Getting Ready For Advent

So, I've been meaning to write a post about the upcoming season of Advent because it has to be one of my all time favorite times of the year. This year, I'm hoping to be add a few things to our celebration. We usually have an Advent wreath and will continue that tradition. I'm also thinking about having a Jesse Tree to count down the days until Christmas. The project just looks like something fun to do with the kids and a nice way to keep the meaning of the season in perspective. I'd also love to have a little more greenery around the house, too.

The other thing I'm seriously considering is finding ways to simplify our life and practice service, since traditionally Advent was similar to Lent and a time of preparation for the Christmas season. I think that is one of the things we are really missing in our ultra-busy, materialistic culture. So I've been thinking about using the idea one of my friends did for meals during lent. She decided that in order to simplify meals, she was only going to make soups for dinner. I'm thinking this might be just the thing to teach my children (and myself!) gratitude for all the abundance of food that we usually have. Along the same lines, I would like to help the kids be more grateful for all the material blessings they have in their lives and am trying to think of a good service project that we could do together to help them with this. Let me know if you have any good ideas!

The last thing I'm planning to do is read this Advent Carnival (group of evangelical, Anglican family bloggers writing about Advent) for inspiration and encouragement during Advent. If you are curious about Advent, check it out. If you can't wait until this year's Advent ideas are posted, then follow the link to last year's :) There are so many good ideas out there, it really is inspiring.