One Week Until Advent...!
My Annual Recommendation List & a Fun Giveaway 👀
Some Resources for Your Pleasure… And a Giveaway!
My ‘All Things Advent’ Resource List
Cheers to you all! For those of us in the Western calendar, Advent is only a week away. For those of us in the Eastern calendar, we’ve been Advent-ing (can that be a verb?) for a bit now. I pray that wherever you find yourselves, your time on the journey is full of the presence of Christ.
In Northern MN, I find that the blustery cold *usually* starts picking up drastically right as Advent is about to begin, which aids my body & soul in wanting to go inside (both physically and metaphorically) to the quieter spaces of home + being. For years now, I’ve noticed that I seem to strike a pattern this time of year of becoming a bit melancholy, very sentimental, and uncomfortably touching deeper down into my own unfulfilled desires and longing — not only for just myself (though, if I’m honest, my disposition is usually to first think of myself, help me, Lord!) but also for the people around me and in the world. Therefore, the timely practice of Advent is always such a gift in my world, and I truly think it’s one of my favorite times of the Liturgical year. I have always been someone who has needed proper acknowledgment of the melancholic sorrow to make richer sense of the abundant joy set before me. And because of that, I have spent many years hunting for various resources to help me along the way in meeting with Jesus in the tension of both of those spaces.
This is why, after many years of coalescing resources for other friends and family, I finally created a living Advent resource (last year) for anyone else who would like it!
In it, you’ll find a reasonably eccentric list full of music, books, various practices, and a good host of children’s resources — all intended for a smattering of folks (e.g., Protestant, Anglican, Catholic, and Orthodox.) I hope to update it every year as I watch it continually change and grow. (And as always, if you have anything to add to this list, PLEASE send it my way or comment below!) I pray it can spark some ideas for you and your loved ones.
A Fun Giveaway! Because who doesn’t love books?!
With Advent being such a rich time for myself and my family, I thought I’d share a few of my favorite books with one of you this year! It was impossible to pair down the list, but I chose this year’s giveaway to contain three beautiful resources that burst with colorful story via words & incredible art; they truly are magnificent!
One person will win all three books. Woohoo! If you’d like to be in the running for this year’s giveaway, all you have to do below is:
Subscribe to my Newsletter, Planting Sycamore Trees. Each email will be added as an entry!
If you’d like, comment below on your favorite Advent practice, book, or piece of art you’ve savored in past years (if you haven’t noticed, we’re all about resource sharing over here). Or, what you’re excited to dig into this year.
The giveaway will close on Saturday, Nov 30th at 11:59 pm. Our winner will be announced on the first Sunday of Advent, Dec 1st, and books will be shipped out right after. (Sorry to say that only US folks will qualify for this giveaway.)
Thanks to you all! I'm excited to embark on this year’s Advent journey with you as we prepare to meet the unexpected King who has come to dwell in our midst.
Be well, friends,
My favorite Advent practice I picked up from some colleagues and friends from Princeton (who are women!) is ADVENTure With Mary. It’s a practice where prompts are shared from a Marian perspective on Advent and we reflect together as clergy and laity but also just have fun. We do it all via Social media to invite others into the conversation.For instance, every Gaudette Sunday, the prompt is “On Gaudette Sunday we were pink!” So everyone wears pink and shares a picture on Social media…as a reference to Mean Girls and to celebrate Joy in the church… there is a lot more of course but that gives you an idea!