Advent

There isn't much to say about today. It was just another day in a string of days that each hold a string of events connected by me drawing lines on the road with my car.
But I wanted to mention that I am so enjoying this season of Advent. We celebrate it every year, and I have definitely menitoned parts of our celebration before. We lit the candles tonight - two candles this week - and read the story of Joseph (we follow the Jesse Tree devotional method which takes us through the lineage of Jesus, leading up to Christmas, when we read about His birth). The kids completed their little activity and participated in our little "discussion" about God's ultimate purpose being fulfilled, even though the circumstances in Joseph's life certainly didn't seem like they would amount to anything good. We sang a Christmas song and said our prayers and the kids brushed their teeth and scooted off to bed. And we left the candles lit for just a little while. No fresh insights were revealed. No life-changing moments occurred. But.....this practice, this ritual.....in its sameness....hm. What am I trying to say? The simplicity of it allows my heart to find a few moments of peace every day during this awfully hectic time of year. To shift my focus off of Xmas and onto Christmas. And that makes a world of difference.

DAILY BLISS: teaching Emma how to do a latch hook rug and hearing Andrew's increasing piano skills as he relishes the chance to play Christmas songs