So we have been having a blast this month learning all more about ways that people remember who God is and what He has done for them.  We started the month learning about Nicholas.  He was a saint, born around 274 a.d.  His parents died when he was young, and he knew that they were very generous with their fortune.  He kept on that ideal, in Christian love.  We were struck by the dates and the place, around Turkey, just a couple of hundred years after Christ.  This concept of Christain giving would have been known, maybe not practiced, certainly not understood by unbelievers. He did it in secret, or rather not to be lifted up in stature.  He gave when he saw need, and there are several stories, some legends,  of what he did.  He died on December 6th, 343.  He became a bishop when he was 19 yrs old, and now, the church celebrates St. Nicholas day to remember what he did.  One legend was that people would put shoes outside their door with hay and carrots in them.  As he walked by with his burro, the burro would stop, and he would know there was a need.  He’d put fruit and coins in the shoes.  Well, I’m pretty sure there wouldn’t be a burrown wandering around at night, so we fed our Mudgy (gunea pig) some lettuce, fresh hay and a carrot, an hung our stockings by the fire place.  Some supporters of Good News Clubs make boxes out of cards and they are in abundance this year.  So we took many boxes and put in things like one gold coin, one quarter, on chocolate, etc.  The dutch tradition is to make it hard to find/open the gift in the shoes. 😉    We have also celebrated the festival of lights, which started on the evening of the fourth this year.  This is our 3rd? year learning about the temple, and the macabees, and the dedication, and the verses of where the festival of lights were celebrated in both the old and new testiment. Also where Christ celebrated.  This year has been just a joyful time of remembering what we have learned in the past.  We are in the middle of a Beth Moore study, and on her last video (i’m on week 3 of the book, week 9 of the video, go figure), she was talking about our bodies, and self control, and that it isn’t a fleshly type of SELF control, but a spirit control.  She brought up the dedicate being hanak, and dedication being hannukah.  She was urging us to come to hannukah with our desire to follow the spirit and let him take control and to live out His fruit.  She had no idea we would watch the dvd on the afternoon of the 4th, so it was really really cool.  I am daily trying to see the ways where my flesh is getting in the way, and my desires fuel my frustration and anger.  Darren has even made comment on my peace with the boys.  Giving every bit of control up really is the way to peace, which is foriegn to the way the self wants to run a household, at least my self. 🙂  So anyways, moving on, we also celebrate Advent, learning about the promises that Christ would come, and learning the promises that He will be coming again.  We talk about these two things throughout the month, making crafts and such to hang on our jesse trees.  It is only the 7th, and each day has been filled with learning about geography, history, our Lord, and His promises.  We know what He will do because we can know what He has done.  We can be sure that He has a plan, and that it most likely won’t always be our plan. 🙂 I’ll keep you filled in on other things we do and learn this month!