Advent Resolutions -- Domestic Church

Realizing that my natural tendency is to float off into abstract realms (stepping pleasantly over scattered Legos and discarded socks in the process) I decided to post a short list of my Advent resolutions, so that I can track accountability. This fits into my Learning Goals category -- December was for the Domestic Church. Providentially, because this is something I have not been focusing on enough recently.

As always, if something wonderfully more appropriate shows up in the course of the season, that is not mentioned in the list, I will try to look at it as an opportunity rather than a distraction. The list is for navigational purposes only.

• Clean one area of the house per week
• Kids declutter their rooms and environments -- start this week and continue throughout.
  
• One craft per week with the kids -- doesn't matter what so long as it's a craft! --and more possibilities available.
• Adding bits of beauty and space and cleanliness to the house (during Lent I started by working on the cupboards and corners and "hidden places" and this worked well -- inside to outside, details to big picture)
  
• daily private devotions
• family devotions-- daily prayers and activities connected with the season
• Giving/Receiving gifts
• Service project -- still off in the realms of "would be nice" -- nothing specific yet.
• Some type of prayer project -- I am thinking geographical or to do with life issues.
  
• Reading related to Advent and Christmas
• Learning the reasons and backgrounds for various traditions

And oh, yes, review the past year and plan for the future. That will be the fun part for this particular person who loves to introspect, but finds setting up an Advent decoration to be somewhat penitential.

To make the practical activities listed above into occasions for interiority, I'm going to allow myself to journal about how they go and what I discover (bad and good) in the process. Not on here, necessarily -- I doubt if I will have time, for one thing. But even journalling inside my head or in scattered notes is often helpful.