Miscellaneous

Advent is here.

The arrival of Advent caught me off guard this year. I am realizing how big of a part the seasons play in our rhythm of life. This past summer our family moved from Colorado to Georgia. Here in Georgia there is no snow. The weather has been quite warm. There are still leaves on many of the trees. How can it be Thanksgiving, Advent, and just a few weeks from Christmas?

Handel’s Messiah

Tonight my family begins to listen to Handel’s Messiah. For several years, we have been using Cindy Rollins’s 25 Days to Handel’s Messiah: An Advent Devotional Guide.

We begin by reading the opening scripture. Then, we listen to the listed pieces. If we miss a day, we simply double up on a different night.

We have chosen to use Youtube for our music, and our favorite version is Stephen Cleobury conducting King’s College, Cambridge Choir.

The Guide

Cindy Rollins gave me permission to share the guide I made for my family to help with reading the scripture and getting to the right spot in the video. Please, let me know if you find any errors.

I hope our family’s simple tradition is a blessing for you as you contemplate this advent season.

It is with sadness we announce the cancellation of CMER 2021. After much prayer, the CMER Team, with a spirit of unanimity and peace, has made this difficult decision.

It is with great joy we announce CMER 2022.

Who? The CMER Team and our plenary speaker, Nancy Kelly

When? Friday, February 18, to Sunday, February 20, 2022

Where? The Hideaway in Colorado Springs, Colorado

We hope you are able to join us in 2022.

It is odd to be thinking about planning the 2021 CMER right now, but as we look to the future with hope we know that

The heart of man plans his way,
but the LORD establishes his steps.

Proverbs 16:9

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”

James 4:13–15

If the Lord wills, we invite you to take part in COMMUNITY, MOTIVATION, self-EDUCATION, and REFLECTION and join us at the Charlotte Mason Educational Retreat, 2021.

WHO?

The CMER Team and our plenary speaker, Nancy Kelly

We are excited to announce the Charlotte Mason Educational Retreat 2021 Plenary speaker! Nancy Kelly lives in a little town on the prairie called Windom, Minnesota. She and her husband Kent have home-educated their six children for 25 years using the principles and practices of Charlotte Mason.  After meeting and listening to Susan Schaeffer Macaulay speak on education at the 1994 L’Abri Conference in Rochester, MN, she decided to wholeheartedly pursue this way of learning and living. [Read more…] about Charlotte Mason Educational Retreat, 2021