We did this at Easter at home - easy to set up. We just all started off in a different room and worked our way round the house. I had restful music playing upstairs, that was just audible downstairs.The idea was to move around in silence.

SET UP
KITCHEN - a chair to sit on, and a bowl/plate of delicious tasting food for each person (we had raspberries) and the meditation card (see below)
LIVING ROOM -paper and pencil/pen and somewhere to place them - ideally something that's normally in your living room anyway - eg a cross/candle and the meditation card (see below)
FRONT DOOR - a chair and the meditation card (see below)
LOUNGE - candles round the windows as the only lighting. a coffee table pulled up to a chair and on it, enough balls of playdough/plasticine for each person to use one; and the meditation card (see below)
BATHROOM - washable !!) felt pen and the meditation card (see below)
BEDROOM - outside bedroom door, have a bag full of lots of similar heavy things (eg cans) and then an empty bag for each person; and the meditation card (see below). Put one or two throws on the bed
GARDEN - outside if possible, but if not, set up a chair in front of a plant pot with earth in it, beside which you have put a cup containing seeds: and the meditation card (see below)

MEDITATION CARDS
KITCHEN
"where we keep food"
what's the best thing you've ever tasted?
Eat a bowl's worth of raspberries - feel their taste on your tongue - savour each one
"Taste and see that the Lord is good" Psalm 34 v 8
LIVING ROOM
"where we spend time as a family"
This is what Jesus did: "to all who believed in Him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God" John 1 v 12
What would you like to tell your heavenly Father? What would you like to ask Him? Write it on some paper, fold the paper and lay it on the [in our case] symbol of the Trinity
FRONT DOOR
Jesus said "I am the gate - those who come in through me will be saved" John 10 v 9 Spend some time sitting at the door, feeling the safety and security of this house. Thank Jesus for dying for us and saving us and providing the Way
LOUNGE
"where we have visitors"
we come as guests invited!
Jesus has so much in store for us that He wants us to have - "life in all its fullness" John 10 v 10
What do you need God to provide for you? Mould some playdough in a shape to represent that
BATHROOM
"where we get clean!"
"Create in me a clean heart, O Lord. Renew a right spirit within me"
Use the pen to write something you are sorry for on the palm of your hand
Thank God for the forgiveness we have through Jesus
wash the pen marks off your hand (you may need to use the soap and brush!)
BEDROOM
"where we rest"
before you go in, think what is worrying you/troubling you. For each worry/trouble, pick up a tin and put it in a bag. Hold the bag over your shoulder and feel the weight of it.
Carry it through to the bedroom and put it down beside the bed. leave it there. Lie on the bed and let all your muscles relax
"Come unto me all you who are weary and are heavy ladened and I will give you rest" Matthew 11 v 28
GARDEN
"where things grow"
"The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" Galatians 5 v 22-23
Which one of these does God need to grow in you?
For each one, take a seed, and plant it in the soil.

It started as a typical morning at the gym. On the cross trainer (my favourite). Quite busy, but no-one's eyes to meet or smile at. Everyone focused on their own road to personal fitness, earphones in, tuned to iPods and MP3s. Isolated, striving in vain for perfection, surrounded by posters of people with beautiful, faultless bodies. So - silence in the gym, as usual, apart from the thud, thud, thudding on the treadmill and the faint piped music.

And then she came in, with her carer - talking to everyone - stepping onto the treadmill and announcing her name and age, unabashed, to the people on either side, involving them in her day. And so they chatted - loudly. Heads turned and smiled. A thaw spread round the room. Someone who will never be "perfect" in the eyes of the world, showing us how to be human.

It can be completely disheartening, can't it? The gift catalogues dropping through the letterbox, the products appearing on supermarket shelves, the countdown of shopping days. Is your heart already sinking? Do you remember last year? Battling through the shops, buying gifts that you knew nobody really needed, picturing the unremitting clutter of the children's rooms, with yet more toys to be added and soon forgotten. How many of us dread it and how many are left, afterwards, feeling exhausted and unsatisfied?

Here are some suggestions:

Spend much less money on your family and friends. Set a limit now and stick to it. Keep a note of how much you are spending as you go along to make sure you are keeping within your limit. Tell family and friends what you are doing as soon as possible so that the pressure can be taken off them too.

Buy for people who need. You could request a copy of World Vision's Alternative Gift Catalogue from www.greatgifts.org or by 'phoning 0845 600 6445 (from UK). You can buy their gifts on behalf of people you normally give a gift to, and they will receive a card, telling them what has been bought instead.

Don't buy cards for people you see every week. Consider using a large communal card on which everyone at work can sign their greeting. You could donate the money everyone saves to a worthwhile cause. World vision produce such a Christmas card - see: http://www.worldvision.org.uk/chip/t... , 'phone 01908 841001 or write to World Vision House, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0ZR. Or you can just use a big piece of card, and collect donations for a good cause.

Make time to be sad. Grief for loved ones who have died can feel more raw at Christmas. Look out for bereavement or remembrance services at local churches and go along. Give yourself permission to grieve and find comfort.

Rediscover the meaning of Christmas. Find out when there are advent and Christmas services at your local church and go along. Buy a Bible in an easy translation (e.g. Good News) and read the Christmas story at the beginnings of Matthew and Luke. Allow your experience of Christmas to be completely transformed.

Once you have freed up your time from shopping and writing cards, you could spend time reflecting instead. Advent itself can be special, and not just a time for rushing around. Consider using an "advent calendar for grown-ups" (see below). You could just pin it on the wall, or you could cut it into strips and place each strip in a box or in the drawers/pockets of an advent decoration.

Advent Calendar for Grown-Ups


LIFE (decorate your home with lights/greenery)

Dec 1st Stop and think about your life today. What are the good things? What are the bad things?

Dec 2nd Babies watch everything, eyes wide with excitement. Look at life through their eyes today!

Dec 3rd Do you know someone who is frail + housebound? Visit them this week with a Christmas card.

Dec 4th Write someone with a hectic life a Christmas card and let them know you are thinking of them.

Dec 5th Jesus said: "I have come that they might have life in all its fullness." John 10v10

PEACE (decorate your home with a dove(s))

Dec 6th Close your eyes. Do you feel peace?

Dec 7th Bitterness destroys peace. Can you bring peace by letting go? By forgiving? By saying "sorry"?

Dec 8th Unresolved grief can also take away our peace. Can you give your sadness and regrets to God?

Dec 9th "We have peace with God because of what Christ Jesus, our Lord, has done for us." Romans 5v1

Dec 10th "Tell God what you need + thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace which exceeds anything we can understand" Philippians 4v6,7

LOVE (decorate your home with a heart(s))

Dec 11th Think of all those you have loved, and give thanks for each of them

Dec 12th What can you do or say today to let someone know that you love them?

Dec 13th Ask God to help you