Celebrating Advent at Home

Advent is a special time in our family.  The word advent means coming and it's the time of year where we celebrate the coming of the Christ child.  Before Christmas, we quiet our hearts and let the simple, yet miraculous story of Christmas sink in.  We humble ourselves at the thought of God coming to us in human form, a child.

As a mother, one of my greatest joys is sharing these touching and life-changing stories with my kids.  And I have noticed something about the Christmas story in how it resonates deeply with children.  The fascination with babies and new life, and God lowering himself to become an equal to humankind, particularly an equal to children.  For children who often are left out, talked down to, and marginalized by adults in our world, this simple truth brings a message of great hope.

Today, I'm sharing a simple advent calendar/devotion (adapted from 1dogwoof.com) that we used in our family last year and plan to repeat in this coming season.  It is short and suitable for even very young children.  It tells the whole story of Christmas using scripture.  We were blessed by the opportunities it gave us to speak the gospel to our children.  We were surprised at how much impact it had on our then 3 year-old.  And besides, what child does not love a countdown to Christmas?!

We printed out the cards onto cardstock, and I had some helpers with cutting and gluing them onto some construction paper, which I numbered 1-25.  Then I used a Christmas card holder to display the cards.  If you know me, this is about as crafty as it gets for me!

Download the 25-day advent cards here.

We like to read the day's card at dinnertime, when we are all at the table already, and we take the opportunity to incorporate the scripture passage into our mealtime prayers.
 

Would you like to do more to bring the Christmas story home to your family?  Try some of these ideas too.

• Have a nativity scene in your home that is within reach of your kids, and let them play with it.
• Read children's literature that celebrates and depicts the biblical story of Christmas.
• Decorate your home for Christmas as a family and talk about why Christmas is meaningful to your faith.  Do your decoration choices point your children toward the true meaning of Christmas?
• Use an advent candle wreath along with the devotional cards (a new candle is lit each week).  We love a candlelit dinner and the kids love blowing out the candles afterward!
• At least once during the holidays, read through the entire account of Christ's birth in Luke 2.  Act out the story with a nativity or yourselves.  We do this on Christmas morning before we open presents.  If your kids are old enough, have them read aloud or play a speaking part.
• Play Christmas hymns and music with spiritual meaning in your home in lieu of secular Christmas songs.

We'd love to hear about other ways you enrich your family during Advent and Christmas!

the angel appearing to Mary (Christmas morning last year)

Rethinking Christmas Giving

Thanksgiving dinner is officially over and Christmas is almost here!  Last year I had a guest post on a friend's blog on holiday giving, challenging us all to give more simply and make a difference for the poor and hurting of the world.  An excerpt is below.

During the holiday season last year, my side of the family decided to challenge each other in giving only handmade, used, or repurposed gifts, with very limited spending.  The point was to be less focused on ourselves during the holidays and more able to give to others and help those in need.  In the weeks before Christmas, we had to get creative, and gift-making took a little extra time, but we spent most of the time working together as a couple.  Better yet, we completely avoided the mall and all retail stores.  The result was a relatively peaceful Christmas, and one that was certainly more appropriately focused on Christ and showing genuine love to our friends and family through our gifts.  Our gifts weren't lavish or extreme, but we were more excited about giving them away since so much more of our personal thoughts and efforts had gone into them.  At least when we compared it to our typical - pick item off of a list, drive to the store, purchase, wrap.

Would you like to make your Christmas simple and affordable?  Try some of these tips and challenge others in your giving circles to do the same. . . . .

Click here to read the whole post along with some easy, practical tips to simplify your giving this year!

I challenge you to take a look at your family's plans for gift-giving this season and think about what God might be calling you to do in order to bless those who are really in need.  This season is, after all, solely about him and his true generosity toward us.

I also wanted to share some great resources and retailers for holiday shopping, along with charitable causes that are worth looking at.  We have had personal experience with all of these in some way and highly recommend them.  We'd love to hear about the charitable causes you support or your favorite places to buy slave-free, fair trade, or charitable products for your loved ones.  Leave us a comment below and share with us!  Do you have any unique "simple giving" traditions in your family?

Charitable Causes

Compassion International - Kiva - Michigan Abolitionist Project - Dagbe -  International Justice Mission - The Salvation Army

Vendors

Better Way Imports - Women at Risk - Sak Saum - Senda Althetics - Ten Thousand Villages

If you are local to Michigan, there are some marketplaces and events coming up next weekend where you can buy fair trade gifts from artisans.  Many of the products offered are made directly by individuals who have been rescued from slavery and your purchase helps ensure freedom and a living wage.  Do you know of any other fair trade marketplaces coming up?  Please share below!

Freedom Marketplace

December 7, 9am-1pm in Warren, MI

Free open house - open to the public
we'll be here!

Joy to the World

December 7, 2pm-5pm in Brighton, MI
A women's event - tickets $10

Justice Market

December 7, 1:30pm - 4pm in Livonia, MI

A women's event - FREE

On Being Thankful

I have been going through a bible study focused on thankfulness over the past two weeks.  After coming head-to-head with some of the most well-known scriptures on thanksgiving and gratitude, I am beginning to understand how limited my view of thankfulness really is.  I'm learning a lot and since it is timely, I'd like to share some thoughts as we approach this week and the Thanksgiving holiday.

Thankfulness is not a feeling.
Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing to him, sing praises to him, tell of all his wondrous works! 1 Chronicles 16:8

When I come across the topic of thankfulness, I usually start to make a catalog of all the good gifts God has given me, and it then of course reminds me how much I really take the blessings in my life for granted.  But I am learning that even if I simply recognized God's gifts, I would still be so far away from the kind of thankfulness God desires.

In other words, the age-old advice to "count your blessings" falls incredibly short.  To be truly thankful people, we must MAKE KNOWN his deeds and TELL of his works.  Simply making a mental note (or even a written one!) of "what I am thankful for" is not enough.  We must tell others the personal story of God at work in our lives - not only to a select few, but on a widespread scale.  This means that we should remind ourselves often of God's work and take every opportunity to acknowledge to others that all good things in our lives come from God.  We need to stop taking personal credit for things that God has done.  Thankfulness is so much more than a feeling; it is a way of life that seeks to glorify God in every moment.

Thankfulness is not dependent on good circumstances.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17

So what about when we can't find much good around us?  How can we be thankful then, too?  When you serve a God who is in his essence full of goodness and love, thankful living doesn't depend on our circumstances.

Give thanks in all circumstances.  God is calling me to look past my own opinions about my life and instead celebrate his goodness.  No matter how I am struggling, God is still good, and God is still the ultimate king of my life, and I am his dear child.  I think there is also good reason that this high call to rejoice always is accompanied by some key advice - pray without ceasing.

Thankfulness is not quiet.
Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the the rock of our salvation.  Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! Psalm 95:1-2

Thankful living is not a quiet, reserved way of life.  The problem is that we tend to make all kinds of noise when we grumble, complain, or feel dissatisfied with our lives, and we bring God loud dishonor instead of praises.  Making a joyful noise brings God into the spotlight instead of us, and shows others who he really is and what he means to us.

So I'll leave you with this question:  what kind of noise are you making?