Hello everyone my name is Rebekah and I blog over at A Bit of Sunshine. It is such an honor to be here today sharing with you about Advent and what it means in our home.
My husband and I both LOVE Christmas. We put up our tree the day after Thanksgiving every year after a big brunch around the dining table. Chris will read from scripture and we talk about the birth of baby Jesus. Then we begin the wonderful job of decorating the house for the season. I love to pull out our Christmas Spode and vintage Putz village. The Santa head mugs and pitchers come out and, of course, the nativity is unwrapped and placed so it can be admired by all. We put on Christmas music, make hot cocoa and will most likely end the day with a family Christmas movie cuddled up on the couch.
This year we have decided to add the "Christmas Elf" tradition to the mix of holiday festivities. I have an old vintage elf wearing a sparkly green suit named Jack. On December 1st, we put him outside our boys bedroom door with a long note for them to find when they woke. The letter explained how he was a Christmas Elf and loved to play hide and seek. He would be visiting everyday until Christmas because he loves celebrating baby Jesus' birthday and wanted to help the boys get excited about it too!
The first morning, at like six AM, my husband and I are in bed and hear the boys emerge from their room. It doesn't take long and we suddenly hear our four year old Levi in a really intense whisper say to his big brother:
"Simon, I saw something..."
and then they just stare in awe and wonder at the note and the two neatly wrapped rolls of gumballs that Jack the elf brought to share.
I can not for the life of me get that little tiny voice out of my head...
"I saw something."
...it was the sweet and sincere voice of a child, and as I process what advent means in our heart and home I think it hit me.
This is it, this is what advent means to us - it is that glimpse of something full of value, full of excitement, beyond understanding and beautiful. Its the thing we hope to instill in our kids more than anything while they are young... that they end up instilling in us. It's the magic and wonder of the Christmas season.
It's that same voice from the Shepard's keeping their watch over their sheep that night...can you imagine?
"I SAW SOMETHING" does not even begin to describe the wonder and awe they must have felt upon laying eyes on the King of Kings!
In our home, Christmas is about directing that magic towards life. The event of Christ's birth is certainly magical, marvelous, supernatural and miraculous! In our home, I want everyday of the advent season to be about celebrating the wonder that is Jesus!
Yes, Santa and presents and reindeer and stockings all take their place. We get to just revel in the sparkling eyes of our kids and marvel at the way Our Savior came to earth, so sweet and gentle and loving, so full of magic and wonder. I pray that our children will grow up loving Christmas, and that it will always evoke that same feeling of something miraculous taking place in their hearts... I pray that they would always SEE the grandeur and mystery and love of our God.
Thanks for letting me be here today Ruth it is truly an honor!
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Thank you for sharing with us, Rebekah! May we all have a true sense of wonder and awe of the great love of our God! Visit Rebekah at A Bit Of Sunshine.
