Month: December 2020

“Christmas Is”…A 2020 Christmas in Quarantine

Published on by noteworthymommy10 Comments

Christmas certainly looks and feels different for everyone this year. My daughter and her sweet kindergarten class are quarantined for Christmas. It will be the very first Christmas that I won’t be celebrating with my parents. And the second Christmas birthday, in forty-nine years, that won’t be spent gathered around the dining room table in my childhood home.

So many Christmas traditions have been lost in 2020 and many of you may be feeling a bit down. But maybe it’s time to take a look at which traditions are truly important and focus on those? My daughter’s former preschool teacher told me she is beginning to dislike the word “tradition.” Her young adult children show no interest in them. It got me to thinking how many times I got caught up in doing something because it was a “tradition” and in the process completely lost sight of why it was even significant. Maybe some traditions are meant to be short term, to make way for something new.

After a rough year, where so many have experienced great loss, we all need to take a moment to count our blessings. We won’t be following our familiar traditions this year and our family Christmas celebration with grandparents will be delayed. But instead of mourning the usual tradition, I’m going to focus on quality time with my family of three and look with excitement at the fact that we get to extend our celebrating! A dear friend lost her father to COVID this month. I know she would gladly delay her family celebration by two weeks if it meant she had just one more day with her father.

A quieter Christmas has allowed me to focus on living generously and thinking of others. Instead of giving presents out of expectation or tradition, I reveled in surprising friends and loved ones, even strangers, by leaving mystery bags on their doorsteps. Seeing their appreciative smiles and receiving messages of gratitude from the little tokens given, was one of the best gifts I have ever received!

COVID may have kept you from going to face to face church on Christmas Eve but isn’t it amazing that through the power of technology we could worship with our families safely at home and even wear our pajamas if we chose! If COVID has changed your Christmas plans think of that first Christmas. Mary and Joseph weren’t surrounded by their families. They weren’t even in the comfort of home but in a lowly manager with animals when Mary gave birth to the Christ child. I’m sure this wasn’t their plan. But it was God’s plan. And what an amazing plan He has for each and everyone of us!

This year some of our Christmas traditions didn’t happen but that’s ok. In fact it’s more than ok because celebrating the birth of Jesus is the only Christmas tradition that is important. Jesus is the tradition that we need. And Jesus is the only tradition I care about passing down to my mini me.

Many of you will be surprised to see that Noteworthy Mommy’s Christmas post ends with lyrics written by Dolly Parton. I have a new fascination with Dolly and the words she penned for this song resinated with me because they truly capture what Christmas is.

Christmas Is by: Dolly Parton Christmas is a time for caring
Being at your best
Christmas is a time for sharing
Knowing you’ve been blessed
Christmas is a time for giving
Love is made of this
That’s what Christmas is. Christmas is a joyful time
If you’re the lucky ones
Some are blessed with gifts and trinkets
Others havin’ none
Some have feasts up on the table
Others havin’ crumbs
There are the haves and the have-nots
And you could be either one
It’s all about kindness
Love and compassion
Better to give than receive
That is a true fact
But those who don’t know that
Well, they are the poorest indeed
And I hope you remember every December
That bright shining light from above
The promise from God’s lips
The greatest of all gifts
Wrapped up in His wondrous love
So rejoice in His glory
The great Christmas story
And to all that you’re sharing it with
You go tell it with passion
Of love everlasting
‘Cause that’s what Christmas is

The Sweet Smells of Christmas

Published on by noteworthymommy1 Comment

Christmas is almost here and for two generations this sweet book has helped my family of three get ready. Originally published in 1970, The Sweet Smells of Christmas, by Patricia Scarry, was one of my favorite childhood secular Christmas books. I discovered a few years ago that my husband had a copy of the book as a child and enjoyed it just as much as I had. When my daughter was a toddler my mother-in-law bought her a copy so she could have one of her own and it quickly became one of her favorite Christmas books.

I got lost in the pages with Little Bear and his parents and scratched the fragrance labels so many times that bare paper was revealed. My favorite smells were the hot chocolate and the orange. My daughter’s favorite smell is the candy cane and like me she fell in love with the scratch and sniff pages.

Like Little Bear, my childhood Christmases were magical. As an adult they still are! You easily could have replaced me with Little Bear as my house smelled of cookies lovingly baked by my mother and grandmother and I accompanied my dad each year as we carefully selected and cut down a fresh pine tree. Our tree, along with our entire home, was decked from top to bottom with Christmas cheer! There were years that carolers visited our home and filled our hearts with their angelic voices. And like Little Bear, Santa Claus always brought me more than a little girl could possibly wish for!

Now as parents, my husband and I get the joy of seeing and smelling Christmas with our mini me. There were Christmases where we yearned for a little one to hold so dear so even though we are spending a Christmas in quarantine, away from the rest of our family, we know we have been blessed! It will be different from past Christmases and we will dearly miss being with grandparents but we rejoice knowing that everyone will be healthy and safe. Like the bear family in the book our family of three will have a Christmas filled with love. And the best part will be celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior, the greatest gift any of us could ever imagine!

Called to Care…Living Generously This Advent

Published on by noteworthymommy4 Comments

This year Advent looks and feels different due to COVID-19. I found my usual hectic calendar surprisingly blank and my heart a bit empty. I prayed about something special I could do to fill the void and bring some joy. I knew I wanted to focus on individuals in my church congregation who live alone and are probably feeling isolated, lonelier and more home bound than usual. But I wasn’t exactly sure what God was calling me to do until I heard that the leaders of my women’s bible study were planning a service project that involved creating and delivering care packages to the 35 shut-ins in our congregation. Then I got the idea to write a Thrivent Grant so we could make the care packages special and so more individuals could be reached.

Along with writing personalized notes, the women in my Bible study donated a variety of items from fresh fruit, puzzle books, hard candy and hot chocolate, just a few of the many items in the overflowing bag. Our church, Zion Lutheran Church in St. Charles, MO, donated pens and Portals of Prayer books. Thrivent funds allowed us to add face masks and hand lotions to the initial 35 care packages. One of our leaders sewed the LCMS cross on the masks, making them extra special and with the generous donations from the Bible study, along with the Thrivent funds, I was able to expand the project to 30 additional individuals. (15 additional members at Zion St. Charles, 8 members from neighboring churches, and 7 members from my childhood church, Zion Lutheran Belleville). We were able to bless a total of 65 people!

Pastor Fieberkorn told us many of the individuals receiving care packages are feeling like prisoners in their own homes. They are receiving fewer visits, are not going out and are feeling more isolated.

Our pastor advised us to call first and mentioned that some of the people we deliver to may understandably prefer to have no contact, while others may invite us in. I found both to be true. I left packages at the door or briefly said hello. For those that wanted to talk, we bounded over being Lutheran, most stating that, like myself, they have been Lutheran their entire life. We talked about the virus, the feeling of isolation and the love we shared for our Lord and Savior. I received appreciative waves and “God Bless Yous” from afar, along with sweet phone calls and notes of appreciation.

The entire project filled my heart with pure joy! From writing the personalized notes, to having my mini me help pack the bags, to delivering the bags (with my husband driving, me navigating and our kindergartener learning how to live generously in the back seat), this project was a true gift and made this year end on a positive note. But the greatest gift of all was seeing the smiles on the recipients faces! I learned that it wasn’t about the contents of the bag but the gift of being remembered, knowing in this time of isolation that someone cares. This service project was a reminder that God continues to bless us with tiny miracles, even during times of darkness. We have hope in Him!

The Noteworthy Mommy would like to thank the following individuals for their help and support. This service project would have never taken place without them! Thrivent Financial, The women of Zion Lutheran Church St. Charles Bible Study, Angie Gielow, Rachel Schenck, Pastor Fieberkorn, Vickie Adams, Lillian Talley, Ken Talley, Marilyn Talley and Keith and Janet Freeman.

Advent Traditions…Preparing The Way

Published on by noteworthymommy5 Comments

This past Sunday marked the beginning of Advent, the liturgical season where Christians prepare and anticipate the coming of Christ by celebrating His birth on Christmas and looking forward to the day we will see Him again. This year Advent is going to look a bit different and I’m going to dearly miss some favorite church traditions like Advent By Candlelight, Family Advent Night and Advent services led by school children. As the pandemic continues, our traditions are forced to be altered and a little bit of sadness creeps into a season usually filled with cheer.

Instead of concentrating on what is missing this year, I am focusing on the gifts God has given me. More quality time with my family of three has allowed us to try new activities and as a result, the beginning of new traditions. Without the parties and added distractions, I am taking more time to study God’s word, beginning each day with an Advent devotional that is deepening my relationship with God. And the extra time I’ve gained from cancelled events has allowed me to slow down and clearly see the many blessings God has given. And that fills by heart with hope and joy, which is truly what Advent represents.

Advent Wreath– Christians have adopted the tradition of lighting candles during Advent to observe this as the time of the coming of Christ who is the light of the world. One tradition is lighting an Advent wreath at church and at home to mark each Sunday in Advent. This Advent tradition dates back to Germany and the Lutheran Church following the Reformation. Today Advent wreaths are made out of evergreen and are shaped like a circle to represent eternal life. The Advent wreath we use at church and at home has five candles with three of the candles being blue or purple in color to match the liturgical colors. The candle lit on the first week is blue and represents hope. The candle lit on the second week is blue and represents peace. The candle lit on the third Sunday is pink and represents joy. On the last Sunday of Advent a blue candle representing love is lit. The candle in the center is white and is know as the Christ candle. It is lit on Christmas or Christmas Eve.

Advent Family Devotionals– This year my family of three are doing two different Advent devotionals, “The Way in the Manger” and “Jesus’ Family Tree” (Praying through Advent with the Jesse Tree). We begin our devotional by lighting our Advent wreath and singing the following song..

“Light One Candle”– Light one candle for hope, One bright candle for hope. He brings hope to every heart He comes! He comes! **For verses 2-4, replace hope with peace, joy, and love.

The tiny Advent wreath above was created by my mini me during her first year of preschool. Carefully crafted out of clay and decorated with green paint and birthday candles it is very special to us.

Advent Calendar With Pastor Rouland and Rupert the Dog– Our senior pastor is making daily Advent videos where he leads viewers in singing “Light One Candle,” reads a scripture verse and reveals a new ornament for his Advent tree. My daughter squealed with delight when Rupert the Dog makes a special appearance. Search for Zion Lutheran Church St. Charles on You Tube or click here for a video link.

Chocolate Advent Calendar– When I was little I always had a chocolate German Advent calendar. In fact, the German Club at my high school sold them. The tradition continues with my daughter and everyday we guess what shape the chocolate will be, hunt for the number and then rip open the little window and enjoy the sweet treat hiding inside.

Advent Tree– We’ve had this Melissa and Doug wooden Advent tree since my daughter was a toddler. My daughter loves adding a magnetic ornament to her tree everyday. It’s the perfect countdown to Christmas