Advent

So, this year has been very different for me. Maybe its all the changes I have had to create, suffer, deal with.. or maybe its just growing up, but this Advent I am truly beginning to connect with the mystery of Christmas. I am so greatly enjoying all my decorations and the meanings behind them. I am excited to host several upcoming parties. I crave the quite time I get at home to be still and reflect on holiday cheer. And I am even having fun shopping for (making) gifts.. because this year I am really looking at the person and what they would truly benefit from in a gift. And me? I really can't think of anything I want/need... so really, I am no help to those that have asked for ideas.. I just really want to live this Christmas in the wonder and mystery of Christs' birth. I want to latch on to it's meaning (God with us, God alive and active in the world) and I want to see how it changes my life in 2009. That's what I want/need... Spiritual Awakening. Sounds odd, cause I usually consider myself very spiritual... but I want it to wake me up and energize me to go into the new year with newfound hope and joy. I don't even know what that might look like because I already live in the joy of the spirit, but I crave something new... something mystical to grab my attention and give me a whole new sense of purpose. This Advent is truly changing me.