Today is the 5th day in the season of Advent. I didn’t grow up hearing too much about Advent, unless you count the candle lighting that we did in church on Sunday mornings. I actually loved the candle lighting, but to me it was just a cool thing to do, mostly because it made the sermon shorter and there was fire involved. A small part of me always waited for one of the candles to fall and turn into a blazing inferno. Now that I have shared my sinful nature with you, I will continue with the post.
The season of advent is an expectation of the Lord Jesus coming. I know he didn’t come in December, but we celebrate Him in December because it is so pretty out and it is what we have done for hundreds of years, so why fight it. Advent to me now is a time where we look towards Jesus and the celebration of His birth. This is also a time where millions of people spend money that they don’t have on things that they don’t need so that they have a packed tree on Christmas morning. When did this season become about debt, depression, and commercialization?
This year, would you consider creating a new norm for your family/community when it comes to Christmas? It is hard to do. It takes a lot of self control, a lot of explaining to others and a balance between being a scrooge and being super Santa. (Santa and Satan have the same letter in their name, hmmm, interesting), kidding.
Here are some things you could do:
- Make gifts instead of buying them
- Only buy gifts for kids and make gifts for adults
- Go together with others and buy significant gifts for the kids in your family, not a bunch of little ones that get thrown in the corner, but memorable ones. (last year a bunch of us went in on an American Girl for Emma).
- Do a draw as a community where you pull names from a basket and each person gets a gift for only one other person.
- Purchase something as a family/community for others in need, like Operation Christmas Child.
- Give your time, energy, gifts and talents instead of money.
- love, love, love.
Have a Merry Christmas, may it be filled with home, joy and love and at the end of it may you still have money in your savings account.
