Sharing the heart of our family this season
Now is when we buy, buy, buy...but isn't Christmas about the simplicity of thankfulness? It's "the busy season"...but isn't Christmas about peace? We give and receive gifts to experience momentary happiness...but isn't Christmas about good news of great joy? This is the time of year when we most clearly see the disparity between those who have and those who have not...but isn't Christmas about a gift that is for all people? All of these inconsistencies are occurring beneath our consciousness and what remains are confusing irritation where there should be comfort, and insidious tension where there should be tranquility.
This is the time to take some full deep breaths, and bring awareness to what is most important. For our family, Advent is a time when we intentionally bring Jesus into our mealtime conversations. We have done this since our sons were small and continue to do so because it reminds us to focus on what we believe to be the heart of Christmas. We use a string and clothespins to display the coloured tags above the doorway, then interact with beautiful readings compiled by partofthemain. In recent years our Advent Table Wreath has become even more beautiful with the addition of rustic candle holders, hand-made by our sons while they learned at www.branchescommunity.com. Resourcefulness and simplicity come together, much like the parents who welcomed their child into the world in a lowly Bethlehem stable two-thousand years ago.
If you would like to use these resources, please enjoy them with our best wishes. The images on the tags are ready for your young creatives to colour, and pair beautifully well with the readings geared toward the very young.
Now is the time to return to simplicity and thankfulness, allowing the heart of what matters to shape our experience of the season.