Why a Blog

I've been a lifelong Lutheran. I was raised in a Christian home and have been an active member of a Lutheran Church for my entire life. However in the last 8 or 9 years my desire to learn more about what I believe and to live out my faith more deliberately has increased dramatically. I've been wanting to write my story of how faith has impacted my life. A blog seems like a good place to start.

Advent is a perfect time to start writing down my thoughts. As a Lutheran, Advent is a season in the church year that is celebrated in a multitude of ways. I'm reading through a devotional called Preparing My Heart for Advent by Ann Marie Stewart. You are supposed to start on November 1, but I'm only 3 weeks late!

I love Advent. It brings back memories of being a child with our homemade Advent wreath that had evergreen boughs. The evergreen boughs came from the Christmas trees that were cut at our Christmas Tree Farm in Ada, MI many years ago. Sometimes we did devotions and sometimes we didn't...that's the reality of big family. We had an Advent calendar on the refrigerator with little windows. There was always a large Advent Wreath at church with the pink and purple candles.

But what is Advent? Advent is the four weeks before Christmas. It's a time to prepare our hearts for the celebration of the birth of Jesus.

http://www.adventdevotions.net/