This week has been a whirlwind.  The tree is up, but the rest of the decorations and a ton of unwrapped gifts are crowding the dining room table.  They are taunting me — telling me that Christmas is less than a month away.  (If only I could stop the clock for a few minutes to wrap the gifts and clean the house?).

I am trying not to listen to the voices of Christmas condemnation in my head.  This year, I have decided that I am going to say NO to Christmas craziness.  Instead, I am going to celebrate Advent.  The idea of Advent is a new one to me, but I hope to embrace it fully.  This year, I want to learn how to slow down and celebrate His coming.

On Fridays, I take time out to reflect on what God is teaching me.   I am a slow learner, so these posts help to reinforce the truths that I hope I will never forget.

Here in no particular order are the top 10 things that I learned this week:

1.  Dressember is more than just wearing dresses all December.  It’s a movement to bring awareness to the issue of Human Trafficking.  For more info, head here.

2.  Favorite Christmas Tune heard on the radio this week — “Born is the King (It’s Christmas)” by Hillsong

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3.  I need to be more intentional about speaking God’s blessing to those in my circle of influence.  I love this post from Lisa’s Notes.

4.  Favorite Scripture for the Week is from Luke 1:28 (MSG) where Gabriel appears to Mary:

Good morning!
You’re beautiful with God’s beauty,
Beautiful inside and out!
God be with you.

5. Favorite Pinterest Find:  Light Em’ Up — 100 Ways to Light Up Your Community with Kindness

6.  Favorite Inspirational Advent Instagram Photo came from Kris Camealy:

7.  Favorite quote of the week came from reading all about Nelson Mandela, an amazing world changer:

“A winner is a dreamer who never gives up.”

8.  I need to “listen for the beat of His song” for me.  — Thank you Mandy for sharing this beautiful Advent post that encouraged me today.

9.  Michelle was over at Diane’s place this week, and she reminded me that “Jesus is Emmanuel. God with us. No matter what.”

10.  If you tell God that you are blogging for Him, then you should not be surprised when He asks you to step outside of your comfort zone.  That’s exactly what happened to me this month when I got an e-mail from Michelle.  She is taking a bloggy break and wanted to know if I was interested in hosting Thought-Provoking Thursday.   I asked my husband what I should do, and my favorite cheerleader gave the idea two thumbs up.  So now, two weeks later, I have moved my entire blog to wordpress.org, and I feel like a tiny fish in a very large pond.

So, next week on Thursday, I want to cordially invite you to join me for the Thought-Provoking Thursday Community.  If you have trouble swimming in big ponds like me, just wear your floaties and jump in.  I promise the water will be warm.

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Q4U:  What have you learned this week?  I would love to hear about it…

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I am joining Jessie and friends this week