The Beginning of Advent

Advent is quite possibly my most favorite season of the church year. I think Lent comes in a close second place. Advent began today at church and it was so neat to see the Advent wreath up, all of the purple everywhere in the sanctuary, and to hear the first week of Advent messages.

Some of you may be wondering- what is Advent? Advent is the 4 weeks leading up to Christmas and it's a time of preparation. Just as God prepared in the Old Testament for Christ's birth, Advent is a time for us to reflect on God's faithfulness to His promises. We see Him faithful to His promises revealed in Christ, and we have hope in the promises He has made to us (i.e. eternal life, forgiveness of sins).

Christmas is so often overshadowed by shopping, gift giving, Santa Claus, and other worldly items. Many people fail to recognize the greatest gift of the Christas season- a small babe. For me personally, I take Advent as a time to prepare my heart for the coming birth of Jesus. Every year I get a new Advent devotion book to read each day and reflect on my relationship with the Savior. There are 2 free devotion book downloads at this site. In fact, I may even read 2 books this year because I picked up one at church today, but these look so interesting.

This year we found an Advent calendar at Starbucks! You open a window each day from now until Christmas Eve, and get a chocolate treat. Who would have thought Starbucks would have Advent items? We have an Advent wreath at home, and we set our tree up today for the start of Advent. I'm so excited...I love this time of year! I'm a visual person, so all of these items serve as a reminder, a countdown of sorts, of Christ's coming birth.

Time for me to go- I have some Advent reading to do. Check in next Sunday for more Advent information.