Three Candles Burning

On the Third Sunday of Advent we remember the shepherds who were watching their flocks at night near Bethlehem. They had to stay awake to keep the wolves away from the sheep. Suddenly, a great light shone from the sky and it was so bright that it hurt their eyes. 

The shepherds were afraid and their hearts started beating. If they were able to hear anything above the pounding of their own hearts, they thought they heard singing? That made them more afraid until they listened to the singing.  There were angels who sang something like this: "Fear not. We bring you tidings of great joy. Unto you is born a child wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. You must go now to Bethlehem! Something wonderful is about to happen that will change everything!"

The third board in the Godly Play Advent story.

Moving further along the journey to Bethlehem.

This week in our family Advent devotion, we spent some time wondering together why God chose to proclaim his good news to the shepherds. We wondered who were they? How did they feel rushing to find a stable in the middle of the night? And how did they feel after they looked into the baby's eyes? What did Mary and Joseph think about a bunch of shepherds coming to see their child in the middle of the night?

Mom had a nasty cold this weekend and couldn't get out, so we baked meringue cookies beforehand and had them after our devotion with Kinder Punsch and coffee.: )

These are the chocolate meringue cookies
and my kids' favorite Christmas past time: cracking nuts.
It's also a great activity for fine motor skills!