The days are short now; the nights are long. Sometimes I think that it’s 8 PM when it’s really only 6, because of the dark that has begun when the sun sets about 4:30.
The darkness of night, the lights, the candles are all part of what makes Advent and Christmastime special. The crisp, dark, cold nights offer a beautiful silence. The tolling of a bell in the night hours has such a clear sound that it grabs at our ears and demands attention
Attention to what? Perhaps the bell is simply tolling the hour–not necessarily to make an appointment or anything like that. Bells and Candles can help us be aware of the basic fact of our being alive. This is the kind of awareness that the psalmist has that has him take this a step further: God is surrounding him with the very life of God. May you and I come to really be aware of that!
Wednesdays are devoted to the reading of the Psalms,
one a week across the three-year cycle.
These Firestarters are from a new edition of The Bible Through the Seasons being developed for families with children. For the Firestarters in the original edition, I recommend the ebook. You will have the entire program of well over a thousand of these introductions with you on your phone or table! Check the menu options at the site for more information.
The Bible Through the Seasons 