You may still be enjoying Thanksgiving company and plenty of turkey sandwiches, but I wanted to let you know that today is the first Sunday of Advent. Do you celebrate the Advent tradition in your home?

It was part of my life growing up. Our church had an Advent wreath and candles on the altar, filling the sanctuary with the anticipation of Christmas. Usually, one family was in charge of reading a devotional and scripture, taking turns to light the candles.

My mom brought this tradition home. She set up a little Advent wreath and candles on the coffee table in our living room. We had no choice in the matter — even when we were teenagers. We all took turns reading our parts in the ceremony and lighting a candle for each week. This year, I want to try this with my family!

But we’ve never gotten our acts together until December 1st hits me. Then I rush to pull out our Advent calendar that counts the days until Christmas. This year, God spoke a reminder to me in July. I worked on an article for HomeLife magazine called “Great Expectations: Celebrating the Advent of Christmas.” So I interviewed several moms in the heat of summer, and my heart was on fire just listening to the wonderful ways they teach their children to anticipate the birth of Jesus. I wanted that for our family too!

So here’s what you can do: find some kind of evergreen wreath — you can make it out of real greenery or use a store-bought artificial one. (Whatever’s easiest for you!) The circular shape displays God’s never-ending love, with no beginning or end. Then you put three purple candles and one pink candle into the wreath — each candle has a special meaning: hope, peace, joy, love; and the white Christ candle goes in the center.

You can find Advent readings online or in several books, pamphlets, or magazines. It’s up to you whether you want to do something every night, or just once a week. When you read the devotion, you light a candle, adding one more each week until you build up to the anticipation of Christmas Eve — which helps kids get so excited about the birth of Jesus! He’s the reason we share presents! He’s the center of our joy!

Here’s what one mom does. Her family uses a book written by Arnold Ytreeide called Jotham’s Journey. (You can buy it at a Christian bookstore or online — shop locally if possible). It’s the story of a ten-year-old boy traveling across Israel in search of his family — they’ve moved during the night and left him behind! He encounters thieves, robbers, and kidnappers — and finally wise men, shepherds, and innkeepers — until at last he finds the Saviour born in Bethlehem. It brings the whole Christmas story to life.

This mom said to me, “The Advent wreath is our kids’ favorite part of Christmas. Daddy reads the story every night, and then we let each child take a turn lighting the candle for the whole week. Then on Christmas morning, before we open our presents, the kids all come into our bedroom, and we light the white Christ candle together. They know — they know — that Christmas is all about Jesus!”

Oh, that’s what I want for my family! I also discovered that Arnold Ytreeide has written two more books to complete an Advent trilogy: Bartholemew’s Passage, and Tabitha’s Travels. (So you can use a different book the next year.)

Another mom shared how they make up their own little Advent ceremony. She said when they bring in their Christmas cards from the mailbox, they wait to open each one until they’re all together for the nightly Advent reading. Then her young children get to tear into the envelope and “ooh and aah” over the Christmas picture. She said, “We all hold hands and pray for the family in each picture.” Don’t you love it? We are DEFINITELY going to start doing that. My Christmas cards mean the world to me — because I miss our friends and family so much, especially those we don’t get to see very often.

There are so many more things you can do — I’ll tell you later next week about the Jesse Tree tradition and Adornaments.

I want to pray for you out there who are reading this. I pray that Christmas will fill you with JOY and excitement this year as you worship God as a family. I’ll confess — I tend to get anxious about how much I have to do, and I let that stress rob my heart of joy. It’s all because I get more focused on pleasing others instead of keeping my eyes on God. So, I’m facing this season with a new heart!

May God bless your family with hope and love this Advent season!

Yesterday, I was reading from the devotional book, Streams in the Desert, and this phrase jumped out at me: “the years the locusts have eaten.” I’ve heard it several times lately — and I’ve never heard it before in my life until now. Have you?

It’s from Joel 2:25-26:

I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten — the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm — my great army that I sent among you. You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has worked wonders for you…(NIV)

Now here are three places I’ve heard it recently:

1. From Streams in the Desert by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman. Her devotional from 11/22, “Dealing With the Past,” says this:

It has often been said, and with truth, that Christianity is the only religion that can deal with man’s past. God can “restore the years that the locust hath eaten” (Joel 2:25); and He will do this when we put the whole situation and ourselves unreservedly and believingly into His hands. Not because of what we are but because of what He is. God forgives and heals and restores. He is “the God of all grace.” Let us praise Him and trust Him. –Sunday School Times

2. I read it a couple of days ago in the Guideposts story, Marion’s Marriage. Marion Bond West used this phrase when quoting from her book, The Nevertheless Principle.

No matter what is taken away from you, if you keep your eyes on Jesus and praise Him, He will restore it to you. You will be joyful to the exact same degree you have hurt. What you have lost will be replaced . . . joy for mourning . . . beauty for ashes. . . .God I don’t see how it could possibly work now. I don’t see how You will ever come to me again in any shape or form. But I won’t limit You, so I’m going to remember this moment for the rest of my life. And if and when You restore the years that the locusts have eaten, I will tell people about it and write about it. I am committing to You to remember this agony, and if You can come up with some kind of joy to the equivalent that I hurt, You are truly a God of miracles.

3. After hearing that phrase twice in two days, I remembered a writer I met at Glorieta. I’d signed up to attend Jan Coleman’s “Roundtable Discussion,” which was on how to interview people. She shared how she researched for her newly released book, Unshakeable. And she also showed us an earlier book of hers: After the Locusts. Here’s what she says on her website about the book:

My first book, After the Locusts; Restoring Ruined Dreams, Reclaiming Wasted Years, reads like a novel and stems from my personal story. After my husband left his family for someone else, a stranger showed up at my door with a casserole in one hand and a Bible in the other and shared a promise from the Old Testament Book of Joel. (2:25) If I turned my heart toward God, he would restore the years the locusts had eaten. That’s exactly how I felt, like a swarm of icky bugs had swooped down and devastated my dreams, destroyed my future. This verse became my life’s promise, and I not only survived the storm, but thrived in spite of them. There is hope, after the locusts. Now, there is a deep valley in my soul, not a dark valley, but a giant crevice where joy has settled in, a joy I’d never known without the storms that once ravaged.

You know, there are a lot of people in this world who are living “after the locusts.” Recently, someone typed the keywords “Christian Mom Blog Tired Depressed” into a search engine and found my site. (How did Google know to find me?) God bless you, Christian mom, whoever you are! I wish I could give you a hug.

I enjoyed meeting Jan last month — and regret that I’m still not caught up and haven’t written to thank her. Here are some pictures she’s posted on her website, including one of the casserole-bearing “prophet in blue jeans.” Now I’m thinking I’d like to read her book. (Anybody looking for a good Christmas gift idea for me?)

P.S. I apologize that I don’t have many pictures on my site — I thought about putting a picture of a locust on here — but I was afraid some of you might be eating a doughnut or something while you skim the news and views. (Plus it would take me an hour to figure out how to do it. Sorry, Lanier — you tried, and I’m still not there yet!)

Edit: Another post about this verse: from Two Talent Living

I want to tell you about something spectacular that happened to me last Thursday night. It’s like one of those sparkling jewels you tuck away into a little treasure box; then you take it out later to explore from every facet…for the rest of your life.

Let me back up. A few months ago, a friend invited me to have lunch with her and a few other writers. I arranged childcare and drove an hour and a half to the restaurant where they were meeting. Well, I missed a turn along the way and got horribly lost. So I called my husband from the car, and he guided me there by satellite imagery. (Cool, huh?)

Since I walked in a few minutes late, everyone was already seated. I would have chosen to sit near my friend, but it seemed easiest for me to sit at the end of the table closest to the door.

My seat was right next to author Marion Bond West!

To say I was starstruck is an understatement. I’ve been reading Marion Bond West’s stories in Guideposts since I was in middle school. She takes the most ordinary events of life and tells them with such amazing detail and spiritual insight that you feel like you’re there, experiencing it all with her, and marveling along the way.

So, I talked to her throughout lunch, hoping that I wouldn’t say anything astronomically stupid. Right as we were leaving she said, “Oh, I’m coming to speak at a church near you. Sometime in November. Why don’t you write me, and I’ll send you the details.”

So I did. And she wrote back telling me she would be speaking on November 17. Well, I marked it on my calendar and didn’t give it another thought until I turned the page in my planner in early November. Oh — there’s that day she’s coming to speak. No problem — I’ll just call and preorder a ticket.

I called and left a message on a woman’s answering machine. She called me back the next day and said, “I’m so sorry, but all of our tickets have been sold out.” What! Sold out! “Oh no!” I told her. “I met Marion Bond West recently, and she invited me to come. I wish I’d called sooner.” We chatted for a few minutes, then she told me she’d be on the lookout for a ticket if anyone cancelled.

A week before the dinner, I got a phone call. I recognized the woman’s voice. “Well, Heather, I’ve got some good news for you,” she said. “I’ve found you a ticket! And the Lord put this on my heart — I really feel strongly about this. Would you like to come sit with me and my daughters, and Marion and her husband, at the head table?”

Would I? Would I! If she could have seen through the phone, she would have seen me jumping so high I put a dent in the ceiling!

So, I drove alone to the church that night. It was freezing cold outside, and I parked in a sea of cars. I wondered how many people were there — more than I expected. I figured she might be speaking before an audience of 300 or so.

I was wrong — I found out the church sold 700 tickets!

A teenage boy driving a golf cart (named Jake) stopped at my car and asked if he could give me and another woman a ride to the church gym. He drove us to the front door, which glittered in white Christmas lights. I’d forgotten — the event is called “Christmas Extravaganza.”

When I walked inside the new building, I was stunned. It was dark, the room lit only with candles and tiny white lights. Every table displayed a unique set of china and elaborate Christmas centerpieces. And the electric buzz of 700 happy women (freed from an evening in the kitchen!) was awe-inspiring. I felt like I was entering into a glamorous ballroom.

A high school girl came up to me and said, “You’re Heather Ivester. Here’s your ticket! You’re sitting at the table with me and my mom.” (Her mother is the lady who called me, the one in charge of the event.) She smiled, “I have to tell you, she’s never been so excited about giving someone a ticket before!” (It turns out she reads my column for moms in a local magazine; the pastor of this church also writes a column in the publication as well.)

She pointed out my table — #4. In the front of the room, right under the spotlight of the stage. I was one of the last ones to sit down. When I finally got to the table, I could see my namecard on a china plate. In the seat right next to Marion Bond West! I sat to her right, and her husband sat to her left. I was amazed!

I asked her right away, “Are you nervous? You’re going to be speaking in front of 700 people!”

“Oh, I’m fine,” she said. “I don’t know exactly what I’m going to say. But I know God will give me the words.”

As we waited for our dinner, I enjoyed hearing all about their recent trip to New York City where they’d attended a Guidesposts writers’ workshop. We also talked about her daughter, Julie West Garmon, who’s flourishing in a writing career of her own.

I was afraid of saying too much — I kept thinking, she must feel so jittery inside. She’s about to get up and speak in front of 700 women! After we finished our meal and heard some beautiful singing entertainment, Marion went up on stage to give her speech. She carried no notes with her at all.

“I only have one story to tell you,” she said. “This is my testimony.” She told us how exhausting her early years of mothering were, how she’d stopped going to church because she was too tired from taking care of four small children (including twin boys). She had us all in stitches as she described her frustration. (And I can’t wait to write her a letter and tell her exactly how her speech ministered to me.)

She talked about what it’s like to feel “shipwrecked” in a sea of fear — and how God provides an island for you, called Trust. Then she told us the story of how she became a widow, and later met her present husband, Gene. He responded to an article she wrote in Guideposts on overcoming depression. It was amazing to hear her tell that story while I was sitting there watching his reaction. I also found Marion’s Marriage online.

Afterwards, Gene went up on stage and gave her a kiss. Then we all found a little gift under our table — a tiny golden picture frame with the word “Nevertheless” written in calligraphy inside. This is based on Marion’s book, The Nevertheless Principle. I also brought home chocolates, a book about Jesus, and a camera full of pictures that I’ll copy and send to people. I asked Marion to autograph the Table #4 card and she wrote, “Heather, how exciting to be with you tonight. Bless you! Love, Marion Bond West.”

I walked back to my car alone in the dark, teeth-chattering cold. But my heart was blazing with joy. How does God love me so much that He let me have such a rich, dazzling evening as that? I forgot to mention, I saw several of my children’s teachers there, as well as dozens of people I knew — everyone smiling and happy. And I got to sit next to the keynote speaker!

So, it all goes back to my being late to that restaurant and sitting next to Marion — and following through on her invitation. And the faithfulness of the woman who found me the ticket — she knew God wanted me to be there.

Thanks for letting me share this with you. God is so faithful, even when we aren’t. I’ve been so discouraged lately; I really needed an evening like that. He cared about every last detail, even down to the chocolates I brought home in my purse.

(c) 2005 Heather Ivester

Our son has been reading J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Two Towers a good bit this weekend. I’m proud of him. He’s flying through it, so it looks like we’ll be making a trip to the library because they’re out of school all week for Thanksgiving.

He’s been telling me all about it, and I love where the stories take him. But you know, there’s some controversy going on right now about Christian fantasy. Is it good for children? Is it harmful?

Hmmm…maybe I should start allowing comments on my site because I’d love to hear your opinions! For now, email me your thoughts and I’ll post some here. I’ve discovered a new children’s fantasy book, LANDON SNOW AND THE AUCTOR’S RIDDLE, released by Barbour, a Christian publishing company. Are they leading kids astray with this tale full of magical characters and settings? (No, I don’t think so — I’ll tell you more of my thoughts when I review it next week.)

Here’s what someone wrote to La Shawn Barber’s Corner yesterday:

well i dont watch star wars or lord of the rings or narnia. it is very likely that christians who are seeing this movie havent read their bibles in a long time. dust if off and read it. scoff and laugh if you want but the bible does say that few will find their way to heaven. I see no reason as a follower of Christ for me to align myself with witchcraft. None.

Comment by shari — 11.19.05 @ 1:27 am

What do you think about this? Where does J.K. Rowling stand spiritually? We haven’t gotten into the Harry Potter books yet — a Bible Study teacher I had once told us to keep our children away from them because of the wizardry. She used the example of Saul displeasing the Lord by consulting a medium, and she gave us these verses (from NKJV):

There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer.
Deuteronomy 18:10

For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king. 1 Samuel 15:23

If you’re interested in what people are saying about Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, and others, then go read the blog comments at La Shawn Barber’s Corner from 11/18— last check, she had 22. It will be interesting if she does get her Christian Fantasy website up because a ton of people will go read it.

Here’s what Lisa Rice has to say to Christian parents in her article at Crosswalk.com this week, “Newest Harry Potter Flick Darkest Yet.”

For those addicted to “Harry Potter” books, no doubt they will see “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.” But perhaps this fourth movie, adapted from the popular series written by J.K. Rowling, will be the one that compels us to ask why we would put this material into our children’s heads. As I looked around the theater and saw dozens of little children dressed as wizards and sorcerers, watching one horror after another on the big screen, my heart broke for the sheer lack of parental discernment…

The “Harry Potter” franchise boils down to one issue for parents. Witchcraft, wizardry, magic, spells, and other supernatural “powers” can pull on the strings of our souls, tapping into the natural, God-given desire in us to perform great spiritual exploits. Children, too, have these interests in the supernatural, but often lack the discernment necessary to make wise choices in their selection of entertainment.

So why not teach our children the real deal so that the counterfeit will no longer be appealing? Why not teach them about the School of the Holy Spirit, where ordinary children can be transformed into sword-wielding champions in a real Kingdom of good and evil? It is definitely something worth pondering.

Oh my — when I look at her rating of the movie — she describes the excessive violence, vulgarity, and a scene where a woman exposes herself, I think — why do our precious children need to be anywhere near that?

So, what do you think?

Today is International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. If you keep up with what’s going on in North Korea, China, Saudi Arabia, and a host of other nations, you know we have many brothers and sisters around the world who desperately need prayer.

Here are some facts about what’s going on today from the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church website:

Prayer is a mystery and difficult to measure. However, we can look at some of the changes occurring in the past and draw inferences from them.

Over 100,000 U.S. churches, representing nearly every U.S. denomination, are estimated to have taken part in the IDOP.

Christians in over 130 countries remembered the persecuted on the IDOP.

Christian churches are growing in awareness of the problem and coming together in unity to pray for fellow believers.

Christian leaders in restricted nations report that they are experiencing a new boldness in their witness to others.

There has been increased media coverage of the problem of persecution in both secular and Christian publications. (In the U.S., such publications include The Denver Post, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Focus on the Family with Dr. James Dobson, Christianity Today, and Message of the Open Bible.)

IDOP/USA staff participated in over 100 radio/TV interviews, reaching more than 7,000 stations nationwide. This does not include stations reached through associated organizations which also promote the IDOP in their radio addresses.

Public Service Announcements (PSAs) have aired on radio stations nationwide featuring Bill Bright, Chuck Colson, James Dobson, Shirley Dobson, Tony Evans, D. James Kennedy, Joseph Stowell, and Ravi Zacharias.

Christian freedom groups experienced record increases in funding and participation and continue to see growth in church awareness and advocacy.

Another group I’m familiar with is Voice of the Martyrs. Stacy Harp of Mind & Media writes a blog for this organization. You can learn more about them at their website.

Another organization I just learned about is Brother Andrew’s Open Doors International. He was recently interviewed on Focus on the Family. Here’s the link to Open Doors.

May we rejoice with those who rejoice, and grieve with those who grieve.

I had a fascinating experience yesterday, and of course want to share it with you. Our family went to a Sacred Harp Singing in an old country church a few miles from here. My husband’s brothers and their wives met us there, along with his parents — so it was quite an outing.

Have you heard of Shape Note Singing? Well, if you haven’t, you’ll have to follow some of the links and listen to it. There’s nothing in the world like it. When I was dating my husband, we went to church with his grandparents out in the country, and I first heard it.

Yesterday, when we arrived at the church, everyone was taking a break from the morning singing and had gathered outside for a potluck lunch. After the meal, the group headed back into the church — except me. I stayed outside to finish feeding our baby — and to be honest, I dreaded going inside. I just knew that our two-year-old was going to be wiggling in the pews, and I thought — why even go inside? It’s so nice out here — the weather, the trees turning colors, the quiet. Plus, there were over a hundred people I didn’t know inside — so why go?

Well, my husband came out a little later and told me, “You just have to come inside. You’ll love it. The kids are all sitting still. Really.”

So, I did. And it was absolutely amazing. I heard some of the most beautiful singing I’ve ever heard in my life — there’s no accompanying music, only voices. The room was full of people of all ages — children through people in their 90s. And it’s SACRED music — taken straight from the Bible.

Here’s an intro from Fasola.org:

Sacred Harp singing is the largest surviving branch of traditional American Shape Note Singing. “Sacred Harp” refers to The Sacred Harp, a book first published in 1844 and continuously updated since. Along with other hymn books from the era, its repertoire of 550 4-part a cappella hymns, odes, and anthems is part of the foundation of a vibrant oral tradition handed down since Colonial times and still practiced at hundreds of annual singing meetings, conventions, and local singing groups throughout the country.

If you want to see what a page of Shape Notes look like, follow this link. Here’s a picture that shows what it looks like when a person is leading the music. We were surrounded by wooden beams in the interior of the church we visited — so we really felt like we’d stepped back in time 150 years — except electric lights and ceiling fans kept the room comfortable.

The Pilgrim Production site allows you to listen to several songs, and let me recommend one of the most beautiful, “Lloyd.” This song (which I’m listening to now as I write) has special meaning for our family. It was truly one of the highlights of my life back in March when my husband’s brother married his beautiful (long-awaited!) bride, and she proceeded down the aisle to this song. The ceremony took place in the antebellum home where my husband grew up, in which another one of his brothers and wife live now.

Before the bride entered the room, my two oldest daughters prepared her path by gracing the wooden floors with pink rose petals taken from the silver baskets they carried. Then we all listened to this song as we watched my new sister-in-law come down the aisle. Perfect beauty!

My husband says the man who wrote this song fell asleep and dreamed he’d entered heaven and heard this. When he woke up, he wrote it down. I hope you can listen to it — and come back to it whenever your spirits need a lift.

“Music is a God-given faculty that by sounding its melody and harmony opens the doors to human hearts and souls and brings man back to his first relationship with God,” writes Ruth Denson Edwards in her introduction to The Sacred Harp songbook.

She continues, “It is the sweet union which keeps men in close relation with the hearts of men while they live in the world and which will strike the sweet chords in that spirit land where mortality does not enter and where spiritual songs are sung throughout Eternal Ages.”

Job 38:6-7 says, “What holds up the pillars that support the earth? Who laid the cornerstone of the world? In the dawn of that day the stars sang together, and the heavenly beings shouted for joy.”

Yesterday, I think I may have experienced a tiny inkling of what that magnificent chorus may have sounded like.