Building Rhythms

Advent Readings, Slow Growth, Remembering Faithfulness, Christmas Giveaway, and Tough Love

Hey gang.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday, and survived all the things that come along with it—busy interstate travel, deciding which pie to eat first, the 36 hours of football to watch, and the never-ending list of online “deals” that demand exploring. I measure a holiday’s success by asking one simple question. Did anyone puke while we traveled. Dear reader, I’m happy to report that the Kullmans survived several trips up and down I-65 without any vomitting. Ahhh, the simple holiday pleasures.

As Thanksgiving wrapped up, and Advent kicked off this Sunday, I wanted to make a concerted effort to get our entire family together for Advent devotional time together a few times each week (cue the groans from our kids). I grabbed Marty Machowski’s The Light Before Christmas off our shelf (here’s a review from a couple years back), and unveiled my plan to Annie and the kids after dinner on Tuesday.

It feels like doing new things (over the holidays or otherwise) is harder than it’s ever been for our family. All three of our kids have their own hobbies they enjoy, groups they’re involved with, friends they like to see, etc. They also tend to get a little grumpy (understandably so) when stuff gets added to our already busy routine. Tuesdays are typically busy nights. They work hard in the water at swim, one of us hangs back to make dinner, we sit at the table and eat together, and then they get to unwind for an hour or so before bed.

Unfortunately, carving out the time wasn’t the only difficult part of the discipleship equation. Of course, I know how old my kids are, but I hadn’t considered how they (8, 11, and 14) would each have different levels of excitement, boredom, connection, etc. In my head, we’d gather by the Christmas tree, I’d read in the warm glow of the lights, and they’d listen intently before giving insightful feedback. In reality, I did a lot of Lamaze breathing to keep calm while they giggled through the story, explored ways to annoy each other, and dropped heavy sighs as I flipped pages without the devo ending.

While it would’ve been easier to throw my hands up and send them to bed, thanks to a healthy dose of patience (won’t He do it!) and a lot of “don’t blow this” smiles from Annie, we embraced the chaos and made it through. Despite some rough patches along the way, the kids asked a handful of good questions, made some solid connections with creation and light, and Mabel (the 14 year old) led a really sweet prayer to wrap up our night.

I don’t share this little discipleship anecdote to show off (or aura farm if you speak that lingo), but to encourage you to embrace the chaos and messiness that comes with building new rhythms and routines. I won’t speak for Kevin and Jared, but even a guy who wrote a family discipleship book struggles to be faithful in effort and attitude here.

You’re likely going to feel friction as you prepare (I don’t have time to prep, what if dinner goes long, etc.) and there will almost certainly be moments of frustration as you dive in (Why are you touching his feet? No, don’t wrap that blanket around your head!). That’s okay! Ask Jesus to silence those voices that would dissuade you from the work. Instead, anticipate the interuptions and sidetracks so that you can lean in, trust the Spirit to lead you and your family, and press on with the task the Lord has set before you. It’s the faithfulness in showing your kids Jesus that they’ll remember, not the perfectly crafted lesson that you lead.

So, whether you’re pressing in for Advent with your family, or looking ahead to building new rhythms as the new year approaches, give yourself grace. Trust God to equip you to the work he’s called you to, and rest in the comfort that his grace and mercy (not your excellence) that will draw your kids to him.

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Advent Readings (Devotional)

Speaking of Advent devotional readings, The Common Rule website has an Advent devotional curriculum of sorts. It mirrors some of the ideas from Justin Whitmel Earley’s book of the same name. I think this Advent resource launched the year his book did, so the calendar is a little off (though you can still just click on the actual date for that day’s reading and have something for each day of the season).

They recommend four practices to embrace during the Advent season, and they’re each simple, straighforward, and helpful as we consider the coming of Christ. First, kneeling prayer three times a day. It sounds complicated, and you can make it as complex as you’d like, but they have short two-sentence prayers listed each day for you to use. Second, light a candle to remind yourself of the light of Christ we’re waiting for. Third, no phone before Scipture. Instead of turning off your alarm and opening your eyes to the barrage of news, IG reels, or fantasy football scores, crack open a short passage of Scripture that they’ve helpfully curated for you. Finally, put your phone down while you’re waiting in this season. This isn’t meant to be a legalistic wrist slap, but instead allows us to let our mind wander toward God as we wait for prescriptions, carpool lines to move, or the air fryer to finish the nuggets.

Again, these are suggestions and recommendations to make Advent more meaningful for you, not to pile on if you’re already feeling like you’re running on empty. Though, maybe some of these simple practices might help make some of those burdens feel a little lighter as we wait and long for Jesus.

Slow Growth (Discipleship, Vocation, Parenting)

“‘One writes out of the leaf-mould of the mind.’ This is J.R.R. Tolkien’s answer to how he wrote The Lord of the Rings. . .Writers can learn a great deal from this peculiar insight from the father of fantasy. And the insight extends far beyond wordsmiths. It applies to Christian craftsmen and artists, parents and preachers, teachers and students — in fact, to all faithful sub-creators, those seeking to make beautiful things in imitation of their Maker. Tolkien’s wisdom profoundly shapes how we should seek to build fruitful, Christ-exalting culture.”

While this piece from Clinton Manley is geared toward writers, there’s plenty of implication for anyone who’s building or shaping anything (a kids ministry, weekly sermons, your own children, or a personal project). He takes this Tolkien quote (though it’s extended in his actual piece), and sheds light on where the beauty of creativity comes from.

The idea of everything we consume (reading, music, art, television, podcasts, etc.) forming this “leaf-mould” that any creative endeavor grows out of is compelling. This isn’t a new idea, but his introduction and unpacking of it was extemely helpful for a piddling writer and striving father like myself. I left wanting to seek out a new pile of leaves to sink into, in the hopes that God might grow something more beautiful out of it for the sake of his kingdom. So read deeply, watch intently, listen closely, and examine with curiosity.

Bonus for me, I was reminded of two great words from my days in the biology building at WKU—fecundity and humus. Try working those into a sentence this week. It’s always good to read something that has you googling words old and new!

Remembering Faithfulness

“But in our Christmas busyness, do we see how God is at work in our daily lives? Do we remember how he has been at work over the past year?”

Jared Kennedy, the Blog Father, has a devotional piece up over at TGC this week as well. It’s a great word as December marches on, and he encourages us to look back on God’s provision and care over the last year. Not merely for the sake of nostalgia, but so that we might trust both what he’s done and what he’s doing. We might not know what the future holds, but we can be certain that God’s plans are moving forward whether we can see them clearly or not. It’s worth our time to celebrate how God’s been at work in, through, and around us this past year, and to pray that we might continue to see him moving in the future.

Christmas Giveaway (Parenting, Resources)

Our friends at New Growth Press are hosting a Christmas book giveaway that runs through December 7th. They’ve partnered with Lithos Kids, Arrows and Applesauce, and Good Book Mom to put together a nice package of books and $175 worth of store credits to pile those books even higher. All you need is an email address to get an entry, though you can add even more entries by checking out Facebook and Instagram pages for each group. Who doesn’t love free books???

Tough Love

While this anecdote is obejectively hilarious (sorry Luke!), it’s also a great reminder that words have weight. In parenting, ministry, coaching, etc., kids are absorbing and often internalizing the things we say to them. Sometimes of those “extra crispy” critiques can have a deeper effect than we ever imagined. This isn’t meant to be a guilt-ridden push to keep your conversations fluffy all the time (there’s room for honest feedback!), but more to be mindful of the effect your voice can have (both short and long-term) on the young people around you.