The Meaning of Advent

Last month I blogged about making my own advent wreath (read about here) and starting a tradition in our family of lighting the candles each week and reading the Word together to prepare for the true meaning of Christmas.

As Jason and I got ready to incorporate this tradition in our family, we realized we didn't know the history of the advent wreath or much beyond the fact that you light one each week and read a passage and prayer along with it. This got our curiosity sparked and I set off to do a little research on what we should be reading each week and what all of the candles represented. I've collected what I found in case anyone else wants to incorporate this beloved tradition in their home.

1st CANDLE – (purple) THE PROPHECY CANDLE or CANDLE OF HOPE – We can have hope because God is faithful and will keep the promises made to us. Our hope comes from God. “And again, Isaiah says, ‘The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; the Gentiles will hope in him.’ May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:12-13)

2nd CANDLE – (purple) THE BETHLEHEM CANDLE or THE CANDLE OF PREPARATION – God kept his promise of a Savior who would be born in Bethlehem. Preparation means to “get ready”. Help us to be ready to welcome YOU, O GOD! “As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: ‘A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all mankind will see God’s salvation.‘ (Luke 3:4-6)

3rd CANDLE – (pink) THE SHEPHERD CANDLE or THE CANDLE OF JOY – The angels sang a message of JOY! “…and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.’ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” (Luke 2:7-15)

4th CANDLE – (purple) THE ANGEL CANDLE or THE CANDLE OF LOVE – The angles announced the good news of a Savior. God sent his only Son to earth to save us, because he loves us! “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:16-17)

5th CANDLE – (white) “CHRIST CANDLE” – The white candle reminds us that Jesus is the spotless lamb of God, sent to wash away our sins! His birth was for his death, his death was for our birth! “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!‘” (John 1:29)

“Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, ‘Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.’ In reply Jesus declared, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.’ ‘How can a man be born when he is old?’ Nicodemus asked. ‘Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.‘” (John 3:1-8)

The History of the Advent Wreath

As with many long-standing customs, the origins of the Advent wreath are somewhat debated. Some histories of the advent wreath say that Christians simply adapted an even earlier custom from pre-Christian Germanic tribes. Supposedly, then, these pagan people tried to break the darkness of winter with candles and invoke the sun god to return with the warmth and light of spring. In addition, the evergreen wreath would remind them that there is still life and the circle of time would again come back to spring.

According to this viewpoint, Christians later placed new and Biblical meaning to the old customs. Now the candles pointed to Jesus, the Light of the world (John 3:17-21.) The evergreen wreath now reminded believers that our Savior God grants new and everlasting life in Jesus. The wreath was also a symbol of victory, for a garland wreath was often placed on victors in contests or conquests. So naturally, a Christian can think of the crown of life that Jesus has won for us. The four candles in an Advent wreath would then emphasize the four week period of penitence and preparation during Advent, as we eagerly await the coming of the Light of the world to bring new life and hope.

The advent wreath became quite popular in homes in post-Reformation Germany. It seems pretty certain that in many German homes families had a custom of lighting four candles during advent, candles placed in a wreath of evergreens. When these candles were lit, Scripture and prayer was part of the custom and the family devotion time was a time of instructing the children about Christ’s coming. Later, the custom crossed over different denominational lines and other faith traditions adapted its use. Today, you can find Advent wreathes in many Protestant and Roman Catholic churches.

Source: Living Hope: The Meaning of the Advent Wreath

Guess I need to add a white candle before this Sunday!

Read more...

Training Update!

This marathon training season has been full of ups and downs - a lot more than my first marathon training season. And let's just say I am not very good at balancing these emotional and physical challenges!!

Brief update - two weeks ago on Friday I pulled my back and had to skip our 16 mile run. I went to the chiropractor and got muscle relaxers and was good to go that following Thursday. (Note: I had multiple people tell me to be careful with muscle relaxers because they make you super sleepy. I took one and two hours later - nothing. They do NOT make me sleepy. Jason found it VERY humorous that not even narcotics can make me relax...)

I went out that Thursday for a tester 1.5 miles and felt good and ready to run 18 that Saturday. I thought. Epic fail. I had some stomach issues (heartburn) and at mile 4 my left (non knee surgery) IT band started hurting excruciatingly. I made it to our 9 mile turnaround and was forced to walk 4 miles back to where another coach could pick me up. Heartbroken. I spent that 4 miles beating myself up naturally and getting totally discouraged. We were close to a month out. When I got home I spent two hours crying and trying to warm up as Jason held me and encouraged me. (I have the BEST husband in the world!)

I talked to our head coach and he basically said to plan to run our 21 miler the following Saturday (today), but be prepared to turn around early. He also said there's no reason I can't run the marathon if I'm feeling good (with or with our a 21 miler), but I may need to evaluate my goals. It's hard to train for months and then come to the realization that you aren't going to be able to accomplish something you wanted. I spent the week reconciling to myself that just finishing, even if I don't beat my previous marathon time, will be an accomplishment and something I can and should be proud about. I also reminded myself to be grateful that I even CAN run - that the Lord has blessed me with two legs and a drive to challenge myself.

I went in to see the doctor on Wednesday and was able to get a cortisone shot in my left knee. He also gave me a medrol pack to start and said to see how today went - the 21 miler.

So, how did it go you ask? Was I able to run it? I'm getting there...

Last night Jason tucked me into bed before heading to a friend's party. He knows just how to comfort me and I don't think he realizes how much his encouragement and support means to me. He said a prayer for me and when I woke up this morning I had not one, but THREE sweet notes from my hubby.

I found this note on my fuel belt in the fridge -

And this note was on my car window -

Okay, okay so how did the run go Darcy??

IT ROCKED! I was able to finish and felt fantastic! I could have run a marathon today! (But I'll wait until there's a medal for me... ;-) ) I was able to pick up speed at the end and I have not felt that good on a run yet this season. It was SO encouraging.

Every mile my Garmin is set to go off and every mile as I took a drink I quietly said "Thank you Lord for this opportunity." Don't get me wrong - it still hurt. You cannot run 21 miles and not expect to feel a little exhaustion and fatigue in your body. But I was able to run it and run it well.

I now feel ready for the marathon and just need to hold onto the encouragement that today gave me, that my husband gave me, and most of all BELIEVE in myself that I can do this.

January 15, 2012 I plan to run my second marathon! :-)

Read more...

Couponing - You Knew It Was Coming...

Ah couponing - a more up-and-coming trend thanks to shows like "Extreme Couponing". (FYI, Jason has designated only the pantry and 3 additional shelves for my stockpile - after that I am finished, according to him. This squashes my true dream of stockpiling enough toilet paper for the rest of my life. :-( )

I have been following coupons for almost two years now, but found it to be overwhelming, intimidating, and difficult to navigate. It wasn't until some friends from church attended a coupon class and shared their knowledge with me that I was really able to start making a habit of couponing. I now coupon regularly and love the savings that I accumulate by just stockpiling and watching sales!

Here are what I would consider the Top 5 Beginner Coupon Things to Know:

(5) Stockpiling is the way to maximize savings with coupons. Grocery stores run in cycles with their sales so purchasing items you need when they are at their lowest price and "stockpiling" them is the way to go. For example, if you buy and eat one box of cereal/month for $4.00 you would spend $24.00 on cereal over 6 months. However, if that cereal goes on sale for $1.50 and you buy 6 boxes then you've only spent $9.00 and saved $15.00 or 62.5%. Simple math.

(4) You can coupon as much or as little as you'd like (assuming you don't have a coupon addiction like the women on Extreme Couponing who spend 30+ hours/week on coupons... in addition to full-time jobs. No thanks.) If you have time, then you can look at sales for multiple stores. If you don't, then you know you can easily pull just that week's sales and shop by the list. On average I spend about 2 hours/week on grocery shopping (including cutting coupons, making my shopping list, and actually grocery shopping).

(3) Utilize the online resources that are already available to make your life easier. There are so many coupon blogs, websites, etc. that will match up the week's grocery sales with all available coupons in the newspaper and on the internet. Find a couple of websites that you like and use them regularly for your shopping (I've listed some below that I frequent). I get coupons on the Internet, through the newspaper, and through various products (peelies, extra coupons inside, etc.)

(2) Be prepared when you hit the store - know the store's coupon policies, have your coupons organized, pulled for that shopping trip, and double checked for the items/expirations. And if there is an error after you've already been rung up, simple go to the Customer Service desk and talk to them. I have found the representatives to be kind and helpful if I am kind and respectful.

(1) BE ORGANIZED! Have a coupon box/notebook with different categories. This will greatly reduce the time you spend gathering coupons on a weekly basis. It will take some initial setup time to get your system together, but it's worth it!!

Here is my coupon organizer -

Here are some of my most top shopping trips -

*Spent $13, saved $70

*Spent $32, saved $129

*Spent $36, saved $133

*Spent $14, saved $72
Now here's what I call extreme couponing!! (They were wet - I saved them and dried them so I could use them.)

If you are interested in getting started couponing, then I would suggest using some of the following resources (below are all links to the websites):
Southern Savers
The Grocery Game (requires a $5/month subscription - this is the one that I use the most)
The Krazy Coupon Lady

Online coupon sites (below are all links to the websites):
Smart Source
Coupons
Red Plum

Here are some other tips/tricks -
*I recommend starting a separate email account for couponing. A lot of products send recipes, coupons, etc. and you don't want them to fill up your regular email inbox.
*Sign up for newsletters, etc. with your real mailing address. I get a lot of (high value) coupons in the mail that I wouldn't otherwise.
*You can print up to two coupons per computer by using the back buttons on your Internet browser.

This is just a small bit of my couponing knowledge/experience. If you decide to start couponing or already are and have questions, I'd love to answer them! Just use the "Contact" button at the top of this webpage to send me an email. :-)

Read more...