Beauty and Ashes

I am a pragmatic person.  By personality, nurture, and education, I am wired towards productivity and problem-solving. One of my all-time favorite words is efficiency.  I am definitely way more Martha-ish than Mary-ish.

But during this season of Lent I have been challenged to think more like Mary, and even – gasp – an artist. A few weeks ago a friend shared a link to an article by artist Makoto Fujimura, and it has taken me a long time to process what he says.  Beginning with a story about a young Iraqi girl who was killed because she ran back to straighten up a flower she had mistakenly stepped on, and then comparing that “needlessness” with Jesus’ own tears when Lazarus died, Fujimura convinces me that some of the things I might consider wasteful…. are not.  (Read the whole piece here—please.  It’s really, really, thought-provoking.)

Gradually over the years I have come to realize that my concept of math is not the same as God’s.  If I was sending my Son to this messed up earth for only 33 years, I would not have condensed his ministry into only 3 of those years, for instance.  I would have gone for maximum impact, maximum efficiency – using my math.

But Jesus goes about everything in such a different way.  He stops to pay attention to individuals no one else would have deemed worthy or important enough.  He stops to weep – even though He knows Lazarus will soon be raised back to life.

Jesus even praises Mary for “wasting” all that precious perfume on Him in one sitting.  (I, of course, want to suggest that she could at least spread it out over multiple occasions or something!)  He loves her generosity, her sensitivity, her full-hearted worship of Him.  There is something in the giving up, in the cost of the sacrifice, that brings great beauty.

As we think about Lent, with all the talk of ashes and dust and mourning and repentance and mortality, perhaps now is when the idea of beauty can most shine forth.  In another piece (read this one, too!), Fujimura says, 

Beauty, to the Japanese of old, held together the ephemeral with the sacred. Cherry blossoms are most beautiful as they fall, and that experience of appreciation lead the Japanese to consider their mortality. 

Our own realization that we cannot do it - -we cannot be perfect, we cannot reach God, we cannot fulfill His desires for us, we cannot live forever on our own – can lead to tears.  These tears, ironically, make us more Christ-like.  He wept, too. 

As Fujimura says,

Jesus’ tears were also ephemeral and beautiful. His tears remain with us as an enduring reminder of the Savior who weeps. Rather than to despair, though, Jesus’ tears lead the way to the greatest hope of the resurrection. 

Spending our time and other resources on beauty, on choosing the generous sacrifice as an act of worship, this is not wasteful.  Strolling through botanical gardens, buying flowers to bring into our homes, decorating our mantelpiece with symbols of the liturgical season to remind our families of the goodness of God, listening to music that stirs our souls to worship…. all of these “unproductive” things can perhaps be doing more than I ever imagined.  

Simone Weil has said that there are two things that pierce the soul:  affliction and beauty.  Sometimes we need to surround ourselves with beauty, in whatever forms we can find, to pierce our soul, to awaken it from the numbing of consumerism, busyness, or whatever other idols we have chased.

Another quote from Mr. Fujimura:

To seek the depth of beauty, the beauty of being...that is what we should become, to rise to. That is our charge as leaders, as Martha’s and Mary’s of the world.  Yes, to instruct, to ask analytical questions of the Martha’s of the world.  But those questions do not become Present unless we stand, and waste time, with the Mary’s of the world, unless we weep with those who intuit the darker path toward suffering, and rejoice with those who intuit the feast to come.

The season of Lent is unique in its offering of both ashes and beauty.  I read this quote in a story book I was reading to my children this week and it reminded me of this season:

“Would you like to hear, reader, how [the plan] unfolded?  The story is not a pretty one.  There is violence in it.  And cruelty.  But stories that are not pretty have a certain value, too, I suppose.  Everything, as you well know (having lived in this world long enough to have figured out a thing or two for yourself), cannot always be sweetness and light.”  -- From The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

This season is not all sweetness and light, and the story we will remember in a couple of weeks is full of violence and cruelty.  But in the midst of it all, there is the undercurrent of beauty and the triumph of Hope in the distance. And this is what we celebrate!


p.s. Coincidentally, one of Fujimura's paintings is featured on The Lent Project for March 24!  As soon as I saw it, I knew it must be one of his.  :)

Digging in the Dirt

I found it hard this time, not to consider spiritual things when I pushed that tiny seed underneath the earth and into darkness. In a few months time, we will be nourished by what it becomes. I usually take the whole process for granted. 

Not this year. And I sure reflected on it today, with all the rain and my own insides feeling the same. I don't know what came over me but it felt like a black cloud and I couldn't shake it. I really wanted to reach for something I've given up for the next 30ish days. Something to comfort. Something warming from the crushed grape family. 

It's an easy go-to. But I didn't. I sat on my bed and pouted and prayed. I never could shake the cloud until the evenings end. That didn't feel very good and I never did figure it out. 

My daughters are feeding me new music now. And, as I brushed their hair before bed, I listened and realized I needed to remember. 

That this whole thing is a journey. That the transformation isn't up to me. That I need Jesus and his life for mine. That taking a hard look inside, sometimes feels like digging in the dirt. 

Here's the song that helped me remember truth today. It will be my anthem tomorrow. 

Lenten resources for family time

Since Lent is only 46 days long, it is a great time to introduce some new family habits, and/or incorporate unique resources into family times.  Here are a couple suggestions that could be good for the whole family:

1. A web site:

This year I came across "The Lent Project" created by Biola University's Center for Christianity, Culture and the Arts.  Each day there is a devotional to focus on the teachings and works of Jesus, but there is also artwork and music that accompanies it.  In the "About" section, detail is given, so kids can benefit from art study as well as the worship aspects.  I like the multi-sensory approach!

2. An adventure book:

We are huge fans of the Arnold Ytreeide books at our house.  Each Advent we read one of his stories -- Jotham's Journey, Tabitha's Travels, and Bartholomew's Passage, and during Lent, we've read Amon's Adventures.

Our kids love the suspenseful stories, and Pete and I love the theological truths that follow each segment.  One bit of warning, though -- these stories can border on "too scary," as there are things like kidnapping and even killing.  Our boys think that just adds to the intrigue... but younger children may be frightened at points.  

 The author carefully breaks up the story into segments that are just the right length for reading before bedtime.  So in our house, this has become a rich tradition  -- having family reading time each night before bed during Advent and Lent.  Even though there is a 9+ year age span among our children, they all love this time!

3. A devotional:

There are many great options for family time devotions out there, but one that we like is Ann Voskamp's "Trail to the Tree."  Kids may like it because it becomes very hands-on as they cut out "ornaments" for a tree each day.  But if that is too overwhelming to implement (as it is for me at times!), then just getting in the practice of reading some verses together and discussing them as a family is valuable on its own.



Any new routines we can introduce during this special time have the effect of reminding us that we are in the time set apart for greater reflection.  And the more we look at Jesus, on our own, or with our family, the more we will be drawn into repentance and worship!

Celebrating St. Patrick -- the real guy

As we've noted, we like to take every opportunity to celebrate days that point our own hearts, and those of our families, to the Gospel -- and St. Patrick's Day provides just such an opportunity!

Even though our culture has co-opted this saint's day and turned into a greenish haze of beer and partying, the original roots of the day are much more holy than that.  Patrick, actually, was a pretty fascinating person. To begin with, he was a non-Irish, rebellious teenager from a Christian home who was kidnapped, then later escaped, and then decided to go back to be a missionary to the very folks who had captured him.  What kids (or adults) wouldn't like to hear that story?

Here are a couple short articles that provide more information about Saint Patrick:
"Who Was St. Patrick?"
"7 Things You Might Not Know About St. Patrick"

Over the years our family has celebrated this holiday in a variety of ways.  We always take some time to talk about the real man behind the holiday and how his life can be an example to us.  Beyond that, we have some fun with the basic traditions -- making some variation of corned beef and cabbage or green foods, dancing Irish jigs, writing on babies' heads with green markers, and definitely dressing in green.

A few years ago, I was feeling too lazy to do much food-wise on St. Patrick's day, but my young daughter pleaded to have "Patrick food" for lunch "so that we can learn about Jesus."  So I quickly took the opportunity to serve some green foods -- and talk about Jesus.  That's what it's all about after all!

In our house we are thankful that Patrick lived long ago, sharing Christ's love with even his enemies, and giving us a reason to celebrate a special day many years later.

Observing

I had the good fortune to be a part of my beautiful and wise friend Roxanne's contemplative prayer small group a few months back. If you ever have the chance to sit in Roxanne's radiance, by all means, do. You will not be sorry, I promise. This very small group was not a chatty, lay your issues on the table collection of women. We gathered to practice prayer. 

Roxanne lead us through different experiences of prayer each week over the course of six. She encouraged us to keep an "examen" journal during the fortyish days we were a part of the group. We were instructed to draw a line down the middle of the page and write "desolutions" on the top left and "consolations" on the top right. Each evening, we were to jot down the things that "drained life" on the left and "gave life" on the right. It didn't take me long to see a pattern developing. Almost daily, I tried to cram too much activity into too little time. I'm a chronoptimist. However, when I fail to get it all done, (and it's never, ever done) I find myself frustrated, overwhelmed and feeling like a disappointment. I would experience at least one of these feelings in a day and sometimes all three, or worse. Where am I going wrong? Where is my time misspent? Why do I move at half speed in the morning and why is there so much dog hair? I stopped keeping the journal after the group because I got tired of writing the same thing on the left side. 

As a part of the group, we made efforts (or thought about making efforts) to slow down and eliminate "hurry" among other encouragements toward mindful living. We spent time in silence, we used our imaginations as we engaged scripture, we prayed through a labyrinth. We read scripture and listened for a word or phrase that spoke to our hearts to carry throughout the day. Meeting each week kept these ideas in the fore of my mind and I really loved practicing these ancient but new-to-me methods of prayer. 

I was especially fond of listening to scripture with an ear toward my "word" for the day. Following in Roxanne's footsteps, instead of a piece of paper I would inevitably lose, I wrote the word on my wrist. I would see it again and again throughout the day and it would help me remember. 

As we opened our Bibles and read from Leviticus this morning, the word "observe" captured my attention. So, I wrote it down. And, while it was an ordinary day that included sibling spats, way too much laundry, and of course dog hair, I found myself remembering what I read earlier. This is a small victory most days! At suppertime, I asked each of my three if they were impacted by their "word for the day". I got one confused and baffled look, one clear "no" and one "sort of". Oh well, we will try again tomorrow. 

So, no water turned to wine (I wish) but I will say, having this word in a place I could see again and again, was a helpful tool to meditate on truth and pay attention to what's going on beneath the surface. As Lent rolls on and I'm not eating this or not wearing that, I want to make sure I don't just go through the motions. So, I'm adding this practice of listening (& writing) into my Lenten practice in the hope of a heart better attuned. 

Reminders That We Are Celebrating Lent

Lent began with a bang at our house. We kicked off with a meaningful Ash Wednesday service followed a day later by the stomach bug. "Bug" sounds too cute and harmless, it should be called the stomach monster. Needless to say, I was re-routed. So, especially after Amy's earlier post, and too much credit, I wanted you to see the fine arts major paying off.That's right folks, the old chalk board count down. It doesn't get any easier than that to remind each of us that we are moving toward something.I always want Easter to be a part of our Lenten conversation. 

As another reminder of this special season,  we have one of the beautiful wooden wreaths from Caleb Voskamp that I adore (thank you JB!) & that serves as a count down too. We light it when we have our devotional and when we have a meal. The "blowing out" conversation happens here too. 

On the devotional note, our church put together these fantastic Lent baskets for all of the families. I'm so grateful for their investment of time to pull all of this together. It goes along with the Jesus Storybook Bible. This particular Bible is new to me but one friend said she loves it because it takes all of the stories and points them to Jesus in a way that's compelling and clear. I love that. This is ideal for elementary age children. My children are a little older but they are still enjoying it, along with the egg to open that contains a small object to serve as a reminder of the story. Its always fun to read a fresh take from a childrens' story Bible and it's sparking conversation around our table. 

Here is a picture of the awesome basket full of eggs and scrolls. One day you open an egg, the next day a scroll. It usually takes longer to decide who's turn it is to open the egg than to read the story but it's been a good addition to our morning. We have also been reading through the Bible using Stephen Whitmer's 2-year Bible reading plan. The Storybook Bible has been a nice change of pace after finishing the chapters in Leviticus on...discharge. That also sparked some interesting conversation.

And finally, I do love a wreath. I like the reminder each time open the front door. I know our children benefit from these concrete reminders and I'm no different. This one was easy to put together and it's one I will re-use as the calendar changes. The trick is not to let it become scenery that I walk by without really seeing. 

Two other simple symbols to remind kids (and us) about Lent

When my children look back on their childhood, I want them to see that we tried to order our time and our lives around the Gospel.* Celebrating the various Church seasons, and changing our habits and the appearance of our home even slightly for each one, will hopefully help to show them that.

So for this season of Lent, aside from our paper chain, I’ve also incorporated a couple of other simple symbols to help us all remember that this is a time for repentance and reflection about who we are and who God is:

1.  A Centerpiece:

Eating with candlelight is always pretty cool, but doing so with young kids, thereby living with the realization that any moment one of them could do something really dumb and burn the whole house down, well, that kind of risk-taking just adds to the magic all the more.  The only times during the year that we intentionally take on this living-on-the-edge behavior is during Advent and during Lent.

Centerpieces, obviously, can be quite simple.  In our house we now have what we pointedly call the “Sin Candles” on our table.  (See here for the backstory)  Really, anything that is not ordinarily on your table can be used to symbolically set apart this season.

The only real downside of this is that no less than 5 minutes into every meal the kids start begging to be the ones to blow the candles out.  Every meal.

2. A Wreath:

Deb has had the brilliant idea of creating wreaths for each of the seasons of the Church year.  Hers is gorgeous and artistic (and I'm sure she'll be sharing pictures of it soon!).  At first I was too intimidated to even attempt making something like that, but after a quick trip to the craft section of a store, I realized that a simple one wouldn’t be all that difficult. 

  I bought a roll of purple burlap (since purple is the official sponsor color of Lent), some brown burlap ribbon, and a wire wreath form, and came home to figure out how to intertwine them all.  With the help of my talented mother who happened to be visiting, we came up with this:

 Here’s how we did it:

Using pieces of the purple burlap roll, I wound around and around the wreath...

... until it looked like this:

It wasn't exactly neat, but I knew the brown bow would cover a multitude of sins.

Then it was just a simple matter of wrapping the brown ribbon:

.... again, even the safety pins would get covered later by the bow.  Gotta love bows!

And speaking of bows, that was the last step.  For this I highly recommend asking a talented mother, such as mine, to do it for you.  If you don't have one of those nearby, I'm sure there is Pinterest tutorial somewhere.

Finished product!

So, now, with very little effort or talent, we have a couple physical symbols to remind us that we are in a season set apart.  May our hearts hear whispers of God's grace and love throughout this time.

*They probably won’t actually remember much at all… .but that’s why I write it all down!

A Simple Way To (try to) Observe Lent with Young Kids

Some women have come up with beautiful, symbolic ways of representing Lent in their homes.  Ann Voskamp, for example, has candlelit areas and decorated tree branches in her house.  Knowing my co-blogger Deb, she probably has amazing, artistic projects being created in her home  -- projects that involve things like fabric and sewing machines and mod-podge and other craft items that intimidate me.  (I hope she'll show us pictures if she does!)

But I am of the less-artistic variety, and my children are of the more-rambunctious variety, so our symbols have to be simple and only involve construction paper.

For the last few years, our family tradition has been to hang a Lenten paper chain -- similar to an Advent chain.  Since Easter is the High Holy Day of the Christian calendar, it seems appropriate to have a big count-down to it.  Every day we take down one link and read what we've written in it.

On most of the links we've written 2 things:  the name of someone to pray for, and one of the names for Jesus (from a list I found in Martha Zimmerman's book -- see the sidebar for a link).  On the Sunday strips we write a Psalm to read.

 Everyone seems to enjoy this tradition -- it helps to set apart this season as something special.  We add it in as a new routine each night at dinner.  So we continue to do it year after year.

And each year I persist in envisioning that this might be the year when we all sit around together, and read about what God says about repentance and then we bestow ashes on one another's foreheads, and then joyfully and peacefully make the paper chain.

This was, again, not that year.  There were many arguments and complaints  -- over things like who would get to put the ashes on whose head.  There was very little quiet listening; even when I tried to just read the smallest amount, there were numerous interruptions.

Then the chain-making process was a mess. The teenager decided he was too cool to sit with us and make it, so he spent the time in his room.  The youngest child was still staging a stand-off from earlier in the day, continuing to refuse to practice his violin --- so he also was in his room.  That left 2 children available to help, and they took turns either whining or doing it wrong.  (How hard can it be to cut strips of paper and tape them together??  Apparently too hard for this family.)

Even the stapler broke -- so one of the kid improvised by using a golf club as a scotch-tape-pieces-holder.

Nevertheless, we persevered in the exercise.  It is good for us, I think, to generate a list of 40 people to pray for... we end up including many that we otherwise forget the rest of the year.  This is, in part, what makes these seasons set-apart so wonderful:  being able to form new habits and continue them for a short while.

Young kids enjoy having tangible symbols, I think -- at least mine do.  Even though we had many meltdown and arguments today, it was still a day set apart.  Much of our conversation today was about sin and forgiveness and Jesus -- so that is a good day.

Now our chain is hung and we will begin our nightly link-take-down ritual.  Surely even this simple gesture will be fraught with arguments (over who gets to take it down, who gets to read it, why no one is listening, etc), but the chain is still here as a physical, present symbol.  It is a symbol to remind us that these days are different.  Our focus is different.... and we are eagerly looking forward to the Resurrection Day!

Preparing for Ash Wednesday

Our soon-to-bud apple tree

I like anniversaries. I like birthdays and New Years. I like a fresh start and each of these days mark a moment to reflect and take stock. I pause around each one and think about what's behind and what's to come. I plan a little. I dream a little. 

This is also one of the reasons I love Ash Wednesday. This day feels like the New Year of my soul. This is a day to contemplate the difficult. This day, I am reminded that my sin cost terribly and that there are stuck places in my life that I need to bring to Jesus...again. Sounds like a roaring good time, I know. But really, marker moments don't always wear party hats. In a world where the goal is to deaden pain and put our best energies toward having fun every moment, I recognize a need to hit "pause".

That said, lets not wallow. I do not want to move through all of life constantly focusing on my brokenness - there is too much hope coursing through the gospel for that. But, there is a place to face the reality that my sin nailed Jesus to the cross. There is a place to reflect and confess and focus on the work of the cross, to receive forgiveness and be thankful for it. 

Bobby Gross, in his book on celebrating the Church calendar wrote about Lent in a way that painted such a clear picture of this season. He writes "But the great Orthodox theologian Alexander Schmemann speaks of a "bright sadness" that is the true meaning of Lent. Yes, during these weeks we become especially mindful of the sinfulness that alienates us from God, indeed of the human evil that nailed Jesus to those rough beams. And this we lament with sadness. At the same time, we understand that by his death Jesus secured for us forgiveness and eternal life. We are like prisoners whose release draws near or refugees on our way back home or patients for whom the cure is working. Lent is sobering, but it leads to Easter!"

YES!

I hope your Ash Wednesday is day marked by reflection, contemplation and the hope of the gospel.

On Observing Lent

I grew up in a very Catholic town.  My family was not Catholic, but it felt like everyone around us was.  So my earliest memories of Lent are seeing all my friends show up at school with smudges on their foreheads, and having only fish in the school cafeteria on Fridays.

But after joining an Anglican church several years ago, I was re-introduced to the actual purpose and reasons for Lent, and our whole family has come to embrace the season year after year.

I started to write out some of the reasons I've found this season to be so powerful and helpful in my spiritual life... but realized that many have already done a much better job of that than I could ever do.  So, instead, I will just list a few links below:

• Amy Julia Becker shares here 5 reasons she has come to value Lent;  I agree with all of them.

• Matt Kennedy gives a quick 7-minute summary of the purpose of Lent in this video.

• In this short post, the author gives some things to consider for keeping Lent meaningful.

Finally, I've enjoyed this quote from Arnold Ytreeide (from the preface of Amon's Adventure):

 "But the point of Lent, or any other time of spiritual focus, shouldn't be to follow a set of prescriptions and rules, it should be to seek a deeper understanding of and commitment to God.  It's not a time to check off days on a calendar;  it's a time to rend your heart, to do some spiritual housecleaninhg, to take a long, hard look at what's inside you.  A time to allow God to show you the work He's ready to do in your life."

I read once that the Christian year can be divided into 2 cycles:  the Cycle of Life and the Cycle of Light.  Join us now as we head into Lent, the beginning of the Cycle of Life!

The Beauty of the Church Calendar

A perpetual holiday is a good working definition of hell. – George Bernard Shaw

The title of this blog, "The Celebration Project," could be a little misleading.  One might assume that we think we should be full-on partying and celebrating all the time.  This is NOT the case.  If someone is looking for that kind of life, then might we point you to Rhett and Link and their holiday-celebrating series?

In truth, the church calendar provides plenty of opportunities for fun celebrations, but it is much more than that as well.  There are distinct rhythms, changing seasons with different themes.  There is even a long period of time (Lent), during which the focus is, at least in part, repentance and self-denial… which is hardly “fun.”

Much of the Christian church calendar seems to have taken its cues from the Old Testament feasts schedule.  Right from the beginning, God instituted several rhythms and seasons, comprised of days with specific purposes.

At this point let me point out that I am not a theologian and have never been to seminary.  I have studied the Bible and a few other sources on the following topics, but let’s face it:  I have not done a ton of research.  I have 4 young children who interrupt me approximately every 13 seconds when I am on the computer, so my research time is limited.

But from this layman’s eyes, I see a few specific types of “celebrations” or feast-days in the Old Testament.

1.) There were days set aside for FEASTING.  The Hebrew word, “khag,” meaning “feast” or “festival” occurs 62 times in the Old Testament.  God seems to love a good party.  Take Deuteronomy 16:13-15 as an example:

You must observe the Festival of Shelters for seven days at the end of the harvest season, after the grain has been threshed and the grapes have been pressed. This festival will be a happy time of celebrating with your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows from your towns. For seven days you must celebrate this festival to honor the LORD your God at the place he chooses, for it is he who blesses you with bountiful harvests and gives you success in all your work. This festival will be a time of great joy for all.

2.) There were days set aside for RESTING.  Most obvious, of course, is the weekly pause that God ordained in the Ten Commandments: the Sabbath day.   But there were also longer times of rest as well.  For example, in Leviticus 25:3-5, God says,

‘Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its crop, but during the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath rest, a sabbath to the LORD; you shall not sow your field nor prune your vineyard. Your harvest’s aftergrowth you shall not reap, and your grapes of untrimmed vines you shall not gather; the land shall have a sabbatical year. 

3.) There were also times for RE-SETTING.  In Leviticus chapters 25 and 27, God institutes the year of Jubilee, to be celebrated every 50th year, when confiscated property is returned to its original owners and those sold into slavery are set free.  Also, the Day of Atonement each year was meant to be a time of purification, partly involving solemn reflection and rest.

4.) There were days set aside for FASTING.  Leviticus 16, as one example, talks about the Day of Atonement, which was meant as a cleansing time.  God instructed the people to only not work, but also to deny themselves, or in other translations, to fast.


So each year we see patterns, seasons, rhythms.  It’s not all about partying, but it is all about reminding the people who they are, who God is, and what He has done.  The Lord knew we needed different paces, different points of focus to remind us of these things.

The Christian calendar keeps this same idea of healthy rhythm.  The flow of the year is all centered around they story of Christ, some of the days building in anticipation, some of the days celebrating what has already come to pass, some of the days focused on our future.  There are times of repentance, times of rest, times of re-setting, and times of full-on feasting.

Here, then, are some of the beautiful benefits to following the Christian calendar:

• Our memories can be very short, so having these annual reminders is good for us!  

• Having these built-in times of rest and celebration can help us keep a healthy balance in life.  Too often in our culture we just run full-throttle, and then crash.  The patterns that God set up will keep us from that mode. 

• Our celebrations give us a sense of identity.  We are part of God’s family and celebrate His family holidays.

• Special days provide many opportunities for teaching our children about who God is, and who they are in Him.  Holidays are full of hands-on creating and learning.

Join with us this year as we explore and enjoy this rhythmic life!

The Seasonal Life

I was in my early twenties when a wise friend encouraged me to see life as a seasonal endeavor.That good advice was probably given to comfort in a difficult stretch of time. However, those words landed deep and have stayed with me since. They have been incorporated into the way I think about a day or span of time.  In the hard times, Im reminded that things won't stay this way forever. In the times I relish and want to hit "pause", Im encouraged to savor because I know, this too shall pass.

I've lived by this idea of "seasonal living" for quite a while and its been a helpful way of thinking. But, I've been discovering in recent years, that there is so much more to this simple idea that has such appeal and impact.

I grew up in a Christian home, but not in a tradition that followed a liturgy or paid any attention to the Church calendar. So, I had no idea what any of that was about. My guess is that the idea of "vain ritual" was to be avoided at all costs and, as is often the case, the baby went out with the bathwater. It took me a long time to come to terms with my longing for good and healthy ritual while realizing the messages from growing up made the word "ritual" feel like a bad one.

No, I'm a born celebrator. Im always looking for a reason to mark an occasion or make something special. I cant help it, it just comes out of me. Ive also been teased through the years that my favorite word is "intentional". I would say I like to move through the world in a thoughtful and intentional way.I spend time and money intentionally, I invest in relationships intentionally, you get the point.

So, as we starting raising our children, I realized I had this opportunity to create meaningful and defining celebrations for our family. This showed up in a variety of ways. From, how we do birthday's to what we eat the morning after Thanksgiving. All of those things are good and I do believe in small ways, they help shape our family identity. But, thanks in part to my dear friend Amy, I realized my longing for meaningful celebration was really rooted in my longing for more of God.

I was intrigued and began reading about the Christian calendar. I started paying attention to the different seasons and my hearts response to the suggested topics and focus. I felt something come alive in me, like things were aligning and my making sense. I felt anchored in something significant.

Celebrating the church calendar constantly points me to the gospel and what it means for me in the day to day. Different seasons take on a flavor or a focus that cause me to think differently, or search, or wait or repent or celebrate. And, I love best, that these roots go much deeper than the fun little traditions I've created for our family on a whim. These traditions connect me (and us) to this amazing, ancient, God orchestrated marking of time. In fact, we are reading through the Bible over the next two years and I was struck like lightening by a verse I've read dozens and dozens of times.

Genesis 1:14 "And God said, "Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years". Reading this only encouraged me on this journey to discover the rich and full life of a believer walking with Jesus through each day, week, month, season and year. I want to do that well, to invite my children into God's greater story and to celebrate with deeply rooted joy. This feels like living intentionally at its best. 

Im reminded of Annie Dillard's quote "how we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives". My dear friend Steph has this hanging on her wall and I should probably look at it every day too. 

I'm thankful it's a journey and not something I have to completely sort before I can enjoy the experience. On that note, here's my favorite translation from Matthew11:28-30 (the Message)

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

So, Im stepping in. I desire to engage in celebrating as we move through the church calendar in concrete and tangible ways. These experiences, practices and rituals only aid the inner work.

For further reading on family identity, here is an interesting article from the New York Times. 

Enjoy!

About The Celebration Project

It is easy to allow our lives and schedules to revolve around different things:  the school-year calendar; the NFL schedule; Hallmark holidays; annual vacation plans.

But over the years, Deb and I each started to look for more meaningful anchors, for purposeful ordering of our families’ days in a year.  Through the wise words of various authors and friends we were introduced to the concept of celebrating the church year: recognizing the rhythms and traditions that have been observed by the church at large for centuries and centuries.

Each generation, it seems, has new ideas, values, philosophies and traditions (Elf on the Shelf anyone?).  While we have no problem with fresh and relevant ideas, we also have come to appreciate that there are a lot of tried-and-true, cross-cultural, and cross-generational traditions that are meaningful for a reason.  They are not just derived from our time and place, but have been upheld through history.  These are anchors!

Holidays—originally “Holy-days,” or days set apart for a purpose – were originally meant as a way to celebrate who God is and what He has done.  We have loved getting back to the roots of these holidays, digging out the elements that help us to celebrate God.

On this site you can expect to find suggestions for how to tangibly celebrate the various holidays and seasons with your family, recommendations for different resources to use, observations we've had in our own lives, and some of the thoughts we have as we walk this journey.

We have experienced more abundant life through these traditions.  We as Christians have more reasons to celebrate than others, so let’s do it!