Prepare Ye The Way

Whenever I hear these words, the song from GodSpell immediately fills my mind.  And so it was this morning at Mass, the second Sunday of Advent, that these words were spoken and the song began playing in my head.  I'm still singing it as I drink my coffee and type this post.
 
Each day during Advent, our family reflects on the question, "How are we preparing our hearts for the Lord?"   To help us, we have borrowed the following activity from the website, catholicicing.  We have put up our Manger, but left it empty.  The Baby Jesus figure is attached to his crib, so the kids and I constructed our own for this activity.  We used an oatmeal container, cut it in half, and painted it.

Each evening after Family Prayer, the kids tell us the good things they did that day (helping someone, doing a kind deed, saying something thoughtful, etc.)  For each good act, they place a piece of straw in the crib.  The goal is to have a crib for Jesus (and their hearts), well prepared by Christmas. 

I catch my kids looking for ways to earn their straw.  Yesterday, Sweet Potato poured Gummi Bear's cereal at breakfast (and then quietly asked me if that task was straw worthy).  Honey Bunches began his chores without being reminded.  Cucumber helped her little sisters get dressed.  Gummi volunteered to help me make dinner.  Sweet Pea and Pumpkin - well, they're a little young to grasp this concept, but when they see their siblings do good, they want to do good too. 

A voice cries out:
In the desert prepare the way of the LORD!
Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!
Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill shall be made low;
the rugged land shall be made a plain,
the rough country, a broad valley.
Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together;
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

                                                                Isaiah 40