My 10 Goals for the Week

This is a crazy, busy week for us.  Most people with kids can probably relate to all the Christmas activities, plays, concerts, and all that goes along with the Holiday Cheer.  We are also recovering (finally) from the nasty cold that has been going around.  This week we have 3 doctor appointments, 1 orthodontist appointment, 1 college graduation to attend, 1 band concert, 2 Christmas cantatas, 1 Christmas parade, 2 weightlifting meets, Bible Study, Awanas, 3 book reports and 1 science project due.  Whew!!!

Here's my goals for the week:

Family:
1.  Nail down the dates and details of both sides of our family's Christmas get togethers.
2.  Pray for each of my kids and my husband daily.
3.  Encourage kids not to procrastinate on these projects.
4.  Continue reading "The Greatest Gift" for each day of Advent.

Grocery Budget:
1.  Finalize our Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year's menus. 
2.  Make a plan to shop on December 15th for all items and foods that we will need from December 15th- January 5th.  I want to stay out of the stores during those crazy weeks except for the Day after Christmas clearance sales.

Christmas Prep:
1. Print Christmas Light Scavenger Hunt lists from Pinterest.
2.  Make cracker candy, fudge, and divinity this week.

House Management:
1. With all of the coming and going I want to keep clutter and piles to a minimum.  I'm already losing that battle this morning, lol!

Homeschooling:
1.  Continue working with Annika on her colors and shapes.
2.  Camryn is working on her Elf Journal to keep up with the adventures of Freddie, studying Christmas around the world, and continuing with reading and math 1st grade.

What is Advent anyway?

The craziness of December began at my house last night after the children and my husband acknowledged that school and work were on the horizon.  After a glorious 10 day vacation, normal life was to begin with the alarm clock at 6 am today.  We compared schedules and events for the week and I realized that my dream of a calm, dreamy December may be outvoted by Christmas concerts, cheering events, and practice schedules of every kind. 

To most of the American public, today is a return to work after a long weekend.  But have no fear my shopping friends, it is also Cyber Monday which follows a weekend of crazy consumerism that began with Thanksgiving sales on Thursday and continued with Black Friday and Shop Small Saturday.  So while many are physically at work, they will still be sneaking in some shopping online.  Somewhere, sandwiched in the last four days was the first Sunday of Advent. 

Perhaps business and over scheduling is the reason why Advent, in my neck of the Baptist church woods, has not been a big deal in the past.  Of course the season was marked by decorating the church with a few more wreaths, putting up a tree, and covering the alter with poinsettias.  Everyone looked forward to the fellowship meal, especially for the homemade cakes and pies from the older ladies.  You could tell Christmas was coming when we began signing Christmas carols and the preaching came from the book of Mathew. But these were all things we did in church, isolated from our very typical, busy lives on the other 6 days a week during the month of December. 

Now that I'm older I'm discovering what Advent is truly meant to be.  A time to be excitedly awaiting the Savior not waiting for the presents under the tree.  A time to reflect on the blessings I already have in my life, not a time to dwell on a list (even if just in my head) of all the things I want.  A time to show the greatest love to a dire, desperate world who is rushing around with no true anchor to why they are even carrying on their Christmas traditions.  A time to seek Him daily, moment by moment and see that He is Good and worthy of the wait. 

I try to think back to the times I was waiting for something really big in my life~ my wedding day, the birth of my kids, the arrival of those we adopted, moving days, graduations, and even debt pay off dates.  All of those shared one theme~ nothing would stand in my way to make those days the best.  Nothing would dampen my spirits in the weeks leading to those dates circled on the calendar.  I marked the days with "things to do" and "things to prepare".  Should Christmas and the birth of my Savior be any different?

Sure, it's not really His birth.  That happened over 2,000 years ago but just as I celebrate milestone anniversaries in my life, I celebrate Christmas to remember that God became man and walked the earth and loved and suffered and bled and died so that I might be redeemed from my sorry, sinful state.  Upon my birth, I was immediately separated from God, having a sinful and selfish spirit.  We all were.  From the very foundation of the world, from the time Jesus with God the Father and God the Spirit breathed life into the first man, the birth and death of Jesus had already been decided.  God knew we would sin. He knew we would reject Him over and over again.  He told us so through the Jewish prophets and He told again through his own spoken and recorded words.  But He came anyway.

He came anyway!  He loved anyway!  He continues to love me anyway!  

So this December, in the rush of my life as mom of seven, wife to a very busy teacher and musician, and even while scheduled to be somewhere and do something almost every single day I will wait for the Savior and seek Him daily.