Count It All Joy: Advent and Christmas Blessings

First Monday counting...when I share entries from my Gratitude Journal.

Observing Advent is a fairly new practice for me, as it wasn't a part of my childhood, nor do we observe it in our Church. My own children enjoyed counting down the days to Christmas as they opened the little windows on our Advent calendars, perhaps to find a treat hidden there. Through family home evenings, church worship and a host of other things, I did my best to teach them the true meaning of the holiday. I think they got the message. However, I continue to learn there are many ways to honor the birth of the Savior and Advent is a beautiful tradition that I'm drawn to like a magnet. I love this special time, set apart to spiritually prepare for Christmas and I'm finding ways that feel right to me to make it a central part of my holiday season. Lighting the advent wreath in the early morning, and then reading scripture and other inspirational writings come first. Some days, that was followed by listening to sacred music and just sitting. Sitting and listening in the glow of candlelight. This simple practice was the best gift I could have given myself this year. I can't even describe how wonderful it was to start each day in such a way. No matter how I try to slow the pace and be intentional with my time, the weeks leading up to Christmas can be overwhelmingly busy. I looked forward to these quiet moments with the Lord to keep me centered. And it was a blessing!

It's January 4th and my home still looks like Christmas. Our tree was so beautiful that I haven't wanted to take it down. (Yes, it's terribly dry, but hopefully not a fire hazard!). In the past, I've been one to quickly put away all signs of Christmas right after the big day, almost always before New Years. But this year has been different. I'm enjoying the season much longer and have been hesitant to bring it to a close. I've decided to adopt the tradition of celebrating the Twelve Days of Christmas, and will take all the decorations down after Epiphany. This decision has taken away a tremendous amount of stress and given me time to do some things I wanted to do, but didn't have the time to do before Christmas. I've baked my husband a pound cake (his favorite), read through all the Christmas books, sat by the tree and knitted, helped my nephew build a gingerbread house, had friends over for dinner and taken a few naps. Never once feeling guilty, because hey, I'm still celebrating Christmas over here! How did I not know about this before?

How can I say thank you enough, for the blessings of the past month?