Quote for the day: Jacques Barzun echoes Charlotte Mason

"One of the virtues of learning anything is that it takes one out of oneself and into a subject--something independent existing out there, in the world of fact or ideas, or both. To pull the mind back into self-concern and self-excuse is not only a hindrance to learning, it is also a deprivation of the feeling of community with others." ~~ Jacques Barzun, Begin Here

Favourite posts of 2017, #12: Christmas countdown Week 12, The Waits

One week till Christmas! Scroll down for a treat at the end.

Last week's post ended the chapter (and the book, Parents and Children). This week we go back to the poem Charlotte Mason used to open the chapter. "Waits" in much earlier times were paid civic musicians. By the nineteenth century, they were roving amateur players and singers. In this case, Christmas carollers.

The Waits!

     Slowly they play, poor careful Souls,

     With wistful thoughts of Christmas cheer, 

     Unwitting how their music rolls

     Away the burden of the year.

     And with the charm, the homely rune,

     Our thoughts like childhood's thoughts are given,

     When all our pulses beat in tune

     With all the stars of heaven.'

          ––JOHN DAVIDSON.

In the Spirit of Charlotte Mason:

The Scottish poet John Davidson (1857-1909) has been called "the first of the Moderns," and is said to have influenced T.S. Eliot. Davidson was the author of an 1893 book called Fleet Street Eclogues, which owed inspiration to Spenser's Shepeardes Calendar. It is a series of poems that follows a group of big-city journalists throughout one year, as they get together to drink, tell stories, and complain about the world, beginning on New Year's Day and ending on Christmas Eve. 

The version of the poem printed above does not seem to exist outside of Charlotte Mason's writings. Davidson's Eclogues were written in play format, like this:

Basil 
Hush ! hark ! Without : the waits, the waits ! With brass, and strings, and mellow wood. 
 
Menzies
A simple tune can ope heaven's gates ! 

Sandy
Slowly they play, poor careful souls, 
With wistful thoughts of Christmas cheer, 
Unwitting how their music rolls 
Away the burden of the year.

Basil
And with the charm, the homely rune, 
Our thoughts like childhood's thoughts are given, 
When all our pulses beat in tune 
With all the stars of heaven.

But what about the thought itself? Why did Davidson's lines speak so clearly to Charlotte Mason?

As "Sandy" says, the waits are simple people who offer their gifts freely and without any agenda...like children. "Basil" agrees that the music, at least for awhile, seems to restore his connection with eternal things.

These "hard-bitten" journalists, viewing the world with cynicism but also longing for a simpler, more innocent and joyful world, mirror our own time very well. The poem also adds poignancy to Charlotte Mason's words at the beginning of the chapter.

"Children necessary to Christmas Joy––In these levelling days we like to think that everybody has quite equal opportunities in some direction; but Christmas joy, for example, is not for every one in like measure. It is not only that those who are in need, sorrow, or any other adversity do not sit down to the Christmas feast of joy and thanksgiving; for, indeed, a Benjamin's portion is often served to the sorrowful. But it takes the presence of children [or waits?]to help us to realise the idea of the Eternal Child. The Dayspring is with the children, and we think their thoughts and are glad in their joy; and every mother knows out of her own heart's fulness what the Birth at Bethlehem means."

Things to do this week:

This is our last visit to the wonderful 1977 world of Family Circle Christmas Helps. The cute pair of dolls on the cover reappear in this week's "Bountiful Brunch" photo, which features Broiled Breakfast Steaks, Marbled Waffles, and Continental Fruit Compote. And that's just breakfast; "Dinner that Dazzles" takes up the next three pages.

Maybe that's what Peg Bracken meant by "full-color double-page spreads picturing what to serve on those little evenings [or Christmas mornings?] when you want to take it easy. You're flabbergasted. You wouldn't cook that much food for a combination Thanksgiving and Irish wake." (The I Hate to Cook Book, 1960)

But celebrations are important, aren't they? Certain cooking aromas in the house make things seem right and untroubled, and bring back memories of our yesteryears. Holiday food and good company can lift the spirits of even the cheeriness-ambivalent.

"One mile north of the Mitford monument, Old Man Mueller sat at his breakfast table in the unpainted house surrounded by a cornfield, and, with his dentures soaking in a jar by the bed, devoured a large portion of the cake Esther and Gene Bolick had brought him last night on Christmas Eve. He didn't have any idea why they would bring him a cake every Christmas...All he knew is, if one year they forgot and didn't show up, he'd set and bawl like a baby." [He also gave a piece to his dog.] ~~ Jan Karon, Shepherds Abiding

So to wind up this series, I have found a dessert recipe that seems the perfect way to share the season...and it's much easier than Esther's cake. You can see the whole thing at Sizzling Eats: 20 Minute Snowflake Cream Puffs. Go have a look, I'll wait.

You cut large snowflake shapes from prepared puff-pastry sheets; bake them; cut them in half horizontally; then fill with your choice of something nice, and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

This seems to be the holiday dessert with infinite possibilities, depending on your dietary needs and budget. You can make or buy gluten-free puff pastry, if that's what you need; commercial brands of puff pastry are often vegan-friendly. (Where we live, Tenderflake pre-rolled pastry now uses "simpler ingredients.") You can use whipped cream or a substitute topping; or go for some kind of mousse, lemon filling, even a scoop of frozen dessert. The sheets of pastry come pre-rolled, so kids or other helpers could cut out snowflake shapes, and also fill the baked shells. If you don't have a snowflake cutter, you could try a star, or a plain circle (or use a cardboard template for a shape you like). 

I'm also thinking that you could add a drizzle of raspberry sauce, or chocolate sauce, and some fresh berries, fancy citrus peels, or whatever you like on top.

That is what we'll be having here on Christmas Day! I'm very grateful to Sizzling Eats for posting the recipe.

And we wish you a joyous holiday season, with all the gladness and joy of the Birth at Bethlehem.

Favourite posts of 2017, #11: Christmas Countdown Week 4, Something for Everyone

First posted October 23, 2017

9 weeks until Christmas...

"The Christ-child lay on Mary's heart,
His hair was like a fire.
(O weary, weary is the world,
> But here the world's desire.)"
~~ G.K.Chesterton

Here is this week's passage from Parents and Children:

"Humility Unconscious of Self.––Humility does not think much or little of itself; it does not think of itself at all. It is a negative rather than a positive quality, being an absence of self-consciousness rather than the presence of any distinctive virtue. The person who is unaware of himself is capable of all lowly service, of all suffering for others, of bright cheerfulness under all the small crosses and worries of everyday life. This is the quality that makes heroes, and this is the quality that makes saints. We are able to pray, but we are hardly able to worship or to praise, to say, 'My soul doth magnify the Lord' so long as in the innermost chamber of our hearts we are self-occupied.

"The Christian Religion Objective––The Christian religion is, in its very nature, objective. It offers for our worship, reverence, service, adoration and delight, a Divine Person, the Desire of the world. Simplicity, happiness and expansion come from the outpouring of a human heart upon that which is altogether worthy. But we mistake our own needs, are occupied with our own falls and our own repentances, our manifold states of consciousness. Our religion is subjective first, and after that, so far as we are able, objective. The order should rather be objective first and after that, so far as we have any time or care to think about ourselves, subjective."

In the spirit of Charlotte Mason:

In the children's book Understood Betsy, Betsy trudges home to the farm on a late winter day, having failed a test at school. She plans to tell every gory detail to Cousin Ann, who is busy making maple syrup, because that is what she would have been expected to do in her "old life" with Aunt Frances. Cousin Ann asks her bluntly, "Do you really want to tell me all this?" Betsy says, "Um, no." Cousin Ann says, "Fine. Here's some syrup, go make some snow candy." (I'm paraphrasing, but you get the point.)

This passage moves into the idea that even being overly focused on our own sinfulness, weakness, mistakes, things we have done and things we have left undone can, in a certain sense, become tiresome, a sort of pious navel-gazing. When soul-searching becomes soul-scraping to the point that we cannot accept God's assurance of His love and forgiveness, we may no longer call it humility.

In the same way that parents are directed to provide a healthy table but to discourage children from over-noticing what they are eating ("I like, I don't like..."), they are to train children in good habits, teach them that they have a Saviour, that they certainly do sin and need to repent, but not allow too much focus on the endless stream of mistakes, too much attention-seeking for either good or bad behaviour. Would we as parents enjoy having a child who came to us constantly, needing to tell and re-tell about the failure or the quarrel or the cheating, even after the situation had been resolved? Do we chatter about ourselves (good things and bad) too much, to the Lord, to each other, or as self-talk? Do we have too many self-help books cluttering our shelves?

The goal expressed in this passage is for us to focus fully on "the beauty of the Divine Person, the Desire of mankind."

Things to do this week

Frontier Gingerbread

In the 1977 Family Circle Christmas Helps magazine that inspired this countdown, the projects suggested for "nine weeks till Christmas" include baking gingerbread, making appliqued toaster and can-opener covers (I think I'll pass), covering wooden boxes with fabric (I like those), and making sets of needlepoint coasters. Here's a page from PlanetJune (a crochet designer's blog) with photos of some crocheted but non-Christmassy coasters and other things that may inspire you. [I also mentioned the annual Handmade Holidays roundups on Sew Mama Sew, but they did not run those this year.]

If you're not a crafter, you could decide to buy handmade gifts through a fair-trade shop like Ten Thousand Villages. Or from a craft sale or a church bazaar.

If you're more into recycling, you could buy second-life crafted items from a thrift store.

And if you're a minimalist and/or live in a tiny house, maybe you will be happier just looking at photos of other people's stuff, and thinking, "So glad that's not me."

Here is the 1970's-vibe recipe for "Frontier Gingerbread" that was included in the magazine. If you prefer, you could replace the egg, or you could even try leaving it out...our usual gingerbread recipe does not have an egg in it, and it works fine.

Frontier Gingerbread

makes one large oval or one 9x9x2 inch cake

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. dry mustard

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 cup vegetable shortening, melted

1 cup light molasses

1 egg

1 cup hot water

Stir flour, baking powder, and salt together with a wire whip in bowl. Blend the other dry ingredients into melted shortening in a large bowl. Beat in molasses and egg with wire whip. Add flour mixture alternately with hot water. Beat mixture until smooth.

Pour into a well-greased and lightly floured 10-inch oval au gratin pan or a 9x9x2 inch baking pan.

Bake in a moderate oven (350 degrees) 45 minutes; or until top springs back when pressed with fingertip. Cool in pan on wire rack to cool completely. Serve with whipped cream or fruit sauce, if you wish.

Christmas Countdown with Charlotte Mason, Week 12 of 12

One week till Christmas! Scroll down for a treat at the end.

Last week's post ended the chapter (and the book, Parents and Children). This week we go back to the poem Charlotte Mason used to open the chapter. "Waits" in much earlier times were paid civic musicians. By the nineteenth century, they were roving amateur players and singers. In this case, Christmas carollers.

The Waits!

     Slowly they play, poor careful Souls,

     With wistful thoughts of Christmas cheer, 

     Unwitting how their music rolls

     Away the burden of the year.

     And with the charm, the homely rune,

     Our thoughts like childhood's thoughts are given,

     When all our pulses beat in tune

     With all the stars of heaven.'

          ––JOHN DAVIDSON.

In the Spirit of Charlotte Mason:

The Scottish poet John Davidson (1857-1909) has been called "the first of the Moderns," and is said to have influenced T.S. Eliot. Davidson was the author of an 1893 book called Fleet Street Eclogues, which owed inspiration to Spenser's Shepeardes Calendar. It is a series of poems that follows a group of big-city journalists throughout one year, as they get together to drink, tell stories, and complain about the world, beginning on New Year's Day and ending on Christmas Eve. 

The version of the poem printed above does not seem to exist outside of Charlotte Mason's writings. Davidson's Eclogues were written in play format, like this:

Basil 
Hush ! hark ! Without : the waits, the waits ! With brass, and strings, and mellow wood. 
 
Menzies
A simple tune can ope heaven's gates ! 

Sandy
Slowly they play, poor careful souls, 
With wistful thoughts of Christmas cheer,
Unwitting how their music rolls
Away the burden of the year.

Basil
And with the charm, the homely rune,
Our thoughts like childhood's thoughts are given,
When all our pulses beat in tune
With all the stars of heaven.

But what about the thought itself? Why did Davidson's lines speak so clearly to Charlotte Mason?

As "Sandy" says, the waits are simple people who offer their gifts freely and without any agenda...like children. "Basil" agrees that the music, at least for awhile, seems to restore his connection with eternal things.

These "hard-bitten" journalists, viewing the world with cynicism but also longing for a simpler, more innocent and joyful world, mirror our own time very well. The poem also adds poignancy to Charlotte Mason's words at the beginning of the chapter.

"Children necessary to Christmas Joy––In these levelling days we like to think that everybody has quite equal opportunities in some direction; but Christmas joy, for example, is not for every one in like measure. It is not only that those who are in need, sorrow, or any other adversity do not sit down to the Christmas feast of joy and thanksgiving; for, indeed, a Benjamin's portion is often served to the sorrowful. But it takes the presence of children [or waits?] to help us to realise the idea of the Eternal Child. The Dayspring is with the children, and we think their thoughts and are glad in their joy; and every mother knows out of her own heart's fulness what the Birth at Bethlehem means."

Things to do this week:

This is our last visit to the wonderful 1977 world of Family Circle Christmas Helps. The cute pair of dolls on the cover reappear in this week's "Bountiful Brunch" photo, which features Broiled Breakfast Steaks, Marbled Waffles, and Continental Fruit Compote. And that's just breakfast; "Dinner that Dazzles" takes up the next three pages.

Maybe that's what Peg Bracken meant by "full-color double-page spreads picturing what to serve on those little evenings [or Christmas mornings?] when you want to take it easy. You're flabbergasted. You wouldn't cook that much food for a combination Thanksgiving and Irish wake." (The I Hate to Cook Book, 1960)

But celebrations are important, aren't they? Certain cooking aromas in the house make things seem right and untroubled, and bring back memories of our yesteryears. Holiday food and good company can lift the spirits of even the cheeriness-ambivalent.

"One mile north of the Mitford monument, Old Man Mueller sat at his breakfast table in the unpainted house surrounded by a cornfield, and, with his dentures soaking in a jar by the bed, devoured a large portion of the cake Esther and Gene Bolick had brought him last night on Christmas Eve. He didn't have any idea why they would bring him a cake every Christmas...All he knew is, if one year they forgot and didn't show up, he'd set and bawl like a baby." [He also gave a piece to his dog.] ~~ Jan Karon, Shepherds Abiding

So to wind up this series, I have found a dessert recipe that seems the perfect way to share the season...and it's much easier than Esther's cake. You can see the whole thing at Sizzling Eats: 20 Minute Snowflake Cream Puffs. Go have a look, I'll wait.

You cut large snowflake shapes from prepared puff-pastry sheets; bake them; cut them in half horizontally; then fill with your choice of something nice, and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

This seems to be the holiday dessert with infinite possibilities, depending on your dietary needs and budget. You can make or buy gluten-free puff pastry, if that's what you need; commercial brands of puff pastry are often vegan-friendly. (Where we live, Tenderflake pre-rolled pastry now uses "simpler ingredients.") You can use whipped cream or a substitute topping; or go for some kind of mousse, lemon filling, even a scoop of frozen dessert. The sheets of pastry come pre-rolled, so kids or other helpers could cut out snowflake shapes, and also fill the baked shells. If you don't have a snowflake cutter, you could try a star, or a plain circle (or use a cardboard template for a shape you like). 

I'm also thinking that you could add a drizzle of raspberry sauce, or chocolate sauce, and some fresh berries, fancy citrus peels, or whatever you like on top.

That is what we'll be having here on Christmas Day! I'm very grateful to Sizzling Eats for posting the recipe.

And we wish you a joyous holiday season, with all the gladness and joy of the Birth at Bethlehem.

Christmas Countdown with Charlotte Mason, Week 11 of 12

Two weeks till Christmas!

Here is this week's passage from Charlotte Mason's book Parents and Children:

"...As a child becomes self-regardful in any function of his being, he loses the grace of humility. This is the broad principle; the practical application will need constant watchfulness and constant efforts, especially in holiday seasons, to keep friends and visitors from showing their love for the children in any way that shall tend to develop self-consciousness.

"Humility the Highest Counsel of Perfection––This, of humility, is not only a counsel of perfection, but is, perhaps, the highest counsel of perfection and when we put it to parents, we offer it to those for whom no endeavour is too difficult, no aim too lofty; to those who are doing the most to advance the Kingdom of Christ."

In the spirit of Charlotte Mason:

"A soul without a center has difficulty making a decision." ~~ John Ortberg, Soul Keeping

"The simple, rectified Will, what our Lord calls 'the single eye,' would appear to be the one thing needful for straight living and serviceableness." ~~ Charlotte Mason, Ourselves

How much would you pay for the perfect gift for someone special?

How far would you drive? How long and cold a line would you wait in? What else would you give up to pay for someone's dearest wish?

Here's the bad news: the best gift parents can give children demands all we have to give, and costs all we have. It asks more commitment and courage than nailing a Cabbage Patch Kid in 1983.

Here's the good news: the price is counted in love. And shipping is free.

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends... (ESV)

Things to do this week:

Two weeks before Christmas, the 1977 magazine made a last-minute stab at decorations and gifts, before turning things over to food (that's for the last week). But seriously, why? If one found oneself sewing a baseball-glove pajama bag trimmed with baby rickrack this close to Christmas, or building a nativity-scene stable out of pretzel sticks with Snowy White Ornamental Frosting, it would be a clear sign that one had fallen over the edge of sanity. At least the brightly-coloured figures in the nativity-scene photo were Mexican handicrafts and not part of the pretzel deal; I was afraid they would also turn out to be something edible.

Simplicity blogger Courtney Carver recommends making choices by asking if an action or an object creates love. In Jan Karon's Mitford books, Father Tim often begins his daily activities by repeating the prayer "Make me a blessing to someone today." Charlotte Mason warns that we must guard against becoming "self-regardful." (Self-consciousness implies tripping over your own feet, so I think self-regard is a more useful phrase here.) In each case, our focus turns away from ourselves. We worry less about the externals, and what people think of us (so we do become, literally, less self-conscious).

And in that case, if we find ourselves even considering making a pretzel stable two weeks before Christmas, we need to ask why it matters. Do we have a surplus of pretzel sticks and desperately need a stable? Is this going to be a wonderful way to spend an afternoon with a young child who actually would enjoy sticking pretzels together? Will this set a precedent so that we will never be able to get through another Christmas without making a pretzel stable? Would we be better off spending that time outdoors together and just snacking on the pretzels? If the idea of building a stable (or something) carries the right spark, but the pretzels and frosting are too much (especially if someone thinks of adding candy or sprinkles to the stable; Jesus a.k.a Hansel and Gretel?): then maybe something created from natural materials would work better.

Does an activity create love? Is it a blessing to someone? Is it egoistic, or altruistic?

See, now we're cooking.

Christmas Countdown with Charlotte Mason, Week 10 of 12: Streams in the Desert

Three weeks till Christmas!

Here is this week's passage from Charlotte Mason's book Parents and Children:

"So, too, of that other fountain, of  justice, with which every child is born. There, again, the stream may flow forth in either, but not in both, of the channels, the egoistic or the altruistic. The child's demand for justice may be all for himself, or, from the very first, the rights of others may be kept before his eyes.  

"'It's not Fair!'––He may be taught to occupy himself with his own rights and other people's duties, and, if he is, his state of mind is easily discernible by the catchwords often on his lips, 'It's a shame!' 'It's not fair!' or he may, on the other hand, be so filled with the notion of his own duties and other people's rights, that the claims of self slip quietly into the background. This kind cometh forth only by prayer, but it is well to clear our thoughts and know definitely what we desire for our children, because only so can we work intelligently towards the fulfillment of our desire. It is sad to pray, and frustrate the answer by our own action; but this is, alas, too possible."

In the spirit of Charlotte Mason: 

"My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. " ~~C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Charlotte Mason concludes this section with a strong warning, particularly about training children in their rights and duties, but applicable to other areas of teaching (academic and beyond), and also to our own inner struggles. It is this: don't say you want something, even claim that you are praying for something, but then sabotage the work of the Holy Spirit..."by what we have done, and what we have left undone."

Now, we are not building robots, or training dogs. Children are individual persons, and are not to be brainwashed, coerced, or tricked into particular behaviours. But we may not just wring our hands (even prayerfully) if there is action that needs to be taken, or enabling that needs to stop.

Don't work against the grain of the brain. Don't pray for heaĺth but continue in poor lifestyle habits. Don't pray for money but waste what you have. And don't say you want children to be loving, or fair, or honest, or diligent, or generous, and then not offer, first, early training in these things as habits; and then guidance in furnishing the conscience, and equipping the Will to choose what is right.

And does this relate to Christmas, or Advent?

"Lest we should think this a hardship, this kind of good begins on a level far above the creatures, for God Himself, as Son, from all eternity renders back to God as Father by filial obedience the being which the Father by paternal love eternally generates in the Son."~~ C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain

God's holiness and justice, plus his outpouring of grace and mercy, is fulfilled in the Incarnation.

Things to do this week:

In the 1977 world of Family Circle Christmas Helps, "Three Weeks Till Christmas" didn't expect that you'd have the whole gift thing, um, wrapped up. This week gets only one double spread of photos, but they range from a "quick-to-sew door pull" and an ice-skate punch-needle stocking, to a star made from toilet paper tubes and a candle ring of pinecones and nuts. Actually the candle ring is the nicest thing on the page, and it inspired this:

Don't give me too much "Christmas Helps" credit for that one: the ring of fruit was a gift several years ago, and I just added the glass hurricane jar and put it on the tray I found at the thrift store. We use what we have.

One thing that the magazine seems to time right, though, is the suggestion that you round up and decorate any baking containers or gift boxes that may be needed in the coming weeks. It's also handy to have semi-disposable containers if you are going to potlucks and worry about leaving a favourite food carrier behind or having someone else accidentally pick it up. (Ask me how I know.)

Coffee cans used to be common recycled packaging (and even baking tins); but what we often have more of here are plastic tubs from salad greens and baked goods. But if you're a less-plastic shopper in the first place, you might prefer canning jars.

And here's something to put in the containers. The recipe was originally published in Vegetarian Times.

Christmas Countdown with Charlotte Mason, Week 9 of 12: Love is a light that rises in the darkness

4 weeks till Christmas!

Here is this week's passage from Charlotte Mason's book Parents and Children. It's one very packed paragraph, which I've broken up for readability.

"The Altruistic or Egoistic Direction––This [previously discussed idea], of the sensations, is only one example of the altruistic [concerned for the welfare of others] or egoistic direction which the various operations of a child's complex nature may receive. 

His affections, again, are capable of receiving a subjective [self-focused] or objective [other-focused] direction, according to the suggestions which reach him from without.

Every child comes into the world richly endowed with a well of love, a fountain of justice [justice will be discussed next]; but whether the stream of love shall flow to the right or the left, whether it shall be egoistic or altruistic, depends on the child's earliest training. 

A child who is taught from the first the delights of giving and sharing, of loving and bearing, will always spend himself freely on others, will love and serve, seeking for nothing again; 

but the child who recognises that he is the object of constant attention, consideration, love and service, becomes self-regardful, self-seeking, selfish, almost without his fault, 

so strongly is he influenced by the direction his thoughts receive from those about him." 

In the spirit of Charlotte Mason:

Miss Mason's passage can be used, of course, as advice on the training of children.

"When Mary Lennox was sent to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her uncle everybody said she was the most disagreeable-looking child ever seen. It was true, too...She never remembered seeing familiarly anything but the dark faces of her Ayah and the other native servants, and as they always obeyed her and gave her her own way in everything, because the Mem Sahib would be angry if she was disturbed by her crying, by the time she was six years old she was as tyrannical and selfish a little pig as ever lived." ~~ Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

But remember that she began the chapter as a lesson also to the hearts of adults. We take inspiration from the lives and words of others, real and fictional. Yesterday our pastor preached on Paul's letter to the Philippians:

"2:25 Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labour, and fellowsoldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants...

"2:28 I sent him therefore the more carefully, that, when ye see him again, ye may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful." (KJV)

How beautiful to be called someone's "companion in labour" and "fellowsoldier!" When we turn love outward, we also share in others' joy. How fortunate children are who grow up knowing not only that they're loved, but that they can love. But like Mary Lennox, starting badly does not mean we are doomed to practice tyranny and selfishness for the rest of our lives. Growth can come a little at a time.

"...if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday." (Isaiah 58:10, ESV)

Things to do this week:

Even if you prefer a slow start to Christmas planning, it seems legitimate now to go buy candy canes, pull out the old CDs, or do whatever you do at the beginning of December. Church concerts are happening; a couple of cards show up in the mail; Advent devotionals and Jesse Trees begin.

In the 1977 world of Family Circle Christmas Helps, "4 Weeks Till Christmas" was a week to be painting cookie jars, screen-printing cushions, turning Styrofoam cones into the Three Kings, and baking salt dough into "whimsical angels." Obviously the problem of trying to keep up with Pinteresty over-expectations is not a new one.

Here are a few less complicated ideas. Make a pot of potato or split pea or vegetable soup (a stone is optional), and invite someone to share it with you. Make holiday origami or cards from upcycled paper; or buy some beautiful new paper or cardstock, and use it with imagination and love. Drink some tea that smells interesting and seasonal. Work on a holiday letter, if that's your thing. Spend time with someone who's not having such a good time. Contribute in whatever way makes sense to a homeless shelter, sock or coat drive, or other project that keeps people warm and fed.

Christmas Countdown with Charlotte Mason, Week 8 of 12: Every lesson goes somewhere

5 weeks till Christmas!

Here is this week's passage from Charlotte Mason's book Parents and Children.

"The Self-regarding Child no longer Humble––But these are the least of the reasons why a child should be trained to put up with little discomforts and take no notice. The child who has been allowed to become self-regardful in the matter of sensations, as of appetites, has lost his child's estate, he is no longer humble; he is in the condition of thinking about himself; instead of that infinitely blessed condition of not being aware of himself at all...though a child may cry with sudden distress, he does not really think about his aches and pains unless his thoughts be turned to his ailments by those about him.  

"No Spartan Regimen––I am not advising any Spartan regimen. It is not permitted to us to inflict hardness in order that the children may learn to endure. Our care is simply to direct their consciousness from their own sensations...At the same time, though the child himself be taught to disregard them, his sensations should be carefully watched by his elders, for they must consider and act upon the danger signals which the child himself must be taught to disregard. But it is usually possible to attend to a child's sensations without letting him know they have been observed."

In the spirit of Charlotte Mason:

This is the last bit in the chapter about protecting children's natural disinclination to self-obsession, and reflecting on what adults can learn from being around them. We are assured here that what may sound harsh (don't be too quick to fuss over every bump) is actually a reminder that parents need to keep their eyes open for their children's needs, without noticeably interfering. In one sense it requires an impossible amount of wisdom and discernment; but it can also be a simple outgrowth of our own will to live without self-obsession and self-importance. It is a form of "masterly inactivity," that also teaches children to quietly, respectfully, and non-intrusively care in the same way for the needs of others. 

And why? Why are we doing this? And what does it have to do with the themes of Advent?

Consider this passage posted by Danny Breed at the Circe blog:

"As we sat around a table during staff training, listening to a talk, three of my teachers and I heard a familiar refrain that begged to be pondered: 'The glory of God must be the aim in our teaching...'

"We began talking about the purpose and end of a lesson. Every lesson is going to go somewhere and it is going to make much of something, if there is any weight and wonder to it. To glorify God is to make much of God and to glorify anything else is to make much of that something else. When Moses asked to see God’s glory, God showed Moses Himself by walking in front of him. Thus glory and glorifying is tied to some aspect of showing off how great God is."

Danny Breed may have been talking about school lessons, but...quietly, respectfully, non-obtrusively...our everyday lives are also lessons. What's it about, that idea of being able to get over a small hurt quickly?--not just learning courage and taking steps toward maturity, but being able to take our eyes off ourselves altogether and glorify God. The point of not complaining?--to allow us to see God's glory, and how can we do that if we're focused on our own circumstances?. "Every lesson is going to go somewhere, and it is going to make much of something." That something, in Charlotte Mason's words, is meant to be something, or Someone, outside of ourselves. It is not just how we live, but why we live.

"Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning;
Jesus, to Thee be all glory given..."

This will be hanging on our apartment door soon

Things to Do This Week:

My fourth-grade Christmas play was Judith Martin's "The Runaway Presents." (I got to wear a large, very uncomfortable cardboard box.) The main character, Mrs. Hurry-up, sings this song: "Wrap and tie, wrap and tie, I should have started in July." December 25th will come before we know it and be gone again, even if the presents run away on us. 

So what's to do this week without rushing things too much? And how do our preparations glorify God?

If we cook or bake for a celebration (like Thanksgiving), maybe the glorifying is not in the sugar or the flour or the cranberries, but in the gift of those who work together to prepare it, and those will share it together. Even those who clean up afterwards.

The glorifying in a decoration, or in playing uplifting music, might be in a prayer that those who see it or hear it will sense our joy.

"Mamy, who lived in a small house next to Lord's Chapel, couldn't imagine why people would want to go to church in the middle of the night. She did confess however, that as she became increasingly wakeful in her old age, the midnight service was something to look forward to, as, however faint it might be, she could hear the singing." ~~ Jan Karon, Shepherds Abiding

On the quiet side, how about staying warm with a good book (again)? Brenda at Coffee, Tea, Books, and Me just posted a lovely holiday reading list for grownups which includes Shepherds Abiding. Consider also Father Tim's vacation reading list from To Be Where You Are: "Travels with Charley, The Book of Common Prayer...The Oxford Book of English Verse, Allen and Greenough's New Latin Grammar, several novels by dead authors, plenty of Billy Collins, Mary Oliver, and Wendell Berry...and a volume of Wordsworth for old times' sake." To which I might add, To Be Where You Are.

Fresh from the thrift store

Finally, here's some online inspiration: The Prudent Homemaker shares Ten Ways to Add Joy to Your Life When You Don't Have a Penny to Spare.

Christmas Countdown with Charlotte Mason, Week 7 of 12: Joy to the earth

6 weeks till Christmas!

Here is this week's passage from Charlotte Mason's book Parents and Children:

"Fortitude  Now fortitude has its higher and its lower offices. It concerns itself with things of the mind and with things of the body, and, perhaps, it is safe to argue that fortitude on the higher plane is only possible when it has become the habit of the nature on the lower...Health and happiness depend largely upon the disregard of sensations, and the child who is encouraged to say, 'I am so cold,' 'I am so tired,' 'My vest pricks me,' and so on, is likely to develop into the hysterical girl or the hypochondriac man; for it is an immutable law, that, as with our appetites, so with our sensations, in proportion as we attend to them will they dominate us until a single sensation of slight pain or discomfort may occupy our whole field of vision, making us unaware that there is any joy in living, any beauty in the earth." 

In the spirit of Charlotte Mason

Oh, so that's it!

This lengthy and unfashionable discussion about not letting children fuss over scratchy underwear, scraped knees, or food preferences (shouldn't they express their needs?), is suddenly climaxed by a bigger-picture idea: beauty and joy. (Remember the title of this chapter? Christmas Joy?)

"Well," said Frances, "things are not very good around here anymore. No clothes to wear. No raisins for the oatmeal. I think maybe I'll run away." ~~ A Baby Sister for Frances, by Russell Hoban

What do we see when we look out of our adult eyeballs, listen with our own ears? What is the view like? If it is too tedious or disgusting to encourage joy, do we have some stored-up inner landscapes that might suffice instead? (Thinking of green pastures and still waters is a proven three-thousand-year-old source of comfort.) Memorized words of beauty? Bits of music?

Referring back to an earlier passage, are we living objectively? Growing the Fruits of the Spirit? Choosing the Way of the Will? Or is it all "raisins for the oatmeal?" Feeling like we have a right to be grouchy?

Are we also able to be generous when others show their subjective shortcomings? (At the end of the book, the mother of Frances the Badger assures her that there will always be chocolate cake at their house.)

Things to Do This Week

Where we live, most stores are now filling up with Christmas goods. We don't have U.S. Thanksgiving to mark a "start to the holidays," but the accompanying Black Friday sales have become a Thing. Newspapers are starting to run articles on subjects like the tediousness of overplayed holiday music in stores. Beauty and joy don't seem easy to find in all that.

What did the 1977 Christmas Helps suggest at "6 Weeks Till Christmas?" Some unnervingly ugly circus-themed dolls. A few other crafts that might have been thought cute in 1977, but now just look tacky, like satin balls decorated with Phun Phelt.

I keep looking, and almost hidden by a potpourri doll and glue-dot place cards, there's something multipurpose and beautiful: "Candy Cones." You've seen these in old-fashioned Christmas or party books: cardboard circles glued or stapled into cone shapes, covered in pretty paper, trimmed up to one's personal taste, and hung with ribbon. Here's a brown-paper version. (I found that through a recently-posted ornament roundup on Prudent Penny Pincher. There are some great ideas in that article!)

Here's the beauty and joy part (besides the avoidance of Phun Phelt): you can make these any size and with anything you have, decorate them to any taste, and fill them with anything from candy, to greenery, to quotes and Scripture, or all three. Children can make them as easily as adults. They can be meeting take-homes, table favours, or a cheer-up gift. Little hanging cones can be tree ornaments, and larger ones can be hung on doorknobs or hooks.

If you celebrate Thanksgiving this month, consider decorating some as "thankfulness cornucopias."

Joy to the Earth!

Linked with Mason for Me at BRC Banter:

Christmas Countdown, Week 6 of 12: The best gifts

7 weeks until Christmas...

Here is this week's passage from Parents and Children, by Charlotte Mason:

"It is curious to observe how every function of our most complex nature may have its subjective or its objective development. The child may eat and drink and rest with most absolute disregard of what he is about, his parents taking care that these things are happily arranged for him, but taking equal care that his attention shall not be turned to the pleasures of appetite. But this is a point that we hardly need to dwell upon, as thoughtful parents are agreed that children's meals should be so regularly pleasant and various that the child naturally eats with satisfaction and thinks little or nothing of what he is eating; that is, parents are careful that, in the matter of food, children shall not be self-regardful.

"Perhaps parents are less fully awake to the importance of regulating a child's sensations. We still kiss the place to make it well, make an obvious fuss if a string is uncomfortable or a crumpled rose-leaf is irritating the child's tender skin. We have forgotten the seven Christian virtues and the seven deadly sins of earlier ages, and do not much consider in the bringing up of our children whether the grace of fortitude is developing under our training."

In the spirit of Charlotte Mason:

Those of us over a certain age often lament the disappearance of Dandelion Wine childhoods: much unsupervised play outdoors, mostly fun but occasionally punctuated by bee stings, rusty nails, and falls from swings or bikes. Some of us grew up in rough conditions; others were brought up surrounded by hand-wipes and told (by the Aunt Franceses in our lives) that every little pain should be attended to. How are we to find a middle way between raising children in Spartan toughness (what some would call abuse), and as fearful hothouse flowers (what some would call abuse)?

We want to give so much to our children. The problem is that we often want to give them the wrong things, the things that aren't good for them in the long run. The irony is that there are so many gifts we can give them freely, gifts that are good for a lifetime: initiative, curiosity, endurance, compassion. The ability to reason and choose, to will and act.

And for ourselves? The grace of fortitude is also a gift. It reminds us that we can and must carry on, even if that includes a climb up Mount Doom. Somebody or something needs us, calls us to come; maybe to do a little job, maybe a big one; maybe to be a little hero, maybe to be a big one.

Things to do this week:

Read a book that reminds you of the grace of fortitude and the gift of not taking oneself too seriously. If you can't think of one, Jayber Crow might be a good choice. Gilead is another possibility. (Your ideas?)

Fewer people send actual Christmas cards these days, especially through the mail. But cards, notes, and little gifts can be sent any time of year. I have one friend who made a practice of sending random acts of chocolate.  Some people prefer phone calls, or in-person visits.

If you like to make cards, now is a good time to start, or at least round up supplies.

It's also the right time to do a little stealth shopping for things that sell out long before Christmas. The local store might have a limited supply of Stash White Christmas Tea, and that would be sad to miss. (I had no idea when I wrote this that Stash was discontinuing this tea, or at least offering it only in loose form. A tradition disappears?)

(But not the end of the world, right? Fortitude.)

Quote for the day: A word to the wise

"We are  in such haste to be instructed by facts or titillated by theories, that we have no leisure to linger over the mere putting of a thought. But this is our error, for words are mighty both to delight and to inspire." ~~ Charlotte Mason, Parents and Children

Christmas Countdown with Charlotte Mason, Week 5 of 12: Heroes of Faith

8 weeks until Christmas...

Here is this week's passage from Charlotte Mason, Parents and Children, Chapter 26: The Eternal Child

"Children are Objective in Tendency––Now, the tendency of children is to be altogether objective, not at all subjective, and perhaps that is why they are said to be first in the kingdom of heaven. This philosophic distinction is not one which we can put aside as having no bearing on everyday life. It strikes the keynote for the training of children. In proportion as our training tends to develop the subjective principle, it tends to place our children on a lower level of purpose, character, and usefulness throughout their lives; while so far as we develop the objective principle, with which the children are born, we make them capable of love, service, heroism, worship."

In the spirit of Charlotte Mason:

Love, service, heroism, worship: these are the things that education should equip us to be and do. Love must have an object. Heroism includes fighting to save and protect others, with little thought for ourselves. Serving and worship also need someone or something outside ourselves.Were you educated with a view to "developing the objective principle?"

If not, Charlotte Mason suggests finding some little children to hang around with, and taking notes from them. (Something that Jesus also recommended.) 

Things to do this week:

If you don't have children close at hand, maybe this is a week to explore family memories and photographs. Or re-read stored-away books that brought you or your children wonder. (Some of my friends recommend The Christmas Mystery, by Jostein Gaarder.)

What's the big holiday this week that has nothing to do with pumpkins? All Saints' Day, November 1st. When our children were younger, that was the night for good clothes, the lace tablecloth, and an invisible "guest" chosen from Christian history. Such events don't need to be for children only; we continue to remember and honour those who loved, served, worshipped, and acted as heroes of faith.

Do you wear aprons? I hardly ever do at home (what do I do that's so messy?), but they are useful for helping out in the kitchen at church or somewhere, and they're also a good symbol of service. (Or you might just think they look cute.) A few years ago, I helped review a downloadable apron pattern, and while it wasn't hard to make, I was a bit shocked at the amount of new fabric it took. Fortunately there are ways around that, and this video on My Green Closet (starting at the 2:30 mark) shows how to upcycle an existing dress into a useful apron. Or you can use skirts, men's shirts, or old jeans. Tip Junkie has more apron ideas.

I don't know why, but the beginning of November always feels a bit Return-to-Narnian around here. I'm thinking of apples, sausages, and cold forest mornings. There's always the off-chance of a bit of snow, or even a lot of snow by the end of the month. Time to get hats and gloves ready for cold weather.

Christmas Countdown with Charlotte Mason, Week 4 of 12: Something for everyone

9 weeks until Christmas...

"The Christ-child lay on Mary's heart,

His hair was like a fire.

(O weary, weary is the world,

But here the world's desire.)"

~~ G.K.Chesterton

Here is this week's passage from Parents and Children:

"Humility Unconscious of Self.––Humility does not think much or little of itself; it does not think of itself at all. It is a negative rather than a positive quality, being an absence of self-consciousness rather than the presence of any distinctive virtue. The person who is unaware of himself is capable of all lowly service, of all suffering for others, of bright cheerfulness under all the small crosses and worries of everyday life. This is the quality that makes heroes, and this is the quality that makes saints. We are able to pray, but we are hardly able to worship or to praise, to say, 'My soul doth magnify the Lord' so long as in the innermost chamber of our hearts we are self-occupied. 

"The Christian Religion Objective––The Christian religion is, in its very nature, objective. It offers for our worship, reverence, service, adoration and delight, a Divine Person, the Desire of the world. Simplicity, happiness and expansion come from the outpouring of a human heart upon that which is altogether worthy. But we mistake our own needs, are occupied with our own falls and our own repentances, our manifold states of consciousness. Our religion is subjective first, and after that, so far as we are able, objective. The order should rather be objective first and after that, so far as we have any time or care to think about ourselves, subjective."

In the spirit of Charlotte Mason:

In the children's book Understood Betsy, Betsy trudges home to the farm on a late winter day, having failed a test at school. She plans to tell every gory detail to Cousin Ann, who is busy making maple syrup, because that is what she would have been expected to do in her "old life" with Aunt Frances. Cousin Ann asks her bluntly, "Do you really want to tell me all this?" Betsy says, "Um, no." Cousin Ann says, "Fine. Here's some syrup, go make some snow candy." (I'm paraphrasing, but you get the point.)

This passage moves into the idea that even being overly focused on our own sinfulness, weakness, mistakes, things we have done and things we have left undone can, in a certain sense, become tiresome, a sort of pious navel-gazing. When soul-searching becomes soul-scraping to the point that we cannot accept God's assurance of His love and forgiveness, we may no longer call it humility.

Iin the same way that parents are directed to provide a healthy table but to discourage children from over-noticing what they are eating ("I like, I don't like..."), they are to train children in good habits, teach them that they have a Saviour, that they certainly do sin and need to repent, but not allow too much focus on the endless stream of mistakes, too much attention-seeking for either good or bad behaviour. Would we as parents enjoy having a child who came to us constantly, needing to tell and re-tell about the failure or the quarrel or the cheating, even after the situation had been resolved? Do we chatter about ourselves (good things and bad) too much, to the Lord, to each other, or as self-talk? Do we have too many self-help books cluttering our shelves?

The goal expressed in this passage is for us to focus fully on "the beauty of the Divine Person, the Desire of mankind."

Things to do this week

In the 1977 Family Circle Christmas Helps magazine that inspired this countdown, the projects suggested for "nine weeks till Christmas" include baking gingerbread, making appliqued toaster and can-opener covers (I think I'll pass), covering wooden boxes with fabric (I like those), and making sets of needlepoint coasters. Here's a page from PlanetJune (a crochet designer's blog) with photos of some crocheted but non-Christmassy coasters and other things that may inspire you. Or if you're more of a sewer, you can look forward to the annual month of Handmade Holidays on SewMamaSew, that should be popping up in about a week. Here's the master list of posts from 2016.

If you're not a crafter, you could decide to buy handmade gifts through a fair-trade shop like Ten Thousand Villages. Or from a craft sale or a church bazaar.

If you're more into recycling, you could buy second-life crafted items from a thrift store.

And if you're a minimalist and/or live in a tiny house, maybe you will be happier just looking at photos of other people's stuff, and thinking, "So glad that's not me."

Here is the 1970's-vibe recipe for "Frontier Gingerbread" that was included in the magazine. I was going to test-bake one today so I could give you an honest review, but it's a warmish week and we're not wanting the oven to be on for long. So, I'll add a photo and comments when the temperature drops again.

Frontier Gingerbread

makes one large oval or one 9x9x2 inch cake

2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 cup vegetable shortening, melted
1 cup light molasses
1 egg
1 cup hot water

Stir flour, baking powder, and salt together with a wire whip in bowl. Blend the other dry ingredients into melted shortening in a large bowl. Beat in molasses and egg with wire whip. Add flour mixture alternately with hot water. Beat mixture until smooth.

Pour into a well-greased and lightly floured 10-inch oval au gratin pan or a 9x9x2 inch baking pan.

Bake in a moderate oven (350 degrees) 45 minutes; or until top springs back when pressed with fingertip. Cool in pan on wire rack to cool completely. Serve with whipped cream or fruit sauce, if you wish.