As we have begun the season of Advent, I thought I might point you to some resources that I enjoy and that will hopefully enhance our ability to focus on what is important in this Christmas season. Advent is described as the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event. In this season of Christmas, we are awaiting the arrival of Christ. It's SO easy to get lost in all the other events, traditions and busyness. I am determined this year to try to keep my head and my heart in the right place. I have already had moments where it just seemed like a bit too much on my plate, but then I remember that I really don't want to miss it.

I read a post yesterday that wrote, "And as Advent begins, Luke comes to us, as a kind of a holy ghost of Christmas past, bidding us to lay aside for the moment our Christmas lists, leave the half-trimmed tree, pause the holiday movie, dry our hands from washing the cookie pans, and follow him." That excerpt really spoke to me because while all those things are good thing, we don't want to miss the main thing! (To read the whole post, go to Prepare Him Room)

1. Desiring God is also offering a free ebook, Good News of Great Joy, with advent devotional if you're interested in reading something daily up until christmas,

2. I also usually find a lot of encouragement from the Finding Joy blog by Rachel Martin. She wrote a post about "letting them see you smile" and it really resonated with me.

3. Another option I enjoy is She Reads Truth, which will also be starting a daily advent reading with scripture. Here's the first one from yesterday from the series Born is the King.

4. And if you do find yourself entire overwhelmed and ready to quit....just read Momastery by Gelnnon Melton. I laughed hysterically reading this post on Facebook, "

PLEASE TELL ME that your children fight so incessantly and relentlessly and obnoxiously that every once in a while it’s Sunday morning and you hear yourself yelling: I AM DONE. I DON’T CARE. NO ONE CARES. YOU ARE MAKING ME INSANE- ER. I APPARENTLY DID NOT RAISE YOU RIGHT BUT IT’S TOO LATE NOW SO HERE IS WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN. WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN IS THAT NO ONE IN THIS HOUSE IS GOING TO SAY ANY WORDS FOR TWO HOURS. NO ONE IS EVEN GOING TO COUGH OR CLEAR THEIR THROAT OR DROP ANYTHING. ALSO: DON’T LOOK AT EACH OTHER. PRETEND YOU LIVE HERE ALONE. I CAN PROMISE YOU THAT’S WHAT I DO ALL DAY AND IT IS GREAT FUN.
And so your children stop mid-fight and they freeze and they stare at you with wide terrified eyes and you look back at them and then you look deep inside and: OH JOY OF JOYS: you find no guilt. Just not one teeny drop of guilt. You feel happy. You feel victorious. Vindicated. And you nod your insane head up and down and you look at your gifts from God and you say:

YEAH. That’s what I THOUGHT. What’s up NOW, Meltons? What’s up NOW?

And you walk away and you brew some tea and you pretend to live alone and it is so, so lovely.

Happy Sunday and We Belong To Each Other and Love Wins and All That Jazz. Everything in moderation: especially family togetherness.

We Will Survive,
G"

In case you're wondering, I won't necessarily be doing all of these but I am trying to choose to challenge myself to less social media and more intentional reading this month. One thing I love is that you can look at all of these online, so if you're waiting in the doctors office or sitting in the car pool line, redeem a few moments of meaning for yourself and read one on your phone.

So in other news, it's Monday after Thanksgiving weekend. We are probably all feeling a little more "fluffy" than we did before the weekend. I confess that I need to get back on track. I am getting back after it with workouts and cleaning up my eating. It's always hard this time of year but when you have goals to hit, it's important to make smart choices. Wish me luck that I can make it through a workout, all 4 kids are still home today :)

Have a great Monday friends!

Emily Troutman Photography