The "Importants" of Advent

Already this season has been an introspective one.

Something about major life transition maybe, and yet finding stillness and peace in the midst of it.

Of course we say there is something "magical" about Christmas, but even deeper than that, there is something Holy.
It stirs me.

I've found myself thrown between being excited and enthusiastic about our coming upheaval, and at others times wandering the hallways of this house, now bereft of our personal touches.

Something about being between two houses makes you realize the importance of home.

Funny, how I'm finding my home here; at the center of a story about a woman forced to leave all comforts on the eve of childbirth, a husband who couldn't find a proper shelter for his family when they needed it most, and a baby who had no where but a feeding trough to lay his head.

I am deeply humbled.
My heart aches with how much I love and feel this story that makes up the foundation of who I am.

Reflecting on all of this, I made my list of Important things for this Advent, and as the chalkboard is one of the last things to be packed, on my wall it reads:

1. Live IN the moments.
These days of packing tape and plan making, it's easy to start living weeks down the road, stressing about the ins and outs of this daunting task.
I want to Stop.
Take a deep breath
Focus
Capture
and remain HERE.
Right now.

2. Light Candles.
Both literally and figuratively. Lighting candles means being a source of light to my family when things start looking a little dark and the rubber hits the road.
But it also means that an empty house full of boxes can still look cozy with a few lit candles

3. Give more than I spend.
This doesn't just mean dollars and cents, it means frugality at the craziest shopping time of year giving way to true generosity and hospitality.

4. Embrace Simplicity.
Even a pair of mittens hung to dry on a stair rail, can be a Christmas decoration; it all depends on how you look at it.

5. Be Intentional.
This means:
With my time and how I spend it.
With my relationships and what I do and say,
With my celebrations and how I ring them in,
With my family and I how I cherish and nurture them.

6. See the season like a child does.
Advent is where the innocence and imagination of a child really shines. I love the way that Christmas inspires and excites them; the way it completely captures them.

7. Make these "Holidays", Holy Days.

Indeed.