For years, I have endeavored to make December—Advent—all about the soul. It’s going to be busy, but that doesn’t mean it has to be harried. Advent is a time to turn inward and till and fertilize and basically make my heart fertile ground for the presence of God. This search for stillness has been part…
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Of Christmas Decs, My Witty Husband, and Impossible Christmas Lists
White lights, colored lights, first aid kits, and Santa beating her head on the desk. Bring on the holidays.
Read MoreAn Open Letter From An Unapologetic Christian to Those Who Are Up In Arms About Starbucks
To my fellow Christians who are up in arms about the so-called “war on Christmas”: Cut it out. No, really. Just stop. You’re giving all of us a bad name. And worse, you’re giving Christ a bad name. There is no war on Christmas. Christian America quite successfully corrupted Christmas into a free-for-all greed fest…
Read MoreA Christmas Story By Alex
Because I’m Pretty Sure Jesus Had Exploding Diapers, Too
Every year when Christmas comes around, we get treated to a lot of reflections on the holy child. We try to imagine what God as a human being must have been like as an infant, and quite honestly a lot of nonsense makes its way into the common lore. It first struck me when the…
Read MoreMichael Meets Advent
By the time the fourth child passes milestones, they often slip past without much fanfare. Not that they don’t get noticed at all, but it is a little more muted. Still, in the first nine days of Advent it’s been fun to watch Michael really connect with this season for the first time. I realized…
Read MoreSanta Purgatory
I learned the ghastly truth about Santa Claus in the first grade. I’m pretty sure I even remember which one of my female classmates told me, clearly intending it to be an emotional earthquake. I say that with confidence because even through the haze of thirty-three years’ distance, I remember feeling a need to play…
Read MoreContemplating Crazy (A Christmas Shopping Manifesto)
Let’s face it: My house is stuffed with Stuff. I am engaged in an ongoing war to rid my house of junk (Halloween rings shaped like bats, useless party bag favors, toy airplanes built so shoddily they broke the first day, T shirts, T shirts, T shirts–what is it with the “we must have a…
Read MorePlanning Advent When You’re Even Busier Than Usual
News flash: we’re having a baby in two weeks! So what does a family that puts such a big focus on Advent do when there’s a four-day hospital disruption in the middle of the season? I decided to share our Advent calendar activities list this year as a guest post for Catholic Mothers Online. I…
Read MoreChristmas in October
I know this will come as no surprise to those who know our tendency to plan, plan, plan, but we have already started Christmas shopping. In fact, we’re well into the process. And you know what? It is awesome. See, here’s the thing. Every year, Christmas shopping gets more stressful. We can always come up…
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Kathleen M. Basi 