A Snow Day! (Advent - Day Four)

Advent - Day Four

Isaiah 25: 6-10

On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare

    a feast of rich food for all peoples,

a banquet of aged wine—

    the best of meats and the finest of wines.

On this mountain he will destroy

    the shroud that enfolds all peoples,

the sheet that covers all nations;

    He will swallow up death forever.

The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears

    from all faces;

He will remove his people’s disgrace

    from all the earth.

The Lord has spoken.

In that day they will say,

“Surely this is our God;

    we trusted in him, and he saved us.

This is the Lord, we trusted in him;

    let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”

The hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain

Advent - Day Three

O Radiant Dawn, Splendor of eternal Light,

Sun of Justice:

come, shine on those who dwell in darkness

and the shadow of death.

Isaiah had prophesied,

‘The people who walked in darkness have seen the great light;

upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone.’

Amen.

Advent - Day Two

O come, O come, Immanuel,

and ransom captive Israel

that mourns in lonely exile here

until the Son of God appear.

Refrain:

Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel

shall come to you, O Israel.

O come, O Wisdom from on high,

who ordered all things mightily;

to us the path of knowledge show

and teach us in its ways to go. 

O come, O come, great Lord of might,

who to your tribes on Sinai's height

in ancient times did give the law

in cloud and majesty and awe. 

O come, O Branch of Jesse's stem,

unto your own and rescue them!

From depths of hell your people save,

and give them victory o'er the grave. 

O come, O Key of David, come

and open wide our heavenly home.

Make safe for us the heavenward road

and bar the way to death's abode. 

O come, O Bright and Morning Star,

and bring us comfort from afar!

Dispel the shadows of the night

and turn our darkness into light. 

O come, O King of nations, bind

in one the hearts of all mankind.

Bid all our sad divisions cease

and be yourself our King of Peace. 

Advent - Day One

Josh and his new friend, the Bodhran :) 

 Tonight, we continued our much anticipated tradition of attending the Lessons and Carols Service at Christ and St. Lukes with Daniel and Sarah Beth!

 

~~~~~~

A Musical Meditation to end this first day of Advent: 

O Salutaris Hostia, here carried by the transcendent setting of Erik Esenvalds.

The Last of Fall and Many Thanksgivings.

A Trip to the West Virginia Mountain Cabin

Emma's Cradle :) 

The first Dicken's gig of the season...this time with Emma Bear! 

Incredibly delicious (cooked/vegan) Sushi

Homemade sundaes 

Thanksgiving day Sweet potato casserole preparation!

The first peppermint mocha of the season the day after Thanksgiving!

Christmas decorating!

It has been so much fun this year having so much live greenery available right in the yard and forest behind us!!

Our first Christmas tree!

The beautiful cloak that Josh's Ema made for our sweet little Emma 

A quiet Saturday watching the Lord of the Rings and writing (a lot) of thank you notes. 

Peppermint chocolate popcorn 

Emma's first Christmas present from our friends the Ponseti's 

My happy new Mama Bear coat

Happy times with Aunt Tori on a Friday morning at Cedarhaven