Celebrating St. Andrew's Day

Andy is my husband, and November 30th is his "name day"!  The Feast of St. Andrew determines the date Advent begins, so his day always comes at an especially busy time of year, but I'd hate to overlook Andy's day!  First, let me address the obvious.  Not a lot of Lutherans celebrate their name day, but I say, "why not?"  Especially when it comes to our children, the idea of having a friend of the faith from antiquity that shares your name is just neat.  Maybe your name connection is a hero of the the faith or even a Christian martyr - after all I don't meet many children named Judas!  Learning about the triumphs and tribulations of those who have gone before us in the faith can be a great encouragement. Of course we don't pray to or worship anyone but the one true God, but it's fun to see how God works in and through sinful people for His glory. 

Many of the traditions associated with the celebration of St. Andrew's day are methods for determining a marriage partner.  Ironic, huh!  Some of them are pretty strange, involving kicking off shoes and other such nonsense that as far as I can tell have nothing to do with the Apostle Andrew, and certainly are not the means God speaks to us today!  Here's another example, on the eve of St. Andrew write the names of potential suitors on slips of paper, place them under your pillow, then draw one out when you wake up in the morning and voila!  You know the name of your future beloved!  Since we don't practice divination, this tradition is out.  But there is another irony to this day that inspired me to morph this pagan practice into something fun and fitting for the occasion. 


Look at Peter's adoring eyes!

First a little Bible history.  Andrew was a follower of John the Baptist before he was a follower of Jesus.  Then, John 1:35-42 tells us that John the Baptist introduced Andrew to Jesus.  Once Andrew recognized Jesus as the Messiah, he told his brother, Peter, this Good News!  Evangelism starts at home, then and today!  Of course, dear readers, you know that our son's name is Peter.  So, once again, in our home Andrew is telling Peter about the Messiah, Christ Jesus! 


Instead of placing the lovers' names under our pillows, we decided to put some love under the pillow for husband and daddy - Andy - to find in the morning.  I can't tell you HOW excited Adelae was about this little project! 

St. Andrew is often depicted with a diagonal cross shaped like an "X", also called a saltire, upon which tradition teaches Andrew was martyred. Our little under-the-pillow-love-notes featured such a cross.  I cut colored squares and strips of paper that Adelae, and even baby Pete with a little help, glued diagonally into a saltire cross.  Once glued in place, just snip off the excess strip off the corners.

Plaid Pete about to eat his paper saltire!

On the back, we wrote our little love notes. I encouraged Adelae to write something to tell Daddy that we love him and that Jesus loves him. Notes are suppose to be secret, but I'll tell you what Adelae wrote, "Dear Daddy, Jesus loves the BIG ones like you!"  Cute!

I should note that before making our saltire cross notes, I needed to help Adelae understand exactly who this "Andrew who's not daddy" is, and why he died on a cross too, so I got out a book I received when I was a baby.  Our Christian Heritage by Good Will Publishers is incredible, not only because it has large, realistic pictures of many Biblical characters, but because it was given to me from the bank, restaurant and a few shops of the local community where I was born in Millersburg, OH!

My side of our conversation went like this,  Here is a picture of Andrew.  Andrew was Jesus' friend and follower.  Before Andrew was friends with Jesus, Andrew was friends with John the Baptist (cue picture of John the Baptist).  John the Baptist told Andrew about Jesus, and Andrew knew that Jesus had come to be his Savior.  Andrew did bad things sometimes, just like you and just like me.  When Jesus died on the cross (cue picture of Jesus on the cross) He died for Andrew.  Jesus died for Adelae too.  And for Mommy.  And for Daddy.  And for Peter.  Yes, and for John the Baptist.  After Jesus died, Andrew wanted to tell everyone about Jesus.  Some people didn't want to hear about Jesus', so they hurt Andrew.  They put him on a cross and he died. But his cross was different than Jesus' cross.  Using our fingers we made a "Jesus cross", then rotated it to make an X.   Jesus died on the cross for our sins, but Andrew did not die for our sins.  Andrew just loved his friend, Jesus, and wanted to tell people about Jesus' love. 


See, what's not to like about name days?  But if a little mid-week Sunday School lesson doesn't have you convinced yet, I hope you saved room for dessert!

Since Andrew is so strongly connected to the Scottish people, we just had to make some St. Andrew's Shortbread.  I've never made shortbread before, but when I looked at a handful of recipes, they were all about the same.  Butter. Sugar. Flour.  Cream, mix, roll, cut, decorate, bake, eat! I'm sure there are many more little professional details, but this simple plan worked for us.



Peeling butter labels in plaid hair bows!

 To add a little St. Andrew's flair, we pressed popsicle sticks into the cookies in a "X" shaped saltire cross.  These will be a fun treat for Andy after a long day of work and our Wednesday night Advent service. 

To work off all that butter, I had one final X-shaped idea.  Jumping Jacks, er, Jumping Andrews...? Haven't you noticed that the best conversations can happen when playing together as a family?  

Don't forget the readings for St. Andrew's Day, click to read

Ezek. 3:16-21

Romans 10:8b-18

John 1:35-42a


St. Andrew's Shortbread

1 c butter, unsalted and cold

1/2 c sugar

2 1/2 c flour

pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 325F.  Cream together the butter and sugar.  Stir the salt into the flour.  Add the flour mixture to the creamed butter and sugar.  Use clean hands to squeeze into a ball of dough.  Roll out the dough and cut into squares.  A cookie cutter would work nicely too, but we wanted our cookies square today.  Use a popsicle stick to press "X" crosses into each cookie. Bake until lightly browned, about 20-25mins.  Makes about 36 cookies.  Extra dough is great fun for little hands!

2011 Christmas Theme: Baubles and Bread

From the time Adelae was a little baby, old enough to be mobile (read, dangerous!) she and I have made all of the ornaments for our tree.  This started for sake of her safety, not to mention my heartbreak, should any of my vintage glass ornaments break.  Over the years the tree has taken on various themes that have evolved to become only a part of our larger concept for much of the baking, gifts, cards, crafts and decorating of the Christmas season. 


"Isn't the theme for Christmas, well "Christmas"?"! Yes, but determining a lens for the story and meaning of Christmas makes it easy to unite the look and message of the season in a memorable fashion.

Since I begin planning the theme for the upcoming Christmas a year in advance to take advantage of after-season sales, I've been thinking about all of this for a while!  I'm very excited to share our Christmas 2011 theme, Baubles and Bread.


Clearly, some additional explanation is needed, and I hope you'll find it as inspirational as I did when I stumbled upon this concept some time ago. 


First, the bauble, striking in it's simplicity, is no mere ball.  Early Christmas trees were often decorated with fruit such as apples and cranberries.  Over time, the fruit became manufactured, streamlined, and glass ball ornaments were popularized.  The fruit on the tree represented Eden.  Today our red baubles are just ornaments.  We've lost the understanding that the red bauble, or sparkling forbidden fruit, is a symbol for our original sin handed down from Old Adam.  Why would you want to decorate your festive tree with a symbol of your sin?  Sin is precisely what drives our Advent hope and Christmas joy - the birth of our Savior from sin, death and the devil! The symbolism of the simple red ball cannot be lost, and so red baubles will take center stage in our Christmas decorating this year. 

Look how similar the pomegranate looks compared to a standard red bauble!

Genesis doesn't tell us that the serpent enticed Eve with an "apple", all we know is that she took the  "fruit". Pomegranates are another popular temptation fruit of choice.  Both apples and pomegranates share that bright red hue, a perfect choice, albeit fabricated by our art and imaginations, as it foreshadows the blood of Christ that redeems the sin of all eternity. 

Another tradition in Christmas tree decoration is to hang cookies as ornaments.  Practically speaking, many of the old fashioned type cookies improve in flavor as they soften with age, and the tree couldn't be a prettier place to display them.  However, when I learned that the classic German Lebkuchen can be translated to mean "body bread" or "bread of life", the story of faith strung on a Christmas tree nearly brought me to tears. 


Please read these few, beautiful excerpts from the sixth chapter of John.
  ²⁷ Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal." ²⁸Then they said to him, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" ²⁹Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." ³⁰So they said to him, "Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? ³¹ Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" ³²Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." ³⁴They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always."  ³⁵Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst....⁴⁷Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. ⁴⁸ I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹ Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. ⁵⁰ This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. ⁵¹I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh." ⁵²The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" ⁵³So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. ⁵⁴Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. ⁵⁵For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. ⁵⁶Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.
 
This Bread of Life, Jesus, comes to us at Christmas.  His flesh, given for us, first on the cross and today in Holy Communion is the bread that gives life eternal.  How wondrous, how beautiful, to decorate your tree, your table and hall, your gifts, your life with red baubles reminding us of our sin, and bread, in all it's forms, recalling our Redeemer, the Bread of Life, Christ Jesus. 
 
Perhaps this is why gingerbread cookies, a kin to Lebkuchen, are cut out in the shape of a man?  Our traditions run deeper then we know, and it is my mission to bring these meaningful connections to our cultural consciousness.

Black and White for Sin and Salvation

Baubles and bread! Our theme for this Christmas is really one of Law and Gospel, sin and salvation - truly a grand reason to celebrate!

Celebrating Stir-Up Sunday

Advent begins today - 11/27/11 - and I hope you took special note of the Collect this morning at church.  Yes, the Collect! You know, that little prayer near the beginning of the service, the one that "collects" all of the readings together into a single theme. I know. I'm crazy for being in a tizzy over the Collect, but if you listened carefully, I know you heard it.

"Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come, that by Your protection we may be rescued from the threatening perils of our sins and saved by Your mighty deliverance; for You live and reign with the Father and Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever."

"Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come"!  Do you know about Stir-Up Sunday?  It was quite a revelation to me when I first read about it a couple years ago.  Following the Collect, tradition dictates that the first Sunday in Advent, or Stir-Up Sunday, is the day to prepare the Christmas pudding.  Making it early allows all of Advent for this dense cake-like pudding to marinate in brandy while waiting for the big day! 

Our "Stir-Up" did in fact include 13 ingredients - if you don't include water or Pete's Cheerios!

Stir-Up Sunday isn't just making pudding then waiting!  I've uncovered all sorts meaning included in the process of creating this dessert.  First, the recipe calls for a lot of rich ingredients to recall the many good gifts of our Lord.  More specifically, families often used 13 ingredients, one for each apostle plus Christ. The batter is to be "stirred up" by every member of the family, and even the baby takes part because the more it's stirred the better. Strokes should be stirred from east to west, recalling the journey of the Magi.  My personal favorite, always use a wooden spoon for stirring - to remember baby Jesus' lowly manger.  Sometimes a little prize or coin is also baked into the pudding, sort of like the Marti Gras King's Cake.  After the pudding is baked, it is drenched, "I said drrrenched, and I meant drrrrenched!" (please let me know if you know THAT quote and you will have won my heart!) - yes, drenched in booze to ensure a very merry Christmas!  Still, most of the alcohol is only for preservation and flavor because the best part comes on Christmas day.  After dinner, the long awaited pudding is reheated, turned out on a metal tray and set aflame!  This represents come coming of Jesus - the light of the world! 

Adelae and her wooden spoon!

Wonderful!  I love it!  There is only one downfall. It tastes terrible. 

I made Christmas pudding last year using an old traditional recipe (sans the traditional suet!). My research included consulting a professional chef to understand the proper steaming method and making my own candied citrus peel. Let me tell you, I really, really, REALLY wanted this pudding to be the most delicious bite ever tasted!  No.  It was just terrible!  Just because our taste buds are a little different today than they were "of yore" doesn't mean we should throw away the lovely tradition of stirring-up on the first day of Advent. 

If you have a family Christmas Pudding recipe, and love it, then please understand I don't mean to offend.  Please use it!  If not, read on for my modern Stir-Up Sunday twist.




As much as I'd like a peaceful and penitent Advent, reality dictates that it's only going to get crazier and crazier as Christmas nears.  This year, instead of stirring our pudding, we be stirred up some cookie dough.  Why not take advantage of our new fangled preservation technology - the freezer! Stirring up the dough and rolling it into logs for freezer storage will allow me to bake off the cookies as I need them.  Work ahead, stir from east to west using your favorite wooden spoon.  Let everyone lend a hand!  Just consider waiting to bake - and to eat - them !



Photo: Scrumptious Company



Get out your favorite cookie recipe - all of the baking ingredients are on sale this week for Thanksgiving, so load up now!  We stirred up a batch of my favorite, Scrumptious Company's Gooy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies! (Click for the recipe!) Andy's favorite Coconut Bon Bons would also keep well in the freezer.  Cut-out dough may be another good choice for freezing.  Alternatively, some classic Christmas cookies, such as pfeffernusse, improve with age, so bake them right after you Stir-Up!

Adelae "Stirring the Pot"!

Make sure to prepare your children for the big "Stir-Up Sunday" event too!  We read the Collect before church and gave a nudge to listen carefully for it. Explain that the Holy Spirit is stirring up our hearts during this season of Advent, preparing us for the coming of our Savior, baby Jesus!  There is nothing sweeter than seeing your little one excitedly "stir the pot" during the Collect, I promise.  Just don't blame me if they get too crazy!



Gooy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies! I can't wait to bake ours!
Photo: Scrumptious Company



Bread from Heaven

Itty Bitty Lutherans continues our Exodus journey this week, and connect this week's narrative to prayers of thanksgiving for all of God's good gifts.


Read Exodus 16-17.  Gather a variety to toys (cars, play food, little people and animal figurines,etc) and baby care objects (shoes, clothes,etc) in a large basket. You'll also need a cup of Cheerios labeled "Bread of Life" with a cross.


Begin by briefly reviewing the Exodus of God's people from Egypt to date, God took good care of His people. God led His people out of Egypt safely.  God protected His people.  God separated the waters and led them safely to the other side.   But God's people forgot.  They didn't remember how God took care of them.  

God's people got hungry and started to whine and cry.  Invite children to echo your cry.  God's people whined and cried, "we're soooo hungry! we need some food!"  Even when we whine our good God still takes care of us. That night while God's People were sleeping, ask children to close their eyes, or parents may cover their eyes, and their eyes were closed, it rained. Sprinkle the Cheerios down over the children, asking, Do you feel that rain? Then in the morning when they opened their eyes...please open your eyes.  They saw that God had made it rain bread from heaven.  God gave them just enough food to eat every day.  Allow the children to eat the Cheerios. God took care of His people. God gave them food to eat.  God gives us food to eat too.  This week is Thanksgiving and we'll eat a lot of food. 


Now lets go on a journey!  Walk the children into the church.  Lead them to the steps of the altar.  Encourage parents to point to the altar, showing it to the children. When your mommy and daddy come up here during church Pastor Lingsch gives them a little piece of bread.  God has the pastor give the bread to His people today.  The bread is food, a special kind of food from God that works forgiveness of sins.  When Mommy and Daddy eat that bread and drink the wine God is giving them His life and His love.  God gives them bread because He loves them and wants them to live forever with Him. Next time you come up here with your Mommy or Daddy look for that special bread. Lead the child back to the nursery.


Sprinkle the toys from the basket all over the room.  Gather the children together saying, The best food God gives us is that bread your mommy and daddy get in church.  God gives us many other good things too.  Look around the room and we will remember some of the good things God gives to us out of His love for us.  Ask children to find the toys and other items and place them in the basket.  Name the items as they are deposited in the basket, saying "Thank you, God for ________" as each piece is added. When the basket is full have children gather around it so they can see inside.  Just look at all of these wonderful things God gives us!  Shoes, cars, turkey.... Everything we have is from God.  He gives us so much more than bread.  God gives us everything. 


Sing the song, Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes with the children. God gave us our bodies.  He gave us everything we need to take care of our body and life.  Ask each student to select one item from the basket to hold in their hand. Name each child's object.  Sing the song again, this time try to use the names of the items the children selected, and point to them while you sing. for example,

Cars, turkey, parents and shoes, parents and shoes

Cars, turkey, parents and shoes, parents and shoes

Thank you God for everything you give!

Cars, turkey, parents and shoes, parents and shoes

This week as you prepare for and celebrate Thanksgiving teach your child to thank God for every person and item at your table. Review the First Article of the Apostles Creed, printed below.  Also emphasize the best thing God gave us: His son, Jesus. Jesus died on the cross for the times when we whine and cry and forget all of the good things He has given us.  God forgives us and gave Himself for us. 

Happy Thanksgiving! 

See you downtown on Monday night and Wednesday night at the Thanksgiving Eve service.




The First Article
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.


What does this mean?  I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them. 


He also gives me clothing and shoes, food, and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have,  He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life. 

Keeping Advent?

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Or so the music at the mall tells me. Likewise the "holiday trimmings" trucks are out and about, decking each palm tree with care.  The Season of Christmas is truly wonderful!  Only, I'm not feeling ready. 


I haven't even stuffed my Thanksgiving turkey, let alone my stockings, but somehow I feel like I'm already behind. Overbooked.  Overwhelmed.  By the time Christmas finally arrives, I'm afraid I'll be "over it"!


What ever happened to Advent anyway? It's Funny. Like hooking up and moving in before marriage, we seem to have, as a culture, just decided not to wait.  Delayed gratification?  Ha! Never.  It's sad, really, because anticipation is half the fun of anything.  Dreaming, planning, pondering...all these things in your heart.  Yes, lack of willingness to wait is a loss. 


Historically, Advent is more than a time of count down anticipation or preparation armed with gift wrap. Advent was, and is within the church, a time of preparation, waiting for the coming of the Lord both at Christmas and His future return at the end of time.  Traditionally it was also a penitential time, a time for fasting, almost like Lent.  In fact, sometimes churches still use purple as the liturgical color for Advent, just like Lent.  In her book Around the Year, Maria VonTrapp notes that in her home not even a Christmas cookie was nibbled before Christmas Eve - and even then  not until after church.


The irony is irresistible.  Look at a magazine cover or flip on the TV and you'll be pressured to "Drop 10lbs Before the Holidays", "Slim down for Santa", or "Lose the Jiggle in Time for the Jingle". (OK, I made the last two up, but seriously!) Deny yourself and reflect on every pound, calorie, and carb.  That's a diet.  Deny yourself and reflect on Christ, His Word, His Sacrament - given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.  That's a fast. 

Truthfully, I really don't know how to keep Advent.  Make your list, check it twice, then buy, wrap, and pack. There's baking, frosting, cooking, cleaning, and polishing. Don't forget decorating and tree trimming, shoe shining, pressing and wardrobing. Programs, parades, and parties - even some with manufactured snow!  Oh, and the cards!  I always forget those Christmas cards!   It's no wonder we are exhausted by the time Christmas finally arrives! Although I thoroughly enjoy it, except addressing those cards (!), it leaves little time for silent nights of quiet reflection when the Holy Spirit melts the heart allowing us to begin to comprehend the wonder of the season - that God lowered himself to become man - fully knowing that He was born to die.  Born to die - for my selfishness, my thoughtlessness, my to-do lists that placed all this "stuff" before Him.
 


Adelae sledding down faux snow in Naples, FL

But, I argue, all these "to-dos" must be done. Gifts are not going to wrap themselves and someone has to bake the Christmas cookies.  As for the Advent traditions, in theory I'd love to wait until Christmas Eve to put up the tree and cover it with treats, listen only to Advent hymns until Christmas, and avoid Santa all together, but that's just not reality, and I would miss my tree, music and those molten chocolate gingerbread cookies!


So what is my plan for trying to keep Advent this year? I'm still working on finding that Advent/Christmas balance, but here's my working plan.


1) Teach my children the Christmas hymns they need to learn for the church Christmas program and worship services, and talk to them about what the words of the hymns mean


2) Create meaningful projects with my family that help us focus on the coming of Jesus


3) Attend Wednesday night Advent services with my family


4) Begin organizing our Christmas attire early, so I don't have last minute stress that refocuses my energy later


5) Celebrate "Stir-Up" Sunday, the first Sunday in Advent, by preparing all of my cookie dough that day, and then freezing it to bake off as needed (I'll be posting more about this fun tradition in a few days!)


6) Introduce the characters of the nativity narrative to my children one at a time, slowly moving them toward the empty manger.  AND remember where I hide baby Jesus before His big day!


7) Set out as a family to show mercy and kindness to others through acts of service


8) Talk to the children about our Christmas traditions and their connection to our faith, that is why we do what we do


9) Light the Advent wreath as we read the Bible together


10) Relax and remember that Christmas is God's gift to us


Truth be told, we don't have to do anything for Christmas, or even to get ready for Christmas.  God does all the work for us - gift giving, forgiving, life-giving - at Christmas and always! 




Walnut Thanksgiving Friends

Just when you thought pecans take the cake, er pie, for Thanksgiving, please allow me to introduce you to our newest nutty friends invited to out feast: Walnut Squanto and the Mrs., Mr. & Mrs. Walnut Pilgrim and their unwitting friend, Mr. Walnut Turkey.

While Pete takes his morning nap, Adelae and I spend a little special time together, and making Walnut Thanksgiving Friends was our project today! Growing up, my grandma, "Dee", had all of these wonderful Pilgrim, Indian and turkey figures that she set on her Thanksgiving table, and while thinking of these little guys I happened to look up at my new fall centerpiece.

My mom gave me this pretty aluminum tray for my birthday last week and I wanted to display it, so I placed a few squash on top and anchored them with some walnuts.  Walnuts!  Walnuts are sort of the same shape as a turkey body, I thought.  And, if you sit them up right, they could be little people - little Indians and Pilgrims. All we'd need to do is make a base for them to stay in place and give them a face!

Luckily, Pete's new hobby is pulling TP off the roll.  (Never thought I'd say that!) But, cut down to size they would make the perfect base - sort of like the rings that hold Easter eggs.

The circumference of a TP roll is wider than the base of a walnut, so I slit the roll open and then cut it into strips that I could reconfigure to fit my walnuts.

The bases needed further customization, so Adelae covered two strips with black marker for the Pilgrims' clothes.  Gluing on black paper or fabric strips would also work.

Adelae filled two thick strips with black marker and one thin strip orange, for Mr. Turkey.  Then she added a few dots of glue and I formed the circle bases. 

Using tape on the inside and a paperclip helped to hold the rings in place while they were drying. 

The Indian bases could just stay cardboard brown, but if these were going to be on the Thanksgiving table they needed something a little special, so I formed them "naked", and then Adelae applied glue to the outside of the ring.

I had this woven brown fabric in my scrap box, so we cut it to fit and glued on the Indians' clothes. Now we had all five bases.  Plop in the nuts and voila, right?  Wrong.  This is where I always seem to get into trouble with my ideas.  Something so seemingly simple can be consumed in the details, and I love details. 

If you make these little guys at home, and I hope you do, have fun designing your own features and accessories using materials you may have on hand.  Here are some of the details we gave our little nutty buddies.

I cut a hourglass shape apron and "w" shape collar from white fabric for Mr. and Mrs. Pilgrim, then Adelae got them dressed.

They were starting to look cute, but still needed little hats. We cut these out of scrap cardboard and glued them in place.  Make the brim of the hat to fit the pointy end of the walnut by cutting into the center of the circle cardboard.

We also gave Mr. Pilgrim a gold buckle cut from a scrap of foil paper. Mrs. Pilgrim's bonnet was just a scrap of fabric glued to her head. Their eyes, Adelae chose brown, are just little beads that she glued in place. 

They are simple, but hey, they're pious Pilgrims!

The Indians' details were really fun to make.  We made Mrs. Squanto's hair by cutting three lengths of jute (about 6" long), knotting them together in the center, and braiding each side and gluing on her wig.  She also needed to get her color done, so I touched it up with black permanent marker to make it nice and dark. 

Squanto is my favorite!  A strip of jute (also blackened) glued in place made a Mohawk! More beads for eyes, some paper feathers and turquoise marker necklaces complete the look.

Mr Turkey ended up being the simplest to make, but he also gave me the most grief mentally because I just had to come up with the perfect warbler - red paper would work, but I just knew we could come up with something better. You can never go wrong with ric-rac!  I only had pink ric-rac on hand, so permanent marker to the rescue again - this time red!  At least the feathers were simple, we just cut them from colored paper and grocery bags. That cool green pattern is from the side of a Whole Foods bag. We glued them in layers and then to the back of the turkey and his base.  

Before gluing on the eyes and warbler, Adelae markered in a yellow beak and green head. Here is one of my tricks for getting the results I want while still letting little ones do the work: blocking off areas not to be marked.  I do this all the time!  Sometimes I fold back the area I want preserved, and sometimes I can just cover it with my hand, but for this project I just taped off the area she need not fill. 

At last we had the whole gang of Walnut Thanksgiving Friends together! This was a really fun project, and while our hands were busy we had great conversations concerning topics surrounding that first Thanksgiving and our Thanksgiving today.  We talked about Indians as truly being Native Americans, the work of Squanto, and the real Native American Indians who still live down the street from us in a little village off the Tamiami Trail.  We also talked about the Pilgrims who first came to America - and had nothing here except what they brought with them and the natural materials around here.  We talked about how our country allows people to practice their faith freely.While our little Thanksgiving friends turned out pretty darn cute, it is conversations and the time spent together that truly makes these projects dear! 


(By the way, this is not our first experience making nutty friends; a couple years ago we made a whole nativity scene for Grandpa using peanuts!  I don't know what it is with me and nuts!  I know, I know - nuts!)

Our God is So Great!

Itty Bitty Lutherans continues to discover the Exodus journey this week along with our month long look at praying with and for our children.


First a quick story. The other day our house was quiet.  Quiet always means trouble! I peeked around the corner and sure enough, there was Adelae sitting with my purse, munching on Cheerios while doling them out to little Pete too.  I just stood behind them and watched for a few minutes; it was such an Adam and Eve moment.  I just wanted to see what they would do when they noticed I'd caught them.  True to the Biblical account, Adelae hid - just like Eve! Funny thing, the next day I found Peter, on his own, digging in my purse - three separate times! 

Our little babes are learning more each day than they can ever express! Thank you for taking the time to bring them to Sunday School where the Holy Spirit is teaching them more than we can imagine! 

The Story:  We began the sign of the cross and Luther's morning prayer per our norm, and learned a new song, "My God is So Great".  This song works well with our story today, but I like it for our class because we have so many little boys in our class.  Sometimes Christianity gets painted with a sweet and sissy brush, but our God is a God of enormous strength and power - there is nothing sissy about powerfully pushing up walls of water!  There is nothing sissy about protecting your loved ones - dieing for your loved ones!

My God is so great, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do! xx

My God is so great, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do! xx

The mountains are His, the rivers are His, the stars are His handiwork too! xx

My God is so great, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do! For you!

Introduce the story simply, God's people were ready to go.  They were leaving on a journey to a new land.  God was with them.  God was leading them.  God lead His people to the new land as a pillar.  A pillar is tall and strong.  Here is my little pillar.  Show children a "pillar" made from half a pool noodle. 

During the day the pillar was pillar of clouds, like the clouds you see in the sky. Show your cotton ball "clouds" and invite them to tape clouds to the pillar. Now let's go on a journey, like God's people went away on a journey.  We'll follow our cloud pillar too.  Lead the children and parents out of the nursery, into and around the church, to the center aisle.  After awhile God's people came to a stop in their journey.  They couldn't go any further.  They came to a beach and there was only water in front of them.  They had to stop their journey!  God's people had to stop, but they were not to their new land yet!  God is so strong!  He blew back the water.  The water was pushed back and God's people walked to the other side of the water!  God pushed the water back so that they were dry.  The water was moved. Their path was dry. God saved His people! 

Walk down the aisle until you reach the baptismal font. God took care of His people.  He pushed back the water to keep them safe.  God keeps us safe too.  He also saved us with water.  He saved you right here!  Many of you were baptized right here.  The pastor baptized you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  The pastor poured water on you.  God saved you by sending Jesus to die on the cross. God used the water and the Word together save you. He washed away your sins!  God loves you and you are His child!

Lord's Prayer Booklets:  When God's people were in trouble they took their concerns to Him.  He protected and saved His people!  God invites us to pray to Him too.  Start by teaching your child the Lord's Prayer. To help, make a Lord's Prayer Booklet.  Trace your hand, fingers together and thumb out, onto a file folder, making sure your pinkie is touching the fold of the file.  Cut out your hand, including the layer folded underneath your traced hand, to make the base of your book.  Trace your child's left hand onto a piece of scrapbook paper. Cut it out and glue it on top of your traced hand to make the cover of the little book, also with the pinkie touching the fold. 

On the inside, paste another piece of scrapbook paper in the middle of the two hands, and a copy of the Lord's prayer on top of the scrapbook paper.  It helps to pre-fold the inside pieces prior to gluing them in the book so that it folds easily.  Very young children may benefit from laminating the book or covering it with clear Contact paper. 

If you missed class and would like the materials used for today's craft, please email or text me and I'll bring them next week. 

Share this little prayer book with your child, teaching how to fold hands while in prayer.  Remember, this is the Lord's Prayer because the Lord, Jesus, is praying it along with us.  Reading a few Bible verses is another great way the Holy Spirit teaches us to pray.  By beginning prayers from God's Word our focus shifts away from our needs to the goodness and promises of God!  Moses sings a great prayer after the people are delivered through the Red Sea, "The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation!"  Old Moses said more than he knew!

WELCOME to our class, little Karl!  We're glad you joined us this week!