Day 1 Stay Out of Bethlehem: An Advent Calendar Story

 

Day 1

O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer

Our spirits by Thine advent here;

Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,

And death's dark shadows put to flight.

Celia sat with her head in her hands. She was never going to finish this project. It was late November and she hadn’t even begun. What dimwit suggested that she write a new story for the Christmas newsletter? Celia just wanted to skip Christmas this year. She lifted her head to glare at the reflection staring from the mirror on the back of her office door — a mirror her husband had so kindly attached at Celia's direction. Oh, yeah. It was the dejected-looking dimwit in the looking glass. Maybe she could step through and run off with the White Rabbit. No, he was always late too. A kindred spirit for a writer whose middle name was “procrastination.” 

Celia’s eyes wandered to the painting hanging over her desk. The Holy Family rested peacefully under a star-bright sky. Her husband had hung that for her too. Celia could use some of that heavenly peace right now — and a good idea for a story!

Sipping her tea and dangling a slipper from one toe, Celia looked over what she had written so far on her laptop. A Christmas story. Something about peace. Stay out of Bethlehem.

Advent Challenge: Is this Advent feeling less joyous than those of the past? Take a few minutes to reflect on your feelings. Now reflect on the coming of the Savior. Do your feelings shift from low to high when remembering the love of God whose son was born to save us? Can you now rejoice? 

Prayer: O come, Thou Wisdom from on high, and order all things, far and nigh; to us the path of knowledge show, and cause us in her ways to go. Rejoice, rejoice! Amen

Welcome to Stay Out of Bethlehem

 

Our story begins tomorrow!

Stay Out of Bethlehem

An Advent Calendar Story

Advent is a season of preparation, a season of hope, a season of rushing, a season of reflection, a season of caring, a season of giving, a season of joy, a season of sorrow. Each of us enters Advent as individuals. We arrive at the manger one at a time but leave together as people saved by the coming of the Savior in Bethlehem.

This Advent Calendar Story touches on many aspects of Advent. Each is framed by a Christmas Carol. Each contains a challenge and a prayer. 

Prepare yourself for the coming of Christ.

To find the lyrics or listen to the carol visit: hymnary.org or classicfm.com

Day	Carol	Tune or Composer	Lyrics
1	O Come, O Come, Emmanuel	Veni Emmanuel	Trans. Charles S. Cook
2	The Friendly Beasts	Orientis Partibus	Trans. Robert Davis
3	Away in a Manger	Kirkpatrick/Murray	Anonymous
4	Ding Dong Merrily on High	Branle de L’Officiel	George Ratcliffe Woodward
5	The First Noel	The First Nowell	Anonymous
6	Do You Hear What I Hear?	Gloria Shayne	Noel Regney
7	Love Came Down at Christmas	Garten	Christina Rossetti
8	Good Christian Friends, Rejoice!	In Dulce Jubilo	John Mason Neale
9	Carol of the Bells	Mykola Leontovych	Peter Wilhousky
10	Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow	Traditional	Traditional Spiritual
11	On Christmas Night All Christians Sing	Sussex Carol	Luke Wadding
12	It Came Upon a Midnight Clear	Traditional Carol (Willis)	Edmund H. Sears
13	Go, Tell It on the Mountain	Go Tell It	Adapted by John W. Work
14	Gentle Mary Laid Her Child	Tempus Adelt Floridum	Joseph Simpson Cook
15	The Coventry Carol	Coventry Carol	Robert Croo
16	As Joseph Was A-Walking	Gauntlett	Anonymous
17	Hark! The Herald Angels Sing	Mendelssohn	Charles Wesley
18	O Come, All Ye Faithful	Adeste Fideles	John Francis Wade
19	In The Bleak Midwinter	Cranham	Christina Rossetti
20	The Birthday of a King	Neidlinger	William Harold Neidlinger
21	Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne	Margaret	E.S. Elliot
22	O, Holy Night	Adolphe Adam	Placide Cappeau
23	There’s a Song in the Air	Karl P. Harrington	Josiah Holland
24	Oh, Little Town of Bethlehem	Lewis Redner	Phillip Brooks
25	Silent Night	Franz Gruber	Joseph Mohr

Standing Up

 

Standing Up

A heavily pregnant woman boarded a crowded bus. The seated passengers avoided eye contact. The woman grasped a handhold, but the bus didn’t move. The driver rose. “Here you are, lady,’ he said. ‘Have my seat. I won’t need it while you’re standing up.”

This story triggered a memory. A few years back, while visiting our daughter’s family in Finland, we took a three-hour ferry ride from Helsinki to Estonia to visit that country’s markets and historic sights. Hundreds of passengers travel back and forth daily. Tourists go for the sights, but some Finns take the trip for other reasons.

Many goods are cheaper in Estonia. Restauranteurs and bar owners travel back and forth to buy spirits in bulk. Many board the ferry with empty suitcases, wagons, carts, and pallets and return with them full on the late afternoon ferry. 

With stroller, backpacks, and umbrellas, we joined the hordes queuing for the ship. My daughter had booked a four-bunk cabin hoping our two grandsons would nap, but my husband and I, weary from traveling with (or without) small children, climbed into the top bunks and collapsed into dreamland. We woke up as the boat docked.

Slogging through the rain (it always rains when we sight-see), we visited the town market buying some woolen Estonian mittens and dragging the stroller up and down cobblestoned streets — mostly up. One street was so steep that we stopped halfway up to contemplate our foolishness in attempting it but, with one grandson sleeping sweetly in his stroller and the other scrambling ahead, we soldiered on. As we caught our breath at the top, we realized that we’d lost the baby’s hat. Our daughter retraced our steps as we waited with slumbering baby and dancing toddler. The hat retrieved, we headed for the ship.

Back at the dock, many tired travelers pulled pallets filled with cases of wine or beer. Three hours  later, we disembarked in Helsinki. Skipping the now very long elevator line, we lugged the stroller, toddlers, and backpacks down the steps and into the rain to wait for the tram. 

The first tram was packed with people, suitcases, wagons, and cases of spirits. We decided to wait for the next one, but the first tram didn’t move. We noticed a man standing on the sidewalk with an empty stroller waving to a woman holding a baby sardined on the tram. When the crowd realized their dilemma, a couple on the tram gathered their suitcases, carts and cases and stepped off. The father boarded and we all applauded. 

We got home wet and exhausted yet inspired by the driver who wouldn’t move his tram despite his exacting schedule and the heavy-laden passengers who got off so the father could get on. 

Standing still or standing up to do what is right is always the right thing to do. 

One-On_One

 

One-On-One

 

When the kids in my neighborhood were growing up, we shot a lot of hoops on driveway courts. My friend Barbara was a natural. Tall and talented, she reigned on the court. Often we’d play five against one — we five all failing to get past one Barbara. We’d stake out sections of the court while Barbara covered the whole court on her own. 

Gracious in victory (and she always won), Barbara spent many hours helping us hone our skills. Tirelessly, she worked one-on-one teaching each of us the skills needed to play well. I could have played in a million games and never gotten any better, but with Barbara’s tutoring, I learned how to set my feet, aim, and shoot at the target. Barbara cheered my small improvements and helped me make adjustments with focused suggestions and demonstrations. 

One of my greatest teaching challenges with primary students was teaching them to write informational reports. After some frustrating years trying to work with the whole class, I began to sit with small groups and work one-on-one with each student. Guiding and encouraging them individually made each a better writer.

One-on-one tutoring, in basketball or writing, is, as Ulrich Boser in his book Learn Better writes: “the most effective form of instruction ever known…. When people get one-on-one attention, they get a lot of feedback. It’s also easier to motivate students — tutors know what things someone finds meaningful… tutoring is tailored to a student’s level of knowledge. It’s highly focused.” Barbara helped me focus on my individual weaknesses. With my students, I knew who needed help with locating information and who needed help with forming sentences. 

To effectively develop skills, students must value the skill (making a basket or conveying information effectively), focus on particular skills (shooting stance or writing complete sentences), get and react to feedback (make or miss the basket, listen to the coach’s instructions, edit and revise), and practice in a structured way (take several shots from one position on the court or follow a report outline). 

Parents have an advantage when working with their own children. As controversial as homework is, its value often lies in the one-on-one time parents spend working with a child. Who knows a child better than a parent? Children whose parents encourage and guide them one-on-one learn more. Children focus on and improve skills when parents encourage and help them work through areas of need.  

A parent reading with a child on a lap shares more than letters and sounds. Cuddled in the warmth of an embrace, children learn to love both the experience of sharing books and the skills needed for reading them. 

Working one-on-one with Barbara, I became a better basketball player. Barbara became a great coach. Be a great coach for your children. One-on-one, help them hit the target of learning.

(For more information: Learn Better: Mastering the Skills for Success in Life, Business, and School, or, How to Become an Expert in Just About Anything by Ulrich Boser)