Month / December 2021

by Karen Twinem

Look Back … Do You See God?

New Year’s Eve is a traditional time for reviewing the past year. We create annual Good Riddance lists to burn during the evening. Those lists contain the things that we hated about the year.

This year, we also created two more lists: a gratitude list and a list of events where we saw God at work The gratitude list is self-explanatory. The list of God at work takes a little more thought.

I look back through the journals of the year to find days of unexpected blessing … when I can see God at work. Sometimes it’s obvious: a sermon that hit me over the head and changed the way I acted for the rest of the year. Or a family member who agrees to take medicine needed to improve his life.

Other times I can see God is little acts and coincidences: the time I accidentally knocked a treasured prayer candle I’ve had for decades off the mantle. The glass part separated from the candle and the metal, landing without injury in an empty basket. How did that happen? I think it was God, who demonstrated His presence in the tiny, but deeply important, aspects of my prayer life.

Looking for God in all the small places and the big events is an excellent way to begin 2022. Please join me in having a holy encounter on this New Year’s Eve.

by Karen Twinem

Mindfulness Behind the Wheel

Driving during the Christmas season is a chance to start a new habit: practicing Christian mindfulness behind the wheel. It’s an exercise in awareness and kindness.

So often we drive in a semi-conscious state, not truly sure how we got there when we arrive. Have you ever “accidentally” started driving to work, when you were going somewhere else? I know I have.

So first, we respect the reality: We are operating driving a potentially deadly piece of heavy machinery. We don’t want to be distracted. Staying aware helps us stay alive.

Awareness allows us to be intentional about practicing kindness and courtesy to fellow drivers, pedestrians, motorcyclists and bicyclers. Allow people to merge, for heaven’s sake. (And I mean that literally.) Watch out for those walking and cycling around you. And calm yourself when someone is actually obeying the speed limit in front of you. How many times have drivers raced around your car to find themselves sitting next to you at the next light? Plenty, for me.

Author Judith Hurrell, in a recent article in either Breathe or Oh! magazine (I lost the reference), suggested that we remind ourselves that everyone who is driving experiences happiness and suffering. She uses words from the loving-kindness meditation to bless people as they go by.

Blessing our fellow drivers helps us to recall that Jesus loves all of us, even the motorcyclist roaring by you without a helmet.

Bringing words of peace and kindness into the car with you also helps, whether it be a helpful podcast or beautiful music. In my former job, my commute could range from 30 minutes to 90 minutes depending on traffic. I truly enjoyed every moment because I was listening to calming (or funny) audio the whole time. I always arrived at work in a better mood than when I left the house.

The mindlessness of driving can be converted into a flow experience. When you bring intense focus to a task that involves skill and the ability to respond quickly, you can become deeply immersed in your driving. You can enjoy the shades of blue in the sky and the colors of the trees. This time of year, you can enjoy the lights and holiday displays, giving thanks to God for the joy that they create.

It’s a great time to communicate with God, who made all these things. Praising the Lord as you head to an appointment is a good way to be open and attentive during the day.

Starting now to be a holy driver can create a habit that brings joy all year.

Advent candles
by Karen Twinem

Five Ways to Celebrate Advent

The four weeks of Advent are the beginning of the Christian year. Bringing mindfulness and intention to those four weeks helps you create a different holiday season from Christmas … one that prepares you for the commemoration of the birth of Jesus. Advent is quiet, not festive. Simple, not overstuffed. Focused on the spiritual, not the material.

The season is best known for Advent wreathes and Advent calendars. (You can get a Christ-centered calendar in addition to one with toys or chocolates.) Other ideas include:

  1. Use a creche that you can fill gradually to tell the Christmas story. Week 1: Put up the empty creche. Week 2: Add the animals. Week 3: Add the shepherds and their sheep. Week 4: Add the angel. Christmas Eve: Add Mary and Joseph. Christmas Day: Add baby Jesus. Epiphany: Add the wide men and their camels.
  2. Wrap 20ish books in Christmas paper, and put them in a basket. You pick out one book per night to read to your children.
  3. Put out a basket to collect money for a cause during Advent. Keep a list in the basket of all the good deeds that the kids (and you) have done. Discuss the good deeds at Christmas Eve dinner.
  4. Find Advent playlists on Spotify to find out the difference between Advent music and Christmas music.
  5. Make or buy consumable gifts, such as food, to reduce clutter and waste.

Once you are in the Advent frame of mind, you can create your own traditions. When my kids were little, we had a small manger and a baby Jesus. When the kids did something nice, they got to put hay in baby Jesus’ manger to make him more comfortable. One year this did result in a hay-throwing situation, but overall it was successful.

Advent is a joyous time of year that prepares you for the Christmas season. Do enjoy it!