Advent, Bearing Light, & why I'm not just trying to sell you stuff

It is currently 82 degrees in southeast Michigan on October 8th. 

I have needed to turn the AC back on for at least the next day or so. When you live for fall, this feels absolutely insane.  I totally feel like I have been getting gypped on the weather department.
The good news is by the weekend it will be in the mid fifties.

Let's talk Advent, yes in October. If fall is my favorite season, Advent is my favorite liturgical season in Church year.
On Friday, Blessed is She released the new Advent devotional, Bearing Light. This year the author is Shannon Evans. She wrote a great blog post on her own blog describing the story behind the prayer and making of this year's Advent devotional. 

What I am most looking forward to in this Advent devotional, is that we will get a chance to dive more deeply into Mary's prayer, the Magnificat. There will also Lectio Divina prayer to related Scripture verses, as well as, three unique female saints who bear the the light of God out into the world.
Another way to order the Advent devotional is to order the Bearing Light Advent Bundle.  It is exquisite. 

This year's bundle includes: the devotional written by Shannon, an imago Dei canvas mini wristlet, and the Magnificat candle (which is made of frankincense and myrrh essential oils).
I have seen the candle in person. It smells amazing, and the packing it arrives in is equally beautiful.
Shannon is such a gifted writer and her own first book will be published this spring. I hope you'll join me and thousands of other women around the globe to prepare our hearts together this Advent.  And if you wouldn't mind using my affiliate links, I would be so very grateful. ;-)

Sometimes it feels weird to ask people to buy stuff through using my affiliate links, but I really try not do it a lot. And I only do so when there are products I personally use in my life and ones that I get excited about.
So I am not just trying to sell you stuff, honest. :)

It can feel crazy to talk Advent so early in the fall, but we all know it will arrive sooner than we think.

Have you started thinking about Advent yet?
What do you most look forward to in that liturgical season of the Church year?