At the Hearts at Home conference, I finally bought a book that I'd been considering buying for a couple of years. It's called The Ministry of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson.
I consider it a gift from God to me. You know how God surprises you in His timing for things. This book has surprised me in that it was not quite what I'd expected. And the timing is delighting me in the appropriateness for advent.
Mrs. Clarkson organizes her book with the acronym of GIFTS. It outlines the ideas that make a framework for their parenting. These include the gifts of : Grace, Inspiration, Faith, Training, and Service.
This book is one of those books that you sit and chew on... And chew on...And chew on. It's not a fast read, because it calls you to sit at the Father's feet and listen and seek. It is spiritually inspiring to me.
And so, although I haven't yet read its entirety, I decided to use it with my children as we walk through this advent season. Kids minds are so much on gifts this time of year anyway. So, I thought it would be a way to turn their eyes and minds from the world to the Lord. Hopefully.
Last week I introduced a new letter and idea each day. My favorite day was training, because each child chose their own behavior to work on to train themselves in the Lord. I'm sure as we advance I'll have other favorite things we do in the other categories as well.
In the words of "Joy to the World": Let every heart prepare Him room...What are you doing this year to prepare your heart for Christmas?
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