1st Week of Advent~Finding Room At The Inn

The first week of Advent found no room at the Inn, my Inn, that is.

Literally.

Every room in the house was a mess.

It was time to purge and the rhythm of the season pushed me  to make room...

There's something about the liturgical cycle of starting over at Advent, with the beginning of the church year, (and again during Lent) that finds me in the mood to empty.

Empty self.

Empty home of junk.

Empty everything.

Empty, empty, empty.  

Only then can I concentrate on preparing anything...

I need to clear the way,

make room in my cluttered heart 

{and cluttered home}

to prepare Him room!

This was the result of three room cleanings...

Quite "fitting" under the JOY sign:) 

All of us, without exception, prepared bags of our material belongings to give to the less fortunate.

We have seen a great light!

Preparing our hearts, we have started kind deeds to make room in the manger for the coming of baby Jesus...We want Him to have a nice, soft, bed, made through our loving deeds to others.

Learning about the genealogy of Christ, through the Jesse Tree, is preparing our spirits.  The word of God speaks through the holy scriptures.  I find myself always learning something new each year, right a long with my children.

Thank God, my cluttered heart is making way...

I am hopeful.

I can do this!

Despite varied forms of flu, colds, and coughs that are running through our family, I'm thankful for the Advent feast days to keep us hunkered down and focused on the goodness of the season, away from the commercial stimulation.

The Feast of St. Nicholas has become a favorite Advent tradition.

Remembering the good bishop of Myra and the kindness he shared with others.

We gave bags of our belongings to the less fortunate and received a few goodies too:)

The first candy canes of the season were brought out to remind us of St. Nicholas' bishop staff...

And we made our traditional Mighty Miter (Bishop's Hat) Cake, in honor of this great saint.

I love this quote.

Moving into our second week of Advent, I am reflecting on this.  Especially that we are called to mimic Christ through our faith and this is not of ourselves.

It reminds me of the perfect role model, Mary, most holy.

I just love our parish Fatima shrine that reflects the beauty of  Our Lady, reminding us of her "Yes" to God, all year round.

On this feast of the Immaculate Conception, I continue to make room.

Through a woman, conceived without sin, we find our Savior.  A Mother's heart was prepared to Mother God Himself and all the world.  We need only to open our hearts for her to guide us closer to the manger...She provides front-row seats:)

This week we prepare for the homecoming of our college boy.  He's been away for 4 long months!   

We certainly hope He finds room at the Inn...Comfort here, back into the folds of our family, even for a short time.

Advent (Week 2) is upon us and the journey continues!