​Hot Cross buns are a special treat enjoyed on Good Friday. Cross buns are small fruit cakes decorated with a white cross. The white cross symbolizes the crucifixion of Jesus Christ that we celebrate on Good Friday. They are served with butter.
 
During the 1800’s street vendors would sell them, walking up and down the street crying out, “Hot Cross Buns!” You can see this demonstrated in the movie, Oliver! based on the Charles Dicken’s novel, Oliver Twist. You might know the nursery rhyme about them. 

Where did Halloween come from anyway? Here is a brief history of the second most popular holiday in America. Most of the sources I have used for research are secular and some are from witches themselves.

Halloween has its roots in the Celtic new year festival of Samhain in ancient England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. This was considered the beginning of winter. Herds left the pastures for the barns, and tenant farmers renewed their leases.[1] Their pagan priests were called Druids. “Now on or about the first of November the Druids held their great autumn festival and lighted fires in honor of the sun-god in thanksgiving for the harvest.”[2] Druid priests fostered the belief that ghosts and witches were more likely to wander around on this night, more than all other nights during the year. The Celts lit bonfires on hills to frighten spirits away because they believed that “on the eve of this festival, Saman, the lord of death, called together all the wicked souls that within the past twelve months had been condemned to inhabit the bodies of animals.”[3] “During the Samhain festival the souls of those who had died were believed to return to visit their homes, and those who had died during the year were believed to journey to the otherworld.”[4]

The Celts lit bonfires to frighten away evil spirits because they were afraid they would cause harm or death. They also put on “masks and other disguises to avoid being recognized by the ghosts thought to be present. It was in those ways that beings such as witches, hobgoblins, fairies, and demons came to be associated with the day. The period was also thought to be favorable for divination on matters such as marriage, health, and death.”[5]
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When the Roman Empire spread out to include Great Britain and Ireland, Roman festivals were added to the Celtic celebration.[6] Under the 400-year Roman rule, the festival of Samhain came to include the Roman festivals of Feralia and Pomona. Feralia was “a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead.”[7] Pomona, the Roman goddess of the harvest, fruit, and trees, was honored in another Roman celebration. The symbol for Pomona was the apple and this “probably explains the tradition of ‘bobbing’ for apples that is practiced today on Halloween.”[8]
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But the Celts did not stay in darkness. The Gospel came to their land and many Celts abandoned their pagan practices to serve the True and Living God. Some Druid priests also gave up their pagan practices to serve Jesus. Celtic Christians were devoted to the Lord, but those who resisted the Gospel continued these pagan practices of Samhain along with the added Roman celebrations.

Celebrations are never complete without stories.

And our American Thanksgiving is full of stories.

Here are two chapter books that are lovely to read aloud to your children or grandchildren during the week of Thanksgiving.

Divide the chapters up so that you can finish the whole book in a week. The children will love these books and they give them a look back in time to the very first Thanksgiving.  

​Celebrations are never complete without stories.

And our American Thanksgiving is full of stories.

You can Learn from the Pilgrims and Puritans in my blog, but there are many more picture books and chapter books that are lovely to read aloud to your children or grandchildren.

Here are some picture books to read aloud.

Samuel Eaton’s Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Boy by Kate Waters with Photographs by Russ Kendall (Scholastic 1989) is a lovely picture book with photographs taken at Plimoth Plantation, a living history museum. Samuel sailed over on the Mayflower with the Pilgrims. At the beginning of the book, you meet Samuel and he shows you his village. Then we go through his entire day with him, from putting on his stockings to doing his chores, from helping with the rye harvest to gathering mussels for the evening meal.

My children loved this book when they were little. Children love to learn about other children! Samuel is obedient and prays before he goes to sleep. The family says a blessing before their meals. It’s refreshing to see prayer included in a Scholastic book. I don’t know if this has been edited out of more recent versions. The photographs are vivid and attractive. There is a also a section in the back where you can learn more about Samuel Morton, Plimoth Plantation, and the rye harvest at the back of the book. 

Love is in the air! St. Valentine's Day has just been celebrated and all the chocolate in pink and red wrappers in 50% off. My favorite time of year! Pink and chocolate combined...at a great deal! The roses are still lovely, gracing the dining room table. Heart shaped cards are on the buffet, a reminder of being loved by my family.

Love is an emotion that wells up inside my heart when I watch my children sleeping, see them win an award, listen to them. or hear them talk about the Lord. So often, I am proud of them, not just for their achievements, but for who they are and who they are becoming.

Love, of course, is more than an emotion; love is a choice to do good for someone else at cost to your own personal comfort. Love is all about the other person, giving them your best, trusting God to take care of your own needs. We are commanded by God to love one another deeply from our hearts, to seek their good, to lay down our lives, to care about their interests, to honor them above ourselves.

So, we experience love as a daily decision and we experience love as a delightful emotion.

But, of course, there are those times, when it is hard to sing the songs of love and devotion, when I must cry out to the Lord....

Teach me to love when my son walks around the house in his socks, wearing them out and getting them filthy dirty, after telling him at least 877 times to put his socks on or go barefoot. After all, we live in Florida. We really don't need to wear socks and shoes.

It is time to celebrate! We celebrate because we are loved! We celebrate because God is good! We celebrate because we are safe in His love! Let's celebrate with the Lord and His Word so that we can bring in the New Year with style! 

Another year is over and a new one is about to begin. The world has its way of celebrating this transition, but God has a better way! No matter what has happened this past year, God has been faithful to you! Even if you don't believe that right now....it's true! 

The Promise Keeper

Jesus is our Promise Keeper! He has protected you this past year from untold tragedy, misfortune, and peril.  We look at all that has happened, but so often we don't think about what might have happened. Maybe you lost your house this past year, a terrible thing, but you still have your family. Maybe you lost a loved one this year, but you are not here in this world alone. Imagine the destruction that could have come your way that the Lord prevented.  

If only we could see with spirit eyes the battle all around us. Angels protecting our health, lives, loved ones, possessions, and honor. We can only see what God allows to make us stronger in Him, not all that He keeps the enemy from inflicting. I encourage you to enter 2016 with worship, prayer, and God's Word. Why not gather together on New Year's Eve with other believers who are serious about the things of God. Seek His face together as the New Year starts. Forget the ball dropping in Times Square! How about worship instead! 

Our Celebration

I  love to see pictures of the earth from outer space.

Wow! It looks like a bright shiny blue ball. That beautiful blue earth filled with life-sustaining water is a glorious to look.

It reminds us of the Creator who lovingly formed the blue sphere we call home. 

“The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it; the world and all who live in it” (Psalm 24:1 NIV).

Everything belongs to the Lord because He made.

Everyone belongs to the Lord because He made them.

It is so simple, yet profound. It means our lives have purpose.

​We live for the Lord, to bring God glory. ​

Glorious God, Reflecting Man

"And Ebenezer Scrooge learned to keep Christmas well," we are told at the ending of  A Christmas Carol. What does it mean to keep Christmas well?

Does it mean to know all the words to at least twenty Christmas carols? Does it mean having the most lights in the neighborhood? Does it mean decorating every table top and wall space in the house with sparkly decorations? Does it mean having the tallest or fattest tree? Or is it buying expensive presents for everyone you know?

Keeping Christmas well begins in your heart. It starts with an understand of the miracle of Christmas, that magical moment when Heaven came down in the form of a newborn infant. Very God of Very God became flesh and all of Heaven gazed in wonder, though only a few were privileged to witness the event. You see, the miracle happened because of a very loving Father, a very Generous God filled with grace and mercy. He loved so much that He gave.

This year  I will be making gifts instead of buying them. I will dig out my trunk of material and my serger and make some napkins.

Napkin Directions

To make Christmas napkins, buy 1 yard of Christmas cotton fabric. Cut it into 4 equal size squares and iron until wrinkle-free. Then simply serge the edges of the napking with a contrasting thread color to give you the nice finished edge you find in stores. If you don't have a serger, you can do a hankerchief hem around the edges.

You don't have to be limited by Christmas fabric. You can make everyday napkins, Thanksgiving napkins, spring napkins, St. Valentine's Day napkins, or Fourth of July napkins.

A set of 4 napkins with 4 homemade napkin rings will make a nice gift.

Jar Gifts

Or maybe I will make cookie mixes in a jar. Directions for these projects can be found online. I have other options to fill my jars with. There are soup mixes in a jar, baking mixes in a jar, and casserole mixes in a jar too. These all make lovely gifts.

Gifts of Time

"Christmas is so commercial! I hate it!" Lisa grumped.

In spite of myself, I giggled.

"Lisa, Christmas doesn't have to be commercialized in your home. You can celebrate! There are lots of simple Christmas pleasures that you and your loved ones can enjoy together."

Look at Christmas Lights

Okay, so Christmas lights might be considered commercial by some, but I love to pile in the van and go look at Christmas lights. There are three houses in a row right near our church. I love to drive past very slowly at night and enjoy the twinkling display.

Go Christmas Caroling

We go caroling at least once every December. Often, we carol in our neighborhood, but one year my father was living in an assisted living facility so we went caroling there, door to door. The older residents loved it! They would beg us not to leave their door, but to keep singing.

Make Christmas Cookies

"What's wrong, Lew?" I asked the young father of three at our church.

"Oh, just trying to figure out how I am going to pay off our Christmas debt," he replied, pushing his shaggy blond hair back from his forehead.

"You can celebrate Christmas without going into debt, Lew." I looked him straight in the eye and shared with him what I will now share with you!

American Christmas Spending

Economists watch carefully about how people spend their money. If there's lots of spending and charging, then the economists smile and pronounce it "good" in an economic sense.

January finds moms and dads trying to figure out how to pay off the debt that has turned out to be much bigger than anticipated. Does God smile and pronounce this "good"?

God calls debt, even Christmas debt, foolishness. Make up your mind to NOT go into debt for Christmas.

Start this Christmas season with a plan.

Make a List, Check it Twice

Make a list of all the things you need to purchase for your family Christmas. List gifts you want to give, decorations, food, drinks, travel, and entertainment.

Now it's time to look it over. Go back and prayerfully review your list. Is there anything you can delete? Is there anything that can be substituted with something less expensive. For example, instead of buying an expensive roast, can you eat turkey or ham instead? Instead of attending the laser light show at fifty dollars a ticket, can you attend the church Christmas play for free?

Now it's time to check it twice. Do the same thing you did before, except be ruthless! Cut and substitute to bring your expenses down to the financial amount that you can actually afford.

A Bargain Christmas

Thought to be inspired by the Swedish Crown of Lights. An Advent wreath is a wreath with five candles. There are four purple candles place evenly around the wreath and one white candle in the middle. You don’t hang this wreath up. It sits on a table.

Families light one purple candle the first Sunday of Advent after devotions. The second Sunday of Advent, they light two candles, the third three, and the fourth all four purple candles. Advent wreaths are used in many churches, including Lutheran, Methodist, Episcopal, Anglican, and Roman Catholic churches also. Families usually do the devotions and lighting before dinner and let the candle burn during the meal.

Each candle is symbolic. The first candle represents hope. You can sing O Holy Night.

Jesus, You are our Hope! Please guide us and protect us in trials and difficulties. Our hope is in You! Amen.

The second candle represents peace. The second week both candles are lit and prayers of hope and peace are prayed. You can sing Silent Night.

Jesus, You are our peace. We are right with a Holy God and we have peace with our brothers and sisters in Christ because of what you have done. Please bring your peace to our hearts, homes, churches, and the world. Amen.

Thanksgiving is the perfect time to sing! What better way to thank God than to sing Him a song.

There are so many ways to praise God. We can dance, shout, speak, declare, lift our hands, and rejoice. But, almost all of those worship commands are coupled with God's call for us to sing Him a song.

So, what are some great worship songs and hymns to sing at Thanksgiving?

Here are some worship songs we love to sing at our church at Thanksgiving. I love to sing these in my Quiet Times.

Here are some of my favorite Thanksgiving worship songs.

Give Thanks (Henry Smith ©1970)
Blessed be Your Name (Matt Redman ©2003)
Let Everything that Has Breath (Matt Redman ©1999)
Desert Song (Brooke Fraiser/Hillsong ©2008

Would you like to listen to them? And then it's on to hymns.

"Look at this baby book!" I grabbed Laura's arm and pulled her over to the table with the baby book on display.

Laura, who was gazing at science curriculum, reluctantly allowed herself to be dragged away. We were at the FPEA Homeschool Convention in May, 2008 at the vendors' hall.

"Look! It's a baby book for Jesus! Is that not the cutest thing in the whole world?" I cooed, picking it up and flipping through the pages. "Look, it says "Before Jesus was born, he was creating the world!" and this page says, "Here are the gifts baby received..." And, here is a page about His parents, God and Mary."

By now, Laura was interested. We scanned through the book several times, and, of course, I had to buy the unit study.

Celebrate the Savior by Charlene Notgrass is a Bible Study with history and crafts. There are craft projects and creative writing assignments. The children make two booklets: a Baby Book for Jesus and a Christmas Traditions around the World booklet. With fifteen lessons on the birth and life of Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah, this book is a great way to teach your children about Christmas!


Celebrate the Savior is a unit study that begins with a closer look at the birth of Christ Jesus our Savior revealed in Scripture and progresses into a look at the history of Christmas celebrating and traditions. Bible, history, geography, writing, music, and art are covered in this unit.

According to Samuel Rutherford, in his book, Lex Rex (Law is King), written in the 1600's by a Presbyterian pastor, the Bible makes it clear that the law is king. The king, or any other ruler, must submit to the law. Rutherford took an in-depth look at Scripture and history to prove this, shattering the popular philosophy of  the "divine right of kings" to rule as they please.

Our political rights and freedoms go all the way back to the Bible, the source of our rights and responsibilities.

Magna Charta

Many power struggles have taken place throughout history. Who will rule this nation? Who will get the money? Who will get the power? Who will have the final say? Those in power like to keep their power intact and exercise it. Those under authority usually want more power.

In the 1100's and 1200's, the nobles resented the king's power in England. There was constant struggle over who would make financial decisions and what rights nobles could enjoy. King John, a weak ruler, was in constant conflict with his nobles. The nobles forced King John to sign an amazing document called the Magna Charta. This document greatly limited King John's power and provided for the formation of Parliament. Was this a new idea? No, not at all. It was a renewel of Angle/Saxon law.

American Documents

For an amazing look at the Biblical foundation of our great nation, enjoy David Barton's DVD series, The American Heritage and Building on the American Heritage. We have enjoyed both of these series in our home and in our church. Not only educational, this series will fill you with faith and hope for our nation to return to its glorious roots.

For a great look at the Anglo-Saxon roots of our political system, I recommend a book, The 5000 Year Leap by W. Cleon Skousen. This book sets forth 28 principles of freedom and explores the writings of the Founding Fathers. It also examines the historical roots of political freedom. It is not written from a Christian perspective, but still has much helpful insight into our historical roots. 

In 1620, the passengers on the Mayflower got together and signed an important historical document before they disembarked. The Mayflower Compact gave the signers the right to govern themselves in the new land.

The Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson and signed on July 4, 1776. This document sets out the case that American colonists felt they had to resist the control of the British. It refers to attempts made to negotiate and to failure on the part of the British to keep up their end of their political agreement. This document appeals to God and His laws.

The United States Constitution is the highest law of our land, though often ignored in Washington D.C., and provides the framework for our government structure. Amendments have been added to the Constitution which guarantee certain rights to United States citizens. The first 10 amendments are called the Bill of Rights where we get those famous rights such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and the right to bear arms. Read the Constitution slowly over a period of weeks, a little bit each day. You will be shocked at what is really written and how much it is disregarded in our culture. For example, the tenth amendment states that "the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people." Immediately, many federal government programs, departments, and cabinets come to mind that are unconstitutional.

Pull out these documents. They are all available free on-line to read. Read them together and discuss them. Remember that the only way to preserve freedom is to be educated about our freedoms and exercise them.

God Bless America!
Merey (Meredith Ludwig Curtis)

 

Father's Day is over and life is back to normal. Dad is back at work. You are either homeschooling or taking a much-needed summer break.

It got me thinking about my husband and other homeschooling dads. Here are some things I hear often.

"I can't remember the last time my husband and I had any time alone together."

"I am up late working on the computer and he gets up early to go to work. We never see each other anymore."

"He just doesn't appreciate all the time I spend homeschooling HIS children."

"I wish he had a better job. We can barely get by on his income."

Often, when I talk to homeschooling moms, they ask me for advice on how to get Dad to do more or to be more supportive. Many times, in the hustle and bustle of homeschooling a houseful, romantic life with Dad is put on the shelf and Mom focuses on the children, maybe more than she should.

So, what can we do to honor and appreciate our husbands more and express criticism less.

Helpmates
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Read Bible

Luke 24:45-50
Acts 1:1-11

Give the order of the places that the disciples are to spread the Good News to starting with where they are in Jerusalem.
Locate these places on a map.
How far are they going to have to travel?

Driving it Home

Take out a map of your city, state, country, and the world. Talk about how your family would have to fulfill the Great Commission from your city. What kind of people are “Samaritans” in your city?

Read Bible

Matthew 28:16-20
Mark 16:14-20

What is the “Great Commission?”
Who has the needed authority to get this job done? Is He with us?
How long will it take for the “Great Commission” to be accomplished?
What three things are involved in making disciples?

Driving it Home

Take a piece of paper and write “Make Disciples” on it. Turn it over and fold it in thirds, making three columns. 
At the top of one column write, “Go!,” at the top of another column write “Baptize,” and at the top of the third column write “Teach everything.” 
List ways your family can fulfill these three different aspects of making disciples. When you are finished, cut out pictures for the other side of the paper that represent making disciples.

Read Bible

John 21:1-25

How would you feel if you were Peter, after denying Jesus?
How does Jesus treat Peter?
How does He restore him to ministry?

Driving it Home

Act out 3 parts of this song together: Jesus predicts Peter’s denial, Peter denies Jesus, and Jesus reinstates Peter).

Read the Bible

Luke 24:13-35

Who was traveling on the Road to Emmaus?
Why didn’t Jesus reveal Himself right Away?
How do you think the disciples felt after Jesus had left them?
Has God ever revealed things to you and you just didn’t get it for awhile? Share some of those things with one another.

Driving it Home

Take a walk with one another and show each other something using Scripture only, not your opinion or experience.