While Shepherds Watched....

I have been sharing our Advent Candle devotions and I have felt pretty good about them. . . until now.

In the interest of integrity and transparency, I feel it necessary to also share with you when things do not go so swimmingly.

I think about this point each year, the pace of packing in all the celebrations preceding the real celebration of Christmas pushes me to a breaking point.

I just get irritable.

I think I'm there.

Also, about this time when we are acting as if school is out and it is not - the kids get tired and irritable.

I think they were there - or close last night as we observed the lighting of the third candle in the Advent Candle Wreath....

What's that you say?
We were supposed to do that on Sunday, not Monday?

Well you are absolutely right. As a tradition - we like to completely goof up at least one week of Advent Candle ceremonies each year.

It was actually good that we got it in only a day late. Some years have been far worse.

I had something of what I thought was inspiration: In order to walk in the shoes of the shepherds, we would go outside and peer up at the sky to get a feel for how it was on THAT night.

It was damp, cloudy and late . . . but I pressed on, determined to have a creative Christmas experience if it killed us!

I pointed the little family's attention to the skies as my children huddled close to their Mom and eyed me curiously. I tried to describe how I thought the moment might have felt when the angels burst into the sky. . . but my tale seemed to fall on deaf ears.

We moved out from under the stars -er clouds - to the front porch for the devotion.
Here are the pictures: