Practical Advent is a daily blog series I’m doing throughout Advent this year. Join me on my blog each day for practical faith tips.

Practical Advent, Day 4

Since childhood, I’ve observed Advent each year. It’s been a wonderful way to build my faith and increase my anticipation of Christmas for all the right reasons. I highly encourage you to observe Advent as well, because it can help you be more intentional in this busy season.

In this Practical Advent blog series, I’ll have the same post format to give you about 10-15 minutes of practical tips for loving God, loving others, and loving yourself during the Advent season.

Praise

Each day of Practical Advent, I’ll share one of my favorite songs to listen to during Advent. Take a moment to praise God while you listen.

Here’s one I listened to this week – Glorious by For King and Country.

Ponder

Every day of Practical Advent, I’ll share a quote or idea from an Advent book in my collection for you to ponder, along with my thoughts and a few reflection questions.

Today’s quote is from a book I just read that is so wonderful – Touching Wonder.

This book is the author’s creative imagining of the Christmas story based on reading Luke 1 and 2 in The Message translation. Though the book was published in 2009, I just discovered it this year, and I’m so glad I read it. It is filled with beautiful language and word pictures.

The author ponders the story, then writes letters to God from his own heart. Here is one of them (a picture from the Kindle version):

Reflection questions:

1. What are you pleading with God to do this Advent season?
2. Even when you scream to the contrary, what do you want to be conformed to God’s will in your life?

Pray

On each post during Practical Advent, I’ll write an original prayer or share one I’ve written in seasons past.

Here’s one I wrote a few years ago – A Prayer for Christmas Peace. 

Pour In

Yesterday I mentioned using a rotisserie chicken as a fast, healthy meal option. Today, I’m sharing what I do with the carcass once I’m finished picking the meat off. On the weekends when I have time, I make bone broth from it, which has amazing health benefits as I describe in THIS POST. In a stock pot, I put the carcass in with a quartered yellow onion that has its skin on, some celery ribs, a couple bay leaves, some dried thyme, peppercorns, and a couple tablespoons of kosher salt. I cover it with water and bring it to a boil for two minutes. Then I let it simmer for at least two hours. Afterward, I strain off the solids and pour the broth into quart-sized freezer containers. This bone broth is cheap and easy to make. It also makes everything taste better – not just soups. I use it for cooking rice, making gravy, and so many more things. But soup is my favorite use for it. I’ve been making this for many years and it really helps me stay healthier in the wintertime.

Pour Out

I encourage you to sharpen your listening skills in this season. Listening equals love. Many people don’t have anyone giving them focused attention all day long, day after day. Your listening skills will help every single relationship you have. Gain practical tips for improving your listening skills on THIS POST.

Just for Fun

For the past couple of years, I’ve started building up a collection of Peanuts holiday socks from American Eagle. On Black Friday, they are steeply discounted to something like $5.95 per pair. I also signed up for rewards, which I use on them. I’m happy that I was able to get a deal on these cuties this year and add to my seasonal collection, since I have been a big Snoopy fan since early childhood. It looks like they are now sold out (at least online), so I’m glad I got mine on Black Friday!

See all new and/or previous posts in this series on THIS PAGE.

Find all my additional resources for Advent on THIS PAGE.

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