Preparing for the Savior's Birth

One of my favorite ways to reflect on Christ during Advent is to read Nancy Guthrie’s Come, ThouLong Expected Jesus. My husband and I started reading it together in 2009 and it’s by far my favorite part of celebrating the Christmas season.

 

The book is a collection of writings from the likes of Charles Spurgeon, Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Piper, R.C. Sproul, and Joni Eareckson Tada, just to name a few.   The daily readings aren't for the faint of heart. They're lengthy, meaty, and require some time and consideration to absorb all the riches they have to offer. Our favorite thing to do is grab the book after dinner, snuggle up on the couch, and quiet our hearts with the Christ child.  

Because of it's intellectual wording this book would not be appropriate for small children but it would be suitable for family devotions with teenagers. It would also be appropriate for a small group or missional community as long as everyone has their own copy, again due to the loftiness of the wording.

How do you prepare your heart for Christmas during Advent? I would love to know what resources you use.

 

Don't Miss This

On the week leading up to Thanksgiving I had the chance to take a vacation to Chattanooga, TN. Along with tons of natural beauty, great shopping, and lots to do, one of the things I like most about Chattanooga is that it has so many things we don't get to experience in Florida:

Leaves in all colors, shapes and sizes,

(Can you tell I really liked the leaves?)

rivers and mountain views,

and an overall true fall experience!

I have visited Chattanooga so many times that I was afraid this year I might overlook the beauty and wonder of it all. So I used photography as a spiritual discipline and as a way to visually keep adding to my 1,000 gifts list.

 

111. Achieving a personal exercise goal!
112. Fresh juice from the farmer's market
113. A gigantic live Christmas tree
114. A husband that let me keep and helped me put up said Christmas tree

When Everything Falls Apart

I had great plans for the weekend following Thanksgiving. I was going to thoroughly clean my entire house, decorate for Christmas, and finish all my holiday crafting. I had a lovely post planned for sharing my 1,000 gifts on Monday complete with photos from my mountain vacation. I had a timely post planned for yesterday on my favorite Advent resource. And then it all fell apart…

 

On Friday morning I slept in and ended up sharing a lovely lunch with my husband before he went to work. By the afternoon I thought I might be getting sick. By evening there were no longer uncertainties. I was sick and spent what was supposed to be a glorious weekend of cleaning, decorating and crafting, on the couch.

Not only were my plans shattered but I was behind schedule on everything I planned for this week.  

There are still boxes of Christmas decorations yet to be unpacked and we don’t have a Christmas tree yet. I’m doing my first craft fair with a friend today and last night I was scrambling to get a reasonable amount of projects done…

But today is Thursday and the rush to be ready for the craft fair is over. I know I’ll be picking up my Christmas tree on Saturday. The waiting has turned out to be a good thing as I discovered an organization doing a Christmas tree fundraiser. As the week has gone on some things in my scheduled have opened up and I’m starting to believe I’ll survive the holiday season. 

And I know, even more than some do, that when everything falls apart that there’s always a reason. I encourage you to take a moment today to stop, breathe, and give thanks. Would you mind praying for me during this Advent season? That I won’t sweat the small stuff and that I won’t miss Christmas? The real Christmas that is. The reason we celebrate. 

Feel free to leave your requests below and I’ll be glad to pray for you as well.