Advent writing

If I put it on here it commits me to actually doing it, doesn't it?  OK then.

Deep breath

At the risk of making my blog look like a thesaurus, I have come up with a word for each day of Advent, and the plan is to write something every day to go with that word.  I'm hoping not to go too Thought-for-the-day-ish, with a neat little moral wrapped up in sparkly paper, but if I can come up with something that makes me think, and maybe hits the spot for a few other people, I'll consider it a job well done.  And if not, well, it's only 25 days and you can all come back after Christmas!

Lent and Advent are the two big periods of preparation in the Church calendar, for Easter and Christmas respectively.  Their value for me right now is that they are nicely delineated chunks of time.  I may not be able to keep up something new indefinitely, but surely I can manage it for less than a month, right?  And that month might just be enough to change me a little bit for the better.

This time, I have found myself missing that process of thinking, and of arranging words to express those thoughts.  Blog writing has been pushed to one side by an avalanche of boxes to unpack, followed by a deluge of "What should I do now?" from an attention-craving toddler.  Not to mention another small person who will be shortly muscling his way into the world and demanding even more time.  If I want to claw back any thinking time, now is probably the month to do it. And since this is the month designated by the church for centuries as one to pause and realise the sheer wonder of God coming to earth: why not make the most of it?

I've used the Creighton University online resources a few times for Lent, and their Advent site looks just as useful and inspiring.  Go have a look if you're interested in any daily readings, prayers, or general tips on how to have a more thoughtful Advent.

So, Advent starts on Sunday and I think I have a bit of writing to do before then.  Watch this space!