Preparation is an easy word to say, but to do? That’s another story.

However, our faith demands action, not just words.

It demands action, Not just good intentions.

So how do we go about the changes that are so necessary? The answer is one that you know I go on about from time to time. Spiritual disciplines. Forming habits of prayer, of silence, of worship, of solitude.

How do we form habits such as these? By practice. Setting a time, a place, whatever is necessary to make sure that we daily follow a certain regimen until it becomes something that we do automatically.

So maybe you are saying to yourself, or indeed to your spouse, this sounds like hard work. Bingo! It is. It can be very hard, but then you will be taken by surprise when you realise you will struggle if you come upon a time when you CANNOT follow the discipline you have developed. The hard work will have paid off, and the dividends are huge!

Advent is the time to start. Dare to be counter-cultural, forego the festivities until Christmas, instead prepare, accept the hard work that repentance and change requires, then when the baby is born, the world turned upside down, celebrate in style.

Christopher+