Thankful for Advent

Advent starts on Sunday. At first, I was surprised - how could it be Advent already? That means that Christmas isn't far behind! How could we be nearly at December?

But this morning, I was thinking about it and I was thankful for Advent. Because if it wasn't for that time of contemplation, I would hit December 24th and think, "Whoa, it's Christmas, where did that come from?" So the season of Advent is an important reminder to prepare for Christmas.

And that doesn't mean just the baking, shopping, decorating part of Christmas. The important part of Advent is the heart preparation. I was working through a list of Advent activities and found a devotional I found last year. It struck me again how important it is to contemplate Christ's coming and the reason for His coming. I'm looking forward to reading the daily passages with our family and singing the carols everyday.

I've also ordered a new book with a compilation of devotionals, essays and messages on the Christmas season titled Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus. I have the Easter one and thoroughly enjoyed it so I'm looking forward to this Christmas one.

The two advent devotional guides can be found here.