New Book: Everything Tells Us About God

But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; 

And the birds of the air, and they will tell you; 

Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; 

And the fish of the sea will explain to you. 

Who among all these does not know That the hand of the Lord has done this, 

In whose hand is the life of every living thing, 

And the breath of all mankind? 

~ Job 12:7-10

Sometimes I enjoy "virtual storytime" - as my daughter calls it - with my two young grandsons (ages two and five).  You should try it sometime!  Since they are far away from me, the boys just love Facetime-ing with their favorite books.  My trusty iPhone camera makes it easy to close in on the details of each page as I read aloud to them.

Today I was excited to share with them a brand new picture book from Ancient Faith Publishing:  Everything Tells Us about God, by Katherine Bolger Hyde.  It's so thoughtfully written, and Romanian illustrator Livia Coloji's colorfully fun, retro-feeling pictures really enhance the thought-provoking text. (It's sure to become a family favorite, which you'll soon discover, as you read along in my post)...

My ever enthusiastic five-year old grandson was especially all eyes and ears, since the inside cover and first page referred to the world as a GIANT puzzle. (He noticed there was one piece missing, but we had to wait until the end of the book to find out which one!)

One of my favorite lines in this book also really grabbed my grandson's attention (and I whispered it, of course)...

Every piece whispers one of His secrets -- all we need to do is listen.

Each page of the book reveals the puzzle pieces of creation and what they teach us about God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  The sun, wind, water, bread...

On the page following bread - referring to food - a little boy is shown picking a pear from a tree with his Daddy.  We zoomed in on the pear, and my grandson shouted, "Grandma! Like the fruits of the Spirit!"  (Yay! Somebody's been paying attention to his Bible lessons!)

Next we learned how rocks tell us

Christ is as strong as a boulder...

Then we moved on to hear how the ocean, seeds, stars and the universe ("it's outer space, Grandma!!"), animals (this was a favorite page too!), and even roads, playgrounds, and schools teach us about God.

I especially appreciated that Katherine included stories, and how they teach us "the One Eternal Story"...

Finally, we learned that all the people we meet help us understand that Jesus became human -- which brought us to one last piece of the puzzle.  Can you guess who that piece represents?

YOU!

As soon as we finished, my grandson happily declared, "Grandma, this is the BEST book I've ever heard!"  High praise indeed!

At the end of the book,  you'll find an author's note/tribute, in which Katherine Hyde explains how Fr. Thomas Hopko (of blessed memory) actually inspired this story!

Oh, and one last thing.
Any young red-heads out there will appreciate the auburn hues on heads, young and old, throughout the book!  I'm sure Mrs. KBHyde (a natural born redhead) had something to do with that?  I LOVE that fun detail!

Katherine Bolger Hyde, author.

Katherine, thank you for this lovely book!  It's a perfect read aloud for the 4-8 year old range.  (And it would make a great read for Earth Day, coming up in April.  But honestly, for those who love God everyday is Earth Day, right?!)

St. Lucia on My Tree!

Maiden so sweet and fair, 

Bright candles in your hair,

Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!

Child of the Holy Light,

Banish the dark of night,

Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!

St. Lucia Day is always celebrated on December 13th.  Last November I went with my priest's wife Lynn (may her memory be eternal!), another good friend, Bonnie, and my oldest son to a fun Swedish Christmas Market and Festival at Old World in Huntington Beach, CA.

It felt like we were in Sweden, as we wondered around looking at all the baked goods and folk art.  I found the sweetest Papier-Mâché ornaments made by Anne-Marie (she's on Etsy, here, at Swede Heart Creations.)

We enjoyed a cup of hot Glögg* with the other adults and watched in anticipation as about 30 young girls - singing and holding candles - processed in behind the designated "Lucia", wearing her crown of candles.   

Happy Saint Lucia Day!  Here's my favorite Lucia book, to help you celebrate the day...

The refrain above is an excerpt from the Santa Lucia carol written by Katherine Hyde, based on traditional Swedish lyrics.  You'll find the song featured at the end of her book, Lucia Saint of Light, available from Ancient Faith Publishing.  

You can listen to an audio recording of this story read by Dr. Chrissi Hart, from Under the Grapevine, here.

*The recipe for Glögg is here, but you can sometimes find it at IKEA.  (Not a drink for children.)

And of course, don't forget the braided bread!  It's not quite as time intensive as making the traditional Lucia buns (I did a photo blog with my god daughters a few years ago - click the link).  Go here for the bread recipe, or here for the buns.

source

St. Lucia Day Remembrances

Outside it was dark and chilly, as I watched my little daughter, Mary, bringing up the rear of the procession and swinging her basket, trying to keep up with all the other young girls following behind the "Lucia Bride".

My daughter was only two and a half, and I'll never forget that December night twenty-three years ago, as our church first attempted what has now become tradition: our Annual St. Lucia Procession.

Two-and-a-half year old Mary,
 in her little white dress and red sash.

By the time Mary was about seven or eight, American Girl Dolls and their books were becoming more and more popular, and my daughter loved all the stories.  Of course, her favorite was about Kirsten, the Swedish girl.  Mary could hardly wait to be St. Lucia and wear a crown, like her Kirsten doll.

And the day finally came. Mary was beaming, as she took her turn portraying St. Lucia, wearing the crown of candles and leading the procession of girls in white around the church, with the choir singing in the background; she was fourteen.

Happy St. Lucia Day! I hope you make it a family tradition to celebrate - I found a tutorial for a cute paper Lucia crown (here), and you can make some Lussekatter and read St. Lucia's story...

Do you have a daughter who is interested in knowing why girls wear white dresses with red sashes, balance a crown of candles on their heads, and carry a platter of saffron buns on December 13th? And who exactly was this saintly Italian girl named Lucia, whose story the Scandinavians adopted? 

Katherine Bolger Hyde has done a wonderful job explaining the customs and the history behind St. Lucia Day, in her beautiful book, Lucia Saint of Light, illustrated by Daria Fisher.

St. Lucia Day can't be celebrated properly without "Lussekatter" - Swedish Saffron Buns! (There's a recipe at the end of Katherine Hyde's book.)  My daughter always helped me make them, and her Kirsten Doll even came with a tiny tray of mini Lussekatter. Today I'll be baking a batch with my three little goddaughters for our Church celebration this weekend.

Click here to see all the variations - St. Lucia buns can be made
in different designs.  One year we made a Lucia braided bread crown.
[Source: Mylittlenorway.com]

Back to the picture book...it follows two parallel stories: of a modern-day girl named Lucy, and the 4th-Century saint named Lucia.  The tales are interwoven as Lucy prepares to celebrate her "nameday".  Her mother explains to her the origins of the story of St. Lucia, the background behind the traditions of her celebration, and her association with Sweden.  At the end of the book, you'll find the "Santa Lucia" song (with words and music), her icon, verses from her Feastday Aposticha, and a recipe for St. Lucia Buns.

Detailed illustrations from the book.

Where to find the book: Go here, to Ancient Faith Publishing.  Scroll down and you'll see that Lucia, Saint of Light is also now available as an engaging 10-minute video! ($4.99). You can also look on Amazon, if the book is sold out on AFP.

Click HERE for more information about how to order the book and very well done video. Below is a short clip...

This is a blog hop, click HERE
to read other fun posts...

Thanks for letting me share some of our family memories and traditions with you on this special day, honoring a special girl.  And thank you to Heather, at Audrey Eclectic, for hosting this fun "blog procession" for St. Lucia Day 2012.