Did you have candles for Christmas?
We were in Australia battling hot humid weather with no air conditioning! With every fan available blowing a gale, our candles served decorative purpose only. That is what is nice about candles. You can appreciate their beauty even when not lit.
Actually so much of what one plans doesn’t eventuate but we have fun trying. One year, Christmas dinner did not happen at all. It would have heated up the kitchen and eventually the whole house. It was so hot that everyone opted for cold icy drinks rather than to face a hot meal. Actually it was so hot, no one wanted the cold salads either. So it was smoothies and ice drinks all day and the kids ran thru the garden water sprinkler. This Christmas we were on water restrictions so many families spent the day at the beach. We had salads and smoothies in the evening. Best of all we had long talks and lots of laughter.
What a contrast to our American home and family gathering. We spoke at length over the phone with hoards of our family members who sledded and played in the snow all morning followed by a fabulous hot dinner.
So wherever you are in the world at Christmas, spending fun time with family and sharing fabulous food (or cold drinks) and friendship remains important to all of us.
For us though, this is not just Happy Holidays! This season is about Christ and remembering what he has done and continues to do for us. It is not just about family and food, but it is important that as individuals and as a family we remember that Jesus is the Reason for the Season.
To help us remember what Christmas is really about, here are a few ways we try to achieve this.
We decorate the house, not just with a tree and some tinsel, but with Nativity pictures, a nativity scene, motivation statements and candles that have meaning.
We play music that honors the God in the season. For us it is not about reindeer or a man in a red suit, so we try to find music that tells the real story. It is not that we ban the other fun songs. (Actually my daughter’s favorite Christmas song is an Aussie one “Six White Boomers” which is about kangaroos taking the place of the reindeer). We just make sure that Jesus is the primary focus of our music.
Before the giving of presents, grandpa gathers the children and tells the Christmas story about Jesus, the greatest gift that was ever given.
After we are seated at the table spread with a magnificent feast, the candles are lit and as they are lit a short simple statement about letting the candles be a reminder that God brought Light to the earth and to our lives and that we need to let His Light shine thru us to others.
Watch a good movie about the Christmas story. We have a great animated one for the kids.
Do a quiz about the Christmas story.
This year we did a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle called Light to the Gentiles. It pictures Mary Joseph, Baby Jesus and Simeon in the Temple. Everyone had a go at it over a few days.
Take time as an individual to reflect be thankful.
For Jesus coming to this earth that we might know God and be saved
For Jesus and the love joy and peace He gives us
For family
For friends
For our home
For our food
For our clothes
So now that Christmas day is over and our regular lives resume, we need to take the Love, Joy and Peace that He has given us and allow the Light of His Salvation to shine before others that they too may know Him.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Birthday Reflections and Future Directions
Another of my daughters is having her birthday. I wondered how much different are our desires as we get older. How different is it to have a birthday when you are twenty nine than it is when you are nine. I asked her. What would make your birthday a great birthday?
Her sweet response :-
To do a fun outdoor activity
To have yummy things to eat
To be pampered with love and smiles
To be with friends and family
To have some time alone for reflection and dreaming of the future
To start recording my journey
Have a read of my blogs about my nine year old's birthday wishes. When you really look at it closely, there are heaps of similarities. Whether you are nine or twenty nine there are still some things that remain common….A desire for fun, food, family, friends.
What changes as we get older is our desire for meaning and purpose in our life. It is important that we seek out our reason for being. Knowing our reason for being gives meaning to our life. Once this is discovered it affects our future decisions.
Reflection on our journey so far helps refine for us what we have enjoyed and what we would sooner do without. It helps us see what we have been good at and what we need to work on, what we have achieved and gained and what we have lost. Reminiscing helps get our talents and motivations in clearer perspective.
Using our talents for meaningful pursuit give light, depth, perspective, color, movement, emotion and fragrance to our life. Just like a beautiful painting.
Learning that my reason for being was to commune with my Heavenly Father and grow to know Him intimately radically changed my perspective on my life. Know Him better day by day and you discover that He is like a candle in the darkness …a gentle light that powerfully overcomes the darkness… the darkness in me and the darkness around. Know Him and you gain an understanding that he desires all of us to know Him and the warmth and light you experience you cannot help but share with those you love and those you encounter.
Reflection can be painful as well as a source of growth and maturity. Our pains and sufferings take on different meaning when you, first, have your real reason for being.
Taking our new found relationship with our Maker and Heavenly Father, the learnings and signposts from our reflections and our talents (now yielded to Him for His purposes), everything is different
- Our Darkness is turned to Light
- Our Confusion is turned to Peace
- Our Loneliness is turned to Comfort
- Our Sadness is turned to Joy
- Our Mourning is turned into dancing
- Our Wanderings are turned to a Straight Path
- His strength is made perfect in our weakness
Find your reason for living and your life will be the most beautiful painting anyone has ever laid eyes on.
Her sweet response :-
To do a fun outdoor activity
To have yummy things to eat
To be pampered with love and smiles
To be with friends and family
To have some time alone for reflection and dreaming of the future
To start recording my journey
Have a read of my blogs about my nine year old's birthday wishes. When you really look at it closely, there are heaps of similarities. Whether you are nine or twenty nine there are still some things that remain common….A desire for fun, food, family, friends.
What changes as we get older is our desire for meaning and purpose in our life. It is important that we seek out our reason for being. Knowing our reason for being gives meaning to our life. Once this is discovered it affects our future decisions.
Reflection on our journey so far helps refine for us what we have enjoyed and what we would sooner do without. It helps us see what we have been good at and what we need to work on, what we have achieved and gained and what we have lost. Reminiscing helps get our talents and motivations in clearer perspective.
Using our talents for meaningful pursuit give light, depth, perspective, color, movement, emotion and fragrance to our life. Just like a beautiful painting.
Learning that my reason for being was to commune with my Heavenly Father and grow to know Him intimately radically changed my perspective on my life. Know Him better day by day and you discover that He is like a candle in the darkness …a gentle light that powerfully overcomes the darkness… the darkness in me and the darkness around. Know Him and you gain an understanding that he desires all of us to know Him and the warmth and light you experience you cannot help but share with those you love and those you encounter.
Reflection can be painful as well as a source of growth and maturity. Our pains and sufferings take on different meaning when you, first, have your real reason for being.
Taking our new found relationship with our Maker and Heavenly Father, the learnings and signposts from our reflections and our talents (now yielded to Him for His purposes), everything is different
- Our Darkness is turned to Light
- Our Confusion is turned to Peace
- Our Loneliness is turned to Comfort
- Our Sadness is turned to Joy
- Our Mourning is turned into dancing
- Our Wanderings are turned to a Straight Path
- His strength is made perfect in our weakness
Find your reason for living and your life will be the most beautiful painting anyone has ever laid eyes on.
Friday, December 14, 2007
The Best Birthday of My Life
At the end of her special day, my daughter said "This has been the best birthday of my life". She got the day off school and was allowed to sleep in....but of course it was a fun day so she awoke very early. Her desire for a pet was ...well ....almost met ....with her present being a Red Tamagottchi virtual pet...Since she totally loves computers, and always wanted a tamagotchi these 2 loves joined together in one. She was very excited and felt very grown up.
We had a family day together. We visited the Ginger Factory...took a boat ride following the gingerbread man all around the world and back again....then we took a train ride around the magnificent tropical gardens and saw some very beautiful ginger flowers. A visit to Santa's workshop and a spectacular marionatte display of elves working on all sorts of projects culminated in a free photo (just because it was her birthday) with Santa.
Swimming was on her favorites list too and so off to the beach it was.... what a great time boogie boarding the waves! On the way back from the beach we encountered some fabulous markets where she told every one who would listen that it was her birthday and she was very excited about it. You would be amazed at how many freebies she was given as her excitment caught on with the market vendors....she even received a huge very fragrant mango (of course she loves mangos..
On return everyone busied around the kitchen making a gourmet spaghetti bolognaise (her favorite food) with fresh homecooked bread (a garlic and olive loaf) and italian garden salad.
We all settled to watch a movie with intermission being another of her favorites...Chocolate mud cake, red strawberries and cream..... and of course the ceremonial candle blowing..... what a smile! She had just had the best day of her life.... and I am sure it was not about the things, but about the time spent making her day special with her favorite things and her favorite people...family.
We had a family day together. We visited the Ginger Factory...took a boat ride following the gingerbread man all around the world and back again....then we took a train ride around the magnificent tropical gardens and saw some very beautiful ginger flowers. A visit to Santa's workshop and a spectacular marionatte display of elves working on all sorts of projects culminated in a free photo (just because it was her birthday) with Santa.
Swimming was on her favorites list too and so off to the beach it was.... what a great time boogie boarding the waves! On the way back from the beach we encountered some fabulous markets where she told every one who would listen that it was her birthday and she was very excited about it. You would be amazed at how many freebies she was given as her excitment caught on with the market vendors....she even received a huge very fragrant mango (of course she loves mangos..
On return everyone busied around the kitchen making a gourmet spaghetti bolognaise (her favorite food) with fresh homecooked bread (a garlic and olive loaf) and italian garden salad.
We all settled to watch a movie with intermission being another of her favorites...Chocolate mud cake, red strawberries and cream..... and of course the ceremonial candle blowing..... what a smile! She had just had the best day of her life.... and I am sure it was not about the things, but about the time spent making her day special with her favorite things and her favorite people...family.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Making Birthdays Special - Out of the mouth of Babes
Well here is the result of the first round of brainstorming. My nine year old daughter says... a birthday with all her favorite things would be a good day. She wrote me a list of all her favourite things. Her favorite color is red, favorite animal is a horse or a dog, her favorite toy is a stuffed toy dog, favorite card game is snap, favorite board game is Risk, favorite outdoor thing is swimming with the whole family, favorite meal is Spaghetti Bolognaise, favorite dessert is creamy icecream and peaches and dont forget the chocolate! So, what a list we have to work with!
Will keep you posted!
Will keep you posted!
Are Birthdays about expensive gifts?
Whether you are 9 or 90 years old, birthdays should be meaningful and fun.
They may be celebrated differently but the idea is the same. To celebrate and to make one person feel special on the anniversary of their birthday. How easy it is to yeild to the "presents mentality" and buy the most expensive present we can afford every year....and very often it is not being used in a month's time.
Our kids can grow up with the expectation of high material gain on their birthday. So what then happens when the family hits rough times? Does the person still feel special when they dont receive a big expensive gift? It is a good thing to cultivate other ways of making our loved ones feel special on every birthday regardless of the money spent. Then their focus is right and they are prepared for a time when you may not be able to lavish them with gifts.
This week we have 2 daughters having birthdays but in two different continents....and well, things are very lean right now with all resources spent on building our new business....so we are brainstorming for ideas on making ther birthdays special.
Will keep you posted!
They may be celebrated differently but the idea is the same. To celebrate and to make one person feel special on the anniversary of their birthday. How easy it is to yeild to the "presents mentality" and buy the most expensive present we can afford every year....and very often it is not being used in a month's time.
Our kids can grow up with the expectation of high material gain on their birthday. So what then happens when the family hits rough times? Does the person still feel special when they dont receive a big expensive gift? It is a good thing to cultivate other ways of making our loved ones feel special on every birthday regardless of the money spent. Then their focus is right and they are prepared for a time when you may not be able to lavish them with gifts.
This week we have 2 daughters having birthdays but in two different continents....and well, things are very lean right now with all resources spent on building our new business....so we are brainstorming for ideas on making ther birthdays special.
Will keep you posted!
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Candles for Bereaving Families
The Compassionate Friends - Worldwide Candle Lighting
Yesterday I heard about another candle lighting event of which I am sure many of you have not heard. At least I had not.
On the Second Sunday in December (Dec 9 this year), thousands of groups of people around the world with a commonality that none would choose to be a part, meet.
Losing a child is one of the most painful emotions and experiences one could ever experience. Those bereaved are often affected for a long time and have difficulty in arriving at closure and the ability to positively move on. The first birthday and first Christmas without the child are very difficult and emotions can override and negatively affect future events for other siblings or family members.
A world wide candle lighting Ceremony orchestrated by Compassionate Friends Worldwide brings families and friends together to commemorate and honor children they have lost (especially in the last year) so they will not be forgotten and so that those left behind will not be left in deep depression and gloom. The mission of The Compassionate Friends is to assist families toward the positive resolution of grief following the death of a child of any age and to provide information to help others be supportive. (You can find them on the web.)
A candle signifies life and light and so the burning of a candle brings light and life to the memory and to the hearts of the bereaved. It is not that a candle has any magical or mystical powers as it is not the candle itself that heals. The lighting of a small candle in the darkness somehow helps you to draw aside from the blaring distractions. It brings an err of calm and helps you focus on what is important at that time. Something very special happens when a large group lights candles. A feeling of unity and oneness occurs.
A large group in one accord with a positive outlook, give enormous support and a sense of community and togetherness where otherwise there may be a huge sense of being alone and isolated. We human beings need each other especially in our darkest hours. When you cannot hold yourself up, a caring friend can make all the difference.
But for me, times of grief and sadness can only really be healed in the presence my Heavenly Father. I pray that those who have lost a child this year will come to know Him and His comfort and peace.
I am also urged to become more connected with my children and to make every day count for they are precious gifts from the Lord, loaned to us for but a season….and we never know how long that will be.
Yesterday I heard about another candle lighting event of which I am sure many of you have not heard. At least I had not.
On the Second Sunday in December (Dec 9 this year), thousands of groups of people around the world with a commonality that none would choose to be a part, meet.
Losing a child is one of the most painful emotions and experiences one could ever experience. Those bereaved are often affected for a long time and have difficulty in arriving at closure and the ability to positively move on. The first birthday and first Christmas without the child are very difficult and emotions can override and negatively affect future events for other siblings or family members.
A world wide candle lighting Ceremony orchestrated by Compassionate Friends Worldwide brings families and friends together to commemorate and honor children they have lost (especially in the last year) so they will not be forgotten and so that those left behind will not be left in deep depression and gloom. The mission of The Compassionate Friends is to assist families toward the positive resolution of grief following the death of a child of any age and to provide information to help others be supportive. (You can find them on the web.)
A candle signifies life and light and so the burning of a candle brings light and life to the memory and to the hearts of the bereaved. It is not that a candle has any magical or mystical powers as it is not the candle itself that heals. The lighting of a small candle in the darkness somehow helps you to draw aside from the blaring distractions. It brings an err of calm and helps you focus on what is important at that time. Something very special happens when a large group lights candles. A feeling of unity and oneness occurs.
A large group in one accord with a positive outlook, give enormous support and a sense of community and togetherness where otherwise there may be a huge sense of being alone and isolated. We human beings need each other especially in our darkest hours. When you cannot hold yourself up, a caring friend can make all the difference.
But for me, times of grief and sadness can only really be healed in the presence my Heavenly Father. I pray that those who have lost a child this year will come to know Him and His comfort and peace.
I am also urged to become more connected with my children and to make every day count for they are precious gifts from the Lord, loaned to us for but a season….and we never know how long that will be.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Happy Hannukah!
Being into candles is a lot of fun and is a very meaningful learning experience. All across the world, people from varied and different walks in life use the seemingly insigificant flame of a candle to assist in the expression of spiritual moments..... A candle is used
to ponder the past, to look forward,
to remember, to forget,
to honor life, to honor those who have died,
to celebrate, to mourn,
to reflect on past triumphs or failures, to dedicate their future,
to draw close to others and to G_d,
Today is the commencement of another candle ceremony Hannukah. Hannukah is a Jewish celebration. It is the Jewish festival of rededication, also known as the festival of lights. Hannukah is an eight day festival beginning on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev which is today!! The Hannukah Candle ceremony is carried out over 8 days.
The first candle is lit today with another candle being lit each successive day until all eight are lit on the last day. This ceremony is a reminder to those who celebrate it of the miracles and protection of G_d's people throughout the thousands of years. It is also a time for drawing close to their family, to God and to dedicate themselves to His purposes.
A very meaningful candle ceremony and well worth learning some more about!
to ponder the past, to look forward,
to remember, to forget,
to honor life, to honor those who have died,
to celebrate, to mourn,
to reflect on past triumphs or failures, to dedicate their future,
to draw close to others and to G_d,
Today is the commencement of another candle ceremony Hannukah. Hannukah is a Jewish celebration. It is the Jewish festival of rededication, also known as the festival of lights. Hannukah is an eight day festival beginning on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev which is today!! The Hannukah Candle ceremony is carried out over 8 days.
The first candle is lit today with another candle being lit each successive day until all eight are lit on the last day. This ceremony is a reminder to those who celebrate it of the miracles and protection of G_d's people throughout the thousands of years. It is also a time for drawing close to their family, to God and to dedicate themselves to His purposes.
A very meaningful candle ceremony and well worth learning some more about!
Monday, December 3, 2007
Advent - Reminder of Hope
Today marked the beginning of Advent. As we draw near to the celebration of the Birth of Jesus it is a constant battle to draw aside from the demands of the season and family and pay tribute to the One it is all about. This first week of Advent is a time to reflect on the hope that we have because of the birth, life, death and resurection of Jesus. I really dont know how people move throught this life with out this hope...a hope that is really an assurance of our daily needs today being met, that our future is secure and our hope in His second coming. I just love the advent candle ceremony that helps us keep focus on what the season is all about. We have a little article on www.candlelightsolutions.com about Advent and the candle ceremony if you havent heard of it. It is a great family experience....one that helps us draw near to each and to God. Have a great week of reflection and family togetherness! Go light your first purple candle!
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