Advent Days

Life has been moving so very fast. In the busyness blogging has gone by the wayside, along with many other important things. I'm tempted to think about all I have to do in the Christmas season. I ordered cards weeks ago so they would go out last weekend since many don't have our new address. But they still sit waiting for me to address them. There's Christmas baking, Christmas gifts, we have no tree yet, and frankly, there are at least 10 boxes that have yet to be unpacked from our move four months ago. I'm very behind.

But today was a day of preparation. We embarked on Advent, a precious season of anticipation.

• My friend Heidi who was one of eleven American students (we were the "American 12") who studied in London with me for a semester bought us a Jacquie Lawson London Advent calendar. It is a beautiful calendar that has info on London landmarks, music, puzzles, and we will enjoy it this season.
• Ben has a Latin Advent Calendar that I printed and assembled. Today's word is spes, which means hope. He is our hope.
• We are using The Christmas Countdown: Creating 25 Days of New Advent Traditions for Families by Margie J. Harding. I decided to forego the day's activity...an Advent wreath, because we will have one at church tomorrow. We did read about it. I appreciate the way it isn't just for kids and has an adult action or meditation.

I'm hopeful that I will blog my way through Advent. I don't have time. But it is needful. I plan to forego an hour of sleep time to read and pray.

Tonight's reading was Malachi 3:1-6. Read it (you can even listen to it).  As middle age bears down with a vengeance, and I'm still not eating smaller portions, I'm still not praying as much as I should, I yell at the kids and when I read  (my paraphrase) I'm coming down there to purify you and refine you...make you straighten up and get it together it just made me sigh and think "good luck with that God." So I loved verse 6: “I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed." Always merciful, always waiting, always hopeful. I'm still hoping to get more refining done.  And so grateful that his mercy never ends.