The Advent Jesse Tree

I am 41 years old, was raised in a Christian home, earned degrees at a Christian college, lead a VBS of over 200 people and know more than a few Bible stories by heart. But until a few years ago, I'd never celebrated or even understood Advent. That changed when something caught my eye as it came across my Facebook feed several Decembers back.

If you, like me, grew up without Advent, you may not have any idea what it means. Essentially, it's a season of preparing one's heart for the coming of Christ. As Christians, we believe that God came once to the Earth around 2000 years ago and that He will return again in His perfect time. Advent reminds us of the time that He came as the baby Jesus and points our hearts to the time that He will return again.

To help us accomplish this in the Crutchfield house, we use a Jesse Tree. It's really a simple idea. Each night, starting on December 1, we gather as a family and listen to a little bit of the story of God and His people. We read Scripture, share a devotional, and hang an ornament on our Jesse Tree. (There are many different versions of the Jesse Tree. With so many stories to choose from, not everyone picks the same ones.) For this year, we are using Ann Voskamp's Unwrapping the Greatest Gift as our guide.

Because the idea of hand making 25 different ornaments is just more than I could fathom and because I know I have some amazingly creative and crafty friends, I put out a plea for them to join me in an ornament exchange. This year I had nine friends and their children take on the challenge. Together we made 24 different ornaments, each depicting a different part of the story. Here's what we came up with. (I missed getting a picture for Day 6 and we weren't able to get Day 20 this year. I'm planning to make an ornament for that day and will update when I get around to taking pictures of those.) I've included a heading and a Scripture for each ornament. I was amazed to see my friend's interpretations of each part of the story. 

Day 1: The Stump 

Out of the stump of David's family will grow a shoot. Isaiah 11

Day 2: The World

In the beginning God created... Genesis 1

Day 3: The Snake in the Tree 

So (Eve) took some of the fruit and ate it. Genesis 3

Day 4: The Ark

It broke His heart...I am sorry I ever made them. Genesis 6

Day 5: Abraham is Promised a Legacy

All the families on Earth will be blessed through you. Genesis 12

Day 6: Abraham and Sarah have a Baby

Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse a baby? Yet I have given Abraham a son in his old age. Genesis 21

Day 7: The Sacrificial Ram is Provided

So Abraham named that place The LORD provides. Genesis 22

Day 8: Jacob's Ladder

As [Jacob] slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. Genesis 28

Day 9: Joseph's Coat of Many Colors

You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good.   Genesis 50

Day 10: The Ten Commandments

The LORD said, "Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever."  Deuteronomy 5

Day 11: Rahab's Red Rope

I know the LORD has given you this land. Joshua 2

Day 12: Grain from Boaz's Field

Your people will be my people and your God will be my God. 

Ruth 1

Day 13: King David's Crown

And the LORD said, "This is the one; anoint him." I Samuel 16

Day 14: The Light

The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. Isaiah 9

Day 15: Fire From Heaven

The god who answers by setting fire to the wood is the true God!" 

I Kings 18

Day 16: Jonah's Big Fish

The LORD gave a message to Jonah..."Go!" Jonah 1

Day 17: Little Town of Bethlehem

You, O Bethlehem, are only a small village...Yet a ruler of Israel will come from you... Micah 5

Day 18: Xerxes' Scepter

Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for such a time as this? Esther 4

Day 19: Habakkuk's Watchtower

I will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guardpost. Habakkuk 2

Day 20: Zechariah and Elizabeth have a Baby

He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. Luke 1

Day 21: John the Baptist Prepares the Way

Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near! Matthew 3

Day 22: An Angel Visits Mary

Mary responded, "I am the Lords' servant. May everything you have said about me come true." Luke 1

Day 23: An Angel Visits Joseph

She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means "God is with us." Matthew 1

Day 24: Jesus is Born in a Manger

She gave birth to her first child, a son. Luke 2

Day 25: Christmas Forever, for Everyone

The Savior - yes, the Messiah, the Lord - has been born today! 

Luke 2

December is sometimes a crazy and always a busy month. With all the hustle and bustle of the season, we sometimes lose the real meaning in the chaos. I would encourage you to take a few moments every day to spend with your family, reflecting on the TRUE meaning of Christmas; Jesus, Immanuel, God with us. God, who left His throne in Heaven to be born as a baby in the humblest of places, among the humblest of people. Messiah, who healed the sick and ate with the sinners. The Christ, who rather than condemned, pardoned. Jesus, who loved even those who betrayed Him. The Lord, who saw you and said that you were reason enough for Him to send his Son as the ultimate sacrificial lamb. 

As we approach Christmas my prayer for you is that you will know the Light of the World loves you. That you will see the gift of the baby Jesus for what it is: God's love for you. 

Merriest of Christmases to you, my loves. 

I'm a Desperate Mom

This week I started reading Desperate: Hope for Moms Who Need to Breathe by Sarah Mae and Sally Clarkson.  Um...wow.  Four chapters in and I'm not sure exactly how Sarah Mae got inside my head, but she and I are so on the same page!

I posted a link to this book on my facebook profile and the response was overwhelming.  With just the title and a few words from me, all the moms I know and some I don't were wanting to read the book.  That alone made me realize I am not alone in this.  There is a great need for mothers to band together and do this thing called parenting together!

Here's what I've gleaned so far.

• Mommas need each other.  We're not meant to do this alone.
• My husband is not my girlfriend.  I shouldn't expect him to be.  It's not a role he was meant to fill.
• I need to be mentored and I need to be mentoring.  
• Motherhood is hard.  
• The God who called me to do this will equip me to do so.  Without Him I could do nothing.
• My most important jobs are loving my husband and loving my kids.

I'm looking forward to the rest of the book.

Read it?  Reading it now?  I'd love to know your thoughts!  Join together with like-minded moms on facebook.

Nine Things I Hope to Teach My Kids

1. I'm on their side.

No matter who knocks them down, no matter how much they fail, and even when I'm disappointed in their choices, I still want them to succeed.  I'm still on their team.  I ALWAYS want them to win, even if winning doesn't look the way they (or I) thought it would.

2. God is on their side, too.
He's not some big, angry, rule-making hater up in the sky.  He's their Creator and He loves them even more than I do.  He's on their team.  He ALWAYS wants them to win, even if winning doesn't look the way they (or I) thought it would.

3. There is no greater character trait than integrity.
And there is nothing that turns people off more than being a hypocrite.  Our yes must be yes and our no must be no. We must say what we mean and mean what we say.  Even in the little "gray" areas of life, we must choose honesty, not allowing even a hint of untruthfulness.  

4. It's okay to ask questions (and to expect answers).
Sometimes it's so tempting just to say "Because it is," when my kids ask "Why?" for the 5,234th time in two hours. Or to leave things as "I don't know," when asked how a toaster works or why the Jewish people reject Jesus as the Messiah. By encouraging curiosity and showing them how to find answers, I'm equipping them for life.  Because life is just full of questions.

5. Be grateful.
Not just for the big things, but for the little things, too.  I want my kids to routinely show appreciation for those people who enrich their lives; teachers, coaches, friends, family, strangers.  Thank you notes are incredibly important and so is simply saying the words "thank you," repeatedly and sincerely.  

6. Do your best.
It's all you can do. Sometimes it won't be enough.  Hopefully those times will be few and far between. 

7. People are important.  
All people.  Thin people.  Popular people.  Ugly people.  Fat people.  Drop-dead gorgeous people. Conservatives and Liberals.  People with light skin and people with dark skin.  Nice people, grumpy people, and people who can't sing.  Spanish language speakers and those who communicate with clicks and grunts.  Babies yet to be born and seniors in their final years. People who think like me and people who don't. 

8. Respect must sometimes be given even if it has not been earned.
This can be so hard, especially when respect doesn't appear to be deserved. It's tough to respect the teacher who thinks humiliation is the same as discipline, the coach who doesn't give you a chance at the position you want, the politician you disagree with or the policeman who writes you a ticket for driving five over.  Teaching them to value the person over the action and to show proper respect for the position of authority is tough, but it's a goal we're striving for.

9. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Small things like letting your brother chose which movie to watch, feeding the dog (when it's not even your turn), helping carry groceries or moving someone's furniture turn into bigger things like building wells for the thirsty in Liberia, saving victims of human trafficking in Cambodia and preventing history from repeating itself in the American South.  Packing shoeboxes full of goodies for kids in third world countries is more rewarding than opening a slew of new toys on your birthday. 

I am Not That Homeschool Mom

Close your eyes.  Now, quick, what pops into your head when I say "homeschool mom?"

Whatever it was, I am pretty certain I am not that homeschool mom.

I wear jeans, put on make-up (if I'm leaving the house), and swim in mixed company.  My dyed hair has not been in a bun since my second grade ballet recital.  Said ballet recital was probably the last time I wore hose, too.

I hate to cook, clean and do most other things that are traditionally considered what a "good mom" likes to do.  My family does not garden or eat only organic/raw/gluten-free/sugar-free foods. Our meals are only sometimes homemade, and if I had it my way, we would eat Pizza Hut at least eight times a week.  That, or have a personal, on-demand chef.

My floors are not swept twice a day and the laundry pile is often taller than the children.  Sometimes, it's taller than the children's father!  Dusting has become a quarterly chore and my backyard will never get landscaped.

I'm not crafty.  I can't sew on buttons that last more than a week.  Sewing machines make me more nervous than a rat in a snake cage.  I've never made anything more complicated than the pillows Mrs. Wallace insisted I put together in seventh grade home economics.  I've dabbled in scrapbooking, but even that has become too daunting a task for me lately.  My 2009 birthday gift certificate to our local scrapping store is still in my wallet, unused.

Our lives are not run on a color-coded three-ring binder schedule.  We don't get up before dawn and milk cows or feed chickens.  We watch too many movies and play a lot of video games.   My kids are often up until way past traditional bedtimes and don't always remember to say "please" and "thank you."

My kids don't play the cello, violin or even piano.  They don't speak Latin, Spanish or anything other than our Midwest version of English.  They don't study quantum physics or underwater basket weaving.

It's not that I think any of the above things are bad.  Heck, I'd love to be crafty and have an immaculate house.  There are a ton of skirt and bun wearing women out there who are amazing.  I wish we ate healthier and that I could make my own curtains.  But I will never make my own curtains.  I am not that homeschool mom.  It's just not who I am.

But I am the homeschool mom that spends hours choosing just the right projects for her kids.  I read them Scripture.  I taxi them from one activity to the other and make sure they are well-rounded, social people.  Four times a year, I make the most rockin' birthday cakes imaginable.  I facilitate an environment where they can learn, not just academics, but to get along with each other, to be home-builders, and to be followers of Christ.  I am that homeschool mom.  And I'm perfectly okay with that.