3 Reasons My Family Celebrates Advent (And I Literally Wrote a Book on It!)

I grew up celebrating the Advent season. Advent, if you aren’t familiar with it, is the period of weeks leading up to Christmas. Traditionally, it’s done the four Sundays before Christmas, but others celebrate it the first 24 days in December.

Those early years spent engaging with the true spiritual depth of Christmas and the weeks before were formative to me. While I know my sister and I probably drove my mother crazy with whose turn it was to light the Advent candles, whatever my parents did made a difference. As an adult, I hold this time of year in a special reverence.

This is something I am trying to continue in my own family. My children are still young, and most years up until now they were too young for many of the traditional Advent practices but I still tried to explain to them the best of my ability what it all meant.

This year were are trying to do a daily reading from We Light the Candles which consists of a short reading with practical application, a scripture passage and a prayer, plus lighting the candles of the Advent wreath and singing a verse of a Christmas carol. While it takes extra effort on my part, I feel that even these small ways of acknowledging Advent in our home are worthwhile.

Christmas is Just One Day

There is so much hype about Christmas being the big event, both in the secular world and the church. Many churches spend most of their time planning a fantastic Christmas Eve service, but the remainder of the month of December feels like the rest of the year. What about the anticipation, the hope of the waiting?

Advent is meant to be our time to experience the wait of the nation of Israel, and the anticipation of all creation of the arriving incarnation. (I swear I didn’t mean to rhyme just then).

Put the Focus Back Where It Belongs

I’ve heard all the pithy comments about how Jesus wasn’t born in December and therefore we shouldn’t care about keeping Christ in Christmas. But this is the time of year we’ve chosen to celebrate the birth of the Savior, so I want to give my family the opportunity to do that. We talk a lot about the difference between holiday songs and Christmas carols. While both have their place, Christmas carols contain deep truths that transcend the calendar year.

Do Less, So We Can Experience More

This is a tough one for me, because I love Advent I sometimes try to take it over the top. After multiple years of attempting to do Truth in the Tinsel, which is a fantastic Advent program with daily crafts, this year I’m not going to try. Apparently I don’t do crafts all that well with my children, at least not all of them together. We’re doing other Advent activities, and easing back on formal school to give us the time and space to do this. But I’m trying to avoid the temptation to do too many calendars, countdowns and other daily fun.

I often miss the women’s Christmas breakfast at my church. It always sounds like a nice idea, until December actually rolls around and I find myself asking, is this how I want to spend my limited number of Saturdays in December? So far the answer has nearly always been no.

There is nothing wrong with baking cookies, and hosting holidays parties. These are some of the joys of this time of year. But if in our efforts to do all of that, we lose the meaning behind Advent, we risk busying our brains with exciting sparkle and leaving our hearts empty.

By necessity, the holidays will be simpler for our family this year. Part of me is sorry, and yet, I also feel as though I’m being a great gift. I have the privilege of prioritizing the most important things, and laying the others aside, if only for this year.

For me this means giving myself a few minutes each day to sit and look at my Christmas tree. I can be grateful that it was gifted to us by my sister and brother in law because they know how much a live tree means to me and the kids. It always seems to be at this time of the year that I realize the passage of time. I marvel at how quickly my children are growing up and I find myself reevaluating my relationship with each of them.

Each year I find myself in the Christmas story. Some years I have been Mary, pregnant or with a newborn baby boy, looking into his eyes and wondering how he will be used by God. Other years I am Anna, patiently waiting for what seems like ever so long. Grasping tightly to hope that I will see Jesus. This year I find myself among the people of Israel, feeling the weight of a world in chaos and calling out for my deliverer.

I encourage you to find a way to connect. If you are looking for a good Advent devotional to help you refocus yourself and listen for the voice of God this year, I humbly recommend my book, As We Wait. You’ll find the readings deep enough to be thought provoking but short enough to be attainable.

Maybe you need to set aside a few extra minutes of prayer. Drive in the car with the music off and talk to God. Better yet, allow yourself some silence to let God speak to you. I just finished a 31 day blogging series about generosity. Find new ways to be generous this Advent, and see what you learn through it.

As you journey through the rest of this beautiful time of year,I pray you will find your soul at peace, and your heart gladdened with joy.

O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer

Our spirits by Thine advent here

Disperse the gloomy clouds of night

And death’s dark shadows put to flight

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel