is the token of God's new covenant to save you--an agreement sealed with the blood I will pour out for you." These events are recorded in Luke 22:19-20 and are the Biblical basis for the practice of communion. For this reason, many churches hold special Communion services as a part of their Maundy Thursday celebrations. 

*** Some congregations observe a traditional Passover Seder meal according to tradition. For more information about the Seder meal, go to this link.

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What is Palm Sunday

Monday, April 2, 2012~


   Remember my post about making the Easter mud project? Look at it now! It is ready for our Easter object lesson.


Can't wait to add some of this wheat grass to a few recipes
   So yesterday was Palm Sunday. Most Christians know what that day is about. Still I think it's ignorant to assume everyone else does too, so I just want to give a brief explanation for those who are curious. I'm actually going to be writing about the historical side of Easter this week. I'm not going to debate theology or talk about other American Easter traditions . This is the biggest holiday for my faith and whether you agree with my beliefs or not, maybe you'll find the "why" of this holiday interesting.

   Palm Sunday marks the day that Jesus entered Jerusalem. This is not a story, but a historical event, as recorded by Jewish historian, Josephus. It's also recorded in Matthew 21. When Jesus entered Jerusalem the Jewish people were ecstatic because they thought he was a rebel leader that would start a revolution to overthrow the Roman oppressors. In a sign of respect, they laid palm fronds in front of the donkey Jesus was riding on. That might seem odd to us, but streets during that time were dusty and muddy and full of animal excrement so any sort of shield from that would be welcome! Jesus route took him to the temple and then back to Bethany where he spent the night. He made the super religious people pretty angry at the temple and you can read about that in Matthew 21:12-17.

   We usually celebrate the day by a special church service. Many families start reading the Easter story account in the Bible. Mostly it's just preparing for the following weekend. 


PS- I think sometimes the idea of Jesus conjures to mind a comic book hero or story tale prince type idea. There is actual a lot of documentation of his historical existence. This article gives lots of detail and places to start if you want to see what historical facts say about the person Jesus. Now, of course, it's not trying to prove any theology or the deity of Christ, it's just the historical records.

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Dirty Girl

Wednesday, March 21st~


So messy- to make and transport!
 And you are wondering what the heck this is... It's the start of an Easter object lesson. My friend Jessie discovered in on Pinterest. Jessie is probably my most creative friend and I love following her down the rabbit hole of craftiness. Here's the blog it's from originally. Now, this will be a little different than the blog one, but it should sprout edible wheat grass and we'll add crosses on Good Friday and put a small Jesus figure in the "tomb". There's a lid that we'll seal up. The night before Easter, when the child is in bed, we open the tomb and take the Jesus out. Sunday morning we talk about why it's empty now. I think he'll be into it and it's a good intro to the real meaning of Easter for us.

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