As fall moves into winter, warm breezes turn to chill, I began to sense the anticipation of Christmas. The process of getting to that special day is just as enjoyable as the day itself. Finding joy in the everyday celebrations of December softens my heart with thanksgiving and prepares my heart towards another Christmas morning of remembering the birth of my Saviour.Celebrating Advent is a wonderful way to bring the whole family into this deep worship, deep reflection, and deep joy. Since Christmas is about giving and receiving, I find it important to start with the giving, the focusing of blessing others first.
Our church is doing Christmas boxes to orphans, so that will be our first activity of celebrating the season of Christmas. The kids each put in a few dollars of their own and were allowed to pick what specific item they wanted to buy.
Another opener to the Christmas season is Christmas music. As a fire slowly warms you on the outside, Christmas music warms you on the inside. As the comfort flows, so does the thanksgiving, and as the thanksgiving flows, so does our worship for our God who is the giver of all good things. CBN radio has a great Christmas collection and it is free. When doing Advent, I tend to look for the free or inexpensive things to celebrate with, saving the big gifts for Christmas morning. My goal in Advent is to teach my children the real joy comes in worshipping our God and seeing Him in the everyday and enjoying His presence more than the gifts themselves.
