the ELLA echo

advent, day 24: angels

this was the most involved project of advent, in fact it would have been too much except that it was hand AND FOOT painting so ella was totally on board.

you may copy and print out the note the advent goblins left us if you wish.  the goblins are pleased to report that the entire note was of their own doing.  :)

 

Angels are messengers sent from God, usually with good news.  Angels appear in the Bible from the beginning to the end, at the most unlikely times, to the most unlikely people.

On your Jesse Tree you have symbols of times when angels appeared.  Abraham, Jacob, Daniel, Zechariah, Mary, Joseph—all were visited by angels and each time, the first thing the angel said was, “Do not be afraid.”

This is the message that God has sent us over and over, from the book of Genesis to the book of Revelation, and continuing to this day.  He came to earth as a tiny, helpless baby so that we wouldn't be afraid of Him anymore, but would go to Him with joy and gladness.

Read Luke 2:8-20

Have a grown up paint the bottom of your foot then stamp it on a piece of paper.  Paint and stamp your foot two more times, with each stamp touching the one before.  Let the paint dry then cut out the stamped design.  This will become the gown for an angel.

Meanwhile, have your grown up paint both hands and stamp them onto a piece of paper.  Hold your fingers together while you make the stamp.  Let the paint dry then cut out the hand prints.  These will become the wings for your angel.

Form a small circle at the end of a pipe cleaner.  This will be your angel's halo.  Cut off the excess pipe cleaner but leave a tail for attaching to the angel's body.

Cut out two circles from paper.  Draw or paint a face on one circle.  On the other circle, glue short pieces of yarn for hair.  Glue the tail of pipe cleaner halo to the back of the face circle, then glue the circle with the hair to the other side—the pipe cleaner tail should be between the two circles.

When everything is dry, form a cone with the foot prints and tape or staple it closed.  Insert the pipe cleaner tail into the top of the cone so that the face is to the front and staple it in place.  Position the wings on the angel's back and staple them into place.

Decorate your angels if you wish with paint, glitter, sea coins, or any other embellishment you wish.

Hang your angel on your Jesse Tree as a reminder that God loves you and watches over you at all times.

 

here are a few pictures of how we made this ornament:

advent, day 23: bethlehem

the day before christmas eve is the day that ella calls “christmas adam”—because adam came before eve.  :)  on christmas adam we have dinner then get in jammies, make a pot of hot cocoa, and drive around looking at christmas lights.  since ella had been sick for a few days, she was not really up to doing a craft project, so this ornament did not get made.  i feel ok about this.  we still read the reflection and the bible verses, and if she feels like it we’ll do it this weekend.

you may copy and print out the note the advent goblins left us if you wish.  the goblins wish to mention that the first two paragraphs are from the reform church of america’s page, jesse tree family devotions:  advent 2010.

 

Often God does things that surprise us.  God chose the small town of Bethlehem for the birthplace of Jesus.  In Bible times, most rulers in important families were born in bigger cities, but Jesus was born into an ordinary family in a small village.  God chose Bethlehem many years before Jesus was born.  The prophet Micah wrote that Bethlehem would be the place where the Savior would be born.

Read Micah 5:  2-4  and Luke 2:1-7

On a brown piece of paper draw the outlines of a small town.  Cut out the town and glue it to a piece of dark blue or black paper.

Next cut out small pieces of yellow paper for windows and glue them in place on the buildings in your town.  Cut out one big star for the sky, glue it in place, and use chalk or paint to draw rays of light from the star to the place in the town where you think the manger should be.

Hang your ornament on your Jesse Tree to remind you that no matter where you are or how small you are, God can use you to do might things.

 

here are a few blurry pictures of lights we saw on our drive.  i was so surprised to see many nativities with mary holding baby jesus, rather than him in the manger.  i like that.  one day i hope to see a big plastic light-up mary breastfeeding baby jesus.  that would be awesome.

advent, day 22: joseph of nazareth

ella was sick the morning this project was in the advent calendar so we didn’t get around to it for a few days.  thankfully she is all better now and as you can see, her crafting skills have not suffered.  :)

you may copy and print out the note the advent goblins left us if you wish.  the goblins wish it to be known that the first two paragraphs of their note came from the reform church of america’s page, jesse tree family devotions:  advent 2010, and the next three paragraphs came from marietta community church’s page, awaiting our deliverer.

 

Jesus had an earthly father named Joseph, who was a carpenter.

God sent an angel to talk to Joseph in a dream. The angel explained that God had chosen Mary, and that Mary's baby would be very special. When Joseph woke up, he knew that he and Mary were a part of God's plan. Joseph knew that he would be a good father to Jesus.

We don't know much about the earthly father of Jesus. We do know that he was of the royal line of David, but that was of little worth in his day. We know he was a working man, a carpenter. And we know that he was a man of compassion.

But this news must have taxed every ounce of compassion within him. What was Joseph supposed to think? His fiancée was pregnant, and he knew he wasn't the father. Some men would have given free reign to ego and anger. But not Joseph. He resolved to break the engagement quietly to spare Mary from public disgrace.

This whole episode must have grieved him to distraction. It's a wonder he could fall asleep long enough to have the heaven-sent dream. But dream he did. And when he woke up, he followed the angel's orders--which tells us one more thing about Joseph. He was a man of faith.

Matthew 1: 18-25

Have a grown up cut off the ends from two popsicle sticks.  Have your grown up cut one of the popsicle sticks shorter than the other one.  Paint the longer popsicle stick silver or grey.  When it is dry, use a marker to draw inch and half-inch marks on one side of the stick.

Lay the painted popsicle stick on the table with the marked side facing up.  Glue the ends of the two popsicle sticks together so that they form a right angle and let them dry.  You've made a carpenter's square, the traditional symbol for Joseph, who was a carpenter.

Hang your ornament on your Jesse Tree as a reminder that even when we don't understand God's plan for our lives, we can trust that his plan is good.

 

here are a few pictures of how we made this ornament:

advent, day 21: mary

today’s project involved handprints and paper folding.  ella was so happy.

you may copy and print out the note the advent goblins left us if you wish.  the goblins wish it to be known that the first two paragraphs of their note came from thereform church of america’s page, jesse tree family devotions:  advent 2010, and the fourth paragraph came from marietta community church’s page, awaiting our deliverer.

 

God had a special job for someone. God was looking for an earthly home for baby Jesus. Jesus was going to need a mother who loved and trusted God. He would need a mother who was smart and strong and loving. God chose Mary to be Jesus' mother.

God sent an angel to talk to Mary. Mary wasn't sure that she could be a good mother to Jesus, but the angel reminded Mary that God would be with her. Mary knew that being a mother is a difficult and important job, but she knew that God would guide her. She also knew that she loved God and wanted to do whatever she could to serve him. Mary said yes with a joyful heart.

She did not have to accept this task. She could have said no. But Mary trusted God and was willing to fulfill the role He had chosen for her.

We often think of Jesus' mother as "gentle Mary meek and mild." But the young woman in this passage is made of much stronger stuff. It took incredible courage to submit to becoming the mother of God's Son.

Read Luke 1: 26-38

Trace your hand onto white paper and cut it out. Gently roll your handprint at the wrist so it forms a cone and use tape, glue, or staples to hold it together. Then gently curl each finger outward to form flower petals.

Cut a short piece of yellow pipe cleaner and fold it in half. Curl the ends of the pipe cleaner to make the stamens of the flower.

Twist the end of a green pipe cleaner onto the center of the yellow pipe cleaner, making a stem. Gently insert the free end of the stem into the center of your handprint blossom. You've made a lily! This is the traditional symbol for Mary's pure heart.

Hang your flower on your Jesse Tree to help you remember that God brings new life to ordinary people who are opened to his invitation of love.

 

here are a few blurry pictures of how we made this ornament:

advent, day 20: john the baptist

potentially you heard the squealing when ella found out that there was more hand painting involved today.  :)  seriously, i had no idea how much this type of craft meant to her.  i’m so glad the advent goblins figured it out, because it has made her SO, SO happy.

you may copy and print out the note the goblins left us if you wish.  the goblins wish to mention that the first three paragraphs of their note came from the reform church of america’s page, jesse tree family devotions:  advent 2010.  i have included the picture that was with the note for reference when doing the craft:

 

Elizabeth and Zechariah's son grew up to be John the Baptist. He was Jesus' cousin. God chose him to tell the people about Jesus.

John wanted people to know that Jesus is the Son of God, the savior that God had promised the people so many years ago. He wanted them to be ready to believe in Jesus. John wanted the people to remember God, and he baptized them in the river if they promised not to sin any more. The baptism reminded them that God forgave them for their sins.

John did not look like other people, and some people probably thought he was a little strange. But many other people listened to John, and they were ready to believe in Jesus.

Read  Mark 1:1-8

For centuries John the Baptist has be symbolized with a shell. The three accompanying water drops represent the Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - into which Christians are baptized

Paint your pointer finger and stamp it on a piece of construction paper.  Paint and stamp your finger again, placing the base of your finger touching the base of the first stamp you made, and with the tip fanning out just a little, on each side of the first finger stamp.  Continue painting and stamping your finger until you have the shape of a shell.  Paint and stamp your finger across the bottom of the shell to make a hinge.

Let the paint dry then put three drops of glue on your shell and cover them in glitter to make three sparkly drops of water.

Hang your ornament on your Jesse Tree to help you remember that God sends us His Holy Spirit to help us prepare our hearts to welcome His Son into our lives.

 

here are a few pictures of how we made this ornament:

advent, day 19: zechariah and elizabeth

this craft was short and sweet and i think that disappointed ella.  LOL  there’s nothing much to say about this one except that i wish i had figured out something a little more clever and more engaging.

the goblins wish to mention that the first two paragraphs of their note came from the reform church of america’s page, jesse tree family devotions:  advent 2010.

 

Sometimes even good people have prayers that are not answered. Zechariah and Elizabeth honored God, and God loved them, but they did not have a child. One day while Zechariah was working in the temple, an angel brought him a message from God, saying that he and Elizabeth were going to have a very special son and his name was going to be John.

Zechariah wasn't sure he believed the angel, and so God took away Zechariah's voice as a sign of God's power. Imagine if you had seen an angel who had told you wonderful, happy news, and you weren't able to tell anyone what had happened! Zechariah was sad to have lost his voice, but he was happy to know that he would have a son chosen by God to do important work.

Read Luke 1: 5-23; 57-64

Gently tear a rectangle from a piece of black paper. Using chalk, write these words on the torn square:

His name is John

This square of paper represents the stone tablets that people used in Zechariah's time.

Hang your ornament on your Jesse Tree as a reminder that we can trust God to make good things happen in our lives.

 

here are a few pictures of how we made this ornament:

advent, day 18: esther

esther was not from the line of king david, and she was not a prophet. so why is she on our jesse tree?

because she is a woman who acted in service of others, even at great risk to her own life.   one of the central calls of christianity is to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves, to stand up to abusive powers and to call them to reform.  esther did that, gracefully, and demonstrated that one person CAN make a difference in the world.

you may copy and print the note the advent goblins left if you wish.  the goblins would like you to know that the first three paragraphs came from the reformed church in america’s page “jesse tree family devotions:  advent 2010”:

 

God is at work in everything. Sometimes things don't make any sense to us at all, but later we understand why God put us in a certain place at a certain time.

Esther was a beautiful woman, and because she was beautiful she became queen. But because she was brave, she saved the Jewish people from death. Esther's uncle told her of the danger to her and to her people, and he helped her to plan how to save the people. At first she didn't think she could help, but her uncle reminded her that everyone is important.

God had put Esther in the palace for a special job. Her bravery saved many lives.

Read Esther 4, and Esther 8

Cut a diamond shape out of stiff paper and glue it to the top of a popsicle stick.  Decorate the diamond and the stick with paint, glitter, and sea coins so that it is fit for a queen.  You made a scepter for Queen Esther!

Hang your ornament on your Jesse Tree to help you remember that God made you special and He has a special job for you and your life.

 

once again, the goblins forgot to figure out how to hang this ornament.  :)  we ended up gluing a string to the back of the stick.  here are a few pictures of how we made this ornament:

advent, day 17: jonah

finally, ella got to do some origami.  :)  when she pulled the note out of the advent calendar envelope, she was practically tripping over herself to get to some paper.

you may copy and print the note the advent goblins left us if you wish.  their instructions on how to make today’s ornament were in traditional origami picture form and came from the enchanted learning's page, origami whale craft. 

 

God told Jonah to go to Ninevah and teach the people right from wrong but Jonah didn't want to go.  Jonah knew that if the people loved God that God would not be mad at them anymore.  Jonah wanted God to stay mad at the people of Ninevah because they had done bad things.  So Jonah ran away, but no matter where he went, God was always with him.

Read Jonah 1-3

Hang your ornament on your Jesse Tree as a reminder that even if we run away from God, God will never run away from us.

 

construction paper is not the best type for origami, so we ended up using a little tape to hold the tail in place.  here are a few pictures of how we made this ornament:

the whys and wherefores of our jesse tree

several readers have emailed me about our jesse tree so i thought i’d answer their questions here for anybody else who might be curious.

what’s up with the advent goblins?

in years past, we’ve had an advent calendar that had readings from the bible, a short thought or meditation to go with it, and a little gift from the advent goblins.  because ella was so little when we first made it, i didn’t want to tempt her by putting everything in the calendar at once, so the first night i put in the note and the gift after she had gone to bed.

the next morning when she found something in the envelope, she leapt to the nature conclusion that our goblins had put it there, and i just didn’t see any reason to take that sweet fantasy away from her yet.  so ever since then i’ve been putting the notes in when she is asleep, and she looks forward every morning to finding out what they have left.

this year ella was hoping the advent goblins would have something different in store for her—something for a seven year old—so they decided to have a jesse tree and make her a more active participant in the daily reflections.

the focus of our jesse tree: 

there is no set rule about how to make a jesse tree, who to include, what order, or what readings to include, and to me that is the beauty of the thing.  it makes it very flexible for the needs and circumstances of each family.  if we lived in a smaller house, or if ella were younger, we would have done something much simpler.

taking into account ella’s interest in learning more about the people of the bible, i chose to make the principle characters in the salvation story be our focus for this year.  for each character i chose the parts of the story that i think are most appealing to children and that i think a young child can relate to, and each craft is designed to serve as a reminder of that character and the lesson his/her story provides us today.

thus, for the story of elijah, i chose to use the part about the ravens, rather than the part about the false gods, as young children are still very drawn to the idea of a god who provides for them as opposed to a prophet who gets touchy when people don’t agree with him.  :)

for next year i am considering a focus on the prophecies, rather than the people themselves.  i will make the final decision when we get closer to that advent—i’ll have to see where she is then to know what direction we should take.

the crafts:  i originally hoped to introduce lots of different materials and techniques because i thought that would prevent boredom and keep ella interested over the course of the season.  however, a few days ago i realized that i was becoming too focused on making a cool craft, rather than on designing a craft that had some meaning for the day.  so i scaled back, and ella has done what every child does:  she brings her own meanings and understandings to the table and exercises a depth of contemplation that i think would have been impossible if she had been distracted by a page full of complicated instructions.  AND she’s having fun, she tells me every day how much she enjoys each of the projects the goblins give her.

the meditations and comments on the readings:  for this season i decided to do something that i rarely ever do:  borrow the words of someone else.  :)  in general i just prefer to express my own thoughts in my own words, but so many people before me have thought and written much more expressively and fluently on the bible than i have any hope of doing myself, at least at this stage of my life, and i want her to have the benefit of those minds and hearts.  any day when i have quoted from someone else i have included links to the pages where i found each section.

the notes the goblins leave:  each note has a picture at the top to give her a hint about the day’s reading, and sometimes it is used when making the craft (such as the picture of the world on day 2, or the example of the lamp on day 11).  i try to prepare the notes a few days ahead.  if i were really organized, i would have had them all done before advent started but i seem to be congenitally incapable of that level of advance planning. 

what will happen at the end of advent:  i’m considering the possibility of continuing the jesse tree thru epiphany.  in this way we can also celebrate the wise men, the shepherds, etc.  please leave me a comment with suggestions on this part.  :)

advent, day 16: daniel

today's reading and project were a huge hit with ella.  she told me over and over, "mama, this reminds me of when we did hand crafts in preschool.  i loved that.  i love miss jenny."  (we all love miss jenny).

knowing now how much she loves handprint crafts, i will spend the entire next year figuring out how we can do handprint crafts for every day of advent 2011. i mean, the advent goblins will do that.  totally the advent goblins.

you may copy and print the note the advent goblins left us if you wish:

 

God wants to be the most important thing in our lives.  Daniel understood that; he worshiped God even though it might cost him everything, even his own life.

It was against the law for Daniel to worship God, but Daniel knew that God is the only true God, and he would not stop worshiping God.  Daniel was punished for breaking the law, and he was put in a pit with lions.  But God protected Daniel from becoming the lions’ dinner.  People learned of God’s power because of Daniel, and many others worshiped God because Daniel had trusted and honored God.

Read Daniel 6:10-23

Using a paint brush or sponge, paint your hand with some orange paint then stamp it on a sheet of paper.  This is the beginning of a lion's head!  Wash your hand so there is no more paint on the palm of your hand.  Then using the paint brush or sponge, paint your fingers with orange and yellow paint and stamp them around the palm print to make his mane.  You will have to repeat the finger stamping several times with more paint.  Keep stamping until his mane is completely full.

Wash your hands again, then dip your finger tips into some black paint.  Make dots on your lion's face for eyes, a triangle for a nose, and curves for his mouth.  For his whiskers, paint three fingers and stamp them on each side of his face.

Let your ornament dry then hang it on your Jesse Tree to remind you that even when we are afraid, we can trust God to take care of us.

 

here are a few pictures of how we made this ornament: