Fun & Purposeful Advent Activities (25 day plan)



Advent Activities with rest, family time and Jesus-focus built in

December is just around the corner, and while I have been listening to Christmas Music since November 1st (all bets are off after Halloween, if you as me) We haven't done much around the castle to really get in the spirit.
Since my sons were very young, I've really made a point to focus on the truth of Christmas. I'm not "anti-Santa" or anything. It's just not about that for us. Some of our traditions are more mainstream, like watching Rudolph. But as time draws nearer, I like to really fix our eyes on Jesus. I think there are plenty of ideas out there on the two extremes, but I wanted to make a well thought-out list for those of us who tend to embrace both spiritual and festive traditions throughout the season. Here goes!

1. Decorate. We won't get our tree until later on, but we will at least get started.
2. Read The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. If you don't have a copy, try your local library OR watch this reading on Youtube.
3. Christmas Parade. That's the date for our town, anyway. (Tip- Make something in the crockpot)
4. Put up tree. We are planning to make a day of it and go get one, but that might end up being a trip to Lowe's.
5. Send out Christmas Cards. Get on it, girls!
6. Make cookies together.
7. Cookie Exchange with neighbors.
8. Wrap a few presents. It's nice to have some under the tree.
9. Family Night! (game, dinner out, local activity)
10. Hang Candy Canes on tree and read the Candy Cane Gospel
11. Watch Elf.
12. Read The Night Before Christmas. I know.. it's not Christmas Eve.
13. Christmas Dinner with friends.
14. Make Tamales. This is a Christmas in New Mexico staple.
15. String popcorn.
16. Make Nativity Ornaments.These are Cute, but pinterest has infinite ideas if you're crafty.
17. Family Christmas Party.
18. Watch Rudolph.
19. Read The Christmas Story in Luke Chapter 2
20. Take a day to put finishing touches on your decorations, rest and prepare Him room.
21. Christmas Light Scavenger Hunt. My favorite tradition! I like This List, but there are lots out there. Don't forget hot chocolate with extra marshmallows.
22. Finish Wrapping gifts (if you have them all!)
23. Pray for those you've invited to your Christmas Eve service. Make Faralitos (Google it)
24. Attend Christmas Eve Service. Afterward we give the kids their Christmas Jammies as an early present.
25. Open presents!!!! Later on, we will watch A Christmas Story. That's our family's favorite.


How you can Let Love Live in a lost time

Has it ever bothered you that in 1 Peter 5:8 the devil is compared to a lion, but in Revelation 5:5 Jesus is called the Lion of Judah? I mean, I kinda wanted to Lion thing to be sacred. Exclusively Jesus. It wasn't until recently that I realized what 1 Peter really says:

 Be alert and of sober mind.

 Your enemy the devil prowls around 

like a roaring lion 

looking for someone to devour.

This is the truth. The enemy knows better than to be overtly evil. He knows that even newborn Christians will sniff that stuff out. So, instead he disguises himself to look and sound a lot like what we believe is good. This is the place where many of us slip through the cracks. The ones who get "devoured" are the ones who know enough of the Bible to see what's mostly true, but don't have enough of the truth in their hearts to reject what is counterfeit. 

Let me give you a quick example. We all here the yogis of the world say "Namaste." And whether or not you even do yoga, you've maybe given this greeting jokingly or otherwise. But do you really know what Namaste means? 

In Hinduism is literally means "I bow to the divine in you."
Now, do you feel like that's a big deal? Maybe. Maybe not. But just in saying that, I've confessed with my own mouth an open door to something I don't even know.

Without God's spirit giving me discernment, I would probably do lots of that kind of thing blindly. It's not to say that there's not grace, because GRACE IS EVERYTHING. But, sometimes His grace is a strong aversion to something, even if you don't know why. 

Now, can I tell you where I see many of us being devoured?

Love. 

The world has gone to great lengths to confuse love. Love has been muddied with similar things like sex, equality and attention. While those things are not inherently bad, they are not the definition of love. 

1 Corinthians 13 is a great place to start when defining love. Most of us are familiar with it, in fact, I memorized this passage as a teenager and much of is has stuck. I needed a reminder, though because there are some good bits in there that I sometimes overlook. 

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, 

it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 

7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

I want to focus our attention on versed 6 and 7. It does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. Whoa! What does that look like? I mean everything we see and hear right now is all about acceptance. "I respect your choices." But that is not love. God is love, and God's definition here says we don't get to laugh off situations that are putting our loved ones in danger. 

We rejoice in the truth! We don't have to be afraid of it. It doesn't mean our delivery of that truth is boastful (see vs 4). We can speak kindly, but we have to be honest and we have to be confident in that. Why? because in verse 7, we are told that love protects. It trusts. It hopes. How is agreeing with sin protective? How is it hopeful? It's not. In fact, it does the opposite. It says that our friends are a lost cause and it's not worth the effort to be honest with them. 

We, as the church, have an obligation to define love for this world. I know that sounds like a tall order, but we are the only ones who even know what love really looks like. If God is Love and God is in us, then really we just need to lose the fluff this world has taught us and walk in who we really are. 

Lastly, I want to look at perseverance. That is something you only need in times that are tough. We have to understand that love is not the airbrushed relationships we see on Netflix. It's sticky and emotional, and I don't only mean romantic relationships. Friendships and family dynamics are just as complicated. But God's love perseveres. We don't quit or back down just because someone pulls away from truth. We lovingly keep trying. We keep speaking life and truth over them. We rejoice in their every little victory and we trust their apologies. 

Believe me when I say that I am not a master of this at all. But I know I can be and you can be, too. 

We have got to do this, because the broken world out there needs to know love. 

They've tried to redefine it or create their own version of it, but now it's time for us to introduce them to it. 

Let love live-

Lindsay 

Momming like a Boss- Handle your first like a seasoned vet

My third child turned one this month and it's had me reflecting on how easy the last year was. A big contributor to that was her wonderfully content disposition. I mean, really, she's a very easy-going child. But I also like to think that a little experience on my part has made me a more easy-going parent. It's given me the ability to not sweat the small stuff and enjoy this first year a lot more than I did with the first two (sorry, guys!)

Here we are with our firstborn. Life was simple and we knew
literally nothing. 

With all that in mind, I thought it might be nice to write down a few things that I've learned. Maybe a first-timer can take my word for it and breeze through that first year! It's worth a shot, right? 

1. See the light at the end of the tunnel. 

Your baby will only be a baby for one year! Once they start walking and talking, all the cuddly stuff tapers off and it's full on exploration mode. Enjoy the baby stuff. Hold them just because they want you  to. And know that you will sleep a full night again. You will get to be alone with your spouse for longer than 2 hours again. If you focus on experiencing this first year to the fullest, you won't regret so much when it's over. 

2. Build a Routine- but don't be it's slave. 

Every parent will tell you that when you add a second child, the first thing you HAVE TO DO is get on a schedule. It's imperative to your sanity. But often times, I found myself enslaved by my own schedule. You have to have a little flex every now and then. And you cannot stress when things derail. It does not help, trust me. 

Start with a basic sleep schedule- this is my rule of thumb:

6 hours awake, 2 hour nap

6 hours awake 10 hours asleep. 

For my boys, that 6 hours was key in making sure they were actually tired enough to sleep. That might mean waking your child up earlier, it may mean not expecting them to be in bed at 7pm. It all depends on your day. 

Little guys snoozing. Perfection. 

3. Don't Skip the Nap

this falls in line with point 2, but I think it's the most important thing I learned with little guys. On days when my boys would not nap (age 1-4) they would wake up with night terrors. I thought it was bizarre at first, You'd think an exhausted child would sleep really well, but there's actually a lot of research that says the contrary. If you want your child to sleep well, make sure they are sleeping enough. 

If you struggle getting your kids down for a nap, I suggest setting the mood (low lighting, soft music and less smiley-giggly games). Your child will pick up on the sense that you're stressed or just want them asleep and they will fight you more. Which brings me to my next point-

4. Set the tone for calm

Kids are more intuitive than we give them credit for. If you're feeling scared, stressed, angry, sad, etc., they will draw from that. It can produce a myriad of emotions flying around your home. It's important to stay calm. We are human, we are going to feel thing! But you will create unnecessary stress in your home if, for instance, the wind is howling and you stop dead in your tracks to listen to it (with panicky eyes searching around the room, of course). Your kids are not going to feel safe. They don't have the same rationalizing skills that we do. So, rationalize situations and the express those feelings. Like "hmm.. that wind sure is picking up tonight. I'm glad we have a safe, cozy home." 

Also, just kill the bug. Don't scream. Don't panic. You have the power to teach kids to not be afraid!  

#3 Clearly our happiest child because her parents actually
 know what they're doing (kinda)

5. Don't buy expensive diapers

This might the most practical thing on my list, but let me tell you this:

Walmart diapers that say something like "compare to Huggies.." are going to be better diapers than Luvs. We used Luvs with out first two because they were cheaper, but still name-brand. I won't get too graphic, but we have seen some horrific blow-outs. Just don't. We have bought nothing but store brand diapers over the last year and our experience has been great! clothes stay cleaner, we don't have scary clean-ups in public bathrooms or entire crib sheets defaced. 

Seriously, guys. Don't buy Luvs. 

That's my list. I hope that it helps! I'll be sure to add on if I think of anything else. 

Seasoned mamas, what's the best advice you give new mamas?