I just sent my oldest kid back to college yesterday. We celebrated his 25th birthday on the 30th of December. Next time the Perry’s are all together there’ll be three generations in my immediate clan! Aaron and Savannah are expecting their first baby somewhere at the beginning of April! The rest of us will be firsts too – Phoebe and Silas our other two kids will be Aunt Phoebe and Uncle Silas for the first time. Cheryl and I will be something… Grams and Pops… for the first time? We haven’t made that awkward decision yet. It’s about as hard to figure out what to call yourself as grandparents as I remember figuring out what to call our kids when we had them!

So when is Christmas over?

It’s never really over as long as we await our Savior’s return. And really, anything we do to celebrate his first coming helps us long for his return. Whatever does that for us… is Christmas enough for me! In these outrageously cold post-Christmas days I’ve been enjoying a set of advent devotionals one of my teammates turned me on to back in November. They are a terrific combination of visual art, poetry, thoughtful reflection and music. I wasn’t able to “open every little advent door” and listen each day, but I’m definitely playing catch up between now and Jan 7th. You might like doing that too if you have some time.

Here’s the link to the Advent Project from Biola University’s Center for Christianity, Culture and the Arts. There’s a button that will allow to you see thumbnails of every piece. Here’s how I enjoying them best: Clear away distractions from where you’re sitting. Light a candle and just be quiet for a few minutes. Have a means for journaling nearby – you’ll have lots of thoughts to process because each piece is just packed with artful/thoughtful elements. Look at the painting for a few minutes. Read the poem. Reflect. Turn on the music and keep enjoying the curator’s reflections. Enjoy! No Christmas isn’t over!