"Dwell" (Dexterity Books Editorial)

TITLE: Dwell: Celebrating the Arrival of Advent at Home
AUTHOR: Dexterity Books Editorial
PUBLISHER: Nashville, TN: Dexterity Press, 2020, (100 pages).

The year 2020 has been spectacularly dampened by the coronavirus.  This pandemic has affected international trade and many activities that we have come to take for granted. With lockdowns, quarantines, and restricted movement controls implemented in many countries, many of us are pretty much stuck at home, practicing social distancing and non-contact measures. Churches across the nation are also in a state of flux, not knowing when congregations could return to their buildings for a regular Church service. This is especially so for the Advent season, a traditionally busy time for Christians and Church programs. This makes celebrating the Advent at home particularly poignant, both symbolically and literally. The editors of Dexterity Books have come together to expand on the meaning of home through various rooms familiar to us. There is the Living Room where most of the family would be gathering in. There is the Dining Room where we share a meal together. There is the Kitchen where food is being prepared and served. There is the Activity Room for fun and leisure. Finally, there is the open-ended Christmas Space where we can simply share about what it means to have that room for Jesus. Regardless of which room we are in, there are five basic postures that we can take. In Anticipation of the arrival of Jesus, we could go back to the Bible to reflect on how the ancients of old anticipate the coming of the Messiah, a Saviour, a Deliverer, the LORD Himself. There are many references to the ARRIVAL of the Saviour to point us to the coming once again. While anticipation is about preparing the heart emotionally, the arrival could be construed as preparing for action. Then there is the AWAKENING posture where we express gratitude for people around us. We become more conscious of those living together under one roof. ANOINTING is about sharing. It is about learning the meaning of calling and to be set apart for a particular purpose. We learn once again the reason why Jesus came to us in the first place. Finally, the ADORATION celebrates Christmas Day, where we would encourage everyone to come let us adore Him. In each of the five Advent Weeks, we get to celebrate and practice one particular aspect of the 5As of Advent@Home. This common cycle gives us a grasp of the essence of the Advent, and we get to practice all of them in every room of the house. Written like a devotional, each days starts off with a biblical thought, a reflection of the meaning of the room, and how Jesus comes to us where we live. The chapter closes with a brief prayer and a follow-up activity sheet for the family.