The Most Wonderful Time...

Here we are at the second week of Advent. And most of us feel frazzled and have a to do list a mile long all in preparation for Christmas. Then there are the kids Christmas concerts and holiday parties we need to be at. The things happening before the "Big Day" can seem never ending. So where do I actually fit God into all of this, right? It's hard to drown out the world. We have responsibilities and commitments. We have the best intentions of making things special when advent starts---taking that extra time with the Lord. But then somehow it doesn't really materialize. It is not too late to capture the anticipation and closness to God we want to have. That Christmas feeling is possible. I believe that and had to really challenge myself this year with Advent. It's funny I don't seem to have a problem with Lent and feeling spiritually prepared for Easter. But Advent is tricky because there are just too many things to take my focus off of where it really should be. And if I'm not focused chances are the rest of my family isn't either. So I thought about how can I get myself back on track and really feel that I'm drawing closer to the Lord in preparation for celebrating his coming here for us and becoming one of us. I came to the conclusion that I needed to get back to basics. I need to find simplicity. So I thought how can I give some uninterrupted time to the Lord. And then it came to me---my car. I drive back and forth to care for my granddaughter four days a week. It's a forty minute drive. There is my uninterrupted time. I tried it on Thursday for the first time. I turned the radio--- everything off in my car. And in that silence I began to pray and have conversation with the Lord. I have to say that is the first time since Advent began that I felt a real connection to the Lord. I think continuing to do this as best I can will give me that prep time that Advent is really about. So when Christmas Day arrives I can feel that closeness and joy of what the day is really about. My question for you to take away from this is where are you this Advent? Is there a place in your day/week where you can find that simplicity during this Advent Season to connect and have that one on one time with the Lord? This week I have a short talk by Father Mike on The True Meaning of Advent. I also have from Catholic Mom a video where she shares her families 7 Advent Traditions. Lastly, there is a short clip by Spirit Juice Kids entitled What is Advent? Also if you go to FORMED (See my Oct. 16th Blog on how to get connected) The On Demand Catholic Channel Brother Francis continues his daily clips on Advent and there is a second episode on Drawing Closer to God with Ms. Kim. Lastly, next Sunday at 7pm Chris Padgett will be presenting "The Gift" an advent night of encouragement at St. Rose of Lima. Father Chris arranged this for the parish. If you have never seen Chris, he evangilizes through comedy. As a Father of 9 children he will tell you laughter is the only way he can get through the day. It is an evening that I think you and your family might enjoy. I hope you have a great week and are able to find some of God's Blessings along the way.