Getting Ready for Advent

Hello all, just jumping in here with a friendly reminder that Advent is upon us! As a mom of a biggish family, I thought I would share my #1 tip for making Advent a little bit more prayerful and a little less cray-cray.

Drumroll please…..my life changing advice is try to get all your Christmas shopping done before Advent begins…seriously it can completely transform your Advent experience!

I know that this may seem like a little thing, but believe me, it makes a big difference. All of that thought and effort early means the kids are not obsessing over gifts and you are not obsessing over gifts and you have more time for the things that really matter — like preparing your heart for Christmas!

It has the added benefit of ensuring you won’t be caught in a last minute rush that leaves you exhausted by Christmas Eve Mass.

Especially this year, when tracking our package may involve watching it sit stuck in ports for weeks on end, shopping early has the added bonus of saving you from the awful feeling of some kids not having their gifts on Christmas morning.

I can hear the objections now, “Christmas is not about gifts” — but I disagree. Christmas is about the greatest GIFT THE WORLD HAS EVER KNOWN, a Savior being born in a stable so that we might all be set free! How beautiful is that gift and how much to we have to be grateful for?

We give gifts to the people we love, because this birth of this BABY in an obscure stable in an obscure town led to our salvation and the gates of Heaven would be opened wide! If this is not the best reason around to celebrate and rejoice and be reminded of all the good things those who love God have in store for them, then I don’t know what is!

Besides, if you do Advent right, you will be ready to celebrate and eat good food and open a few gifts and rejoice with the people you love.

Which leads me to the preparation of the heart and the hearts of your family members, the most important thing we can do this Advent Season.

Don’t forget to make an effort to spend more time in the presence of God. Honestly, if you just added confession and Adoration to your Advent, that could do amazing things in your heart!

Obviously, there are retreats and books and advent activities in most Churches, so consider those things, too — but most important is to spend more time with Jesus, soak in His Love, and let that Love change you! The grace is REAL and it’s available to all of us.

On a practical note, heres a few more posts I’ve written over the years about living out Advent. This one or this one or this one, too.

I hope they are helpful, but whatever you do, DON’T WASTE THIS TIME YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN. FOR THAT MATTER, DON’T WASTE THIS LIFE YOU’VE BEEN GIVEN. YOU HAVE BEEN CREATED FOR A BEAUTIFUL PURPOSE!

So don’t let another advent pass you by, in which you get so busy with life and preparations that you forget that this is an opportunity to become that SAINT God created you to be and life that life He created you to live.

Next weekend, I’m off to see family, so no post, but I hope you have a joy-filled Thanksgiving!

See you in Advent!