Elfina's Advent Adventures

For a few years now I have been contemplating the whole Elf on the Shelf craze.  I look on pinterest and see lists of ideas of how to make your elf find itself in  great predicaments.  I even enjoy taking a few minutes to see what my friends have done with their elves on my facebook feed.  I love the creativity and the adventure of the elves.... I am not sure I love the total concept behind the elves. Now before I continue on - I will admit I haven't read the book, and I don't know the exact story behind what the elves do but if I understand the bits and pieces that I have heard it involves reporting to Santa on the behavior of the children... so if the kids are good - then they will tell Santa to bring gifts.  

Just like the whole concept of Santa - some are all about Santa, some are against Santa and some fall somewhere in-between.... my goal is not to get into a deep theological discussion on Elves and Santa and all those other made up characters that come around on different holidays throughout the year.  To be honest I love holidays and the fun fictional characters that come along... but for me... it is important to make sure that my child understands that they are a fun part of the holiday...a fairy tale feature that allows us to pretend and be creative... while still not loosing sight of the real meaning of the holiday.  And lastly it is a priority for me to be honest with my child... I don't want to tell her something is real and then later tell her it is not real.... do we have conversations about Santa - yes! But I try my best to never talk about him as a real person that watches to see if you are good.... That is my personal conviction!  Not one that I expect others to fall in line with.

More than anything I want my child to know that she is getting gifts because God is good to us!  And he is gracious!  Not because she has earned it, because if I am honest - I haven't earned any of the good gifts that God has blessed me with - it is God's grace and goodness that he lavishes his love upon us.  That to me is what I want to be promoting to my child. In the same way I want her to be a giving person, knowing that we give not because people deserve gifts but because whatever we do for others, we do unto the Lord.  I want my child to be giving.

So with that being said - I wanted to come up with a way to stay true to my convictions while also enjoying the fun and creativity of the Christmas elves.  So after doing some research I found some information about a few alternatives such as the Kindness Elves and one I learned about just tonight which was the Shepherd Adventure and Wondering Wisemen.

So I decided to marry two ideas into a fun new tradition called Elfina's advent adventures.... so as in years past we have turned over a Christmas tree to find out what we would be doing that day, now this year instead of having the adventures on the paper trees lined up on the wall I am going to have Elphina doing something fun as a clue to what we will be doing as our advent adventure for that day.

I will be posting daily through Christmas about Elfina's adventures.... I hope you will follow along with us and share your advent activities or your favorite Elf activities and maybe I can use your ideas to help create an awesome Advent Adventure for Ella and her new friend Elfina.

Countdown to Forty - #38 & #37 & #36 & #35

#38 -  Learned Lesson  - Quiet Times are always better when sitting in the woods on the edge of a stream.... when I was single I often found myself taking hikes or walks in the woods along with my Bible and my journal just to sit and Be Still.... don't get the wrong idea in thinking that I did that as often as I liked or that I mastered the art of being still because I have yet to master that... I think that may take a long while.  Anyway... the stream of flowing water with its bubbles and trickles and movement reminded me so vividly of the idea of Living Water throughout scripture.  It was and still is a place that I find a peace like it hard to compare.  Life is so full and so busy, but in the woods there is a quiet, and a calm that can't be fabricated in our society.... there is a connection with God for me that I struggle to find in other places.  So after all these years, there are days that I still long to sit in the woods on the edge of the stream with my Bible, my pen, and my journal and just BE!

"Be Still, and know that I am God"

#37 - Confession - I am not as adventurous as I used to be!  It's true - I am getting old.... and when I think about all the things I did in my 20s I sometimes get anxious just thinking about it.  Just a few that I can think of off the top of my head - white water rafting the Nile, Racing Mountain Bikes, helping to build and facilitate High Ropes courses.... I did those things, really!  I actually get a bit of a panic feeling just thinking about it.  I also hitchhiked in Africa - oh my!  I still can't believe I did that one (thought it was out of necessity!)  I was a bit crazy!  I loved tackle football and Basketball with the guys - I guess I was a bit of  tough girl!  Backpacking in the middle of winter with two other girls... yeah that too was pretty crazy - especially since our map was outdated and we had no idea where were!  We went kayaking on a flooded river.... crazy!!!  Oh the list could go on but I will stop there - it is pretty amazing to think of all the fun things I was able to do as a type A rule follower - so many of these were way out of my box so to speak.  Do I miss them.... of course I miss the idea of them.... but I think I can confidently say that I don't think I will be doing any of them any time soon!

Not me, but fun to pretend that was me passing a guy in a race :)

#36 -  Learned Lesson - Marriage is about a commitment to love, not just the feeling of love!  I remember when we were doing our marriage counseling and we were told that we would feel like we loved each other about 25% of the time but the rest of the time we would need to pursue our commitment to love even when the ushy gushy feelings weren't there.  I am not sure if the percent is 100% accurate but the concept and the theory are absolutely true..... I confess I don't always feel like loving my husband when forgets to take out the trash, or takes a call as soon as he walks in the door from work.... he doesn't always feel like loving me when I think irrationally about something little that was said, but I have blown up in my mind, or when I use five pots and 10 rubber spatulas to make one meal :)  But it is about a commitment.... I commit to loving him even when I don't feel like it.  He commits to loving me even when I am not very lovable (hard to believe I know!) We love, because God first loved us, so we can then love each other with a commitment for better or worse... richer or poorer, in sickness or in health..... it is a commitment!  And next to my commitment to Christ, it was the best decision I have ever made!

Christmas 2014

# 35 - Confession - Teenagers are my favorite age group to work with!  I know that teens are looked down upon sometimes for their behavior and their reputation sometimes, however are at such a great formative stage in their life.  Yes they rebel and yes they can be challenging, but they are testing the waters, they are struggle to break out of the cocoon of childhood to spread their wings and gain independence.... if they didn't struggle they wouldn't have the strength and the ability to make adult decisions, yet they are still like clay... they want to be molded and shaped, they want to gain knowledge... they want to know the whys and the hows so they understand the whole process and not just the solution!  They want so desperately to be loved that they sometimes seek it out in the wrong places when those that should be loving them in a healthy way are absent or abusive..... they want love, they need love, and though there will be those love/hate moments, they are so worth it when you see them later in life seeking to change the world and the lives of others!  Some of my greatest joys as a former youth leader are seeing my former students living lives that are seeking after God and leading others to him through the way they live their life's and their ministries!  Any former students that are reading this - please know that I love you and I love seeing how God is using you to change the world!

One of my girls, Samantha came to visit me while in Romania (she is studying in Turkey)