Posted in Books Videos Music, Celebrations, Christmas, Home Schooling/Unschooling, tagged boxing day, Christianity, Christmas music, Christmas song, Christmas songs, feast days, feast of stephen, Good King Wenceslaus, holiday, Holidays, music, Saint Stephen, st. stephen, The Feast of Stephen on December 26, 2009 | 2 Comments »
I was listening to this version of Good King Wenceslaus last year…
… and began to wonder, “What does the Feast of Stephen involve?” I must admit, I am naturally attracted to superstitions and traditions, and, while I know who St. Stephen is and what he is famous for, I was not so [...]
Posted in Celebrations, Christmas, Ministries - Spreading spiritual wealth, tagged Christian celebrations, Christianity, Christians, Good King Wenceslaus, martyr, martyrs, Saint Stephen, Stephen, The Feast of Stephen on December 26, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The Feast of Stephen is today. So yesterday’s song, in a way, belongs to today. I was going to tell you about the feast, and how it got started, but one fellow has already done such a good job that I leave it to him.
So, for you curious ones, here is all about the Feast of Stephen, [...]
Posted in Books Videos Music, Celebrations, Christmas, Home Schooling/Unschooling, Ministries - Spreading spiritual wealth, tagged Celtic Thunder, Celtic Thunder Christmas 1915, Christmas, Christmas Eve, Christmas Eve Truce, German, German soldier, Silent Night, World War One, WWI on December 24, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
This gorgeous song is respectufully and hauntingly performed, and sheds yet another light on the Christmas Eve Truce legend. This is the last post I’ve planned on this topic this year.
Posted in Books Videos Music, Celebrations, Christmas, Ministries - Spreading spiritual wealth, What Does the Bible Say?, tagged angel, angels, Baby Jesus, Bible teaching, Christ, Christianity, Christmas, Christmas story, Dicken's Dublin, Jesus, King Herod, Loreena McKennit, Messiah, Scripture teaching, Thankfulness, The Wise Men on December 23, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
This Victorian song-story…
…by Lorenna McKennit, a retelling of the first Christmas story, is a delightful mixture of two time periods…and two poverty-stricken children.
At least, One of them is rich, now…and willing to share His riches with those of us who are willing to have them.
Posted in Books Videos Music, Celebrations, Christmas, Home Schooling/Unschooling, tagged Belleau Wood, marine, marines, war documentary, World War One, WWI on December 22, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
A short, historical commentary of the fight at Belleau Wood, accompanied by original film clips. This fight was not the same event as the Christmas Eve Truce, but is bound up in the same legend, and is worth learning about. (The sound on the video is rather quiet - turn your volume up.)
Posted in Celebrations, Christmas, Home Schooling/Unschooling, Inspirations for Life and Projects, tagged Celebrations, Christianity, December, Early America, Mayflower, Mayflower ship, Pilgrims, Thankfulness, Unified Thought, working together on December 21, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Down in the bleak December bay
The ghostly vessel stands away;
Her spars and halyards white with ice,
Under the dark December skies.
A hundred souls, in company,
Have left the vessel pensively, -
Have reached the frosty desert there,
And touched it with the knees of prayer.
And now the day begins to dip,
The night begins to lower
Over the bay, and over [...]
Posted in Books Videos Music, Celebrations, Christmas, Home Schooling/Unschooling, Inspirations for Life and Projects, tagged Belleau Wood, choir, Christmas, Christmas Eve, Christmas Eve Truce, German, German soldier, Liam, music, Silent Night, song, The Great War, war images, war photos, war trenches, World War One, WWI on December 20, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Another version of the song “Belleau Wood,” accompanied by photographs of soldiers in the trenches -
Posted in Books Videos Music, Celebrations, Christmas, tagged Christmas, Christmas song, Christmas songs, drum, drummer, drums, Enya, Enya "One Toy Soldier", One toy soldier song, toy drum on December 15, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Here is a beautiful non-traditional Christmas song that I just had to share with you! I like Enya, and I especially like this song.
Posted in Books Videos Music, Celebrations, Christmas, Home Schooling/Unschooling, tagged Belleau Wood, Celtic Thunder, Christmas Eve Truce, The Great War, World War One, World War One history, WWI, WWI history on December 13, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
This World War One Christmas Eve Truce and the surrounding fighting has become a bit of a legend, and while the details aren’t always the same from story to story, the men who truly took a part deserve our respect and praise. We might have a lot less to be grateful for if [...]
Posted in Celebrations, Christmas, My Life and Family, tagged Celebrations, Christmas, Christmas gift ideas, Christmas gifts, Christmas stocking, coal, coal burning stove, gift, gift ideas, gifts, lump of coal, romance, self-sufficiency, stocking stuffer, stocking stuffers, Thankfulness, wood stoves on December 10, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
For the last two years, Will has given me a lump of coal for Christmas. You know what that means, right? Every naughty little girl or boy is supposed to find a lump of coal, or a switch, in his or her stocking come Christmas morning.
I am sure Will thinks I deserve another lump of [...]
Posted in Celebrations, Christmas, Ministries - Spreading spiritual wealth, tagged Christmas, Christmas spirit, father christmas, Father Frost, gifts, giving, holidalys, Kris Kringle, Pere Noel, saints, saints holidays, st nicholas, st nicholas day on December 6, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I’ve known for years that the Bishop of Myra, St. Nicholas, was the original Santa Claus – a real, live, generous man who helped the poor, and was said to appear to people even after his death, to warn them away from vice and trouble. But there is a lot more that I didn’t know. [...]
Posted in Celebrations, Christmas, Food and Recipes, Scandinavia, tagged baking, Celebrations, Christmas, food, Saint Lucia Cake, Santa Lucia Cake, Santa Lucia Crown bread, Santa Lucia Crown cake, Scandinavia, Scandinavian bread, Scandinavian bread recipe, Swedish bread recipe on December 5, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Here is a priority recipe again this season:
This is a picture from when I made Santa Lucia Crown bread for the first time last year. Santa Lucia Day is December 13th, but I thought I’d better post this now, and give you some time to prepare to make this. I don’t know how authentic or traditional this recipe is, but it tastes delicous! It is from a [...]
Posted in Celebrations, Christmas, My Life and Family, tagged condensation, condensation images, frost, frost images, ice, ice images, ice pictures, Jack Frost on December 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I was hoping to find and post some cute stories about Jack Frost, but I ran out of time.
So I will just share these lovely pictures of his handiwork.
Enjoy!
Images from the Internet -
My children asked me what Jack Frost looks like. I think this is a plausible enough likeness.
Jack Frost’s handiwork on my front door [...]
Posted in Celebrations, Christmas, Ministries - Spreading spiritual wealth, What Does the Bible Say?, tagged abundance, Thankfulness, Christianity, Scripture teaching, Christmas, God, Christ, Messiah, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Redeemer, Immanuel, Shepherd, The Good Shepherd, Grace, Acrostic, Christmas Acrostic, Acrostics on December 2, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
CHRISTMAS IS CHRIST —
Condescending, Coming to a cattle trough, Coming from God above.
Here, from Heaven, in Human form, the Holy One.
Revealing the Father, Redeeming many sons.
Immanuel, virgin-born, with us, Incarnate God.
Sent One – to seek us and Shepherd us for our good.
Truth, here to Teach and Transform us by His Word and by Love.
Miracle-born Messiah, [...]
