The Jesus Tree–Day Three
Today’s readings were about the Baptism of Jesus. It was interesting, because we actually read the accounts from Matthew 3:11-17, Mark 6-11, and Luke 3:21-22, and I always find it fascinating to compare what the Evangelists wrote that was the same, and what was different. It’s also interesting to see how some of the events [...]
February 24–St. Matthias, Apostle
From the Treasury of Daily Prayer: St. Matthias is one of the lesser-known apostles. According to the Early Church Fathers, Matthias was one of the seventy-two sent out by Jesus in Luke 10:1-20. After the ascension, Matthias was chosen by lot to fill the vacancy in the Twelve resulting from the death of Judas Iscariot [...]
Logically Defeated by a Four-Year-Old
This morning, Ladybug was looking at a picture in a book of an astronaut planting a flag on the moon. A little while later, she asked me, “Do astronauts live on a planet?” I figured that she was thinking that the moon was a planet, and because astronauts were pictured there, she assumed they also [...]
The Jesus Tree–Day Two
Today’s reading was about the boy Jesus in the temple, from Luke 2:41-52. The symbol is a saw, and I found myself wishing while doing the reading that in this instance, the company that produced this resource had included some additional information to go along with each reading, similar to what we had with the [...]
February 23–Polycarp of Smyrna, Pastor and Martyr
From the LCMS website: Born c. 69, Polycarp was a central figure in the early church. A disciple of the evangelist John, he linked the first generation of believers to later Christians. After serving for many years as bishop of Smyrna, Polycarp was arrested, tried, and executed for his faith on February 23, c. 156. [...]
The Jesus Tree–Day One
Today we began our Jesus Tree readings. We started at the beginning of Jesus’s life, with His presentation in the temple, and the encounters with Simeon and Anna, as recorded in Luke 2:22-38. The symbol for the tree is two turtledoves, which were the sacrifice offered by Mary and Joseph, in accordance with Jewish Law.
A New Lenten Activity
Every year as Lent approaches, I find myself wishing that there were more activities available to do with the children, similar to the things we do at Advent. Last year, I found one new resource–a book by Arnold Ytreeide that continues the story started in Jotham’s Journey, but this time, set around the events of [...]
Mammoths and Mastodons: Titans of the Ice Age
Today, we had the chance to go to one of the few museums in the St. Louis area that we’ve never visited–the Missouri History Museum. The reason for our trip? To see a special traveling exhibit, on loan from the Field Museum in Chicago–Mammoths and Mastodons: Titans of the Ice Age. For some inexplicable reason, [...]
Turkey Talk
This may become a regular feature…I have the most amusing conversations with my oldest son! (This is a cautionary tale that demonstrates that what you hear from your children may not actually be what they’re saying.) Tonight, he was talking to me as I was cleaning up after dinner. Out of nowhere, he said, “Mommy, [...]
February 18–Martin Luther, Doctor and Confessor
From the LCMS website: Martin Luther, born on November 10, 1483, in Eisleben, Germany, initially began studies leading toward a degree in law. However, after a close encounter with death, he switched to the study of theology, entered an Augustinian monastery, was ordained a priest in 1505, and received a doctorate in theology in 1512. [...]
