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Advent readings with children

I’ve tried to stress Advent season for our church this year, which may be a new thing for some folks. One question that may come up is how to observe this as a family – and with that, how do you include children?

One thing we have done this year is to use one of my favorite children’s books, “The Jesus Storybook Bible” at bedtime. I begin by asking the kids what season we are in, and then asking what we do during Advent. The answer, by the way, is that we prepare and watch for Jesus. Then we read a story from the Jesus storybook bible.

Anne found a great little resource to help with this on the blog of Adriel Booker, where she lays out a schedule matching a reading from the Jesus Storybook Bible with each day in December leading up to Christmas. She even has a pdf file you can open and print out (as we did).

If you have young children, or even if you don’t, the Jesus Storybook Bible is a terrific resource. It intentionally shows how the stories of scripture point towards Christ. The subtitle of the book is “Every story whispers his name,” and the power of this particular storybook bible is that it does this in a powerful way. This easily leads to a few simple questions you can have with your children in order to both teach and anticipate together the coming of Christ.

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The Croel Christmas Card – 2010

We are now in the second year of our new tradition of my trying to be kind of creative with our Christmas Cards. I wrote about it last year, it’s an idea I got from pastor Steve McCoy, whose blog I read.  He just posted their Christmas Card, and once again it’s pretty cool and enjoyable – check it out here.  It’s been pretty fun, and I say that as a person who does not at all enjoy getting together for a family picture, so if nothing else, I’d like to thank Steve for making an annual photo something I don’t dread.  This year we had an addition to the family, so we went with a Christmas morning – opening presents theme.  Here you go: Continue reading “The Croel Christmas Card – 2010”

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Halloween 2010 – Links and Pics

Our Elmo and Buzz jack-o-lanterns

Alright, by the time I post this, it will just about be Halloween, and Halloween is kind of a fun time around the Croel household.  The kids love the decorations and candy.  We’ve been listening to Halloween music for about 6 weeks (it’s about time for that to end, by the way), and we’ve had decorations up since the end of September.  Elijah and Alexandra love to show visitors all of our Halloween decorations – so it’s pretty fun all in all. Here is a link to a post last year about Halloween, and another post from last year that has my Halloween playlist for my ipod.

So… I wanted to get a picture up of our pumpkins for this year.  I let the kids pick out what they wanted, so we ended up with Buzz Lightyear and Elmo.  And to let you know the additions to my Halloween song collection. Continue reading “Halloween 2010 – Links and Pics”

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In the Midst of the Storm

Here is a piece I wrote for our newsletter for October.

When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.”
John 6:16-20

Just the other night a group of pretty intense thunderstorms passed through the area. They knocked down trees in town and the church was without half of its power the next day. School was canceled in Carson City due to power outages from the storm. The storms had high winds, constant flashes of lightning followed by rumbles of thunder, and plenty of rain.

Our kids were in bed when the storms picked up intensity, and they were both awake. Elijah, who is almost 4 now, has become convinced that he enjoys thunderstorms, even if they do get a bit scary, so he was doing pretty good that night. Alexandra, on the other hand, just turned 2 and did not care for the noise and flashes of lightning at all. Continue reading “In the Midst of the Storm”

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Christmas Card

Steve McCoy is a pastor in the Chicago area whose blog I read.  Besides checking out his musical recommendations, I also have enjoyed his photography.  One of the neat things he has done with his family the last few years is to pose in a fun and creative way for the family Christmas card.  You can check out this year’s version here.  On that post you’ll find links to the previous two years cards.  This year we decided to follow suit and create a fun Christmas picture that captured the essence of what the Croel household is like with a 3 and 1 year old.  Now, I must admit the McCoys are a tough act to follow and we have room for improvement.  For example – they look much more festive and seasonal.  But boy we had a lot of fun posing for these pictures.  So, here is this year’s Croel Christmas card.  And thanks to Steve McCoy for the idea.  We plan to do it yearly.  It’s a lot more fun than just posing for a picture. Continue reading “Christmas Card”

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Giving thanks

thanksgivingThanksgiving is here. I have seen some people through the month of November write something each day that they are thankful for, and I thought that was a pretty good thing to do, but I didn’t do it myself. However, I think it would be appropriate for me to share what I am thankful for.
I am thankful to God for the salvation he gave me through Jesus Christ and the peace I’ve received through the Holy Spirit. In Jesus Christ I not only find forgiveness, peace, meaning, and purpose, but also I have hope. I hope for and long for the day when God’s kingdom will come and his will is done on earth as it is in heaven. One of the things I have taught and preached about often is that things are not now the way they ought to be. I love doing that because then I don’t have to pretend that everything is ok. But there is more. I have within me a deep hope for the day when everything is the way it ought to be. I long for that time. I am thankful for that. Continue reading “Giving thanks”