I have been living my manifesto now for a few weeks and thought I would report on how it is going.
1. I will give gifts that honor God. and 2. I will hand make gifts.– I haven’t done any gift giving nor much shopping yet. I have been to bookstores shopping to explore options in terms of devotional guides or inspirational books that I may give. I have also listed some thoughts on things to make but can’t say much about that yet because I don’t want to give away what I am giving people. Most of my reporting on these two points of the manifesto will have to wait until after the holidays.
3. I will carol with boisterous gusto. I brought my guitar to a nursing home and went caroling with some youth and adults. I did my best to sing with great enthusiasm. I also made a point of giving hugs, handshakes and warm Christmas greetings to as many residents as I could. The residents really lit up and the youth did a great job. I even played a few carols on my guitar in the bus on the ride over to the nursing home.
4. I will read and write every day about Jesus in my prayer journal. I missed three days of journaling because I had left my journal at the office over a weekend. Nevertheless, I spent time reading passages on those days about Jesus and meditated on what they taught me about him. I adapted my normal journaling questions by adding the question, “What does this teach me about Jesus?” I am now back at writing in my journal daily and find it has a very centering affect on my day.
5. I will create blog posts that help you have a more meaningful Advent and Christmas. I have been weak in this area namely because I have been preparing for and performing in a local production of “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens. I had the role of Scrooge and it was incredibly demanding. That’s me on the left in the picture above, threatening Bob Cratchit with a coal scuttle. And yes, the mutton chops are real, but got shaved off this morning. The play now has past and you can expect a flow of posts between now and Christmas. I am very sorry that I haven’t had the time to post more, but must confess that few things have ever gotten me more in touch with the spirit of Christmas than playing out the transformation of old Scrooge from miserable old miserly cuss to joyous grateful giver.
6. I will approach Christmas with a child-like Spirit. Being in the play has been really helpful in regards to this point of my manifesto. I mean it is called a “play” and what is more child-like than playing. This weekend our church is hosting a free time of baby-sitting to allow parents the opportunity to shop, wrap gifts or just have a moment of down time. I am looking forward to playing with the kids, singing songs, make crafts and just having a joyous evening of Christmas play together.
7. I will sow seeds of peace, hope, love and joy every day. I am intentionally more joyful for sure. I find myself doing little acts of kindness here and there, like letting an older woman go ahead of me at the grocery store this morning or wishing cashiers a Merry Christmas or a blessed day. I guess one of the best things I did in regard to sowing these seeds was working out having the children from a local children’s home get to go to see the play. I called someone to see if they would help me buy tickets for the kids to go. They graciously bought all forty tickets and arranged for the children to get there. Thirty-one children and their eight adult chaperones got to see the play for free and absolutely loved it. It was a wonderful win/win arrangement. We had a sold out show and they had a wonderful evening.
8. I will read my manifesto daily. I have posted my manifesto on my mirror in my bathroom and read it aloud every morning and every night. I linked reading it to brushing my teeth so that I don’t forget. Reading it aloud daily has made it prevalent in my mind.
Blessings to you from The Practical Disciple