Countdown to Christmas

At the beginning of the Advent season, Sermons4Kids provided an Advent Calendar for the children to color a star each day as they counted down to the day which we have set aside to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

This past Sunday, our pastor reminded us that it was only two weeks until Christmas.  It started me to thinking, "What special things could we do to bring more meaning to the final ten days of the Countdown to Christmas?"  Here are some of the ideas I came up with.

10 - Raid the pantry and gather a sack of canned goods and take them to your church food pantry.

9 - Go to a store that has a Salvation Army bell ringer and make a donation—then leave without going into the store.

8 - Take a few small gifts to a shelter for women and children.

7 - Leave a gift at a neighbor's front door.

6 - Visit a home for the elderly and hand out homemade cookies.

5 - Write a letter to a member of the military who is stationed overseas.

4 - Watch a favorite Christmas movie with your family.

3 - Put on Christmas music and listen to it all day long.

2 - Have a family night out with dinner and a movie.

1 - Attend Christmas Eve services.

You may have some better ideas of your own.  Whatever you choose to do, make it a time when you think of others rather than thinking about yourself.  It will bring the true meaning of Christmas into focus.

THE WAITING OF ADVENT by Rebecca Edwards

The word “Advent” means an arrival of a notable person or event.  In the Christian tradition, Advent is a season.  An intentional time of waiting, Advent is quiet and dark.  We are getting ready for the Mystery of Christmas.  While the rest of the world seems to celebrate, those observing Advent are waiting for the reason we celebrate.

In our family, we have several Advent traditions.  First, Our church celebrates the first Sunday of Advent with a Hanging of the Green service, where we sing hymns and decorate the church.   The Chrismon (Christ-Monogram) Tree is the focus of our decor, with splashes of blue, purple, and white hanging from tables and walls.

At home, we gradually get our own Advent/ Christmas decor out and around the house.  Our church also helps with this in hosting the annual Advent Dinner Fellowship, which involves a potluck supper and creating a family Advent wreath.   The wreath represents the eternal Love God has for His people.  We light a candle for each of the four Sundays in Advent, one for Hope, Love, Joy, and Peace.  Then, on Christmas Day, The Christ Candle (the big candle in the middle is lit, the life of Christ that has come into the world, pure and spotless.

We live near Baylor University, and every year, during the first week of Advent, we attend the Advent service in the beautiful Armstrong-Browning Library.  It is a lovely night that visually and musically sets our hearts ready for the season.

At home, our family begins Advent devotionals with The Jesse Tree, a journey through the people of Scripture that culminate in the birth of Jesus Christ, based on Isaiah 11:1:

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

In 2010, I found a wonderful resource online from Ann Voskamp. It was a printable Jesse Tree devotional, complete with ornaments and daily Scripture. (Click here for the devotional.) Other resources are available, too, and it is fun for the children to hang an ornament on the tree each day as we approach Christmas.

As the season goes by, with Christmas events around town, we hold the waiting still.  While school “holiday” parties happen, we remember the “Holy Day” for which we are preparing.

However your family chooses to celebrate this Advent season, what is important to remember is this waiting prepares us for the journey of this Christian life. This waiting in the “not yet” is the daily practice of a Christian.

A note from Charles Kirkpatrick: Rebecca Edwards is a Native-born West Texan transplanted in Waco.  A wife, mother, volunteer, and substitute teacher, her passions include her Christian Faith, her family, her children, and her community.

MY THANKSGIVING TOP TEN LIST

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. Psalm 100:4 (NIV)

It's just around the corner—the day we celebrate as Thanksgiving.  Isn't it interesting that we designate ONE DAY out of the year to give thanks to our God who so richly blesses us 365 days a year?  We should say, "Thank you" every day of the year!

It would be impossible to list everything I have to be thankful for, so I will just list what I will call My Thanksgiving Top Ten List.

10. My house – there are many people in this world today who have no place to live.  Many of them sleep on park benches and under bridges.

9. Food - we always have plenty to eat at our house.  Many people don’t.  Every day as I drive home from work, I see people standing beside the road holding a sign that says, “Will work for food.”

8. Clothes – I never have to worry about whether there will be clothes in my closet for me to put on each day.  Many people only have the clothes that they are wearing.

7. Health – I am thankful that I am blessed with good health.  Many people have a serious illness which keeps them from enjoying a full and happy life.

6. My country – I am thankful that I live in a country where I enjoy great freedom.  In many countries you don’t have much freedom.  In some countries you can be put in prison, or even put to death, for telling others about Jesus.

5. Teachers – I am thankful for the teachers that I have had in school and in church who have taught me the things I needed to know to live a happy and successful life.

4. Friends – I am thankful for my many friends.  In times of trouble, I have always had friends who were there to help me.

3. Family – I am thankful for my family.  God has given me a wonderful wife and son and many other family members whom I love very much.

2. Parents – I am thankful that God blessed me with wonderful parents who loved me, cared for me, and taught me about Jesus and his love.

1. Jesus – Jesus is number one on my list of things for which I am thankful.  No one ever loved me like Jesus.  He loved me so much that he was willing to die on a cross so that I can have everlasting life.  Thank you, Jesus.

Well, that is my Thanksgiving Top Ten list. I have been so richly blessed! The Bible says,  “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same." It is my prayer that I will begin to share generously of the bounty with which I have been blessed.