Christmas Crown + Advent Thoughts

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

Which to be honest is kind of freaking me out a little! It seems like in the blink of an eye it went from 70º in September to 20º in December. Things haven't exactly slowed down for me like I anticipated, but I am learning to balance school, activities, friends/family, time to rest, and hobbies, with Jesus at the top of the pyramid. It's been hard to set blogging aside this fall because it's one of my biggest passions, but it's something I had to do for my sanity. I am determined to relax and get back to writing this winter.

I shot with the incredibly talented Pam Weaver yesterday, and as chilly as it was, the lighting was perfect. I snagged this holly crown from Forage Floral before her maternity leave after seeing it on her Instagram page! Red lipstick, a boho dress, flower crowns, and a gorgeous setting all wrapped into one made this one of my favorite shoots yet.

Holly Crown: Forage Floral, Dress: American Eagle (last year)

Recently, I've started a plan on the Bible App called "Rediscovering the Christmas Season." As someone who has grown up in the church and read about the Birth of Jesus year after year, I think it can be easy to lose our child-like wonder about this miraculous story. First of all, Jesus was born to a teenage girl-- a girl who was younger than I am now, which is hard to comprehend. And not just any teenage girl, but a virgin?! Seriously, our God is so creative. He loves to throw plot twists in the middle of situations to teach us more about him and keep us on our toes.

Because the Inn was all booked up, God decides to have Jesus, (the King the whole earth has been aching for!!!!) be born in a manger. While we don't know if this was in a barn, a cave, a shack, or elsewhere, it was definitely no Independence Inn (I never thought I'd see the day I would be cross-referencing Gilmore Girls and the Bible, haha) Living in Kansas, I've seen my share of barns and places where livestock are kept. The stench is atrocious and you can't walk four feet in any direction without stepping in cow patties, but I'm sure the holy moment of the Messiah taking his first breath took precedence over these un-ideal conditions.

Photography by Pam Weaver Photography

Typically when I think of the word 'advent,' thoughts of lighting the colored candles at church and reading corresponding scriptures flood my mind. I want to challenge you (and I am challenging myself, too) to dig deeper into the Christmas Story and spend time thinking about what Advent really means. Here's an excerpt from the Bible plan I mentioned earlier:

"The Hebrews looked forward to the coming of a Savior or Messiah - the First Advent. Now, we are waiting expectantly for His return to sweep His bride off of our feet - the Second Advent. The Church has been waiting for Him to come back from the moment He left the first time."

Let's rekindle the anticipation of Christmas; because we are reminded of Jesus' coming long ago, and we yearn for our King to return again.

His Biblical Beauty,

Paige