Today is the first day of Advent.  The scripture chosen for today is at the very beginning of the Bible - Genesis 1: 1-5   - In the beginning, God . . .      God created 'light' to shine in the 'darkness' and God called it good.

The symbol for today is darkness and light.   Since the branch is dark and it stands in a fairly dark corner - that is the darkness.  I hang a string of Christmas mini-lights on it.  This is the light shining in the darkness.   

The second day of Advent.

Advent varies in length - always starting on the fourth Sunday before Christmas (not on December 1st as the commercial advent calendars would have it).  This year Advent started on November 28, making it a long season.   Some years it doesn't start until the 2nd or 3rd of December.    When the season is long the story of Genesis 1 is stretched out over several days. 

The scripture reference for this day is Genesis 1: 6-8.    On the second day of creation the earth begins taking form, with the sky above and the earth below, and the continents beginning to form.   And it is Good. 

My symbol for this day is easy.  I place a few tuffs of cotton among the branches to represent the clouds of the sky.   I realize that a small globe to represent the earth might also be appropriate. 

That's a lovely tradition seeler - thank you for sharing with all of us here.  

Thank you Carolla.  I hope to share a bit with you each day as I read my Bible verses or focus story and hang my symbol. 

thanks seeler.  i will follow this thread and at the end of it print it off to start with my kids next year.

Third day of Advent.  My reading for today continues in Genesis 1, verses 9 - 13.   As the earth evolved over the eons, the continents continued to form, and life which had begun in the seas started to appear on the land, first in the form of vegetation - on the third 'day' plants appeared.    And again God found it 'Good'.

I am reminded of the Psalm which states 'The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world, and all that dwell therein; for he has founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods."

The symbol for today is a green plant.  For many years I had an ivy plant.  I would set it on a little table under the dead branch of the Jesse tree an entwine its vines up around the branches, bringing the tree to life.  Alas, I'm not good with house plants and eventually my ivy died.  So now I use a piece of green felt cut like a short vine with leaves. 

My 'dead' tree now has lights, clouds, and greenery.

The fourth day of Advent - Scripture reading is Genesis 1: 14-19

The Bible story says that on this day God made the sun, moon, and stars. 

I love going out on a clear, frosty evening and looking up and seeing the stars shining in the dark sky - clear and crisp - distant yet so close and friendly.  I pick out the big dipper, the north star.  I watch for a falling star, a meteor shooting across the sky.  If I'm lucky I might be treated to a show of northern lights. 

What a wonderful world!

"And the light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot extinguish it."

The symbol going on my Jesse tree for today is a string of stars that I found among the garlands in the tree decorating department a few years ago.   It's one of my favourite symbols.

:)

 Seeler, I am loving this....would be awesome if you could take a picture of your tree and post it, as you go....but, I am imaginging it, and enjoying..will watch for this thread each day.

thank-you

i'm loving it too pinga.  i was actually thinking that i would incorporate it next year as our "christmas tree".  instead of decorating it all in one go, dividing the ornaments and buying some that are applicable to seeler's readings and every night adding a little to the tree until christmas.  what a beautiful way to make it more meaningful.

i would also love to see pictures :)

Day Five - Scripture reading Genesis 1: 20 - 23.   On the fifth day God created the animals - animal life crawled out of the warm, shallow seas to nibble the green plants that were beginning to take root and to reach toward the sun.  Then some of the animals lifted themselves up on their fins or flippers, and grew legs to walk, or front limbs that could support their weight to fly - the birds, while others remained in the water or returned to it - the fish, dolphins, whales.  And life spread out upon the earth, and it was Good. 

Symbols for today (today is one of the few that get two symbols) -  a bird and a fish.  My bird is a little one with feathers that I found in the 'trim a tree' shop, the fish was made of styrofoam and glitter at Sunday School one year. 

:)

WOW!!! .... thank you seeler! ....

I am learning so very much and what a wonderful tradition!

I will be following along....

Hugs

Rita

Grandson came over this afternoon, while Mom was busy elsewhere.  He looked down the hall and exclaimed, "Grammy you have you Bible tree up."   We looked at the symbols and talked about them.  Then he surprised me by asking if I would read him the story from the Bible.  I read up to the fifth day and then included the reading for the sixth day.  

He's away ahead of me.  He asked why God made bad people.  That's for the seventh day.  But we talked about it when the moment was right.

Sorry, I didn't mean to jump ahead for anyone who is following along.  I just can't help talking about my grandkids.  He is six now.

The 6th day.   

The Bible starts and ends with a picture of Paradise.  (Revelations 21 and 22  which begins 'Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth . . .' )    In between are the times when we lost sight of it, and God called us back through visionaries and prophets, and a babe born in a manger.

The reading suggested for today is from Genesis 1: 26 -  31     When the world was ready, humans evolved among the animals.   'So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.'    People who could walk about in the garden of the earth with the grass under their feet, the trees around, the animals - people who could gaze up at the stars in the sky and feel the wonder and the holy around them, and experience and respond to the love of God.   

And God saw that it was GOOD!     Paradise!   The Realm of God on Earth!    And so we pray, "Thy kingdom come, on earth . . ."

The symbol for today is that of two people.   I use two minatures from my Christmas Village scene but I would prefer something simpler (these are dressed in Victorian winter clothing).  

:)

The 7th day of Advent - Suggested scripture reference is Genesis 2: 4 to the end of the 3rd chapter - the story of Adam and Eve.

My 'list of symbols and their meanings' condenses this to one line:   God gave people choices and sometimes they made wrong choices.

When I tell my grandson this story (to answer his question about God making bad people) I make sure he understands that it is 'a story' that people thought of many years ago to explain what happened to to the relationship with God and the world that we read about in the first story.   People made poor choices, they turned away and tried to hide from God.  And they could no longer live in Paradise.  

The symbol for today is an apple.  I picked up in the 'trim a tree' shop at the mall.

(When I read this story I like to look ahead to Genesis 4: 25, where after their hardship Adam and Eve were blessed with a third child 'and she bore a son and named him Seth, for she said, "God has appointed for me another child." '   God was still with Adam and Eve even after they left the garden.)

This is a wonderful thread!!!  Thanks for sharing with us, Seeler.  I just popped in for the first time today, but I will definitely follow along for the rest of Advent. 

:)

The eighth day of Advent - the suggested scripture reading for today is quite long - Genesis 6-9 - the story of Noah, the flood, and the rainbow. 

This is one of the best known stories of the Hebrew scriptures.  If you are sharing your Jesse tree activities with children you may be able to tell the story from memory or find a good Bible story book. 

Paradise is lost - the world has practically forgotten their relationship with the Holy, with God.  Difficult times come, there is a flood.  It seems that all will be lost.  But no, one family is saved, along with the animals. 

For me the important lesson from this story is in Genesis 9: 8 - 17.  God makes a promise - God establishes a covenant with Noah's family and with every living creature.  And God gives us a sign of this covenant.

The symbol for today is the Rainbow - the sign of the covenant. 

:)

The 9th day of Advent - suggested scripture reference:  Genesis 12: 1-9, and 13: 14-18

Abraham and Sarah are introduced.

I just reread these verses.   My notes say "God called Abraham and Sarah to begin a long journey to a new land, and God promised to be their God and they would be God's people."   So they set out, not knowing where they were going, but trusting in their vision of a new land where they would live in relationship with God.  

The symbol for today indicates a journey.  For many years I used a footprint.  Now  I use a pair of old dolls sneakers, tied together and hung from a branch.  The journey of faith is taken one step at a time.  

:)

I so like that Mom's fruit cake sneakers are under the posting of the 9th day

10th of Advent - my the time is flying by.  

The scripture suggestion for this day is Genesis 17 to 18: 1-15, and 21: 1-8

Despite the covenant and the promise of descendants, Abraham and Sarah grew old without having children.  Then one day they were visited by three messengers.  Hospitality was important, and Abraham welcomed them with a feast.  Before they left they told their hosts that within a year they would be blessed with a child.  Abraham and Sarah laughed at the idea.  Nevertheless, despite their old age, a baby was born to them.  They named him Isaac which means laughter.  

The symbol for today is three angels (messengers).  Mine are simple outlines of white styrofoam.

:) it is going by quickly.  i love that isaac's name means laughter.

Yes, Momsfruitcake - I imagine that Isaac was a joy and a delight to his parents.  I can imagine Sarah tickling him and listening to his coos and chuckles.  he would have been the apple of his parents eyes.   The son named Laughter. 

I'll bet he was spoiled - maybe not with the possessions we heap on children today, but maybe with all the care and attention he would have received. 

The 11th day - the suggested scripture reference is Genesis 22: 1-18

I don't like this story.

My paper has a brief statement:  "Abraham was willing to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac, but God provided a lamb - God doesn't require us to sacrifice our children."

I've checked the Bible reading again this morning, and the story as it is retold in Ralph Milton's  'The Family Story Bible'.  Here is the explanation he gives at the beginning of the story:  "In Bible times, some people thought God wanted them to hurt other people. Sometimes they throught God wanted them to kill other people in wars. God never wants that.  Sometimes adults think it's OK to hurt children or each other. That isn't true. God never wnts people to hurt each other. Tha'ts one of the reasons this story is in the Bible."

My own understanding is something like this:   Abaham and Sarah were getting old.  Their delieght was in his their, Isaac, a good, obedient, if unexceptional boy.  

All their lives they had tried to live in relationship to their understanding of God.  They had renewed that relationship periodically by offering gifts to God - sacrificing the first or best to God - the first grain to mature, the first fruit to ripen, the best of their lambs upon the alter.  

They were surrounded by peoples who practiced child sacrifice - offering their first born children to their understanding of their gods. 

Somehow Abraham lost sight of the vision of paradise and the promise he held that through Isaac God would make him the father of a great people.  Somehow Abraham got the idea that God wanted him to offer his son as sacrifice.  Fortunately, at the last moment he came to his senses, when his eyes fell on a lamb caught in the bushes near the alter he had built.  Isaac was spared and the vision was restored.

The symbol for today is that of a lamb.  One year my Sunday School class made lambs from cardboard and wool for our manger scene.  I use my sample lamb for my symbol of the Lamb of God. 

:)

I've been trying to figure out how the rest of you can post pictures on the threads.  I've two pictures of my Jesse tree, finally downloaded from my camera to the computer, but I have no idea how to transfer them to the thread. 

Seelergirl left carefully written instructions on how to scan an old photo and then edit my avatar to put the new picture on.  But on the thread I don't have an edit button. 

It seems that people will have to use their imaginations.  Seelergirl has been tired lately so I can't asked her to help me on this one.

12th day of Advent - the suggested scripture is Genesis 35.  Jacob becomes Israel, the father of the 12 tribes.

I realize that we are jumping ahead quite quickly here, and it is easier for a person who has some background in reading the Bible.  The story of Jacob actually begins in Chapter 25, at the 19th verse.  I'll sumerize it here.

Isaac, the boy named Laughter, lived with his parents until he was middleaged.  After his mother died, his father found him a wife, Rebecah, and they had twins - Esau and Jacob.   The boys couldn't have been more different, and they were rivals from the start. 

Jacob was a liar and a cheat. He cheated his brother out of his birthright, he lied to and tricked his father, Isaac into giving him the blessing meant to Esau, and made them so angry that he had to run away.  But as he journeyed to another country, he had a dream of a ladder reaching up to heaven, and realized that God was with him wherever he went. 

In this new country he married Leah and Rachel and fathered twelve sons and a daughter, Dinah.  Eventually he took his family with him to return to his homeland.  Along the way, one night, he found himself wrestling with God, and in the morning he received a new name - Israel.  From then on the old Jacob was gone - Israel had taken his place. 

And the nation, promised to Abraham and Sarah, through their descendants, became the nation of Israel.  The twelve sons became the fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel. 

The symbol suggested for today is 12 stars for the 12 tribes.  (for many years I have used a circle of dark posterboard with 12 small florescent stars - but I am not happy with it.  I already had stars on the tree from the stories of creation.)    I think I might change it this year to that of a ladder - a ladder reaching up to the heavens reminding us that no matter what we have done and where our journey leads us, God is with us. 

maybe one of the grandkids can make you a ladder for christmas (popsicle sticks and toothpicks, paint, sparkles) and 12 steps on the ladder.

:)

12 steps - yes, that's an idea!

 great ideas

great thread seeler.

do you put up the same symbols and verses each year or make it all new each year

Hi Pinga, Lastpointe - its nice to know that people are following along. 

I got a list of scripture references with short explanations and suggested symbols from my church many years ago.  Generally I use this list.  However about five years ago I modified it somewhat, cutting out several to make room for a few that I wanted to add.  I also use the same symbols, which I have made or collected over the years.  Sometimes they wear out or fall apart.  Sometimes I come across one I like better.  And sometimes, like yesterday I decide to change the symbol to one that I think catches the theme of the lesson better for me (or that looks nicer on the tree). 

So, Lastpointe, I would say, generally the same ones year after year but with room for creative change.

13th Day of Advent - scripture reference for today is Genesis 37

The story of Joseph is captured in this one reference. 

Jacob had many sons, but his favourite was Joseph, the first born of his favourite wife after she had been barren for many years.  Jacob gave Joseph a beautiful coat.  His older brothers became jealous and sold Joseph into slavery.  He was taken to Egypt.

Joseph eventually prospered in Egypt and became an important man in the Pharaoh's court. 

There came a time when there was a famine in Israel.  The brothers travelled to Egypt to buy grain and met up with Joseph.  He forgave them for their crime against him so many years earlier, and invited them to bring their families and move to Egypt.

Joseph is remembered in many Bible stories for his beautiful long-sleeved coat.  The symbol for today is a many coloured coat. 

I made mine years ago from a remnant of material I had left over from a sewing project. 

 Seeler, this would make a good little book....something with drawings by Gaia grrl, scripture, and your words....

% of profits to go to M&S as a thank-you to wondercafe? lol

:)

oooh, and myst write a song .an additive one, or something that shifts, as the days go on..just pondering.

333 hits as of this morning - I guess there is more than just four or five following along.

Pinga - that is an interesting idea.  But I have no idea how to go about putting together a book.  Someone else will have to come up as publisher.   I will however read a few parts to my 'Writer's Group' next time we meet.

I'm reading along too and enjoying!

What about a combo book and ornament craft kit-read the story and make the ornaments needed to go with it!

Great idea Tabitha.  I'm open for a partner(s) to work with me on this one. 

Meanwhile I'll carry on with the thread for this year.  Mayber we can come up with something for next year.

Please do carry on, Seeler.

14th day of Advent - Exodus 3: 1 - 17a

You will need a bit of the back story here - perhaps it is already familiar. 

The tribes of Israel settled in Egypt and thrived there for many years under the favour of Joseph and the court of the Pharaoh.    But eventually Joseph died, and in the centuries that followed the Israelites fell from favour and became slaves to the Egyptians. At their darkest hour Moses was born into an Israelite family, hidden in a basket and set adrift among the bullrushes near the banks of the Nile River.  He was found by the Pharaoh's daughter and raised in the royal court.  As a young adult he saw an Egyptian beating an Israelite slave.  He struck and killed that Egyptian, and fled to the wilderness, where he met and joined some herdsmen, married into the tribe and settled down for many years, until today's reading when he was called by God from a burning bush to go back to Egypt and rescue the Israelites. 

The symbol for today is the burning bush.

I had trouble finding a proper symbol.  For some time I used a fresh cutting each year from my neighbours' shrub 'the burning bush', with small red leaves that didn't fall in the autumn but could still be found in late November or early December if not covered by snow.  But ownership of the house changed and I didn't feel comfortable asking the new neighbours for a few twigs off their bush.   Recently I found a small ornament with a battery operated t-light at the Dollarama.  I adapted it to be my burning bush.

:)

Third Sunday of Advent (15th day) - the suggested scripture reading is Deut: 5 and 6: 1-5

A lot has happened since God called to Moses from the burning bush and gave him the mission of leading the people out of slavery in Egypt to the promised land.  They have escaped from Egypt, crossed the Red (Reed) Sea, been fed by manna in the wilderness, and water from a rock.  They have followed Moses - sometimes catching the vision, but often stumbling in the dark. 

In today's reading they are camped near a mountain, perhaps discouraged at the time and hardship of the journey.  Moses goes up onto the mountain to pray.  While he is there in communion with the Holy, the covenant is renewed and he receives some guidelines that the people should live by.  We call them the Ten Commandments.  They outline how the people can respond to God's love, and live together as God's people.    (They are also found in Exodus 20).

The symbol for today is the Stone Tablets.    I made mine years ago with cornstarch & salt clay, scratching the first words: ' I am the Lord your God . . .  '   before they dried.  They are as hard and heavy as stone.   I wish I'd had real red clay.   (If you are making them, remember to leave a hole for the ribbon or thread to hang them to the tree.)

 I've been popping in here from time to time.  Seeler how do you know how many hits a thread has had?

This tree sounds like a lot of fun!

:)