adventuous spirit

i haven't known much about what advent exactly is. like a lot of things, i was over-thinking it. 

advent is latin for "coming" or "arrival." it's a season of preparation. specifically it's a celebratory anticipation for those that believe Christ is the Son of God to celebrate his birth. in other words, "i can't wait to celebrate Jesus' birthday. i'm actually so excited to celebrate that day that i want and need to have small reflective celebrations to count down to the celebration." this attitude is also, i've decided, known as having an adventuous spirit. (yes, i made up a new word.)

i'd like to have an adventuous spirit. i can say - yes, i feel that way. but it's easy to become bogged down in thick "christmas season" traditions and "to do" lists. the countdown to Jesus' birth excites me, but the countdown to christmas can sometimes stress me out. 

i love how my kids don't struggle with this. it's all anticipation, all excitement all the time. at this point they understand a lot more about "getting presents" than they do "God in a virgin womb," but still. i think what i might be saying is, as children, most of us have the foundation for an adventuous spirit. but as we get older, other crap can screw with that foundation. i don't know. 

anyway, i didn't have a whole lot of exposure to advent as a kid. i've wanted to do something with my own family, but never really got a plan together. do i get calendar with little doors that open?  a little house with candy compartments? do we participate in a full out activity everyday after dinner from nov. 30 - dec. 25? again... over-thinking. i shopped around and what's available is overwhelming (and a little disturbing). i mean, Lightening McQueen has his own advent calendar. even Legos makes an advent calendar.  i came across this book and it's been perfect for us - it's called the Bible. you should read it. no, i'm kidding. not about reading the Bible, but about what i found. 

it's called The Story of Christmas Story Book Set and Advent Calendar. it opens from the middle and on the inside contains 24 miniature books, each telling 3-ish paragraphs of the story. the little books are attached to a gold tie so once you've removed them, they can be hung on the tree. the book also includes the prophecies of Christ's birth from Isaiah and Micah as well as a map of the holy land. it's easily found it's way into our bedtime story routine and now whenever i hear "mommy, when is christmas gonna be here?!," i can say, go look at the advent book. 

coming together at the end of the day and reading a "chapter" from "the story of christmas" has felt like a foundational re-set every evening. especially with little boys hearing much of the story for the first time. whatever the day was like, we're able to end it on a note of truth - truth we want to celebrate. 

of course, lent is also a time of preparation. i came across this straight-forward explanation of the difference between advent and lent. i liked it so i'll share it:

There's a time to get ready by focusing on your own sinfulness and wrongdoing, a time for personal transformation and following Christ to the cross. That's Lent. There's a time to get ready by rejoicing that our God is not far away and unfamiliar with the struggles of human life, that Christ is here right now among his followers, that God has already begun to bring in the Kingdom, and that Christ will come again to make it clear who really runs the place. That's advent.

interestingly, celebrating advent has made me more excited to celebrate advent. hmm, something is happening...

let's get the advent party started! unless the rapture happens before then (i'm just sayin'), we'll advent it out next year fo' sho'. i'm open for ideas. so tell me, how do you and your family participate in the season of advent?