The key is to begin engaging these practices before Advent begins. As Advent approaches, it can really help to begin to notice your thoughts. If you find lots of thoughts and feelings of anxiety, stress or overwhelm, it can be helpful to remind yourself that you actually do have all the time you need to accomplish what truly matters.
You can be peacefully energized by reminding yourself that you do, in fact, have enough time. We can make things more difficult for ourselves by adding shame, guilt, fear or control. We encourage you to not be a slave to your thoughts about time.
If you do feel like you have too much to do, then take time to discern your plans and engagements. You are free to make choices. A full season of ministry plus added anxiety becomes burdensome. However, a busy season engaged with some inner peace yields better fruit. Not only in Advent, but in all seasons of ministry, we like to bring to mind the metaphor of breathing. Breathing involves inhaling and exhaling. We exhale heavily as we engage in the activities of our lives, especially the seasonal intensity of the church gathered.
We encourage you to inhale just as deeply. What are some practices of receptivity, of inhale? After each item, I write the timeline and supplies required to acquire or create each gift. Then I can survey the list and see if I have time and energy to create several of the items or if others fall outside my budget. This way, I can control both my time and our money more carefully through the whole season.
And remember that gifts are exactly that — gifts. They are something given without strings attached to celebrate the relationship between the gift-giver and the recipient. Often, smaller is better. Two of my favorite Christmas gifts have been the tube of lipstick my mom put in my Christmas stocking when I was 12 and the wax sealing kit my husband gave me a few years ago just because he knows it makes me feel happy to put a special touch on envelopes when I seal them up.
This is a season of giving and when we find ways to give generously, be it with our money or with our time, our hearts and spirits are kept light — it's good for us, not just for the recipients of our gifts. The key here is to be both creative and generous. Tsh at Simple Mom has some excellent thoughts and ideas for giving during this season, as well. It obviously makes sense to write down parties and and your children's school Christmas program on the family calendar, but I find it essential to also plan all the decorating, cookie-making, tree-trimming, and even meals for the month so that nothing gets lost in the shuffle and I can see what's coming.
For example, from experience I know it will take our family one evening to choose a tree and get it home and an entire separate evening to decorate it. Thus, I know I have to look at the calendar and find a time when we have two consecutive evenings available and then plan extra-quick meals on those nights. It's one of our favorite parts of the season, so we make time and it's worth the effort!
I must admit I love the Christmas season — the smells of baking and of Christmas trees, the look of lights everywhere in a season when it gets dark early, all the holiday get-togethers, and the intentional times of spiritual reflection. What I have found helps make the season more joyful is to look ahead and to realistically decide what I can incorporate THIS year.
If I know I just won't have time to bake the hundreds of cookies that I love to do each year, I can decide ahead of time that that's not realistic and then set that expectation aside. This extends to parties too.
If you want to make family time a priority this year and you know that all the party invitations you'll receive will affect that time together, choose a set number of party invitations you'll accept and then stick to that number, or choose only one day of the week that you're willing to attend social functions, such as Saturday. Advent is a time when we can step back from the hectic routine, slow down and contemplate the Mystery of the Incarnation. It marks the beginning of a new liturgical year in the Church that slowly builds momentum towards Christmas as the weeks go by.
As with all new beginnings, this season is intended to renew our joy, hope, faith and love. Begin preparing for Advent through prayer. Offer your heart as a dwelling place for the Holy family to live in. The video can help you understand why Advent is important and how it helps us prepare for Christmas. There are still a few weeks before Advent begins. Make a list of things that need to get done before Christmas that you can complete in the weeks before Advent begins, i.
This will free up time during Advent and help you avoid distractions like busy shopping centers that can rob you of time, joy and anticipation of the Christmas season. All you need is an Advent wreath. You can place the image of the child in the manger on Christmas day before opening gifts. You can find Advent Calendars online with great ideas to make the most of out the Advent season.
Remember to check back on Catholic-Link. A few days before Advent, set up a time for daily prayer. Start to eliminate unnecessary distractions and plan on being present during the season of Advent. Limit the time spent on your cell phone, social media and computer.
Increase the time you spend with family and friends by doing things you enjoy together. Before Advent begins, pick a date to invite family and friends to an Advent reflection night. Jesus came to serve, so following in his footsteps we should consider how we could serve our brothers and sisters in need. November and December are some of the busiest times for volunteer centers. Many times patients in the hospital or the elderly in nursing homes are happy to receive cards from people who are thinking of them.
Plan on attending an Advent Mission. Many parishes host Advent Missions. Some missions are hosted on a single night, others last a week but all have one thing in common: to bring the body of Christ together to learn and grow in the love of Christ as we await the birth of Jesus Christ our Savior.
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