I feel as if the last decade of my life has been filled with constant change. We have moved numerous times (including internationally three times), had babies, graduated, changed jobs, gone back to school, on and on the list goes. Every year has a new change. The challenges aren’t as much in the change themselves, although that’s not easy, but the challenge lies in staying faithful and steady. How do I stay faithful in this season of constant change? The temptation to slack off seems bigger when there is so much going on.

I have this vivid memory of being at a worship event at my university where we sang Isaiah’s famous words, Here I am, Lord, send me. I remember feeling completely ready for wherever the Lord wanted me to go. In this pivotal moment of my faith journey, I had a deep understanding that God would take me somewhere uncomfortable. I still wanted to go and I continued to go back to this prayer often.

For the past 10 years, our family’s striving and vision has been for an open-home policy. It’s not for everyone, but it works for us (at least for the time being). We encourage the kids to bring their friends home, and we thrive when people know they can just show up at our door without calling beforehand. I know it sounds like a nightmare for some of you! But, it’s the kind of house I always dreamed of having.

My mother did a great job at Advent and creating traditions. We had candles we lit every night, Bible verses we recited every evening, an advent calendar, and many other things that created a wonder land of excitement leading up to Christmas day! Her children, in turn, have all created our own advent traditions including calendars, wreathes, activities, and so on.

Every year around Thanksgiving, my Facebook feed fills up with reasons why you shouldn’t do the Elf on the Shelf, why you should do Elf on the Shelf, why we should give our kids only 4 presents, why we shouldn’t have a Christmas tree, why we should believe in Santa, why we shouldn’t believe in Santa, and on and on the articles go. If you know me personally, you know I have strong opinions and probably an opinion on all of the above, but I often keep those to myself (or share with my poor husband!); they’re beside the point.

So what’s right? How should we celebrate Christmas this year?