December 5

I had a delightful treat today that was unexpected. Taking Rachel through the Starbucks drive-thru after a doctor appointment I decided to order a decaf Holiday Spice White Flat (almond milk) despite the fact that any sort of coffee gives me a headache. It was so delicious I couldn't believe it! I refused to let my mind dwell on the cost of the thing and instead focused on the gift it was. It made me think of the spiced hot chocolate at Williamsburg and it lasted the whole way home. (Even better: I never got the headache!)

Back in our Christmas school we buckled down and moved on to Martin Luther and the age of the Reformation. Luther was a big fan of Christmas. He preached many Christmas sermons and wrote several Christmas carols. We read part of one sermon aloud today and will continue with more this week. I found these in Martin Luther's Christmas Book. We also sang his carol "From Highest Heaven I Come to Tell." Incidentally, we sang a lovely 12th century carol yesterday which is a new favorite: "The Friendly Beasts." I will go back and add it to yesterday's post. Here is a quote from Martin Luther:

"Oh, we poor people that we should be so cold and indifferent to this great joy that has been given to us. For this is indeed the greatest gift, which far exceeds all else that God has created. Yet we believe so sluggishly, even though the angels proclaim and preach and sing, and their lovely song sums up the whole Christian faith, for 'Glory to God in the highest' is the very heart of worship."

After lunch I jumped from the 16th century to the 19th and immersed myself in the world of Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Bronte for a few hours -- prepping for my class. I stayed in the same time period this evening as a friend and I went to see "The Man Who Invented Christmas." It was terrific! Just the thing to go along with our Christmas studies (must take the kids!) and it was funny how the world of Dickens overlapped with that of Charlotte Bronte by means of William Thackeray (Thackeray is an annoying critic in the movie and was the same for Bronte in real life.) Can't help geeking out about history just a bit. Anyone who likes to write, or wants to be a writer, will enjoy this movie and the way Dickens went about creating A Christmas Carol.

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