​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. 

The stores are filled with hearts, chocolate, and roses in every shade of pink and red imaginable. As a lover of pink, chocolate and roses, this just may be my favorite time of year to shop!  It's St. Valentines Day! Yes, St. Valentine's Day--I know that sounds a little odd to your ears. When I was a little girl, that's what we called it. But in recent years, as all holidays are secularized and materialized more and more, St. Valentine's Day became Valentine's Day. 

Who was St. Valentine and why do we celebrate love on the day we've set aside to remember him?  Valentine was a priest who lived in Rome during the reign of Emporer Claudius. He was know for his kindness and selfless love. He was arrested for his faith and imprisoned, but managed to send and receive letters from his friends and fellow Christians. Emporer Claudius tried to convert him to Roman paganism to spare his life, but Valentine shared the Gospel with the emporer instead. Before he was martyred for his faith in Jesus, he healed the eyes of his jailor's blind daughter.  

In the Late Middle Ages, when courtly love and romance became the rage throughout Europe, St. Valentine's Day became associated with love and romance. Both romantic love and Christian martyrdom are things to celebrate.  St. Valentine stands in the "great cloud of witnesses," in Hebrews 12, cheering us on! St. Valentine's Day can be celebrated in either direction, or both directions. We can celebrate the romantic love we share with our sweethearts or we can remember those who have given their lives for the Gospel of Christ.

If we are celebrating St. Valentine's Day with our sweetie, there are many options.  He, of course, can buy us a dozen long-stemmed roses and a big box of Godiva chocolate.  We can go out to a lovely dinner and gaze into each other's eyes.  But, of course, those things cost money.  So, what are some inexpensive ways to celebrate the romance you share with your husband?  Here are some things Mike and I have done:

• Pack china, crystal goblets, a tasty lunch, and sparkling grape juice. Go on a picnic in a pretty spot.  Bring a beautiful comforter to sit on and be careful with the china and crystal!
• Buy a package of Valentines for children.  Write little notes to your husband on each one and hide them throughout the house.  Make most easy to find, but hide some so that they won't be found until later
• Make a CD of romantic songs and dance outside on the patio in the moonlight
• Make a scrapbook of your relationship from its conception until now. Look at it together. 

• Tell your children how you met, how your husband proposed, and other fun stories. Your children will love this!
• Wait until the children are in bed and have a romantic dinner by candlelight ALONE!
• Read old love letters out loud to each other!

Another wonderful Christmas. It all went so quickly. Instead of flying home to California, Aisha was with us for the holidays. We enjoyed having her in Florida and appreciated her family lending her to us.

We had our usual traditions: decorating the house and tree together as a family, Christmas devotions, traveling dinner, and festive Christmas dinner. Everything was delicious and fun.

Best of all, everyone was off from school, college, and work. We enjoyed full days together without meetings or very many responsibilities. It was so nice to relax with my children.

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

Okay....I have to come clean. I love Barbies. There, I said it. I decorate with Barbies every year at Christmas. Barbies, Barbies everywhere. Here are some photos of displays over the years. 

One year we tried a Barbie singing Christmas tree...but it didn't go so well.

The Barbie worship team, on the other hand, went great and this year my friend, Maria, made me a drum set, a bass guitar, and an acoustic guitar. 

Many years I have done our entire family in Barbie and set up a display of Barbies in their kitchen and family room, eating and opening presents. I even have a Barbie blender.

"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.

"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

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.

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)

 

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.

Read Bible

Mark 16:9-15
Luke 24:36-44
John 20:19-31:

Why didn’t Jesus call FOX News or CNN to make a very splashy, public display of His Resurrection?
Name all the people Jesus appeared to.
What did Jesus say and do?
How do you think His disciples felt when they saw Him again.

Driving it Home

Discuss a friend or family member that has already died. Imagine that they came back to life. What would you want to ask them? What would you do with them? Remember that people who had died came to life when Jesus died. It was an exciting time to be alive!

Read the Bible

Matthew 28:1-15
Mark 16:1-8
Luke 24:1-12
John 20:1-18

Who saw the risen Lord first?
Why did Jesus appear to them first?
Why did John and Peter run to the tomb?
How did Jesus show His disciples that He had risen from the dead?

Drive it Home

Hand everybody an empty egg. Have them go outside and find something to put into the egg that represents new life. You might find a flower or a budding twig. A small rock might represent the rock that was rolled away. This is fun when everyone shares what they chose and why.

Read Bible

Matthew 26:36-56
Mark 14:26-52
Luke 22:39-54
John 15:1-18:14

Why was it so hard for the disciples to stay awake?
How did the John, James, and Peter fail Jesus as a friend?
Why was Judas betrayal of Jesus with a kiss so significant?
Have you ever been betrayed? How did it feel?
How did Jesus behave through this entire ordeal?
What did Jesus focus on through his prayer, betrayal, and arrest?

Bible Prophecy Fulfilled

Messiah Betrayed
Psalm 41:9 / Mark 14:17-18
Zechariah 11:12-13a / Matthew 26:14-15
Messiah Abandoned
Psalm 22:11 / Mark 14:50
Psalm 69:20b / Mark 14:33-41

Driving it Home

Try to stay up and pray as late as you can. Who stayed awake the longest?