Advent Idea Box: Day 14

Advent Verses

It was foretold in Isaiah that He would die a humiliating death. Compare and meditate upon the words of Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53. Heartbreaking words to dwell on, this final night of our Peace Candle.

John 14:27

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

John 16:33

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

Romans 16:20

The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

Jesse Tree

A Jesse Tree day that my family misses out on is the theme of God's Promises.

Today, remember the promises God has made to us, through His prophets. We celebrate that they have been fulfilled and that we can rest in the promise of our future and that it will be fulfilled. Isaiah 9: 2-7 speaks of these promises. If you'd like an extra reason to smile today, go to www.biblegateway.com and type in a search for the word "promise". It is so beautiful reading of the many promises made and the many promises kept. He DOES keep His promises!

Here are several fitting verses to add to our ornaments and memory list. I am letting my children choose our verse from this list.

Joshua 21:45

Not one of all the LORD's good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.

Hebrews 10:23

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

2 Peter 3:13

But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

1 John 2:25

And this is what he promised us—even eternal life.

For an ornament today, we are looking for an emblem representing "promise". The butterfly is an emblem of resurrection and hope in our new life to come, making it sweet picture for our ornament today. For a homemade ornament, you could hang a tissue paper butterfly, a toy, or even the plastic butterfly rings sometimes found in the machines at supermarkets.

To Explore

Pineapple! Not very Christmas-y? Perhaps not at first glance, but very fun! Read on for a great history of the pineapple.

Before cutting a fresh pineapple, it is best to lean it upside-down for 20 minutes to let the juices level out. Once ready to cut, here is a tutorial.

Nutrition facts and many benefits.

Christmas Around the World

The Caribbean!

Though not common now, it was once tradition for Antiguans and Barbudans to sprinkle sand in their yards to emulate snow as seen on the Christmas cards popular in the Caribbean. An interesting Christmas tradition that is still current throughout the Caribbean is house re-decorating. Old curtains are taken down and replaced, furniture is revarnished, walls are repainted, and houses are cleaned until they shine. Musical parades are seen throughout the islands. In the Bahamas, this musical festival is known as Junkanoo, named after West African John Canoe in the 17th century. Most other traditions are very similar to American customs. Being a UK territory, they have adopted the custom of celebrating Boxing Day the day after Christmas. For details on all of the islands, read this article or this page of topics.

Hands On

Eat a Pineapple! But if you're strange like my children, you'll first enjoy decorating it like a mini-Christmas tree for the day and eating it as dessert after supper.
Color a pineapple
Work a pineapple maze (PDF)
View photos of a real pineapple garden maze!
Color a palm tree with Christmas lights
or decorate your own palm tree picture
Mix up a Five Cup Fruit Salad - http://allrecipes.com/recipe/grandmas-five-cup-salad/detail.asp
or make Dump Cake, the absolute easiest thing to bake (though I prefer to melt my butter before pouring over cake mix) - http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Dump-Cake-IV/Detail.aspx
Try a Sand-Art kit, often seen in dollar stores. These are pictures that let you remove one sticker at a time so that you can sprinkle colored sand onto different sections, creating an interesting, textured picture when you are finished.
Sand Art Bracelets
Take a look at the current weather conditions in the Bahamas and compare to yours.

Music

Not your traditional Christmas music, but Jimmy Buffet was born on December 25th and has contributed to the Christmas music vault with Christmas in the Caribbean.