Advent Reflections

So this Advent season was the best yet for our family. We were in our home state of Oregon and so did not have to travel for Christmas. And there were no emergencies like totaling a car during Thanksgiving and having to buy a new one right away. No that was last year's adventure. This year, we actually got to enjoy Christmas. And so I thought I would share a few of the highlights from the season:

 Logan’s Christmas Program – So this year was our first opportunity to be a proud parent in the crowd as we watched our son and his class put on a short Christmas program. It was so cute and we were so proud. Granted he didn’t sing or do any of the motions, but he sure looked cute up there with his classmates. 
 Zoo Lights – Every year the local Zoo puts on a light display. Our life group decided to get together and walk the Zoo together. That was awesome. It was such a blessing to share the evening with good friends.
 Advent Wreath – Shelley and I have always wanted to do an advent wreath, and this year we finally did it. What a great way to celebrate the season. The kids loved doing the Bible readings and of course the lighting of the candle. They couldn’t wait for Sunday to come so we could light them again.
 Nightly Advent readings with the kids – Every night before bed, we would read a few more verses of the Christmas story – and of course review what we had read up to that point. By the end of it, we were blessed to hear Logan tell us the entire Christmas story in his own words. Very cute. I’m sure Matea could have recited it too, but there is the issue of vocabulary…
 Giving gifts to our neighbors – Shelley really wanted to give gifts to the 5 other apartments in our section of the complex. This was a great success. The neighbors were pleasantly surprised by the gifts and were very glad to receive them. Logan and Matea did a great job helping us hand them out. We’re hoping this sparks conversation since we all tend to nod and walk past.
 Christmas Eve Service – As always, we were very blessed to be a part of Village Baptist Church. They put on an amazing Christmas Eve service which included among other things a traditional Korean Fan Dance that is used to celebrate the coming of a king. Very cool.
 Christmas Morning – 2 kids, 1 camera, 1 camcorder, and LOTS of presents. Need I say more?
 Christ Candle/Family Devotion – The SINGLE BEST THING we have done all year. At the end of a very exhausting Christmas Day, we sat down as a family next to the Christmas tree and had a little devotional. We lit all 4 candles of the advent wreath and also lit a special Christ Candle. We bought a large white column candle that we can reuse year after year and set it on a special stand. We sang hymns, read the Christmas story from a kids book, read a Bible verse, and talked about our favorite parts of the Christmas season. It was wonderful. I can’t wait to do it again next year. That is going to quickly become my favorite family tradition.

And now to turn our attention to the New Year when, as a coworker of mine always says, everything is possible again. Happy New Year everyone!