Happy New Year to you all! I almost despaired of writing this post of December happenings. I have done a terrible job of keeping track of my days this past month. I need the daily round of happenings to keep me in the rhythm of writing, but with extra holiday happenings and Christmas break from school, the time to write has eluded me.
One musing I have been pondering lately:
The most beautiful skies are almost always at the gathering of a storm or in the aftermath of one.
Many of you know I have been taking regular sky pictures ever since the #100dayproject earlier this year (search for Sunday Skies to see the whole series). This habit of regularly looking to the sky offers refreshment and reframing for my mental and spiritual state throughout my day. And this thought that the most beautiful skies are almost always the product of a storm has been rattling around in me for a bit. I feel strongly that God communicates His truths through nature so that anyone can see His ways even if they don’t name Him specifically.
So, dear readers, if you feel like there are storms in your life, be on the look out for the beautiful too. I am more likely to see and appreciate the beauty at these times and I hope you do too!
Sunday, December 1
I finished reading Mansfield Park by Jane Austen late last night. This is our slow read for Close Reads Podcast HQ and a reread for me. I finished it up a bit earlier than the podcast, just because I love it and I needed a bit more space in my reading time. Austen is always a favorite for me, but I’ve only read Mansfield once before. It has been so good to revisit it with the hosts of the podcast and hear their thoughts on it too.
Advent begins today. In our home, we love to read through Shadow & Light by Tsh Oxenreider for the Advent season. So far, it has been the best resource I can recommend for busy families. We have been using it for years. I especially love the daily art and music selections that go along with the daily readings. Because we reuse this book seeing the pictures are almost like seeing old friends. And because we don’t do every day every year, we sometimes don’t see a picture for a couple of years and we get excited to see them again. We light our candles in the dim light around our dinner table.
We also made a quick run to the Heinz Museum. We are still new enough to the area that we can get away with doing the tourist things just because. We had some seriously hilarious fun here, lots of good memories.
Then we rushed home and went to the community Light Up Night that happens every year at our fire station. We sang carols, ate cookies, and took our family Christmas photo.
I end today wondering if our Advent is truly going to be the somber, pensive season of waiting in the dark for the light or a frantic rush of activities. I am in charge of the calendar and I feel that responsibility.
Wednesday, December 4
Today is my youngest child’s 5th birthday. It seems so strange that my youngest is five. He is such a bright fun kid and such a blessing in our home.
Sunday, December 8
Today children performed their Christmas program at church. This is one of the many blessings that I am so thankful for in our move to this church. The fact that there is a children’s choir and that so many kids can participate is such a blessing to me. My littlest guy was literally the star (of Bethlehem) and had everyone in stitches with his antics.
Friday, December 13
I made a beautiful batch of sourdough today. Being gluten, dairy, and egg-free has presented it challenges over the years, but good bread has been the most challenging. I loved baking sourdough when we still used regular flour and the switch to gluten-free proved challenging. It’s taken me years, but I finally have a reliable recipe for yummy bread that I can use in all kinds of recipes. Makes me happy!
Sunday, December 15
Our whole family went caroling tonight. It took some commitment from everyone who showed up because it was a pretty wet rainy night. We visit the shut-ins of our church and it is truly a blessing to see these older ‘saints’ of our congregation and bless them with carols.
Thursday, December 19
I finished a new art journal page today. I’ve been looking at a few new artists lately, and their style has expanded my mind about how I can express my faith in my art while still being true to my own style.
Also, I finished reading The Great Passion by James Runcie today. This book! It was one of my best books read all year, but because I wasn’t quite done with it when I wrote up my post for what I read this year, it isn’t on that list. It’s a historical fiction about Bach, a coming-of-age story, a book about singing and music. All in all a very enjoyable read.
Tuesday, December 24
Our church has its Christmas cantata tonight. When I first joined the choir it was a month before the summer break and the singing and practice were easy for me. But then, after school started back, we began practicing for the cantata and I realized how much work singing can be. And I love it! The craft and energy that goes into singing is not something I have really considered since junior high choir. Even then, it was class and we had to do what the teacher told us. But now, it’s my choice to be in this choir and I desire to improve my voice and skills, which are sorely out of practice. The night comes off well and I enjoy the feeling of a job well done.
Wednesday and Thursday, December 25 and 26
We break our Christmas up into two, one for my family and one for my husband. We enjoy the time to sit around, open presents, play games, and just be with family. My husband and I both try to be intentional with our time spent with his dad, knowing that his time is short.
I finished My God And My All: The Life of St. Francis of Assisi by Elizabeth Goudge during the drive to my in-laws. Of course, I am a huge Elizabeth Goudge fan already, but I hadn’t read any of her non-fiction. We read this as an Advent read for my Well-Read Mom book club. While it wasn’t as gripping as her fiction is, I still found her writing engaging, while also realizing how much the landscape of her given place effects her writing. Goudge is a lover of beauty in the natural world.
Sunday, December 29
My kids and I sing a song for the church today called Sleep, Sleep, Sleep, My Little Child. I love this particular folksong. We sang it as part of our homeschool folksong rotation from Ambleside Online last Christmas and I loved sharing it this year with our church family. Here is the version we learned it from on YouTube:
As I look past over the month I feel satisfied with the amount of activity that ended up happening. I had my doubts at the beginning of the month, but I feel that participating in the life of our church is always a good thing. Thankfully, we kept our activities to a sane amount, and then with a break there was plenty of rest time too.
I look forward to improving my frequency of daily writing for this monthly post in the new year. I am also looking forward to a new school term and theater production with my kids. See you all in January and a happy New Year!