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39. 12 Days of Christmas - Friday Morning · Family Prayer Podcast

• 0:00
  Good morning, Grace Harbor!
• 0:02
  It’s Dan. Did you get some sleep last night?
• 0:05
  Did anyone sleep in later than normal because of all the excitement yesterday?
• 0:10
  Or were you up early, eager to get back to playing?
• 0:14
  We’re half-and-half here in my house.
• 0:16
  I’m a morning person, so I can’t really sleep in
• 0:19
  even if I wanted to, and my daughter’s the same way.
• 0:22
  But, if she and I can stay quiet, or we get out of the house,
• 0:26
  the rest of the family certainly takes advantage!
• 0:30
  This morning, my daughter and I chose option B
• 0:32
  and we took a walk through the Grace Harbor Pine Preserve.
• 0:35
  We had to bundle up since it was only 28 degrees!
• 0:38
  There were a few folks out
• 0:39
  taking a walk or going for a run, and we got to pet a few dogs.
• 0:44
  But, for the most part,
• 0:45
  the day after Christmas is one of those slow days around town.
• 0:49
  A lot of the shops are closed through the weekend and will reopen on Monday.
• 0:52
  Thankfully the coffeeshop at the bookstore was open, and my buddy Bobby
• 0:56
  the barista made us each a peppermint hot chocolate to help warm up after our walk.
• 1:01
  While we were there, the 12 Days of Christmas song came on.
• 1:05
  Do you know that one?
• 1:06
  On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…
• 1:10
  The gifts in that song are kind of silly, right?
• 1:13
  You know what else is silly?
• 1:15
  This is one of those songs where, every time you sing a new verse,
• 1:18
  you repeat all the things that have come before in all the previous verses.
• 1:23
  So, for example, on the first day, you get a partridge in a pear tree.
• 1:28
  Then, on the second day, you get two turtle doves
• 1:32
  and another partridge in a pear tree!
• 1:35
  The third day, you get three french hens, and then *more* turtle
• 1:38
  doves, partridges, and pear trees!
• 1:41
  Well, for fun, someone went one through the whole song and counted everything up.
• 1:46
  Over the 12 days you would get 12 trees, 40 golden rings,
• 1:51
  140 people doing everything from milking cows to playing the drums,
• 1:55
  and a grand total of 184 birds!
• 1:58
  Who has room for all that?!
• 2:00
  I know I don’t.
• 2:01
  Of course, that’s just a fun song,
• 2:04
  but did you know that Christmas really is supposed to be 12 days long?
• 2:08
  Yep, it’s not just one day!
• 2:11
  It runs from December 25 through January 5.
• 2:15
  It’s a season, just like Advent was.
• 2:17
  So, we spend time preparing for Christmas, and then we spend time celebrating it.
• 2:22
  We don’t just rip open a bunch of presents and move on.
• 2:25
  I wonder what your next couple of days look like.
• 2:28
  School is still out.
• 2:30
  Some adults may take a day or two off of work.
• 2:33
  Some families have extra Christmas gatherings with extended family
• 2:36
  or friends and maybe even get to open *more* presents.
• 2:40
  Some of you might be heading out of town for a short vacation.
• 2:43
  And, of course, we have New Years in a week.
• 2:46
  Whether it’s going to be a busy week or a slow week, is there something
• 2:51
  you could do each day to remind each other that it’s still Christmastide?
• 2:56
  (That’s the official name of the season - Christmastide.)
• 3:00
  Maybe you greet each other each morning by saying “Merry Christmas.”
• 3:03
  Maybe you keep playing Christmas music at home or in the car.
• 3:07
  Or maybe there are some Christmas crafts you could work into your downtime.
• 3:11
  Brainstorm together as a family, and see what you come up with.
• 3:15
  If you need more time,
• 3:16
  you can pause the podcast, and I’ll be right here when you get back.
• 3:49
  While you were
• 3:50
  thinking, I came up with something we might try with our family.
• 3:53
  Each night at dinner,
• 3:55
  we could take a different character from the Christmas story -
• 3:58
  everyone from Mary and Joseph to the shepherds or wisemen
• 4:02
  to even the angels or the stable animals - and then talk about
• 4:06
  what the events of Christmas would have been like for them.
• 4:09
  What did they see?
• 4:11
  Hear?
• 4:12
  Think? Feel?
• 4:15
  That could be a fun way
• 4:16
  to use your imagination to think deeper about the Christmas story.
• 4:20
  Ok, before we go, let’s pray together.
• 4:23
  If you want to, you can close your eyes and fold your hands.
• 4:27
  Dear God, we thank you that Christmas is not over.
• 4:31
  Over the next couple of weeks, you invite us to keep thinking
• 4:35
  about your love for us and how that love showed up on Christmas.
• 4:39
  May that continue to shape our hearts and minds.
• 4:43
  Amen.
• 4:44
  Ok, Grace Harbor, have a great Friday, and we will close out
• 4:47
  the week together tonight.