A Mom's Musings

New Location

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Spahr) — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 11:38:00 +0000

I have moved my writings to a family blog site that Brian and I do together. It is still a work in progress, but please join us there. Thanks for following me! God bless you!

http://thespahrfamily.wordpress.com/category/michelles-posts/

Falling into Rhythm

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Spahr) — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 11:05:00 +0000

Rhythm has been a theme for me lately.

It's been amazing to see how it effects our family life.

We enjoy the spontaneous.

We also enjoy the days when there is nothing planned,

nothing on the agenda, no schedule to look at.

Summer has been much like that.

We have had planned events, but day to day was really more like,

"What should we do today?"

A new season is upon us now.

We have begun our homeschooling this week.

We made up a weekly schedule for our family.

We started chore charts and Family Chore Time each day.

We have begun a new Family Devotion Time after Breakfast.

And there is freedom!

Our schedule does not define us.

We are not legalistic with it.

We do it because it creates Rhythm.

A natural flow of life that we don't always have to think about,

or plan or try to figure out day after day.

This Rhythm includes work, play and rest.

It causes us to be more intentional about family time.

It helps us find balance in keeping our house in order,

playing together, resting and getting work done.

We still have our days of no agenda, no real schedule.

We work hard to keep at least one day like that a week.

But overall this Rhythm of Life we choose to live as a family

brings less stress, more flexibility, more time together

and a strong feeling of peace.

There is safety and security in if for the kids.

It's amazing to see how they thrive with a schedule,

especially when they are a part of the weekly planning.

So I am reminded of how freeing a little order can be.

I know what is on the schedule for today already.

I know what is for dinner. I know what chores need to be done today.

And even if the day does not go as planned, that is ok.

We can start over tomorrow.

Praise the Lord!

May I be...

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Spahr) — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 10:43:00 +0000

Jerusalem By Dora Ficher

ArtBlog by Dora

"Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets

and stone those sent to you,

how often I have longed to gather your children together,

as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings,

but you were not willing.

Look, your house is left to you desolate.

I tell you, you will not see me again until you say,

'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'"

Luke 13: 34-35

This morning I was drawn to this passage.

There is something deep within me that resonated with it.

I love the image of a Jesus gathering his children

out of love and protection.

But that is not what took hold in me today.

How often do I welcome the one who come in the name of the Lord?

I do welcome the Lord into my life daily.

Blessed be Jesus! Absolutely!

But, how often do I welcome, love, care for and bless those

Jesus sends my way?

Do I kill the "prophets" and "stone" those who He sends to me

with my lack of awareness, my daily battles, frustrations

and self-centeredness?

Life is busy. There is always a To Do List on my desk.

I am chasing after 2 kiddos, trying to spend time with friends,

trying to keep in touch with family, trying to keep my house in order...

I really don't think I have to go on.

You get it, right?

Busy. Busy. Busy.

I am praying for forgiveness today,

for those I have overlooked,

those God has sent my way to bless and honor and serve.

And I pray this morning for new eyes and new ears,

to slow down and refocus,

to be open for people of peace in my life.

This life is too short and too fast to worry about my To Do Lists.

I want to focus on the hearts of those around me.

There is joy to be found in this hard world,

Joy, Peace, Love and Grace.

May I be a part of the world's healing this day.

Amen.

Summertime Rhythm

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Spahr) — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 19:02:00 +0000

Hi everyone!

Happy Summer!

I have missed writing.

Brian is working on a new website/blog for me,

and I admit, I have been waiting for it to be done.

He keeps reminding me that I do still have this blog.

So, I thought I would write a bit today.

I love summer.

It's been busy, wacky, exhausting and a super fun one so far.

Summer definitely has it's own rhythm.

It's amazing how much a creature of habit I am.

I love routine. I love rhythm.

Summer always teaches me a lesson in control.

I love to have control.

But during the Summer, I often do not.

Well, if I am honest, I don't much during the rest of the year either!

But the "school-year" does have a more rhythmic rhythm,

if that makes sense.

It can be stressful to me,

but I am reminding myself to relax a bit.

As a family, we still pay attention to our calendar.

It's important to us that we don't overextend ourselves

and burn out the kids (and us).

It's easy to do.

And personally,

I am working hard to pay attention to my UP relationship with Jesus.

It's important to me that I do not neglect it

and allow Summer's own rhythm to take over.

Again, it's easy to do.

Life does not really slow down.

Only we slow down, when we choose to.

It's a discipline.

It's an essential discipline and one that fills me with energy and joy.

Spending time with the Lord is not an option to me.

I just can not function fully if I am not connected to the Vine.

I wither and I do not bear fruit.

Jesus warns us and yet so easy it is to try to bear fruit on our own.

Then we wonder why we feel so stressed, exhausted and out of control.

I am reminded of this today,

as I have not been very good with my UP time this past week.

My heart yearns for it. I miss it when it is not there.

It's my lifeline.

He is my life.

Today I am thankful for Summertime

and it's wacky, fun rhythm.

And I am thankful for my God, who is with me always

and welcomes me back when I stray.

I am enjoying summer this year.

It always goes by so fast, but I am enjoying every moment;

being with my family and abiding with my Savior.

I pray you are enjoying it all too!

Find that discipline, receive that joy and bear much fruit dear friends!

Bear much fruit!

"Remain in me, as I also remain in you.

No branch can bear fruit by itself;

it must remain in the vine.

Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

I am the vine; you are the branches.

If you remain in me and I in you,

you will bear much fruit;

apart from me you can do nothing."

John 15: 4-5

Zachary's Story

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Spahr) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 19:46:00 +0000

I have come to realize that since Zachary was born, 5 years ago,

I have never really shared the story of his birth.

Many of you followed the journey through the website

which Brian created when we were in the hospital at the time,

but I don't believe I have ever told it myself.

Seems like a good time as any...

(I know this will be long... bear with me.)

immediately after birth

Brian and I started trying for kids in 2003.

Between 2003-2006 we had 2 miscarriages.

It was a much more difficult dream

than we had ever thought it would be.

We moved to PA in 2004 so Brian could attend Seminary in Gettysburg.

In 2006 we moved to Edgewater, MD for Brian's internship.

During this time,

I was fortunate to obtain a Kindergarten Teacher position.

My insurance was really amazing as it covered a lot of infertility avenues.

I was so sure this was where God had sent us so that we could get the help we needed.

Well, The Tuesday before Thanksgiving of 2006,

Brian and I had our consultation with a great clinic in the area.

Went home to PA for Thanksgiving.

Got sick.

Found out I was pregnant!

I can't really share adequately how I was feeling at the time.

It was a mixture of excitement and horror.

All I could think about was having another miscarriage.

The next several weeks were emotionally rough.

The day we went in to hear the heartbeat

will be a day I will never forget.

You see, the miscarriages I had were not natural.

Each time we went in to hear the heartbeat we discovered something was not right.

As you can imagine,

When Brian and I heard that beautiful sound, nothing could be said.

Only tears came. We cried and held each other and cried a lot more.

My favorite pic.

This was before they hooked him up to everything.

So the pregnancy was "normal".

That is, as normal as I thought a pregnancy could be...

morning sickness, food aversions, exhaustion, 2nd trimester golden days...

Then Easter came.

(Which was also April 8th in 2007! Z was born on a Tues morning 5 years ago.)

On Maundy Thursday I began to bleed.

At first a lot, but it subsided.

It scared us terribly.

Thankfully Zachary was fine. I could still feel him moving around.

After some tests on Monday they determined all was fine, but I was put on 2 weeks bedrest.

At the end of those 2 weeks, I went into labor.

Did not even realize what it was at first.

Brian and I were watching a movie and

I mentioned to him that I thought I could be in labor.

Off to the hospital we went. It was Friday, April 20th.

My beautiful nephew was born on that day!

I was dilated to 1cm. They wanted to stop the labor.

So they did. It was not a fun med to be put on, but it worked.

My mom drove down to MD that weekend to be with me.

On Monday a special ultrasound was done.

Z was fine, but I was loosing fluid.

They determined that somewhere along the way my water had broke.

Because of that, I was going nowhere.

Whether he came in a week or 10, I was hospital bound.

They had given me a steroid for Z's lung development which needed 24 hours to really take hold.

Thankfully, I held on that long.

Later that day I went into labor again.

This time they could not stop it.

It was the most terrifying time for us,

and yet there was also such an amazing sense of peace.

We believe it came from the prayer that was surrounding us.

By this time, Brian had started the website to keep family and friends informed.

We shared Zachary's name and asked for prayers.

We were stunned at the response, the love...

There are no words there.

I had amazing doctors and nurses. Just amazing.

After many hours, my doctor recommended a C-Section to me

as Z was showing signs of distress.

I was ok with that.

I truly believe the C-Section was a gift to him.

I can not imagine his little body going through the stress of natural delivery.

Zachary Brian Spahr was born on Tuesday, April 24th at 3:47 AM.

He was 2 lbs 1 oz.

The most amazing part of it all...

He cried!!!

Everyone was stunned.

I remember a nurse coming up to my face saying,

"Did you hear that? He is crying!!!"

A 26 week old being born crying was definitely a rare thing.

It was amazing.

He was beautiful!

Of course they needed to wisk him off to the NICU.

I sent Brian with him.

Holding Daddy's hand.

Zachary was on a ventilator for only 1 hour.

He was breathing so well on his own that he only needed a nose tube.

They gave him one for breathing and inserted one for feeding.

After recovery and some rest,

I was able to come and see him.

It was an emotional encounter.

I wanted so much to hold my baby.

But I needed to trust him completely

to the care of the doctors there and to Jesus.

I cried so hard as Brian wheeled me back to my room.

There was such a long journey and a huge battle for Z to fight now.

I vowed I would do everything I could to help him fight.

Brian an I spent so much time with Z.

As much as we could.

We talked with him, read out loud so he could hear our voices.

And we held him as much as we were able.

Kangaroo Care was the most beautiful time.

We held him skin to skin.

It's amazing the research that shows how vital this time is for babies,

and especially these little ones.

It was a beautiful time for us as well.

The nurses in the NICU were so wonderful.

They wanted us as involved as possible in his care.

We "bathed" him.

We "fed" him

All of these things were little ways to help him learn skills.

He was beautiful, tiny, fragile and so strong.

He was a fighter.

This is our favorite pic.

Brian's wedding band is on Z's arm.

Daddy's Hands

The NICU was quite an experience.

We were blessed with a beautiful, private room NICU,

but you still could hear all the beeps and alarms.

Zachary made it through the NICU with no brain bleeds

and only 1 minor infection that a nurse noticed very early on.

Our main nurses were Christian and blessed us daily with prayers, gifts and God's love.

One of the most difficult parts of this journey

was leaving Z at the hospital.

It was necessary. For him and for us.

He needed rest. We did too.

When I would wake up in the middle of the night

and first thing in the morning,

I always called the NICU to check in on Z.

We were allowed to any time.

They always updated us and assured us that he was doing well.

There is a beautiful giftedness to those who work in the NICU.

Amazing skills, compassion and care.

The other most difficult part of this journey were the Bradys.

(bradycardia - basically sleep apnea)

Preemies were very prone to stop breathing.

Alarms would sound and someone would need to touch him,

massage his back or tummy and literally revive him; remind him to breathe again.

Every day, over and over,

doctors, nurses, mommy and daddy

would save Z's life...again and again.

Thankfully he began to grow out of them,

enough to come home.

He had to come home on a monitor,

but that was more as a precaution.

Zachary grew stronger and bigger each day.

Until finally, he came home at 5 lbs.

Zachary saying good-bye to many of his nurses.

We only took around 500 pictures of that time in the NICU.

Seriously, we did!

But this post is long enough as it is.

One day I will do a post with just pics of his journey.

They are all beautiful.

We are so thankful for the miracle of Zachary.

What an amazing thing our bodies can do in having children.

How amazing our bodies are to grow and heal and fight.

How beautiful God created us with a spirit for life and a will to live.

Brian's Wedding Ring

Zachary is 5 this year.

Strong, healthy, vibrant, smart...

Amazing!

Thanks for allowing me to share this story with you.

And thank you for walking with us through it all.

I do not mean for this post to end by asking for money.

However, I can not help but share our March of Dimes Team with you.

It is something that we believe in.

We appreciate your prayers for babies and families even more than financial support.

If you live in the Charlotte Area, come walk with us!

It's amazing and we would love to share the experience with you.

We walk every year for the March of Dimes.

They support research to prevent premature birth

as well as support families who are going through it.

The financial part of this kind of journey is staggering.

We were thankful to have had great insurance

through my job at the time

as well as the amazing generosity of friends and family.

Please consider joining us as we continue to raise awareness

and support those who travel this road,

through prayer, walking with us,

and/or your financial support.

Team of Z page

Thank you.

The Story

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Spahr) — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 18:24:00 +0000

My family loves this Bible.

I love how it depicts The Story of this Holy Weekend.

So, I thought I would share.

"Even though it was midday,

a dreadful darkness covered the face of the world.

The sun could not shine.

The earth trembled and quaked.

The great mountains shook.

Rocks split in two.

Until it seemed that the whole world would break.

That creation itself would tear apart.

The full force of the storm of God's fierce anger at sin was coming down.

On his own Son.

Instead of His people.

It was the only way God could destroy sin,

and not destroy his children whose hearts were filled with sin.

Then Jesus shouted out in a loud voice, "it is finished.!"

And it was.

He had done it.

Jesus has rescued the whole world.

"Father!" Jesus cried. "I give you my life."

And with a great sigh he let himself die.

Strange clouds and shadows filled the sky.

Purple, orange, black.

Like a bruise."

From The Jesus Storybook Bible.

Zachary's picture of Jesus on the Cross.

Priceless.

renew

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Spahr) — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 11:23:00 +0000

Loved this logo. Borrowed it from St. Michael's Lutheran Church in Greenville, SC

It was their VBS theme in 2011.

I have found myself in a process of renewal these past couple of months,

in several areas of my life.

I looked up the greek/hebrew meaning this morning

from the Bible Study I am doing.

Found it interesting.

Greek / Hebrew Definition

renew

The Light No Darkness Can Overcome!

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Spahr) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:31:00 +0000

There is a little girl named Kaitlyn.

She lives only a few miles from us.

She is beautiful.

She has captured the heart of so many.

She is sick, very sick.

You can read all about her story if you click the link under her picture.

Kaitlyn's Korner

Tonight her neighborhood had a second candle vigil for her.

I attended the first one with a friend who lives down the street from Kaitlyn and her family.

It was silent, prayerful, tearful.

This time, I took my kids with me since Brian was out of town.

Earlier today I showed Zachary Kaitlyn's website and picture.

I told him about her and asked if he would like to go to the vigil.

He said,"Yes!"

Then he asked, "Will the candles make her feel better?

Can I sing; 'Jesus please help Kaitlyn?'"

I held him tight and said,

"Yes, Zachary, all those things would be wonderful

and will help Kaitlyn feel better."

So on our way to the vigil, I talked with Zachary about what it would be like.

I talked with him about standing quietly,

saying prayers and sending Kaitlyn loving thoughts.

And that is what happened,

at first.

Then there was the cat.

Our friend's cat, actually.

All the kids wanted to pet him and chase him.

They started talking and playing with the cat.

Then Kaitlyn's dad came out with her little brother, Cole.

Cole loved seeing the other kids,

and the kids loved Cole.

Then the laughter started,

and the running,

and the chasing of the cat.

At first, I kept trying to get Zachary to stop and settle.

And then I heard the whisper in my ear.

It told me to let them be,

to let them laugh and play and smile.

It was the most amazing vigil I have ever been to.

Amidst the sadness and heartbreak,

I heard Jesus whispering,

"Don't forget that I am here.

I am holding Kaitlyn in my hands.

I will not let her go.

Allow yourselves to grieve and be sad,

but remember that I am the Light of the world,

The light that no darkness can overcome.

So don't forget to smile and laugh and feel joy.

For I make all things new.

And Kaitlyn will be made new,

she will laugh and play and smile and chase cats.

Find hope, find peace and find joy in me,

for I am here."

I heard it so loud and clear.

The kids were living it right in front of us.

Joy.

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again; Rejoice!

Let your gentleness be evident to all.

The Lord is near.

do not be anxious about anything,

but in every situation,

by prayer and petition,

with thanksgiving,

present your requests to God.

And the peace of God,

which transcends all understanding,

will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

-Philippians 4:1-7

And I can't stop thinking about it.

The vigil was not what I thought it would be tonight,

Instead, it was exactly how it was supposed to be.

Kaitlyn's Candle in her window

Dear Kaitlyn, Deanna, Chip and Cole,

may you know that Jesus is with you,

holding you, grieving with you and promising you

new life.

You are so loved.

My Word

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Spahr) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 13:30:00 +0000

I am in the mountains today. A short weekend retreat.

My last morning here.

The sun is peaking out of the rain clouds this morning.

Breathtaking.

This weekend we watched Eat, Pray, Love.

Great movie!

If you haven't seen it, I recommend it.

Finding a "word" for things is a theme throughout the movie.

I threw out a word last night to a friend as "my word".

I did it in he midst of conversation, almost jokingly.

But I have been thinking more about it.

And then this morning as I did devotions,

I happened to read a blog about this subject.

For the first time ever, the writer had felt God giving her A Word; "intentional".

Got me thinking more about my word.

"Simplicity"

That is the word I gave my friend last night.

I am not really sure where it came from either.

I hadn't really thought about it before last night.

But as I look back at the few months of my life,

I am seeing that word at work, so to speak, everywhere.

It's as if God has been using that word in my life

and just now decided to reveal it to me.

I am not sure I would have truly gotten it otherwise.

I think I may have a word for my year.

Simplicity.

One definition I read says;

"the quality or condition of being plain, natural or easy to understand"

The other definitions basically say the same in different words.

Then I looked up "complex",

because simple is listed as the opposite of complex.

Complex;

"Not easy to analyze or understand, complicated or intricate."

Interesting isn't it?

Almost wondering what this all means?

For me it's more than just simplifying my life,

although that has been a big pattern in my life lately,

but it's somewhat about how I approach things.

It's just so easy for me to allow things to consume me,

Trying to understand why things are happen the way they do,

trying to figure them out and solve them.

I worry about me, others, what I am doing, how I am doing,

and how others perceive how/what I am doing.

I worry about how things will play out, what will happen

and how I play a part in it all.

That was a big part of 2011 for me.

I sit here this morning, watching the sun break through the winter barren trees,

hearing the words that I have heard in my prayers

over and over in the past year;

Let Go.

I think it's truly time I do that.

Let go of trying to figure it all out.

Let go of worrying about it all.

And trust that God can do it.

And so I walk into today, into this week

with my word;

Simplicity.

It doesn't mean 2012 will be all easy.

I know that.

But I know God is here.

He is at work.

And he can handle the complex a lot better than I can.

So I will give it all to him.

I will let go and let God

and enjoy the simple beauty he shows in the every day.

Motherhood

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Spahr) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:13:00 +0000

Motherhood.

Is it not the biggest roller coaster ride?

The most thrilling, exciting, scary and emotionally draining ride

we have ever been on?

Of course, I would not trade it for the world,

even on the days when I wonder how in the world I will make it

to the end of the day's ride.

But I am learning, every day.

I know it will be a forever learning process.

But I am learning,

that without the strength, hope and grace I find In Jesus,

this ride will make my head spin.

Joy, from Grace Full Momma spoke truth into my heart today;

"It isn’t so that we can be a great mom,

it isn’t so that we can raise great kids,

it isn’t even so that we can have strong, happy families.

These things are all good,

but the real reason we learn and study and grow in these areas [motherhood] is so that

we can know Christ and display His Gospel in our lives for HIS glory."

Truth that is sometimes hard to swallow.

I want to be a great mom and have great kids and have a strong, happy family!

The truth is that I do.

I just tag on perfection to those areas,

standards that only make me feel like a failure.

I have not been focusing on what my heart really desires,

for my kids and my family to be rooted in the hope, joy and grace that Jesus gives.

This is the desire of my heart.

And I am learning,

that if I want this for my family, if I really want it,

it must start with me.

I need to know Christ. I need to display His Gospel in my life.

But I can not do that if I am not abiding in Him, every day.

I must be in prayer, in His Word, in His presence.

And so I recommit, like I must do every morning,

I recommit my self to Jesus,

asking for forgiveness, grace, strength and courage

to get on the roller coaster today with joy and anticipation

for the climbs and the falls and the curves.

Here we go!

Grace Full Momma.com

Body, Mind and Spirit

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Spahr) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 20:47:00 +0000

Since Thanksgiving I have been feeling yucky;

mostly from weakness and fatigue to more recently, stuffiness and soar throat.

Many days I wished I could hang a sign on my door like this one

and go back to bed.

Not something that is easily done as a stay at home mom

with two young kiddos.

Finally I am feeling better.

Only 2 trips to the doctor,

and a lot (too much!) of worrying.

Over the past two months I have allowed my rhythm to get off.

It naturally happens when you are sick, sure.

But I allowed everything to get off track;

my devotions, my prayers, my atitude, my joy, my hope...

everything.

So much so that it brought my spirit way down.

I'm actually ashamed of it, really.

I allowed satan to walk right into my sickness and pretty much take over.

Now understand, I am talking about my whole person,

body, heart, soul, mind.

I convinced myself that something was indeed very wrong with me

and that the doctors were just missing something.

I felt this way mostly when I was weak, fatigued and had swollen nodes in my neck,

no other symptoms.

It was strange and worrisome.

Surely if I had just a virus, something else would be going on!!

The truth was that I had let my guard down.

I had let go of the hand that was guiding me.

I took my eyes of the prize and began to run my own race of survival.

Might sound ridiculous, but it was true.

I have good friends who are struggling with issues that far outweigh anything I could ever experience.

A few of those friends were ones who walked with me through my yuckiness

and listened to my fears and anxieties,

while they stumbled through their own life.

How humbled I am.

How thankful for family, for friendship,

for the gift of grace,

for forgiveness

and for unconditional love.

I am fine.

My energy is back. I can breathe through my nose.

My lymph nodes are no longer swollen, my throat is back to normal.

And...

My eyes are back on Jesus.

My mind is back in the Word.

My heart is back to living each day as a gift,

no matter if it is a sunny day

or a stormy one.

And today I finally begin the New Year.

Ready, awake and willing to go and do whatever the Lord is calling me to do.

For I am a child of God.

I am a daughter of the King.

And satan has no hold on me.

I know he will try again, but I will be ready!

I pray today for the health of the world,

and for you, my brothers and sisters; for your body, mind and spirit.

In the sunny days and in the storms,

hold Fast to Jesus!

Hold Fast!

Truth in the Tinsel - Day 24 - THE LORD IS COME!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Spahr) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 12:23:00 +0000

The day was here!

Our final clue.

The arrival of baby Jesus!

Christmas Eve.

What a perfect clue for this day!

How easily it is to forget what Jesus came to do.

Not that Christmas should be filled with sadness or grief!

But to rejoice that he came as a babe for us specifically,

with a purpose to redeem us and save us.

The beauty and power of his birth

was so present to us this year.

Jesus came to die,

and to conquer death!

Jesus came that we might have life!

He came to show us how to love and live abundantly

and to give us new life.

It brought me great joy to bring our Advent journey to an end

with such a conversation with my son.

And so on this day,

Christmas Eve,

we made a cross and gave thanks for our Savior.

With joy, we took baby Jesus from our Advent Calendar

and put him in the manger.

It was very exciting indeed!

What a beautiful journey it has been this Advent season.

There really are no words, even though I have written many in these posts,

to truly describe what we experienced through this journey.

Focusing on the story like we have this year brought us to a special place

come Christmas Eve and Christmas Day,

in our hearts and in our minds.

And with further anticipation,

we walk into a New Year,

ready to see all that Jesus will do in our lives,

continuing to learn from him and walking with him

towards the cross and his resurrection.

Let's go!

Truth in the Tinsel

Truth in the Tinsel - Day 21, 22 & 23 - Following a sign

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Spahr) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 20:14:00 +0000

Again, another trio of days that I loved.

The way they tied together and allowed us to step into the story in detail

was fantastic!

This part of the story begins with the star.

This marvelous, beautiful sight that shone in the sky

was one way God chose to announce the birth of his son.

Very cool!

Our ornament was this beautiful star we designed together.

Our Advent Calendar brought us this book.

It's a great one too!

Day 22 was about the wise men who followed the star.

The ornament was super cool - 3 Kings connected together,

but Zachary did not feel much like decorating them,

so we simply hung them on the tree.

Our Advent Calendar brought us 3 kings.

The gifts next to them were actually brought to us the next day,

but this was the only picture I had of them.

Day 23 - The Gifts

The ornament was actually supposed to be cinnamon ornaments

that you bake and give as gifts to others,

but being that it was Christmas week and we had guests,

we just did not have the time.

Instead, I filled the day's red bag with 3 little gift ornaments.

The kids actually really enjoyed playing with them and

giving them to baby Jesus in the manger.

Talking about the 3 gifts gave us a chance to talk about what they might mean.

Gold - a great gift for a King!

Frankincense - was known to be burned like incense, believed to carry prayers to heaven,

a gift that could have reference to a Priest

Myrrh - a more mysterious gift, but known to have been used as a perfume and embalming ointment used with Egyptian mummies. Perhaps a gift to reference Jesus being born to die?

Who really knows why these three gifts, but it provided great conversation.

It allowed us to really focus on who Jesus was,

this beautiful babe born in a stable,

laid in a manger.

Our Advent clue tree is almost complete...

Truth in the Tinsel - Day 20

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Spahr) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 18:07:00 +0000

Today's lesson took us to the Temple

where we meet Simeon and Anna.

It was a neat peak at how Jesus touches the lives of others.

Both Simeon and Anna were so overjoyed

to be meeting, holding, blessing, kissing...

the Messiah, it gave me goosebumps.

It was a really neat day,

to catch a glimpse of the life of Jesus

as we awaited his arrival.

I thought I took a picture of the finished product,

but could not find it anywhere.

We simply drew two stick people on either end of the Temple

to represent Simeon and Anna.

Our Advent Calendar brought us three camels.

Hmmm, wonder what the next few days will be about?!

Truth in the TInsel - Day 17, 18 & 19 - On the Hillside

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Spahr) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 20:34:00 +0000

I loved these three days!

The way they tied together was marvelous

and the fact that this part of the Christmas Story is one of my favorites,

well, that made it even more fun.

I think I just really appreciated that we had 3 days to spend

really letting this part sink in.

Day 17 was all about sheep.

The shepherds were watching their sheep that night in the fields on the hillside.

We read in Scripture about how the shepherds were so afraid.

We wondered how the sheep felt?

Did they feel safe knowing their shepherds were close by or did they run away?

hmmm... how do we react is uncertain situations?

Do we recognize that the Shepherd is with us?

Making the sheep was a little more difficult, so I wound up the string

and Z put on the face, eyes and feet.

Super cute!

Our Advent calendar brought us another sheep, of course!

Day 18 continued on the hillside...

Angels!

God's messengers came to tell the good news to shepherds.

Shepherds were not thought of as wonderfully educated people then.

So how wonderful was it that God thought them so special

that they would receive the good news before anyone else?!

A great reminder of the way God sees his children.

These angels were wonderful!

We loved how they were a whimsical and a bit mysterious.

Had to use our imaginations to really picture what an angel might look like.

I think that is what God intends.

As we talked about angels, we imagined the beauty and brightness,

the kind that brought warmth and fear all at the same time.

Can you picture it?

Our Advent Calendar brought us a shepherd.

Day 19 - the story continues on the hillside outside of

Bethlehem...

At this point in the story,

we read in Scripture about how the shepherds took off for town,

seeking the babe wrapped and cozy in a manger.

We imagined what it must have been like.

It must have been incredible because the Shepherds did not stop there,

they ran around telling everyone of the good news!

Loved the Shepherd!

Our Advent Calendar brought us two more shepherds.

Marin enjoyed playing with them often.

We used our Jesus Storybook Bible to experience and talk about the shepherds.

We love the Jesus Storybook Bible.

The pictures and the way she tells the story are fabulous.

Makes you feel like you were right there.

A great 3 days!

We could hardly wait to get to the rest of the clues!

Zachary kept saying,

"I wonder what tomorrow's clue will be?!"

Truth in the Tinsel - Day 15 & 16

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Spahr) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 01:52:00 +0000

I know Christmas has come and gone,

but I do want to finish documenting our Advent journey

with Truth in the Tinsel.

It has been such a fantastic journey.

Day 15 - The Manger

This time we mixed up some dough,

formed it into mangers, baked them,

and painted them.

They turned out great!

Our Advent Calendar brought us the manger.

Day 16 - Cloths

We were at Brian's folks for a family Christmas with them this day,

so I took the clue and bag with us.

Zachary glued the cloth to an ornament.

Turned out really cute;

baby Jesus wrapped in cloths.

We also got a piece of cloth to use in our nativity

when we get baby Jesus.

The clues and ornaments continue to be super cute.

Still loving how is lays out the story.

Truth in the Tinsel - Day 14 - The Location

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Spahr) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 01:52:00 +0000

We have arrived to where it all happens.

Zachary was very excited about this.

He poured out the contents of the bag and went right to work.

A super cute stable ornament.

Followed up with another sheep to add to the stable.

We enjoyed reading the story today from the Census to the Stable.

We could feel the excitement,

the anticipation that something big is going to happen.

The stage is being set.

The scene is coming together.

And my kids are so excited to bring baby Jesus to this place.

Zachary gave out gifts to everyone while they "waited"!

There is no greater joy for me than to hear them talk about baby Jesus

and to see their excitement as we prepare to "see" him!

THIS is what Christmas is all about!

Truth in the Tinsel - Day 12 & 13

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Spahr) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 12:23:00 +0000

To Bethlehem we go...

Day 12 was about the Census.

The ornament was actually a very clever way of bringing it all together.

We took a bag of rice, and used food coloring to make it green.

Zachary picked green.

When it was dry, we filled a baby food jar 3/4 of the way full.

We then added marbles, glued the cover on and painted it green.

The end result was 2 marble faces in a sea of green rice...

Joseph and Mary in Bethlehem which was full of people!

So, you shake up the jar and try to find our two characters in the sea of people.

Like I said, very clever!

Our Advent Calendar gave us a donkey, of course.

It went right along with the scripture we read for today.

Zachary and Marin put him right to work!

Love it!

Day 13 continued the Bethlehem theme.

It focused more on the fact that there were so many people,

finding a place to stay was not easy.

The ornament was made of an egg carton.

Zachary painted it.

And we turned it into a part of Bethlehem town.

Pretty cool.

Our Advent Calendar brought us "Straw" for our stable.

We are getting closer and closer!

Truth in the Tinsel - Day 11 - It's all in a name!

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Spahr) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 13:58:00 +0000

Day 11

I really have loved every ornament

and every lesson that has gone with it.

Each one has scripture that you read after you open the clue.

We are to listen for the clue in the scripture reading.

Then we open the red bag to find out what our ornament is.

They have all been fabulous,

but I will admit that this one was one of my favorites so far.

First we glued letters onto a craft stick and made the name JESUS.

Then we glued other names around it.

Today's lesson focused on the name of Jesus.

We talked about how "Jesus" means "God saves"

and "Immanuel" means "God with us".

We read in scripture about other names Jesus had;

Prince of Peace, Son of God, Son of Man, Wonderful Counselor,

King of Kings, Savior, Friend...

We talked about our own names and what they mean;

Michelle; Close to God

Zachary; God has remembered

Marin; Longed for

Brian; Strong one

It was just a really neat lesson,

to talk about the beauty of Jesus's name and their meanings

and how our names are beautiful and special as well.

We talked about how God knows our names and each one of us,

how he loves us and cares for us, each by name.

I have always used the name of my Lord with great care,

but today it really struck me.

When I use the names of my children, my spouse, my friends, my loved ones,

I want to uphold them, respect them and love them, no matter what;

even when there is struggle.

It would be my hope that my name would be used with love and respect as well.

If I desire that, how can I not show the same to my Lord?

It was a neat day today.

(Our Advent Calendar did not bring us anything this day.

We just focused on names.)

Truth in the Tinsel - Day 10

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Spahr) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 03:22:00 +0000

Day 10

Clue - Dream

Ornament - Pillow

Any guesses?

Today was one of those days when Zachary found the clue first thing in the morning.

So, we are still in PJs.

I love that he is this excited about it.

Granted, some days he loses interest faster than others,

but he always loves to find the clue.

This was a little bit tricky to put together.

Can you tell by his facial expressions?

But it did turn out cute!

And it even looks like a pillow.

Figure it out yet?

The pillow is Joseph's.

The dream is when the angel came to visit him,

to tell him to not be afraid to marry Mary.

Zachary thought it was very cool that 3 people got visits from angels so far;

Zechariah, Mary and now Joseph.

I love that we are really getting to see the story lived out through these ornaments.

We are meeting the characters, connecting them all to baby Jesus

and watching the whole event unfold.

Fantastic!

Our Advent Calendar brought us a story book today.

It's a super cute story which you can sing if you know the song.

"I said the donkey, shaggy and brown..."

Truth in the Tinsel - Day 8 & 9

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Spahr) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 02:10:00 +0000

Day 8 - The Sun

Today was about light,

a reminder from day one.

Today we focused on John (The Baptist)

being one who came to prepare the way for Jesus,

to shine love, forgiveness and grace into the darkness.

It was a perfect connection day

between Zachariah, Elizabeth, John and Jesus,

as well as being another reminder of Jesus being the light of the world.

Very cool!

So we made a beautiful sun ornament to put on the tree.

Our Advent Calendar brought us a star for our stable.

Zachary wanted to take some pictures to show everyone...

Day 9 - Can you guess?

Joseph!

Did you guess right?

Now we have Mary and Joseph hanging on the tree.

Too cute!

Our Advent calendar brought us a Joseph figure for the Stable.

Marin enjoyed playing with him today.

Another great couple of days with Truth in The Tinsel.

Loving every minute of it!

Truth in The Tinsel - Day 6 & 7

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Spahr) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 20:38:00 +0000

Finding the clue has for sure been Zachary's favorite part!

Day 6 - Mary & Elizabeth

We read the scripture about Mary visiting Elizabeth and got to talk more about

how John and Jesus were related, specifically about how John came to

prepare the way for Jesus.

Today's ornament was super cute.

Elizabeth and Mary paper dolls.

Zachary and Marin helped paint them with watercolors.

Are they not super cute!!!???

The strangest thing has happend around our house now.

Both Zachary and Marin walk around with a baby doll in their shirts,

telling us they are having a baby.

A bit bizarre, but at least they are catching the story.

That is what I tell myself. LOL!

Our Advent Calendar brought us a sheep today,

to add to our stable.

Day 7 brought us music!

The scripture was Mary's Song,

but we also talked about how the Angels must have sounded

when they sang "Glory to God in the Highest..."

We talked about some of our favorite Christmas songs

and did some singing of our own as well.

Our ornament was a beautifully decorated CD.

And of course, our Advent Calendar brought us some fun Christmas music.

Our Advent Tree is looking wonderful and filling up fast.

And we are only on Day 8!

Maybe I should have used a larger tree.

We also started building a tree with our clues.

We couldn't get them to stay in the pockets of our Advent Calendar.

We continue to enjoy this Advent journey.

I am loving the conversations that are going along with it.

(P.S. - I know it is actually the 12th of Dec.

We are keeping up with the days,

I am just not keeping up with posting my blogs.

I will catch up!!!)

Truth in the Tinsel Day 5 - Mary

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Spahr) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 02:02:00 +0000

Day 5 was Mary.

One of the things I am loving about

Truth in the Tinsel

(This link will take you to the facebook page.

It's fun to see what everyone is doing!)

is that every day builds on each other.

On day 5 our scripture took us to Mary's encounter with Gabriel.

So we were able to revisit Gabriel's message to Zachariah and now to Mary.

And of course we found a Mary figure hanging from our Advent Calendar.

The best part of this day for me

was listening to the conversation between Gabriel and Mary,

narrated by Zachary.

I wish I had it recorded!

It was priceless.

Especially when Mary said,

"Ok, I guess I'll have a baby."

Then he went to work making the ornament.

Zachary's Mary Ornament.

I really can't tell you how much fun we are having with all of this.

I anticipate every day's discovery as much as Zachary does.

And of course, Marin is hanging out with us too.

She's not as interested as Zachary yet,

but I know she is hearing it all;

the Truth in the tinsel.

Truth in the Tinsel Day 3 & Day 4

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Spahr) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 04:42:00 +0000

Day 3 was Zachariah.

Day 3 was also Saturday, the day we went tree hunting in the Mts.

Needless to say, we did not get to our clue until after dinner.

It was a full day.

But we did find the clue before bedtime.

I forgot my camera at first so I did not get many pictures.

Our ornament was Zachariah's face with a bubble for his mouth.

We talked a lot about how Zachariah had a hard time believing the angel,

and about who John was and how excited Zachariah must have been

when his son was born.

This was the picture Zachary took of his ornament.

Our Advent calendar that day brought us a Stable.

Zachary was so worried that there was no one in the stable.

I assured him that we would most likely fill that stable up by Christmas.

The following day, I got up before the kiddos like I usually do.

Soon I heard Zachary yelling for me at the top of the steps.

His answer to my "What Zachary? What's wrong?"

was, "I FOUND THE CLUE FOR DAY 4!"

So we all ran into the school room to see what it was all about.

Hanging from our Advent Calendar was an Angel.

And so our ornament took shape...

with some help from mom, as Zachary so nicely captured it.

The angel, Gabriel.

That morning as we were driving to church,

Zachary began to ask me about the angels.

He wanted to know all the names of the angels.

When I told him that I didn't really know the names of all the angels,

he informed me that daddy could look them up on his IPad and let us know their names!

We also talked about how the angels were special messengers of God.

Zachary said,"Yes, God and Jesus are the King so the angels work for the King."

Every time I wonder if all this Advent stuff is really sinking in

or just fun stuff to do each day...

Truth in the Tinsel Day 2 - Kingdom

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle Spahr) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 11:00:00 +0000

To prepare for the 24 days of Truth in the Tinsel,

I printed and cut out all of the clues and put them in envelopes.

I labeled them for each day.

Then I spent a couple of days collecting art supplies

and placed the daily materials in red bags.

From there I attached each day's clue to it's corresponding bag.

This way, I have all the materials ready to go.

It took some work, but now I don't have to go scrambling around every night

for the materials I need.

It was definitely worth the work!

So every night before I go to bed,

I place the next clue underneath the Christmas Tree in our school room.

Zachary found Day 2's right away.

And did not hesitate to rip it open.

We read the corresponding scripture verses

and talked about how Jesus was our King.

From there we dug into the red bag to discover the ornament for the day;

a crown, of course.

Zachary chose to paint it green.

When it was dry, he decorated it with jewels.

And hung it on his tree.

Hanging from our advent calendar was our month's memory verse.

There is just something about taking time each day

to bring focus to our Christmas preparations.

My prayer is that my family's deep Joy of this season will not be found

in paper packages or sparkling lights,

but in the peace and hope that comes with the Saviors birth.

And so we journey on...