kenny and i met, married, and baptised our three baby boys in the episcopal church. for the entire time we've been a family, we've been liturgical. from the grace we say at our table before dinner every evening (from Kitch's "Anglican Family Prayer Book") to the books that i cycle in and out during the church and seasonal calendar, our home follows the rhythm of the Church year.

about 10 months ago, we stopped worshipping on sundays in our episcopal, liturgical church and found ourselves in a church at the opposite end of the worship spectrum: contemporary and non-liturgical. it was probably a "God-thing" that we returned a second week and have been returning each sunday since (as we never found ourselves returning to the contemporary services we were trying out at the time we left the Episcopal Church): the pastor invited all the children to the front and gave them each a Bible and told them that without them, our church wouldn't be there. that struck a chord in our minds: this church loved our children. not only because they are "the future" but because Jesus loves them, and instructs us to love them (even when they're not our own).

but that's not the point of this post.

even though we worship in a non-liturgical church now (and love this new church, by the way...), we still celebrate our liturgical family life. everyone can celebrate and find enrichment in their spiritual lives by following the liturgical calendar (even if they sing Casting Crowns songs on Sunday mornings instead of reciting the Eucharist from the Book of Common Prayer!).

and here we are in autumn, nearing the beginning of the church calendar: the time in which we prepare our hearts for our Messiah. we have already begun planning our advent observance. a few weeks ago, i ordered a book written by the authors of our spelling/reading curriculum called Advent Foretold along with instructions on building your own Advent Banner to be used with the daily readings. my sewing machine will get a workout this november!

i love st. nicholas day, and we plan to celebrate that the same way we have in years past.

along with our Advent Banner and daily readings, we'll light our candles on our Advent wreath every Sunday in Advent(that was a wedding gift...well used over the past 8 years!).

i love looking back on these posts from the past few years, seeing the advent and christmas memories we've been making as a family. i'm excited for this year's observance and celebrations! i know it's merely autumn, but there's lots to do to get ready for the season of getting ready!