Ships in Small Bottles (coming in January) includes small projects to accompany each Psalm and poem in the collection. Call it a kinetic devotional.
December 9 in The Other Stars Hover & Wait begins with a poem called “In a Loud Voice” about our human fascination with objects made large, with immense scope and scale, perhaps as a remedy for the ways our own bodies and minds can feel limited, isolated and small.
As part of your meditation today, try this exercise.
What You Need:
- a few sheets of holiday cardstock
- scissors
- glue stick
- marker
Apprentice Practice:
We’ve seen video or heard the story of the singing neighborhoods in Italy. During quarantine, communities opened their windows and sang together as proof that we are not enduring the darker times alone.
For this project, choose your favorite line from a Christmas hymn. (I love “God is not dead, nor doth He sleep” from “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.”) Think of the line as your declaration in a loud voice, the message you want to shout over the rooftops as a reminder that we are not alone. Next, cut a series of large stars – straight or wonky angles, whatever you like – from the cardstock. Array the stars to achieve pleasing overlap and glue the stars together. Write your declaration in CAPITAL LETTERS on the star. (I will even allow an exclamation point.) Make a loop from a scrap of cardstock and glue the loop to the back to make your star into a tree topper. Let your song ring from the top of your tree all season as your celebration of where you’re placing your focus.*
Advanced Art:
Find the link to a stunning performance of the song you chose and send it to your friends and family over email as your own version of virtual caroling. Send along a message of hope.
*If you’re doing this with family, consider making your lyrics into ornaments to cover your tree in the songs closest to your hearts.