Advent: A Time of Preparation NOT Self Deprecation

If there is one thing about this season for me, it is that I want it to be a time of growing closer to Christ and fostering relationships in my life. In essence: Advent: A Time of Preparation NOT Self Deprecation.

Why do we set out our goals and establish long lists of things we consider important and then beat ourselves up over NOT achieving it all?

I wish I had a great answer to this.  

Unfortunately, I fall into this trap more often than not.  

I’d love to heap all the blame for my tendency to enter into self-deprecation as the fault of the media and social media which paint these picture-perfect lives which are NOT achievable.

But, I can’t do that as I’ve had this tendency for many, many years.  I’ve spent time considering what I want in life and set goals to get there.  

When they aren’t reached or maybe just not achieved in the time I gave myself, I would allow negative self-talk to enter into my brain, and sometimes that spills over into how I reference myself to others.

A few years back this was brought to my attention by someone who was briefly involved with our church’s youth ministry program.  He would pay me a compliment and I’d enter into my usual pattern of self-deprecation.  

He called me out on it and made me realize that what I thought was humility (“oh, I’m not really that talented” when he’d compliment my ability to play the piano and select music for a liturgical celebration) was really a false humility.

That realization stung and I took it to heart as a call to not deny the talents God has provided me.  

We all have special gifts that are meant to be shared with others.  Denying their presence or not using them could be interpreted as an insult to our Creator.

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So, how does this fit into the season of Advent and my current mindset?

Advent: A Time of Preparation ~ My Shortcomings

I set out with a few goals…things I wanted to do daily…and I’ve failed miserably at it.

The boys have ensured that the LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar is in full play.  But, they are the ones who bugged me to un-bury it from my room.

After a week, I finally have the Advent wreath set up.  But, we haven’t lit the candles every night so far.  

I suppose I should celebrate that I unearthed it from the chaos of our home.  Instead, I am berating myself for not having it ready ON the 1st Sunday of Advent so we could have that precious Advent focused time as a family.

I have also not been to daily Mass or done my daily readings from The Word Among Us.  Thankfully, they are short and I can play catch up this week.  An Advent Devotional is one way that I enjoy having a focus on Christ and preparing for his coming.

On the UPSIDE, I did bring 4 boxes full of items to donate this past Friday.  I have not made more progress sorting and collecting the next round of donation items.  

However, I am feeling a little lighter having rid our house of some clutter and hopefully blessing others in the process.  

We are also dreaming and planning for our large ‘wreck’ room and the inclusion of boxes stacked all over the place is not part of those plans. We had the goal of decluttering completely before Christmas so the house would be peaceful.  

I don’t see the entire house being there now, but I can set aside time to make progress each day.

My friend Trish over at A House Upon the Rock is joining me in co-hosting this 40 day meme.   We will not be doing a daily link-up, but rather a weekly one.  If you blog more than once a week, please add each link to the link-up, we’d love to find you and read what you are doing and learning as you seek Him.

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Please consider joining us as we Seek Him for the next 40 days.   We will celebrate from the first day of Advent through Epiphany on Jan. 6th.

When joining us on the 40 Days of Seeking Him meme, please link directly to your post.  Every week we will link up and share what we are doing, learning or how we celebrate the birth of our Lord. You are more than welcome to link up to more than one post each week if you’ve written multiple posts on the topic of Advent and growing closer to Christ.

If you would, please help us find each other by using the photo button in your posts. Grab the code on this page here. Also, we’ll be using the hashtag #40DaysofSeekingHim on social media!

We have a Pinterest board we will be adding participants posts to from the weekly link ups. If you want to follow it you can find it here.  We will also be highlighting a favorite post from the previous week as well as the most visited post.

We’d love to have you join our Facebook Group/Page. We will be posting there and chatting through the season as well.

Thank you for joining us.  I look forward to reading your posts (as many as I possibly can) as we share what we are doing to prepare our hearts for the most wonderful gift God gave us ~ Jesus Christ.

How are you making Advent A Time of Preparation in your life?