Happy Adventing!

We’ve all seen them. You know, those beautiful Christmas decorations that have been up in the mall and in stores since before Halloween. And I must say … when I was in Atlanta the week before Thanksgiving the CNN Center had the most gorgeous display of extra-large ornaments hanging from their ceiling … a truly breathtaking sight.

Yea, I guess I get it … Christmas is a HUGE money maker for businesses and they want us to get in the “spirit” as early as possible in hopes that we spend more money. But as I shopped in a clothing store about 2 weeks before Thanksgiving, it was all I could do to deal with the Christmas carols blaring on the store’s sound system. Seriously, I felt nauseous. And last week (BEFORE THANKSGIVING) I began to notice several of my neighbors putting up trees and lights and other decorations on their houses. All I could think was … REALLY? IT’S NOT EVEN THANKSGIVING YET! We’ve got to get through Thanksgiving before we get to Christmas. I felt like such a scrooge.

Since we’ve been out of town since Thursday, driving into my neighborhood last night was a shocking reminder of all I’ve been feeling these past weeks! There are so many houses fully decorated with twinkling lights, icicles, and Santa’s! Actually really cool looking this year are some of the LED lights! And now that it’s okay with me if you decorate, seeing those lights last night really made me wonder … why?!

Take the retailers and the money the season makes them out of the equation! Why do we normal human beings feel this overwhelming need to bring on Christmas so early? Why rush it getting here? How can we just skip right over Thanksgiving? And what difference is there between Thanksgiving and Christmas if our trees are up and houses are full on decorated before the turkey is even in the oven and our family arrives in town?

And how does this apply to teenagers today? When I was in high school, I remember so vividly wishing my time away. I lost out on so much because I was constantly thinking about all of the great things to come which I thought were way better than I could possibly imagine. And then I spent so much time in college thinking about what was to come and obsessing over my future freedom and how desperate I was to get there that I can only imagine the moments of awesomeness right in front of that I completely let slip by. And I remember being right out of college and realizing that the grass wasn’t so green on the other side and regretting all the time I just let slip by! While maybe not able to fully voice some of this, teens today deal with it! And, further, we’ve become so busy these days that letting time slip through their fingers happens (almost) naturally. In our crazy culture, rarely are there moments to just be and to live in the moment of what is happening here and now!

Yesterday in Confirmation Class we were talking about worship with Fr. Paul. One of the youth asked a question about the true meaning of Advent. Expectant waiting. This is when we Christians prepare for celebrating the birth of Jesus by remembering the longing of the Jews for a Messiah! It’s waiting with this great expectation. There’s not a lot of other times during the year that teens get to “wait” like this or encouraged to slow down! And, of particular note, there is real power in waiting and anticipating!

But Advent should be just like that! And we parents and youth workers are called to teach our teens how! We should teach our youth that Advent is a time of getting excited, getting ready, of reflection, and of living in the moment of the joyful anticipation the moment that is to come in Jesus’ birth, not simply wishing it away! For without the baby Jesus, our faith would look altogether much different!

Advent is a time, unlike much other, in the lives of our teenagers! And we MUST be intentional in helping our teens find ways to slow down … because they really may not know exactly how to do it! Just think about it … when was the last time that media, text alerts going off incessantly, selfies being taken, music blaring, or a TV wasn’t on in your house or car when you teen was around? When was the last time you had some uninterrupted time as a family just to be?

Think about this. When we get ready to have a baby in our families, there are some things we have to do to prepare and things that we do to get excited! There are cribs and strollers and clothes to be bought. There are parties to attend so as to celebrate and anticipate the birth with friends and family. Things are just the same with Advent! We need to prepare our families hearts for the arrival of baby Jesus!

I don’t know exactly what or how creating this anticipation and joy and moments of slowing down looks like for your family and it will take some intentional time to create it! Maybe it is as simple as decorating with a nativity set and wondering aloud about the characters together. Maybe it is sharing Christmas memories of past years or Christmas Eve worship service favorite moments (like the lighting of the candles at midnight or the leaping we did in Fr. Paul’s sermon two year’s ago). Maybe it is just watching a Christmas movie together. Maybe it is using some of the resources from my earlier post about Advent. But I do know it is necessary, especially for your teens!

And as much as I hate to say it … we can take a lesson from the retailers (and my neighbor’s) and drag things out or at least give our youth every opportunity to see signs that this great thing is about to happen and help get their heart’s ready! Happy Adventing!

Observe Advent, Don't Fight Santa: Advent Resources for Youth Families

As we start Advent 2014 it is important to remember to slow down! Our rector, Fr. Paul will be issuing a challenge to SJE families and the Parish to do just so! We know that slowing down is tough in our culture ... and slowing down as a family is even more difficult! And ... if you are able to slow things down (even for just 30 minutes) ... what do you do while slowed down?

The resources below are meant to provide you with some help as you slow down! There are some great family time ideas, craft projects, service projects, Advent calendars, and so much more! And, Matt and I will also be posting a daily photo on Instagram and Facebook to try to keep Advent and the anticipation of the birth of baby Jesus in the forefront of our teen's minds and days! Let's think of it as project Observe Advent, Don't Fight Santa! Please feel free to contact Matt or I for other ideas or to ask questions! And, we'd love to hear what you'll be up to .... Happy Advent! Here are a few suggestions:

*Lead (Living Every Day as Disciples) Website: http://waytolead.org/resource/advent-resources-pinterest/
Lots of ideas using Pinterest and other sites to help spark your creativity! Family time ideas, service project ideas, and more!

*Advent Conspiracy: http://www.adventconspiracy.org/
Christmas can still change the world! Mtr Suz will be presenting on this in the Rector's Forum THIS Sunday at SJE! The idea is to worship fully, spend less, give more, and love all! The site has some great ideas about relational gift giving, fighting injustice, and supporting water wells in 3rd world countries with the money you save by making gifts instead of buying! Your teens could REALLY get into this!

*Family Resource Ideas from The Episcopal Dio of PA: http://www.diopayouth.org/blog/family-advent-resources
This site offers some excellent and practical tools for devotions, texts, video clips of a modern day nativity, and more!

*Living Montessori Now: http://livingmontessorinow.com/2011/11/29/50-plus-december-family-activities/
A great site with 50+ crafty ideas, Advent prayers, family traditions, and more!