It’s happened. We’ve made it to December. In our lives today, that means all kinds of things–colder weather (hopefully), more crowded stores (hopefully not), and, of course, an undeniable countdown to Christmas. As we’ve officially entered the season of Advent, let us do so with our hearts in the right place.
Our hearts in the right place. That’s a nice sentiment, but what does it mean? Of course, I mean things like reflecting on the birth of Christ and claiming His peace in your life during this often-hectic season. However, orienting our hearts also means orienting our actions. What will we actually do this year to have a Christ-centered Christmas?
Every day from now until just before Christmas, we will be offering a new idea based on the Advent Conspiracy principles of worship fully, spend less, give more, and love all. There will be ideas for family activities, homemade gifts, ethical shopping, and ways to engage in meaningful service. We hope this will help enable you to have a conspiratorial Christmas this year!
Our first idea puts a spin on the traditional Advent calendar. If you grew up in the church, you might be familiar with Advent calendars as a way of helping us count down to Christmas. For me and my family, this meant a brightly-colored felt-and-velcro contraption featuring camels, angels, and Christmas trees, building a more elaborate scene every day until we finally got to stick baby Jesus in the manger on Christmas Eve.
One way to make this tradition more meaningful is to implement a “Random Acts of Kindness” Advent calendar. Each day features a new act of kindness to do with your family, both injecting more love into your community and leading to conversations about why loving our neighbors connects with the Christmas story. See the attachment to find the calendar!
Dayspring Blog 