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The green table is moving! I'll begin posting again after we're all set up in our new home!






Thursday, September 29, 2011

St. Michael & All Angels Day - September 29


Nature requires five,
Custom gives seven,
Laziness takes nine
And Michaelmas eleven



This old rhyme popped to mind when I started brainstorming our family's celebration of St. Michael and All Angels Day. I don't know much about this history of this poem, but I DO know that today is a traditional day for sleeping in, probably because I'd do just about anything for a full night of uninterrupted sleep!


Historically known as Michaelmas (as Christ+Mass= Christmas, so Michael+Mass=Michaelmas), St. Michael and All Angels Day used to be far more widely celebrated, but the traditions of this day are carried on, probably with few connecting it to this celebration of the church. 


Michaelmas is the traditional kick off to fall, and is still name of the fall quarter at Oxford and other British schools. Even our U.S. Supreme Court begins a new term on the first Monday of October, originally in the tradition of Michaelmas.  Some TV shows start a new season this week too.  Funny how our traditions are often based around the celebrations of the church - and yet somehow our knowledge of this connection has been lost. 


A beautiful time of year; there is a newness about the fall, even in the midst of all of the browning foliage.  But then, as Christians we know that only through death comes life.  Yes, fall is a most beautiful time of year, and I am always glad to see it come again.  "Yes, but you live in Florida, where it's always summer!" you say?  Not so!  "Season" is nearly upon us, a time of perfect, low humidity weather that brings busy streets and restaurants. It's the time of year when we live up to the title "Paradise Coast".


Celebrating more than just the return of cool weather and fall's fresh start, today we thank God for His mighty warrior, Michael the Archangel, as well as the multitude of unnamed angels, all part of His creation.  Funny thing about angels, they seem to be more popular than their Creator.  From cartoons to cream cheese commercials, there is a lot of confusion about these heavenly beings.  Maybe this is because the Bible doesn't give us all of the details we'd like to know about angels, so we just sort of creatively fill in the blanks.


Children, able to blissfully live in that world of make believe and fairies, are anxious to hear about something so mystic, and yet so real.  Here are a few facts to keep in mind when talking to your children about angels:



Angels are…
Angels are not…
holy beings created by God.  Angels see and know God in a way that we cannot, although they do not know all things.
gods or humans. People do not become angels in heaven.  We do not worship or pray to angels.
in God’s service, acting according to His will and for our benefit. (Hebrews 1)
above God.  They were created to serve.
messengers of God’s good news and can move with great speed.  Angels took part in sharing the message of Christ from conception and birth to resurrection and ascension! (Luke 1-2, Matt 28)
omnipresent; only God is at all places at once.  There are a vast number of angels to serve God everywhere.
powerful protectors, especially of children. (Psalm 91:11-12, Matthew 18:10)
all good.  The Devil and his evil angels tempt us to sin and work hard to keep us from belief in God
warriors against the devil and evil angels, enforcing God’s victory over sin and death by Christ’s death and resurrection. (Revelations 12:7)
serenely sitting on clouds, eating marshmallows!  They do pray and praise God, but defend Him too.
named and ranked.  Michael is the archangel who led the battle in the book of Revelations.  Gabriel  was the angel who got to tell Mary she was going to be Jesus’ mother.
part of a family.  They don’t have children because God made all the angels He needs and angels never die.


We began our celebration by reading and talking about the scripture readings for the day, one at breakfast (Psalm 91 ), and two at dinner (Rev. 12:7-12, Matt. 18: 1-11). 


In our window we displayed a spare card that we'd mailed to our shut-in friends earlier in the week. We made these by drawing then cutting an angel shape out of a compressed sponge. Note that the wings are shaped like a folded heart.






Running water over a compressed sponge and watching it "come to life" never gets old!  Compressed sponges are great for accurate cutting. 










Next, we stamped silver angels on the top half of lilac cardstock (cut to 5.5'x8.5'). 






Once dry, I added a few gold embellishments, reinforcing the nimbus and sash. Meanwhile, Adelae sponged all over a couple sheets of tracing paper with more silver paint.  We cut these into folded heart shapes, small and large, and encased the large heart with the small heart to make each floaty wing. 




Underneath each angel I jotted the closing line from both Luther's Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer, "Let your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen".  On the back we included a list of the day's readings. 


I think it would be fun to cut some of these little angels out an fly them over the table or over the children's beds, so maybe I'll save them for next year.




We will never have snow in South Florida, and sadly, that means my kids will never get to make snow angels.  Today however, we made the kind that won't melt, but will wash away, chalk angels.  We had to do this first thing in the morning before it got too hot to lay on the pavers.  Quickly we made up a batch of chalk paint (one part cornstarch to one part water) with my own special St. Michael's Day twist: gold glitter!  We needed about one cup of "paint" - or 1/2 c water, 1/2 c cornstarch per angel, and found that it works best to stir the starch into the water.  It might be clumpy at first, but just keep stirring until it's smooth.



 I had the kids lay down on the driveway and I outlined their body with a stick of white chalk, their arms and legs extended as if they were making a snow angel.  Adelae even traced me!  



We painted the inside of our angel's white robes with the cornstarch sparkle paint. 


While painting, I had a good opportunity to talk more with the children about these heavenly beings.  We talked about how they are not people, and people will never become angels.  Angels are not boys or girls.  Angels were there to announce Jesus' birth, and Jesus' resurrection.  With my prompting, "The angel said," Adelae completed her memory verse from last spring, "for His has risen as He said!" (Matt 28:6



As the paint dries they become a brighter white!  Use yellow chalk to embellish the nimbus and add a sash.  If you make a mistake or drip outside the lines, just rub the area with a little clean water!  Grace!









The traditional food for St. Michael's Day is Goose.  No, I don't think they sell goose at Publix, not that I looked very hard!  They do carry blackberries, also a favorite of this day.  What could be better than Angel Food Cherub Cakes topped with blackberries?  Now, I COULD have used my muscles and made the cake from scratch, but I'm not much of a baker, so a box mix was a better fit our busy day. Thank you, Betty!  I don't even have (want, or need) an angel food cake pan, so we made little "Cherub Cakes" with the hope that the ribbing of cupcake liners would help the cake to rise. 




Cupcakes are much cuter and better for sharing too; one box will make 30 cakes! Angel Food cake is such a great thing to make with kids because all you add to the box mix is water. They get the experience of measuring and you save the mess! Fill the cups a little more than 3/4 full, and remove them from the pan as soon as you get them out of the oven, otherwise the crispy dome will stick the the pan and they won't look as pretty. We followed the box directions, but found that lowering the recommended oven temperature from 375F to 350F produced better results.  Watch them carefully so they don't get over baked!



To make the blackberry topping, we defrosted our berries in a large bowl, then added a squeeze of lemon juice and just a little it of sugar, maybe 1/4c or less, "just to bring out the juices" as Grandma "Dee" always says!  A couple good smooshes with a fork, and voila, blackberry topping!



Let the Cherub Cakes cool completely so the wrappers remove cleanly. The cakes looked and smelled so yummy as they were baking that Adelae and I couldn't help but take a little sample with our lunch! 

Speaking of lunch... We had happy last minute idea for celebrating St. Michael and All Angels Day.



 Angel Wing Soup! 



Yesterday I happened to have made a big batch of chicken (not goose!) stock. If you don't make your own stock, please do!  It is so easy, thrifty-smart and delicious too! After you THINK your rotisserie chicken is all gone, look it over and pull off any last little bits of chicken.  Stick the chicken (bones, skin, everything) into your largest pot and cover with water.  Throw in whatever veg and seasonings you have on hand.  I like to quarter an onion, a few cloves of garlic, halve some celery and carrots, and throw it all in the pot. If you keep the pieces large they will be easy to skim out later. Simmer until it starts to smell like soup, and then let it go for a few hours more. Sieve out all of the veggies, skin, bones, and "yucky stuff" you don't want to eat. 

I froze half of my stock for later use, and made the rest into soup last night. Making your own soup means you know what's in it, and you can make it just how your family likes it!  I sliced up the carrots and threw them back in the pot, along with few more carrots, salt and pepper to taste, and the rest of the leftover chicken. Actually, I added a lot more carrots because both of the kids love them so!  Pete likes to feed himself soft carrot, but sometimes I like to put the little bits inside of his Cheerios so he can pick them up easily.




So, I had this wonderful soup to serve for lunch today, but it had no noodles - and that's when it hit me! We cooked up some farfalle pasta to add "angel wings" on top of our soup. I think it was a hit!  Yes, she asked if she could do this, and I'm glad she did so I could sneak the picture!








After Daddy got home, and after every dinner plate was cleaned and cleared, and after all of our evening Bible readings were discussed, at last, my little sweetie the sweets lover, finally got her Cherub Cake and Blackberries!  We removed the wrapper from our cakes and let them drink up that sweet-tart juice.  Of course, as Adelae squeezed the cake to take a big bite the juice dribbled down her chin, down her shirt and shorts!  Who could be mad? What a wonderful mess!  Next time, all children will receive their cakes trifle style!




God has given us so much to celebrate! Thank you, Lord, for caring for us through your angels who fight, protect, praise and proclaim your name. Amen.


I thank you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, your dear Son,
that you have graciously kept me this day; and
I pray that you would forgive me all of my sins where I have done wrong,
and graciously keep me this night.
For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things.
Let your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me.  Amen

(Luther's Evening Prayer)







Sunday, September 25, 2011

Knock, Bang, Boom

Itty Bitty Lutherans continued the story of Joseph and concluded our month long study of singing the faith with your little ones.  

Story Notes: Throughout Joseph’s life, he was repeatedly built up to positions of favor and power just to be torn down again.  Isn’t this how life works most of the time? Just when you think you’re getting ahead, this messed up sinful life and world gets in the way!  Praise God, for His steadfast love and the hope we have in Him!
Tell your Itty Bitty Joseph’s story this way, using blocks.  Build the blocks up in a tower saying, Joseph was blessed and favored by his daddy, Jacob.  Then, Joseph’s jealous brothers threw him in a pit and sold him into slavery - away from his family.  Encourage your child to knock the blocks down.  God’s steadfast love endures forever!  Joseph knew this.  Start building the blocks up again, saying, The Lord was with Joseph and he rose to become in charge of everything for his new boss, except his boss’s food and wife.  Because of this sinful world, down Joseph fell again, and was locked up in jail.  Knock the tower of blocks down again. God’s steadfast love endures forever!  Start building the up blocks again.  The Lord was with Joseph, even in jail, and the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of everyone in jail!  Build the blocks up again.  Joseph had hard times, but the Lord was with him and Joseph held to the hope of His steadfast love. (Read Genesis 39)


This story, as well as so many narratives from God’s Word, has content that is simply not comprehensible for little ones (or us for that matter!), not to mention appropriate, but there is a difference between the two.  It is inappropriate to go into the details of Potiphar’s “come hither” wife, however we can point out the she wanted him to do something bad.  How wonderful to reinforce God’s steadfast love and our eternal hope in Him!  Remember, children, even the very, very young, can understand more than we can imagine! 

Singing the Faith: We spent the month learning songs, lullabies and hymns. This week we put our playlist on shuffle, found our shakers, and made a few more instant percussion instruments to keep the beat as we reviewed the songs learned this month.  Flip over a sanitized, recycled container and you have drum. Patting your baby’s belly or back along with the music is instant percussion, while older babies can clap along! Even during worship, tapping the beat of the liturgy or hymns on the back or knee of your Itty Bitty may help them connect and focus throughout the service.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Holy Cross Day - September 14


Today the church celebrates Holy Cross Day.  It's such a great day, that we are celebrating it all week! What an excellent opportunity to teach little ones to recognize the cross of Christ and share the story of His love displayed there!






Our preparations for Holy Cross Day started last week when we made cards to send to our shut-in friends.  My little Adelae drew crayon crosses on construction paper, I cut them out into cross shapes and glued it on to the blank card. Then we glued a larger cross, cut from transparent page dividers, on top using glue sticks. Inside, I copied a couple verses of the hymn, In the Cross of Christ I Glory (LSB #427):


vs. 2 
When the woes of life o'er take me,
Hopes deceive and fears annoy,
Never shall the cross forsake me;
Lo, it glows with peace and joy.

vs. 3
When the sun of bliss is beaming
Light and love upon my way,
From the cross the radiance streaming
Adds more luster to the day


Pretty uplifting words for our shut-in friends, don't you think? A hymn in your heart is always a good thing! Sealed shut and heart stamped, our love notes were shipped off to our friends.



This morning, over breakfast, instead of reading a Psalm, as we have been doing during this "green meadow" season of Pentecost, I shared two Holy Cross Day stories with the kids.  First, the origin of the day.  For a 7mo old and 3 year old, the story went something like this, After Jesus died, they saved His cross, but somehow it got lost for a very long time.  Sort of like when you lost your sunglasses a long time ago...but eventually we found them again.  A mommy went on an adventure and she found the cross, Jesus' cross. They believed it was the same cross where Jesus died for our sins.   So they wanted to build something there so they'd never forget again.  What kind of building do you think would be a good building for a cross?...  Of course, they built a church there, and that mommy was Helena, Constantine's mommy, but we'll save those details for a few years!


The Old Testament reading for today, the Bronze Serpent (Numbers 21:4-9), is a great one! I shared the account complete with animated whining and groaning from the Israelites, who complained to God about their food from Him. (My daughter is a little young to catch the irony of this complaint, but found my whining antics hilarious!) She is afraid of snakes, so I left out the details of them being deadly, biting, fiery snakes. The fact that God sent snakes was enough! And so we began to draw snakes, scary S-shaped hisssssssing snakes.  And then I drew a pole, and continued to tell and draw the story.  It wasn't long before she saw that when God told Moses to place a bronze snake up on that pole and the people were to look to it for salvation, that even she made the connection of this pole and snake to our Savior on the cross. Little Pete sat and ate Cheerios. I'm sure he got something from it!


These narratives of adventure and snakes and crosses led us to the idea of heading out on our own adventure, so we packed up and ventured the half mile to the seemingly distant swimming pool, searching for snakes and crosses along the way.  We found a few cross shapes in window frames and fence bars, no snakes, but two worms!  What an adventure!






Back at home, Pete was napping so we gathered coffee filters, bingo markers and blue painters tape (plus newspaper to protect our green table!) to make these, "Surprise Crosses".


Adelae is a great folder, so I had her fold her coffee filter into quarters, like a slice of pie. With help, she taped the folded sides of the filter to the table, so the tape sealed off about a quarter inch of each of the folded sides.  Next, she painted the exposed portion of the filter completely using the various colors of bingo markers.  Very carefully we peeled the tape from the table and the filter, then opened the filter to reveal the surprise: a cross!  They glowed beautifully in the window!


For dinner, I just had to make something with freshly harvested basil.  According to tradition, when Helena found the cross, basil was growing around it. Be this fact or fiction, Holy Cross Day is a very good excuse to make your favorite basil dish!  Mine is Caprese Salad with White Beans. 








I don't do recipes very well, but this is how I make it.  Halve a half pint of grape tomatoes. Stir in a cup and a half (or a can) of Cannellini Beans and a container of pearl size fresh mozzarella balls.  Top with a chiffonade of fresh basil, balsamic vinegar and olive oil to taste.  I use equal parts vinegar and oil, but only enough to coat the salad. Sprinkle with kosher salt and feast! 


When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of Glory died....
Love so amazing so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all!
(LSB #425)









 

About


It was our first big purchase as a newly engaged couple.  $150.00 and the St. Louis antique store marked their chrome legged jade green dinette table “sold”!  10 years and two children later, we live in Naples, FL.   Around our beloved green table, we create, cook, eat and spill, play, pray, learn, sing and celebrate together. Pull up a chair and join us!


I’ve longed to be the Lutheran Martha, a modern day Katherine Luther.   While I don’t brew beer a la Lord Kate, I live the dream every day!  Caring for my family and sharing the love of Christ with our little ones is my privilege and joy!  Here I’ll chronicle our family life together, with an emphasis on teaching the faith in the home. 


Technically, I only own one green table. Counting my turquoise tables would probably be pushing it!  My second table isn't in my home - it is the altar of Grace Lutheran Church - Naples, FL.  Since the vestments are green most of the year, and it is most certainly a life giving table, the focus of our week - I count it as my own!


Dear Kindred Spirits, Welcome to the Table!


Disclaimer:  I hold a Lutheran Teacher’s Degree, but don’t claim to be a theologian. I have a kitchen, but don’t claim to be a chef. I'm a mommy and a wife who fails daily - but lives in grace!