Advent | Praying in Color

Rectangles of Light for Advent and Epiphany

January 24, 2017 by Sybil Macbeth Leave a Comment

I know we are in the Season of the Epiphany, but I keep looking at these two Advent Calendars by Cindy O* and Melissa zL. There are so many symbols of light in them that the calendars could hang as reminders of Epiphany. Both Cindy and Melissa used a simple block calendar–nothing kitschy or fancy about the template. But each daily rectangle is a colorful window illuminating the story of God’s breaking into the world. On Cindy’s calendar, the first one, I love the Sunday progression of light on the weekly Advent wreath. The “family portrait” on Christmas Day makes me smile: the gathering of curious people around Jesus surrounded by holly and poinsettia. On Melissa’s calendar I love all of the visual references to light, especially the fireworks on Christmas. Of course, there must have been fireworks on that momentous night!

Advent Cindy O_final

by Melissa zur Loye

Cindy’s blog is called Mostly Markers

Advent Calendar 2016

January 4, 2017 by Sybil Macbeth Leave a Comment

It is the 11th day of Christmas. Epiphany is in two days. In the church year we have moved from the preparation of Advent to the birth of Jesus on Christmas. So aren’t these Advent words on the calendar, and even Christmas “so last month”? Maybe not. When I look at my calendar, I am reminded that the words in the balls are really the words of my faith throughout the whole year. Although our Savior is born, we Christians are still waiting, watching, and hoping for the final fulfillment of the Christmas promises.

Winter Solstice/Late Advent Activities for Children and Families

December 19, 2016 by Sybil Macbeth Leave a Comment

The winter solstice–the darkest day and longest night of the year–is December 21. This is a perfect opportunity to introduce children to one of the juicy paradoxes of Advent. Darkness and Light, Light and Darkness walk hand in hand with us during Advent and every day of the year–literally and metaphorically. Darkness can be scary and unpredictable. We can’t see in the dark. Imaginations run wild with monsters under the bed and boogeymen in the closet. Criminals lurk in the shadows. Strangers appear even stranger in the darkness.

But darkness can also be cozy, a time to gather at tables, firesides, and bedsides at the end of a long day. We snuggle under blankets; we sleep in the dark. Our bodies grow and heal in the darkness. Dreams flourish in our sleeping hours. Plants and animals also rejuvenate at night. The same imagination that scares kids and adults alike can be ripe with mystery. Evening and darkness are often the backdrop for romance. Christmas lights and decorations, barely visible in the daylight, shine and perform at night. Stars provide beauty and direction at night.

Advent and the Winter Solstice provide a framework for respecting and celebrating both the terror and the triumph of the darkness. Daylight will grow longer and longer as the days pass the solstice. Into the darkness of a conflicted and hurting world comes the Light of the World. The darkness of Christmas night shimmers with the birth of Jesus.

Here are a few simple ways to mark the winter solstice in the midst of Advent:

♦Set up a small table or place for a child to experience light in the midst of the darkness all alone. Place some battery-operated candles on the table with an old-fashioned 3-7 minute egg timer. Invite your child to be quiet for those minutes as they watch the grains of sand fall and mark off the moments of time. Another way to create the same experience is to provide them with private time by the Christmas lighted tree in an otherwise dark room. As a kid I thought this was a magical time.

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♦Gather the members of your household and find the darkest place in the house—the basement, a big closet, a place with room-darkening shades. Try to remove all signs of light. Sit in a circle together in the dark room. Be silent for a minute or two. Then ask the question: “What do you notice about sitting in the dark?” Then try sitting in the dark again, this time holding hands. Ask the “noticing” question again. Then light a candle; be silent, and ask the “noticing” question again.

♦Go outside and look at the stars. If it’s cold, bundle up the kids in pajamas and blankets. Look up and out. Ask children what they see in the sky and around them. What is different from what they see in the daytime? Paying attention and watching are two of the habits we cultivate during Advent. If you know some of the planets, stars, and constellations, point them out.

♦Create a breath prayer specifically for the Winter Solstice and the last days of Advent. A breath prayer is a short, two-part prayer. One part is a name for God; the second part is a petition or request. Here are some examples: “Loving Jesus, come quickly.” “God of light, take away my fear.” “Holy One, shine in my heart.” Keep the prayer at the tip of your tongue and the pocket of your heart, so you can say it all through the day and night. This ancient prayer form is a way to “pray without ceasing.”

♦Teach a simple darkness/light song. Several of the Taize Chants are easy to learn: The Lord is my Light And Within Our Darkest Night. These songs are like musical breath prayers.Here is a link to other Advent/Winter Solstice “paperless” songs from Music That Makes Community.

Advent Three

December 11, 2016 by Sybil Macbeth Leave a Comment

This is one of those weird Advents when the third Sunday of Advent only marks the halfway point to Christmas. Because December 25 is on a Sunday this year, there is a whole week after the fourth Sunday of Advent until Christmas Day. My Advent calendar of words has only 15 completed ornaments of the 28 and yet I lit the third candle on the wreath today. The extra days are good news to me. I have just begun to settle into a daily routine of reading and drawing. Although Advent is a special time of attention and reflection, I also think it the dress rehearsal for how to make room and space for God in my life all year. It takes time to learn to take time. Advent gives me permission to learn how.

There are hints of December, Advent, winter, and Christmas in our house and neighborhood even without my intentional attempts at spiritual discipline and the staging of visual seasonal reminders. The holly in our front yard is full of berries and yesterday a mass of robins ate half of them in two hours. Usually their appearance means there will not be a single berry left when they depart. My interference with clippers in a desperate attempt to salvage some branches may have interrupted their annual feeding frenzy. I expect them to swoop down again soon and finish the job.

Our two Christmas cactuses are covered with buds. The younger one, the eight-year old on the left, has many blossoms and seems in a hurry to get to the finish line. The other, a plant I have had for 45 years, is full of buds, but moseying to maturity in its own time. Both plants seem to know of Advent’s arrival because they start their march to full flower every year at the end of November. It’s almost as if they are accompanying me on the Advent journey and saying, “Make way. Be not afraid. There is hope. Break forth.”

Where I Found Jesus

December 10, 2016 by Sybil Macbeth 2 Comments Leave a Comment

i-found-jesus-1

I first saw this meme about eight years ago. The intent might have been a smug dis of the ubiquitous “I Found Jesus” posters, buttons, and bumper stickers popular at the time. Or maybe it was not a dis, but both a funny and serious affirmation of the unlikely places where Jesus shows up. I laughed out loud when I read it, but you know, I think I did find Jesus behind the sofa.

When I was eight years old, my parents bought a brand new house in a brand new development of three hundred houses. Each house was red brick with white siding. There were five models of homes, variations on ranches and split-levels. Every street in the neighborhood started with the letter S—a postal worker’s nightmare and a source of fear for a little kid looking for his or her street in a blur of red and white houses. Although I loved the swarm of kids my age on my street, I hated the new house. It had no trees or bushes. In our previous yard, there were oak trees, pine trees, and hydrangea bushes. The newness and bareness of the property and the house itself felt a little soulless.

My parents owned the house for almost forty years. When I recall living there, I think of the one room I cherished. It was the living room that split the house into the upstairs and downstairs. It was the room for entertaining guests, not the place where we spent ordinary time or watched television. I loved the specialness and sanctuary of the living room. While other family members congregated in the family-room downstairs, I tiptoed shoeless on the thick white wool rug and hunkered down behind the living room’s white brocade sofa. It was a great place to be alone, play with my paper dolls, and browse the Encyclopedia Britannica Jr. Behind the sofa was also the place in my early days of literacy where I read my small, red leather King James Bible. Lying next to the radiator behind the sofa, I memorized Psalms and read the Gospel stories of the New Testament. It was there in my private little sanctuary that I first fell in love with Jesus.

Christmas was celebrated in the living room. The Christmas tree stood in front of the big picture window. When the Christmas tree was decorated and all lighted up a week or two before Christmas, it became my sanctuary within the sanctuary. I spent hours curled up under its branches. Sometimes I just lounged in the magic of the ornaments, the lights, and the silence. Sometimes, Christmas music played on the hunky hi-fi. Every year my father brought home a new Firestone record album with titles like Your Christmas Favorites. Songs from other countries, a cappella carols, and unfamiliar melodies floated through the room. The carols from these albums filled me with joy. The music and lyrics became part of my lifelong prayer and worship vocabulary.

In retrospect, the hours spent under the Christmas tree were my first Advents. The church of my childhood did not celebrate Advent but the time of quiet I spent under the tree was full of expectancy and promise. Something unknown and bigger than myself was about to happen. The Jesus I had met behind the sofa had moved with me under the tree. And more about him was going to be revealed.

This post was adapted and updated from a 2009 entry I wrote for the Purpose-Driven Connection. The bumper sticker came from a website called Azure Green. The one above is no longer available, but a different version appears on the site.

Celebrating Advent at Home

November 21, 2016 by Sybil Macbeth Leave a Comment

I love Advent for many reasons:

Advent is the start of a new Church/liturgical year. I think of the liturgical year as the annual pilgrimage we make as the Church and as individuals through the stories of our spiritual ancestors. Every year we read through a cycle of biblical stories in the Old and New Testaments to get the big picture of salvation history. Every year I have a family reunion with Abraham, Sarah, David, Mary, Jesus, Paul, Peter….But since I am a slightly different person than I was the year before, I see these spiritual relatives with a different set of eyes. They teach me new things about God and God’s work in my life and in the world.
Cooler weather and darker days in November and December invite me to hunker down and go inward. These are the perfect physical conditions for a time of reflection and preparation for Christmas, for a new birth of Jesus in my heart and in my life.
Advent engages all of the senses. It emphasizes the humanity of Jesus. In Advent we wait and prepare and hope for a flesh and blood savior. Jesus will come into our down-and-dirty world and meet us as we are. So we wait and prepare not just with our heads and our hearts but with our bodies–our eyes, ears, noses, fingers, arms, legs….
Advent is not just a preparation for Christmas. It is preparation for the whole year. Advent teaches us how to be attentive, hopeful, and patient people for the long haul. The practices we begin in Advent fill our spiritual backpacks. They equip and energize us for our annual spiritual pilgrimage and kingdom-building partnership with God.

For years during Advent I read a daily meditation book and the Scriptures associated with Advent and Christmas. I still do this. But when I wrote The Season of the Nativity: Confessions and Practices of an Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany Extremist two years ago, I wanted to celebrate Advent not just in my head, but with all of my senses. This book invites the whole body into the preparation for Christmas. Although many of the activities could be used with a church group, they are designed for celebrating Advent at home.

Most of the activities in the book can be adapted for individuals, adults, children, and families—purple or blue lights, activities with Advent vocabulary, Praying in Color ideas, various Advent calendars including a “live” Advent calendar in a narcissus or amaryllis bulb, simple Advent wreaths, an echo pantomime of Advent characters…. Here is a collage of some of the ideas in the book.

advent-collage-november-2016b-resized

If you would like to order the book, click on the picture below.

CountUP-to-Christmas Advent Calendar Templates

November 9, 2016 by Sybil Macbeth 2 Comments Leave a Comment

Advent calendars are for children and adults! Instead of opening daily doors with pictures or retrieving small gifts or candies from pockets, mark the day-by-day journey to Christmas by daily praying/drawing with a calendar template. When I draw, color, and doodle my own Advent calendar, I feel like I’m building something rather than tearing it apart. It is a countUP to Christmas, not a countDOWN. The finished Advent calendar is a colorful reminder of what was in my head and on my heart each day. It is a record of my spiritual journey through Advent. Note: I like to enlarge the 8.5″x11″ format to 11″x17″ card stock. It gives me more room to doodle and color and consequently more time and space with the person or word.

Here are four Advent calendar templates in both .pdf and .jpg form. One of the calendars has already been “doodled”, so you can just color and pray. Click on the words .pdf or .jpg below the version/s you want. Download first; then print. Feel free to share these with others, for individually or groups.

.pdf OR .jpg .pdf OR .jpg

Ways to Use the Calendar Template

1) In a space or shape on the calendar, write the name of someone for whom you are praying. Doodle around the name, add color. Think of each stroke of color or each doodled mark (line, dot, arc, spiral…) as a wordless prayer. If words come to you as you draw and color, pray them. Squeeze them onto the calendar in the shape or along the margins if they feel important. When you have finished with your daily entry, say “Amen” or recite a short passage of Scripture appropriate to Advent like “The Lord is my light and my salvation.” (Psalm 27:1)

2) Read a daily Advent reflection or meditation. Choose a word from the reading that jumps out at you. Write it in the shape and start to doodle and color. Marinate in the word. What is the word saying to you? What does God have to say to you about the word? Listening + doodling+ coloring = praying. Keep a computer or notebook next to your calendar so you can write any insights or “ahas.”

3) Write and ponder an Advent word—–prepare, await, hope, pregnant, watch, darkness, longing,…—as you doodle and color.

4) Since Advent is a season of hope, write something you hope for each day. Offer that idea to God as you color and draw.

5) For smaller children, print the calendar on 11″x17″ paper and just let them color. Light a battery-powered votive candle and give them a quiet, secret place to work.

Here are examples of 2015 finished Advent Calendars:

Thanks to Cindy O. of Mostly Markers for creating the 2016 Box Calendar–with the oval in the center for Christmas Day. Notice her finished Box Calendar from 2015–the first one on the left.

Advent/Christmas Calendars

January 4, 2016 by Sybil Macbeth Leave a Comment

Below are some wonderful finished Advent calendars from people who sent them to me. If you have stashed your calendar somewhere with the idea that Advent and Christmas are over, pull it out again. As an Advent/Christmas/Epiphany Extremist I encourage you to keep your finished calendars (and all of your other Christmas things) within eyeshot until at least January 6–the Feast of the Epiphany, when the Church celebrates the arrival of the magi/kings at the manger. The calendars are a reminder of our entrance into a whole New Church Year and of the hope we carry with us with the birth of Jesus.

The candle template for these calendars was created by Linda S. (I love the idea and hope she will send me a version to share for Advent 2016.) The two calendars were drawn by Linda and her adult daughter J. They sat at the same table and encouraged each other in the daily process.The beautiful one on the left was completed by Linda incorporating both words and designs. The amazing wordless version on the right was drawn by J. Linda and I shared some conversation about how some days our drawings are a disaster or are just plain bizarre. (Notice the “winking frog” day.) Linda says, “I think that is an important lesson of the journey: each day may present challenges or unexpected outcomes, but when viewed within the context of the entire journey offer texture, humor, new directions, etc. The trick is letting go of the “perfect” expectation and becoming more comfortable with unforeseen results.”

Last year during Advent 2014 Linda and J worked together on two calendars swapping them each day. I loved the idea; it seemed like a real letting go of the ownership of the calendar.

Here are two calendars by friends Connie and Cindy.

The calendar on the left is from Connie Denninger and celebrates the Gifts of Advent. Her blog is called Vintage Grace. Connie leads workshops and retreats on all sorts of visual prayer. The template she used was created by Pat Maier.

The calendar on the right is from Cindy O. Cindy was the person who gave me permission to doodle back in the 20th century. Her calendar includes words and drawings from the traditional Advent vocabulary. Advent introduces us to, not just words of a single season, but to the vocabulary of the Christian faith throughout the year. Cindy’s blog is Mostly Markers. She details the kinds of paper and markers/pens she uses–a great site for doodlers, artists, and crafters. Look at her December 28 post. It is a patchwork of all the different kinds of candles she has drawn on her Advent calendars for the past seven years.

CountUp/CountDown–Another Advent Paradox

December 24, 2015 by Sybil Macbeth Leave a Comment

Advent for me has been both a countup and a countdown to Christmas.
Countup:
My two Advent calendars are a colorful accumulation of prayers and ponderings. On one I started out with 26 blank trees and prayed for someone each day with doodles and color. The other calendar began with a blank piece of purple cardboard. On circular stickers are words and sentences captured from Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s God is in the Manger: Reflections on Advent and Christmas. Both calendars started off with nothing on them and grew. They are evidence of daily time sitting in a chair and staying focused—if only for a few minutes.

The dry, brown paperwhite narcissus bulbs planted at the beginning of Advent npw have tall green shoots. One bowl even has blossoms. Watching their growth each day was like having a living Advent calendar in my house.

Both of these Advent practices began with almost nothing and day by day revealed new growth. I was waiting for Christmas, but it felt like I was not waiting in vain.

Countdown:
The candles on the Advent wreath were beautiful on Advent One. They get smaller and more distorted each day, ticking off the days and hours until Christmas. Wax drips down and clumps on the table. The greens around the candles were so dry, they were a fire hazard; I threw them away. In spite of their demise, the dried–up greenery and the disappearing candles herald the imminence of Jesus’ birth.

The countup/countdown combo feels like just another Advent paradox to add to a growing collection: light/darkness, already/not yet, faith/fear, countup/countdown…. During Advent we pay attention to the paradoxes and sometimes act as if they are just an Advent thing that goes away with Christmas. But living with paradox is a constant part of daily life.

Life, for me, is both a countup and a countdown. These words do not fit nicely on a sequential or chronological timeline. Neither is necessarily a “better” experience than the other. Sometimes things are built up, sometimes torn down. Often countups and countdowns walk hand and hand. Both my countup and countdown Advent experiences were beacons to point the way to Christmas.

Three–Sentence Stories for Advent: Writing Short is Fun for All Ages

December 15, 2015 by Sybil Macbeth Leave a Comment

3-Sentence Stories: Writing Short is Fun for All Ages

I wrote this post for the website Building Faith, a ministry of Virginia Theological Seminary to offer practical resources for the Christian formation of people of all ages. It was first published on December 11th, 2015.

The Power of Three-Sentence Stories ♦
Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.

For Christians, the above three-sentence story is the essence of our faith: Christ’s victory over death and the promise of his return. Some Christians say these words every time they share bread and wine in the Holy Communion. Even small children can recite and remember these words.

Three-sentence stories are one of my favorite ways to order muddled thoughts. As a Christian formation tool, they give adults and children a safe and playful framework to organize and express ideas. I use 3-sentence stories in workshops and retreats, often as a way for people to summarize what they heard from a passage of Scripture. The stories can be oral or written.

Teaching 3-Sentence Stories
To teach the 3-sentence story form to children, start with a concrete, oral version. Ask them to describe the clothes they are wearing or what they ate for breakfast this morning. Give an example.

I ate one fried egg with a runny yolk.
The toast was too dark and crisp.
My coffee had cream and sugar in it.

When and How to Use this Tool
Three-sentence stories can be written as a private practice, but as a group activity they build community. Try 3-sentence stories in a family setting, a Christian formation class, an Adult forum, a church school class, or youth group. In my experience most people love to read their stories aloud. The collective result feels like a playful and powerful poetry jam. Because the stories are short, many people get to share.

As an Advent and Christmas Activity
Advent lends itself to writing and telling these simple stories. The rich vocabulary, characters, seasonal customs, and Bible stories provide opportunities to use this tool. Here are a few examples:

Tell a 3-sentence story about an Advent practice in your home:

We have purple candles in our wreath.
Purple is the new Red.
Like a traffic light, it signals STOP, wait, pay attention.

Tell a 3-sentence story about a character from the Bible:

Mary was a Jewish teenager.
The angel asked if she would be the mother of God’s son.
Mary said, “Okay, I’ll do it.”

Prepare Three Sentence Story

In Advent we often talk about the word Hope. Write a 3-sentence story about what you hope for.

I hope for great schools and great healthcare for everyone.
I want to see older people have more choices for their lives.
I hope God will help me become a less judgmental person.

Proclaim Christmas in Three Sentences!
Here’s another idea for a 3-sentence story. I want to proclaim the Nativity with as much impact as “Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.” I want to highlight the miracle of the Incarnation, God’s presence on earth as the flesh and blood human named Jesus. So here is my first draft to capture the power and importance of the Nativity Season –Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany:

Christ is longed for.
Christ is born.
Christ will spread like wildfire.

What is your 3-sentence story for the Nativity Season?

♦ I first learned about 3-sentence stories from Interplay, “a global social movement dedicated to ease, connection, human sustainability and play.”

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3-Sentence Stories: Writing Short is Fun for All Ages

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