Skip to main content

Advent 2022

It's the first Sunday of Advent coming up, and for once I feel fairly well prepared! Of course, the proof is in the (Christmas) pudding - whether I actually do all this remains to be seen. If you haven't even thought about Advent yet, do grab an idea to join in with. None of them require any advance preparation except for downloading, printing or book ordering - and one of them doesn't even start until 20 December.

Something to do

I recently went to a Mindful Advent workshop, run by the lovely Stacey and Ella from Create and Connect. We spent a happy couple of hours folding origami envelopes to make our own Advent calendars, with a few mince pies to nibble as the November rain poured down outside.


I'm filling my envelopes with a short activity for each day, a Bible verse from the Christmas story, and a tiny treat for each of us. Thinking of 24 different activities was harder than folding 24 origami envelopes! Mine range from "listen to your favourite Christmas carol" and "enjoy a cup of mulled wine" to "walk barefoot round the garden" and "do a 10-minute exercise routine".

click for a larger image!

For a quick and easy version, print out the mindful Advent calendar from Calm Moment here.

Something to read


My Advent book this year is Waiting on the Word by Malcolm Guite. I'd come across Guite's set of sonnets for the Stations of the Cross, but hadn't read any more of his work. Then I discovered he had also written sonnets for each of the "Great O" antiphons (no, I didn't really know what they were, either, but they are read on specific days near the end of Advent, if you're in a church which does that kind of thing). Those sonnets are included in Waiting on the Word, and so are lots of other poems by various authors, with a short reflection on each one. It's been a while since I read much poetry. I'm hoping I like it.

Something to listen to

Very exciting - the BBC has recorded a new podcast adaptation of one of my favourite books! The Dark is Rising will be available as 12 episodes, starting on December 20th. The book's action takes place from the winter solstice to Twelfth Night. Will's traditional family Christmas of carol singing, snowfall, and mince pies is threatened by a tense battle between the Dark and the Light, as Will discovers his new powers as an Old One. Here is the introduction - it sounds great.

Something to pray


I may have mentioned Lectio 365 a few times before. This app has got me back into a regular routine of prayer, with just ten minutes a day to pause, reflect, and listen to the Bible. The family version is good, too - we do that one together much more sporadically, but the boys seem to enjoy it. The Advent series on both apps this year is Voices of Advent. Advent always seems like a good (short-ish!) time to try to pray more, so why not give it a go?

...and a cheeky drink!



The Little Brewing Company, which is local to us, have released their new cans, just in time for Christmas. There's a Christmas pudding porter and an Epiphany pale ale - what more do you need? A few of these may be on our shopping list pretty soon...
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

National Forest Way: The End!

The National Forest Way finishes at Beacon Hill, Leicestershire, with beautiful wide-ranging views in all directions. I'd been hoping for a sunny day, and this one certainly fit the bill. The frosty earth lay under a glorious canopy of shining blue sky. I parked at Swithland Wood, close to where we finished the previous walk. Finding the waymarker on the first gate was bittersweet - this was the last time I would be following these familiar circles.   Swithland Wood had been acquired by the Rotary Club in 1931, and later passed on to Bradgate Park Trust. The lumpy terrain was due to slate quarrying. I skirted a couple of fenced-off pits. As I left the wood, I passed a lake which I assumed was another flooded quarry, but with an odd little tower next to the water. I followed a road up a steady hill towards Woodhouse Eaves. Many of the houses were surrounded by walls of the local slate. Woodhouse Eaves was a prosperous-looking village with some nice old buildings. Crossing the wide ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Theme: Body

I didn't plan this to be a theme week, but Toby's new refrain has become, "I want to do something else " (how does he know it's the school holidays?)  Something else turned into my digging out my body-themed activities and roll of cheap wallpaper.  So here we go! First thing to do is draw a body, and fortunately I had a handy template.  Lie down, Toby! Just ignore the face.  And lack of neck.  I know it's not a great likeness, but he really is that tall.  How on earth did that happen? He knew pretty much all the body labels already, so I can't really claim it as a learning opportunity.  Still, revision is good, right?  And everyone enjoys colouring on a huge sheet of paper. Another sheet of wallpaper became a blank canvas for hand and foot painting.  Fortunately it's been great weather, as outside is always the best place to do this.  Even with a strategically placed tub of water for washing off in. I've gone gree...
1 comment
Read more

Monthly Munch: July

The weather this month has been beautiful, so we've been out enjoying it as much as we can - fruit picking, fete attending, gardening and walking.  Preschool is finished for the summer; I've planned weekly themes in an effort to stay sane during the holidays, so expect a few activity posts coming up. Toby He wanted me to make a box into a TV.  Here he is eating his lunch in it. - has made friends with the girls next door, and is getting much more confident socially - still insists on always wearing odd socks - has been loving the sandbox our neighbours gave us.  Apparently they nicknamed him "The Sandman" at preschool due to his love of digging - pounced on a writing practice book I bought him, and worked his way all the way through to P, doing really well at tracing all the letters. - won the hula hoop race at his first preschool sports day Athlete in action One of his great big Megabloks trucks Drawing a car with about a million wind...
Post a Comment
Read more