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Ideas for an intentional and life-giving Advent 2020
Advent 2020 is almost upon us. I know many are really looking forward to Christmas this year as a way to bring joy into a hard year. I think it is more important than ever to consider how we will mark this season. This is our opportunity to set our intentions and milk all the joy and peace that is available, even if this season looks different than usual. I am re-releasing my free Advent Planner and Reflections ebook, updated with this year’s dates, to help you to plan what this season will look like for you. I have written about Advent many times before and shared many ideas and…
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Beating the busyness of this season with intention- free Advent planner resource
This week I shared some thoughts on how we can deal with this cycle of feeling busy every day but also feeling like we get nothing done over at the MOPS Australia blog. I find myself in that place often if I am not intentional with how I structure my days, what I focus on and what I choose to spend time on. I find this is especially true in the Christmas season. The demands on our time seem to reach a crescendo at this time of year. We are rushing here and there and yet we feel like we are always behind. The important things get lost in the…
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Advent resources
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Pausing For Advent
Advent has officially begun for another year. In the midst of an overflowing brain and a full season, I am so thankful that I have given myself and my family the gift of simplicity. Advent is not meant to be a burden or something else to add to an already crowded to-do list. What is it about our human nature that draws us to make it that? A few days in and I already have a couple of favourite moments in my Advent days. The first is the pause in front of a lit candle. There is nothing fancy about my Advent wreath made out of bits and pieces I…
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How I will nourish my soul this Advent
It would be so easy to fill the Advent season with all the amazing holiday activities and brilliant resources available but end up missing the point entirely. Instead of feeling nourished and connected, our souls can end up being overwhelmed and wishing for it all to be over. With so many good opportunities, it can be really hard to find what is best for your soul in this particular time. What works one year may not work at all another year. I want to give you (and me) permission to keep it as simple as we need to, to say no to good things, to tweak and make any suggestions…
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One way I am savouring time with my daughter this Advent
As a parent, you have these moments of awareness of how quickly your child is growing up. Such a bittersweet mix of emotions! I am struck again by the urgent need to savour moments with this gorgeous girl. Those moments are our reminders that life is short and our priorities need to shift from the busyness and distraction we immerse ourselves into the treasure that is the fleeting time we have while our children are small. This has been top of my mind in thinking about Advent. This year feels so different and feels like it is the start of a transition into a different phase of parenting. Her interests…
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Advent: Your invitation to savour (and a free gift for you)
Can you feel the shift? The tip over towards Christmas? That usually leaves you feeling either excited or completely stressed. The to-do lists seem endless. The expectations on ourselves and our circumstances seem beyond reach. The wealth of opportunities can feel like pressure to add more and more in our days. This doesn’t have to be the case. For the past several years, I have intentionally engaged in Advent. Far from being the out-dated tradition that I thought it was, Advent has become a time of intentional focus for me. It has become my invitation to slow down and savour the season. It has become the opportunity to help us…
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Simplifying Advent this year
If you have been following my writing for a while, you will know that I LOVE Advent. Each year I plan out intentional ways for me and my family to mark this season and celebrate to the full. (You can read more of my advent posts from previous years here.) This year is going to look very different. Next week, I am having shoulder surgery and will be very limited in function for many weeks. In the midst of trying to get through the everyday challenges this will bring, I don’t want to miss the opportunity to celebrate Advent. This is especially important to me for the sake of my…
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Advent for me
When you’ve been a Christian for a while, it can be all too easy to take who Jesus is and what He has done for granted. At least, it is for me. I find that the passion and real heart connection with the story of Jesus ebbs and flows. I have just finished a six week study on Mark through Hello Mornings. I found myself reconnecting with the foundation of the gospel message again, the person of Jesus. The last few days of looking afresh at His crucifixion and resurrection have particularly had an impact on me. Many tears have been shed. I had already determined to find an Advent…
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Advent as a family
The catalyst for me looking into celebrating Advent last year was my desire to instil the real meaning of Christmas in my daughter’s heart and try to drown out some of the commercialism and focus on Santa. I have come to love it for my own heart preparation and focus on Jesus in a busy season too. Last year I tried to pack so many ideas into how we celebrated Advent that it did become overwhelming and another to do at times (you can read about these plans in this post). This year, I am streamlining my plans. I wrestled a little with wanting to create traditions in our family…
Encouragement for women in leadership
