"I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in His word I put my hope."
- Psalm 130:5
The thing about waiting is that there's nothing to do - except wait. You can't make what you're waiting for get here faster. Depending on what you're waiting for, you can probably fill your time with other things, but even doing things that relate to whatever you're waiting for still leaves you waiting...
And waiting can be hard, especially in our day and age, when "quick" and "easy" and "ready in just 5 minutes!" are the status quo. We become impatient when we have to wait, forgetting that even if we're in the coffee shop drive-thru for 7 minutes, there was a time not too long ago where to get a cup of coffee, you had to build a fire and wait for the water to boil (not to mention fetching the water and fuel for the fire). We pop leftovers in the microwave for lunch, forgetting that in some corners of the world, women still begin cooking in the morning, just to have dinner on the table by that evening. Bread dough takes time to rise, so why make our own bread, when we can buy it? We don't feel like cooking (or don't have time to) - so we run to the grocery or thru a drive-thru, because it's quick and easy...
Waiting isn't something we really think of as being a part of the natural rhythm of our lives... but I think it should be. And that's another thing I love about Advent: it makes us slow down a little. Sure, there are things to do - trees to decorate, presents to buy and wrap, parties to plan and attend, cookies to bake - but at the end of the day, whatever we've done with our time, we're still just waiting... Waiting for Christmas to get here. Waiting for Jesus to come back. And nothing we've done or could do will hasten either of those timelines. We have to wait for it.
And it's good for us.
So the question is, this Advent, how will we wait? Will we wait impatiently? Or will we embrace the waiting? Will we allow ourselves to slow down enough to notice that we're waiting, to focus a little more intentionally on the story unfolding as Mary and Joseph start packing their bags for Bethlehem, amidst the scorn and derision of their community, and the rumors running wild about them? Will we look for the ways that God is speaking to us in this Christmas season? Will we embrace the 4 pillars of Advent - hope, peace, joy and love - and let them work their way deeper into our lives this year? Or will we let ourselves stay swept up in the tide of busyness that characterizes our world?
This season, I want to take the time to remember that no matter how crazy life gets, I am waiting for something bigger and better than any of the little things that demand my time and attention. I am waiting for Jesus. Waiting for Him to come and rescue me - waiting for Him to come back, as He said He would. Sometimes it seems like it is taking so long.... and it can be easy to lose hope when it feels like we're waiting forever.... but we need to remember that even the very act of waiting is a gift.
"...do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." - 2 Peter 3:8-9
If waiting a little longer means more people get to come Home with us, I'll be glad to wait. I just don't want to forget that that's what I'm doing: waiting - hopefully - and putting my trust in His Word as I wait.
Advent Hope - Day 3
"And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." - 2 Peter 1:19-21
I love how Eugene Peterson phrases v.19 in The Message (which isn't a translation, but is an excellent paraphrase of Scripture): "We couldn't be more sure of what we saw and heard - God's glory, God's voice. The prophetic Word was confirmed to us. You'll do well to keep focusing on it. It's the one light you have in a dark time as you wait for daybreak and the rising of the Morning Star in your hearts."
One of the things that I find most awe-inspiring to reflect on during Advent is how much of the Old Testament points towards Jesus. There are so many Scriptures that talk about Him - what He'll be like, what He'll come to do, where He'll be born... God told his people, hundreds of years in advance, all about His Son, so that when He came, there could be no real question about it, in the hearts of those who were open to seeing Him at work. There was certainly no question in Peter's mind as to who He was - Peter had been on a mountain with Jesus and heard the very Voice of God saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased." (Matthew 17:5, Mark 9:7, Luke 9:35 and 2 Peter 1:17)
This picture Peter paints of what it's like to wait for Jesus - being in a dark place and waiting for daybreak - reminds me of two other passages about Jesus that give me so much hope:
"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and His glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn." - Isaiah 60:1-3
"In Him was life, and that life was the light of all men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it." - John 1:4-5 (Some translations read "the darkness has not overcome it.")
In the midst of the ever-encroaching darkness of winter as the days become shorter, and in the midst of a world than can sometimes seem darker every day as wickedness maintains a foothold in the hearts of men who are far from Him - we're waiting. Waiting for the Light. Waiting for Daybreak. Waiting for the One who came - to come back. It's part of the beauty and the mystery of this Advent season - waiting for Christmas, waiting for the day we celebrate the birth of the One who came to save us - yet knowing He's already come, He's here now, and He's coming back again someday. Darkness will never have the final word. And so we wait, and hope, and light candles to remind ourselves that He is the Light of the World (John 8:12) and that no matter how dark it may seem - the Light born in a stable one night so long ago still shines, and the darkness cannot overcome it.
I love how Eugene Peterson phrases v.19 in The Message (which isn't a translation, but is an excellent paraphrase of Scripture): "We couldn't be more sure of what we saw and heard - God's glory, God's voice. The prophetic Word was confirmed to us. You'll do well to keep focusing on it. It's the one light you have in a dark time as you wait for daybreak and the rising of the Morning Star in your hearts."
One of the things that I find most awe-inspiring to reflect on during Advent is how much of the Old Testament points towards Jesus. There are so many Scriptures that talk about Him - what He'll be like, what He'll come to do, where He'll be born... God told his people, hundreds of years in advance, all about His Son, so that when He came, there could be no real question about it, in the hearts of those who were open to seeing Him at work. There was certainly no question in Peter's mind as to who He was - Peter had been on a mountain with Jesus and heard the very Voice of God saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased." (Matthew 17:5, Mark 9:7, Luke 9:35 and 2 Peter 1:17)
This picture Peter paints of what it's like to wait for Jesus - being in a dark place and waiting for daybreak - reminds me of two other passages about Jesus that give me so much hope:
"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and His glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn." - Isaiah 60:1-3
"In Him was life, and that life was the light of all men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it." - John 1:4-5 (Some translations read "the darkness has not overcome it.")
In the midst of the ever-encroaching darkness of winter as the days become shorter, and in the midst of a world than can sometimes seem darker every day as wickedness maintains a foothold in the hearts of men who are far from Him - we're waiting. Waiting for the Light. Waiting for Daybreak. Waiting for the One who came - to come back. It's part of the beauty and the mystery of this Advent season - waiting for Christmas, waiting for the day we celebrate the birth of the One who came to save us - yet knowing He's already come, He's here now, and He's coming back again someday. Darkness will never have the final word. And so we wait, and hope, and light candles to remind ourselves that He is the Light of the World (John 8:12) and that no matter how dark it may seem - the Light born in a stable one night so long ago still shines, and the darkness cannot overcome it.
Advent Hope - Day 2
"From the Lord comes deliverance.
May Your blessing be on Your people."
- Psalm 3:8
Sometimes you'll hear something in a message, and it'll stick with you for life, because it is the word of the Lord for you in that moment, and He knows you'll need it again later. That is certainly true for me about Psalm 3:5 - "I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me." A chaplain named Paul Boersma taught on this psalm over a decade ago at a Chapel service at Hope College, and he highlighted for us the pattern in this verse: I lie down, I sleep, I wake again - because the Lord sustains me. I lie down, I sleep, I wake again - because the Lord sustains me. I lie down, I sleep, I wake again - because the Lord sustains me....
Over and over again. Day after day. Regardless of circumstance. Regardless of what happens between waking and sleeping. Regardless of tragedy. Regardless of the great joys we've experienced. We lie down, we sleep, and we wake again - because the Lord sustains us. David wrote these words in the middle of a psalm expressing how overwhelmed he was, surrounded by enemies, but also expressing how confident he was in God's ability to come through on His behalf: "To the LORD I cry aloud, and He answers me from His holy hill." (Psalm 3:4) He knew that God could and would deliver him.
And so do we.
David's story, his life, was a foreshadowing, a type - illustrating the Greater Story of what God is doing in all of human history. Years later a prophet named Zechariah would write:
"Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war-horses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.
As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit. Return to your fortress, O prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you.... The Lord your God will save them on that day as the flock of His people. They will sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown. How attractive and beautiful they will be!" - Zechariah 9: 9-12, 16-17a
And hundreds of years after that, Jesus rode into Jerusalem, exactly as Zechariah had foretold.
They didn't get it, that day. They thought Jesus was going to spark some sort of revolution and free them from the oppression of Roman rule. But God had an even better plan in mind. He was going to free them from the oppression of sin, and give them a new and better way to live. And this freedom - it wasn't just for Israel. It was for the entire world.
And it is for you.
Do you feel like a "prisoner of hope" sometimes? Are you hoping for a shift in your circumstances, for something to change, for things to be different, before you rejoice? God's word says that He is coming to rescue you, and He will, tho it may not look exactly like what you're hoping for - but He is already at work, rescuing you, and giving you a new way to live. The passage we're reading from 2 Peter today gives us a picture of what that can look like. And in the midst of this new life, we lie down, we sleep, and we wake again, confident that the Lord sustains us - no matter what.
May Your blessing be on Your people."
- Psalm 3:8
Sometimes you'll hear something in a message, and it'll stick with you for life, because it is the word of the Lord for you in that moment, and He knows you'll need it again later. That is certainly true for me about Psalm 3:5 - "I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me." A chaplain named Paul Boersma taught on this psalm over a decade ago at a Chapel service at Hope College, and he highlighted for us the pattern in this verse: I lie down, I sleep, I wake again - because the Lord sustains me. I lie down, I sleep, I wake again - because the Lord sustains me. I lie down, I sleep, I wake again - because the Lord sustains me....
Over and over again. Day after day. Regardless of circumstance. Regardless of what happens between waking and sleeping. Regardless of tragedy. Regardless of the great joys we've experienced. We lie down, we sleep, and we wake again - because the Lord sustains us. David wrote these words in the middle of a psalm expressing how overwhelmed he was, surrounded by enemies, but also expressing how confident he was in God's ability to come through on His behalf: "To the LORD I cry aloud, and He answers me from His holy hill." (Psalm 3:4) He knew that God could and would deliver him.
And so do we.
David's story, his life, was a foreshadowing, a type - illustrating the Greater Story of what God is doing in all of human history. Years later a prophet named Zechariah would write:
"Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war-horses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.
As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit. Return to your fortress, O prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you.... The Lord your God will save them on that day as the flock of His people. They will sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown. How attractive and beautiful they will be!" - Zechariah 9: 9-12, 16-17a
And hundreds of years after that, Jesus rode into Jerusalem, exactly as Zechariah had foretold.
They didn't get it, that day. They thought Jesus was going to spark some sort of revolution and free them from the oppression of Roman rule. But God had an even better plan in mind. He was going to free them from the oppression of sin, and give them a new and better way to live. And this freedom - it wasn't just for Israel. It was for the entire world.
And it is for you.
Do you feel like a "prisoner of hope" sometimes? Are you hoping for a shift in your circumstances, for something to change, for things to be different, before you rejoice? God's word says that He is coming to rescue you, and He will, tho it may not look exactly like what you're hoping for - but He is already at work, rescuing you, and giving you a new way to live. The passage we're reading from 2 Peter today gives us a picture of what that can look like. And in the midst of this new life, we lie down, we sleep, and we wake again, confident that the Lord sustains us - no matter what.
Advent Hope - Day 1
"Even in darkness, light dawns for the upright,
for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man."
- Psalm 112:4
I'll confess. I've been studying Scripture since I was sixteen, and I had to look up Amos in the table of contents to find it. ;o)
It was an interesting gamut of Scripture for today's reading, wasn't it? I love how all of the selections balanced each other out to present the "big picture" of how God is at work in the world, and to give us a glimpse into how He's been at work throughout history.
* First there were the morning psalms, that talked about how the God who created the entire universe and knows the very stars by name, knows His people, too - and heals them, and provides for them, just as He provides for all of creation, and those psalms called us to begin our day by worshiping our great and mighty God, along with all of creation.
* Then there were the dark words of Amos - words that could terrify us if they were the only words we heard... but did you catch God's heart for justice in those words? There was never condemnation without cause under the law. The sins He speaks of in these verses are sins that harm people, and He is not okay with that happening. (He's still not okay with that, and we shouldn't be either.) Justice demands a penalty for sin... and while this may not be good news if you're the person sinning, it is good news when you're being sinned against. Justice is coming, and you can hope for it, with the expectation of having your hope met, because justice is His heart for the oppressed and marginalized.
But what about when we sin? In all fairness, justice should be demanded of us, too, for "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23)...
* But check it out - the next words we read from 1 Thessalonians 5:9 say this: "...God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ." Grace paid the penalty demanded of us by justice. "He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him." (v. 10)
* I love how the end of that passage ties into the last verse of the gospel reading in Luke, too: "Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." (1 Thess 5:11) "By standing firm you will gain life." (Luke 21:19) Isn't it so true that when we encourage each other, standing firm in our faith is so much easier than when we're going through tough and sometimes even scary things on our own?
* And then we're back to the psalms again, ending the day in praise - celebrating the truth that "He provided redemption for His people...." (Psalm 111:9)
Wherever you are today, whatever the circumstances of your life - your story is wrapped up in the greater story that God is writing - a story that promises: no matter how dark things get here on earth, there is always hope.
for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man."
- Psalm 112:4
I'll confess. I've been studying Scripture since I was sixteen, and I had to look up Amos in the table of contents to find it. ;o)
It was an interesting gamut of Scripture for today's reading, wasn't it? I love how all of the selections balanced each other out to present the "big picture" of how God is at work in the world, and to give us a glimpse into how He's been at work throughout history.
* First there were the morning psalms, that talked about how the God who created the entire universe and knows the very stars by name, knows His people, too - and heals them, and provides for them, just as He provides for all of creation, and those psalms called us to begin our day by worshiping our great and mighty God, along with all of creation.
* Then there were the dark words of Amos - words that could terrify us if they were the only words we heard... but did you catch God's heart for justice in those words? There was never condemnation without cause under the law. The sins He speaks of in these verses are sins that harm people, and He is not okay with that happening. (He's still not okay with that, and we shouldn't be either.) Justice demands a penalty for sin... and while this may not be good news if you're the person sinning, it is good news when you're being sinned against. Justice is coming, and you can hope for it, with the expectation of having your hope met, because justice is His heart for the oppressed and marginalized.
But what about when we sin? In all fairness, justice should be demanded of us, too, for "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23)...
* But check it out - the next words we read from 1 Thessalonians 5:9 say this: "...God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ." Grace paid the penalty demanded of us by justice. "He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him." (v. 10)
* I love how the end of that passage ties into the last verse of the gospel reading in Luke, too: "Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." (1 Thess 5:11) "By standing firm you will gain life." (Luke 21:19) Isn't it so true that when we encourage each other, standing firm in our faith is so much easier than when we're going through tough and sometimes even scary things on our own?
* And then we're back to the psalms again, ending the day in praise - celebrating the truth that "He provided redemption for His people...." (Psalm 111:9)
Wherever you are today, whatever the circumstances of your life - your story is wrapped up in the greater story that God is writing - a story that promises: no matter how dark things get here on earth, there is always hope.
Hope - Day 1
"Even in darkness, light dawns for the upright,
for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man."
- Psalm 112:4
I'll confess. I've been studying Scripture since I was sixteen, and I had to look up Amos in the table of contents to find it. ;o)
It was an interesting gamut of Scripture for today's reading, wasn't it? I love how all of the selections balanced each other out to present the "big picture" of how God is at work in the world, and to give us a glimpse into how He's been at work throughout history.
* First there were the morning psalms, that talked about how the God who created the entire universe and knows the very stars by name, knows His people, too - and heals them, and provides for them, just as He provides for all of creation, and those psalms called us to begin our day by worshiping our great and mighty God, along with all of creation.
* Then there were the dark words of Amos - words that could terrify us if they were the only words we heard... but did you catch God's heart for justice in those words? There was never condemnation without cause under the law. The sins He speaks of in these verses are sins that harm people, and He is not okay with that happening. (He's still not okay with that, and we shouldn't be either.) Justice demands a penalty for sin... and while this may not be good news if you're the person sinning, it is good news when you're being sinned against. Justice is coming, and you can hope for it, with the expectation of having your hope met, because justice is His heart for the oppressed and marginalized.
But what about when we sin? In all fairness, justice should be demanded of us, too, for "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23)...
* But check it out - the next words we read from 1 Thessalonians 5:9 say this: "...God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ." Grace paid the penalty demanded of us by justice. "He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him." (v. 10)
* I love how the end of that passage ties into the last verse of the gospel reading in Luke, too: "Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." (1 Thess 5:11) "By standing firm you will gain life." (Luke 21:19) Isn't it so true that when we encourage each other, standing firm in our faith is so much easier than when we're going through tough and sometimes even scary things on our own?
* And then we're back to the psalms again, ending the day in praise - celebrating the truth that "He provided redemption for His people...." (Psalm 111:9)
Wherever you are today, whatever the circumstances of your life - your story is wrapped up in the greater story that God is writing - a story that promises: no matter how dark things get here on earth, there is always hope.
for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man."
- Psalm 112:4
I'll confess. I've been studying Scripture since I was sixteen, and I had to look up Amos in the table of contents to find it. ;o)
It was an interesting gamut of Scripture for today's reading, wasn't it? I love how all of the selections balanced each other out to present the "big picture" of how God is at work in the world, and to give us a glimpse into how He's been at work throughout history.
* First there were the morning psalms, that talked about how the God who created the entire universe and knows the very stars by name, knows His people, too - and heals them, and provides for them, just as He provides for all of creation, and those psalms called us to begin our day by worshiping our great and mighty God, along with all of creation.
* Then there were the dark words of Amos - words that could terrify us if they were the only words we heard... but did you catch God's heart for justice in those words? There was never condemnation without cause under the law. The sins He speaks of in these verses are sins that harm people, and He is not okay with that happening. (He's still not okay with that, and we shouldn't be either.) Justice demands a penalty for sin... and while this may not be good news if you're the person sinning, it is good news when you're being sinned against. Justice is coming, and you can hope for it, with the expectation of having your hope met, because justice is His heart for the oppressed and marginalized.
But what about when we sin? In all fairness, justice should be demanded of us, too, for "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23)...
* But check it out - the next words we read from 1 Thessalonians 5:9 say this: "...God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ." Grace paid the penalty demanded of us by justice. "He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him." (v. 10)
* I love how the end of that passage ties into the last verse of the gospel reading in Luke, too: "Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." (1 Thess 5:11) "By standing firm you will gain life." (Luke 21:19) Isn't it so true that when we encourage each other, standing firm in our faith is so much easier than when we're going through tough and sometimes even scary things on our own?
* And then we're back to the psalms again, ending the day in praise - celebrating the truth that "He provided redemption for His people...." (Psalm 111:9)
Wherever you are today, whatever the circumstances of your life - your story is wrapped up in the greater story that God is writing - a story that promises: no matter how dark things get here on earth, there is always hope.
Advent Reflections: Hope
“Here is my servant whom I have chosen,
the one I love, in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
He will not quarrel or cry out;
no one will hear his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,
till he has brought justice through to victory.
In his name the nations will put their hope.”
- Matthew 12:18-21
Tomorrow is the first Sunday of Advent. "Advent" means that something - or someone - important is coming, and it's the word that the Church uses to describe the season leading up to Christmas day.
Advent is a season of waiting. A season of joy, hope, peace, love, wonder... and a season of waiting - expectantly - for something to happen. It's the pathway - the journey - to Christmas. And with Christmas comes radiant, amazing, overwhelming love - in the form of a baby boy, born in a stable... the very Son of God, laid in a manger: the hope of the world.
For these four weeks of Advent, we wait. We remember. We hope, dream, imagine, wonder, experience the mystery that is the gift of God's Son, born in the city of David: Christ the Lord. We sing special songs. We celebrate. We give gifts that echo, tho they could never compare with, the Gift that we've been given. We light candles, and decorate trees.
And we wait... with great hope. Because the One who came is coming again. He is coming back to rescue us, to save us, to redeem us - and to take us home to live with Him forever.
Advent is by far my favorite season of the year. There's something magical about shifting out of Ordinary Time into Advent. Things are no longer ordinary... something extraordinary is about to happen.
And one of those extraordinary things, this year, could be an even deeper walk with God.
I'd like to invite you to join me over the next few weeks as we dive into God's Word - and this season! - with intentionality and expectation. (We'll be following the daily reading plan found here.) I would love to hear your thoughts as well as share some of my own as we go along.
If you're in, you can read any or all of the Scriptures in the reading plan every day, at any time you choose. They recommend a few psalms in the morning and a couple at night, plus readings from the Old and New Testament and from the Gospels at some point during the day. If it feels overwhelming, just pick one passage a day and stick with that. Don't be legalistic about trying to read everything. Just get in God's Word every day. :) It's the Letter your Rescuer wrote you - and it tells you what to hope for, and in Whom you can always put your hope, being sure that you will not be disappointed. (Isaiah 49:23)
Looking forward to an awesome Advent season!
Grace and peace,
Happy
reposted in part from this post last year
the one I love, in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
He will not quarrel or cry out;
no one will hear his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,
till he has brought justice through to victory.
In his name the nations will put their hope.”
- Matthew 12:18-21
Tomorrow is the first Sunday of Advent. "Advent" means that something - or someone - important is coming, and it's the word that the Church uses to describe the season leading up to Christmas day.
Advent is a season of waiting. A season of joy, hope, peace, love, wonder... and a season of waiting - expectantly - for something to happen. It's the pathway - the journey - to Christmas. And with Christmas comes radiant, amazing, overwhelming love - in the form of a baby boy, born in a stable... the very Son of God, laid in a manger: the hope of the world.
For these four weeks of Advent, we wait. We remember. We hope, dream, imagine, wonder, experience the mystery that is the gift of God's Son, born in the city of David: Christ the Lord. We sing special songs. We celebrate. We give gifts that echo, tho they could never compare with, the Gift that we've been given. We light candles, and decorate trees.
And we wait... with great hope. Because the One who came is coming again. He is coming back to rescue us, to save us, to redeem us - and to take us home to live with Him forever.
Advent is by far my favorite season of the year. There's something magical about shifting out of Ordinary Time into Advent. Things are no longer ordinary... something extraordinary is about to happen.
And one of those extraordinary things, this year, could be an even deeper walk with God.
I'd like to invite you to join me over the next few weeks as we dive into God's Word - and this season! - with intentionality and expectation. (We'll be following the daily reading plan found here.) I would love to hear your thoughts as well as share some of my own as we go along.
If you're in, you can read any or all of the Scriptures in the reading plan every day, at any time you choose. They recommend a few psalms in the morning and a couple at night, plus readings from the Old and New Testament and from the Gospels at some point during the day. If it feels overwhelming, just pick one passage a day and stick with that. Don't be legalistic about trying to read everything. Just get in God's Word every day. :) It's the Letter your Rescuer wrote you - and it tells you what to hope for, and in Whom you can always put your hope, being sure that you will not be disappointed. (Isaiah 49:23)
Looking forward to an awesome Advent season!
Grace and peace,
Happy
reposted in part from this post last year
monkeys, purpose and hope for the future
I guess it isn't often you think of monkeys and hope in the same 2 seconds, but trust me, there's logic to it. :)
First, my apologies to Thomas Nelson and Women of Faith for the ridiculous delay in posting. I initially wanted to take a couple of days to process and actually have something substantial to say, aside from "It was awesome!" (which it was) - and then my grandmother passed away and there was the flurry of the unexpected trip out east for the funeral, and the craziness of trying to catch up on work, and the odd paralyzation of my usual bent towards productivity that came with all the emotions involved with all of that - and I've just been procrastinating. I don't really have an excuse at this point. Just... I'm sorry. Please forgive me. And thank you for a life-changing weekend.
The Women of Faith conference was exactly what I thought it would be. I met with God. He had some things to say that I needed to hear. It was fun - I laughed a lot. And I came away refreshed, rejuvenated, and ready to re-imagine the possibilities of what God could do in and through my life.
I also came away feeling like I'd been hit by a truck, emotionally speaking anyway. Friday was awesome - it was relatively light-hearted most of the day (tho definitely not without depth), and fabulous to just be away. We had seats in the second row, and were seven feet from Natalie Grant at one point. It was pretty amazing. And then Saturday - wow. Saturday was one big long emotional haul. I could write for days about everything we saw and heard, but honestly - to all the ladies who read my blog, I will just recommend that you go. Listen to the stories these women have to tell. You won't regret it.
But here are my three big takeaways:
1) Without a doubt, my two favorite speakers over the weekend were Sheila Walsh and Henry Cloud. Henry was a very good sport about being one of the only men in the building. They tag-teamed beautifully all day on Friday, and I learned a lot from both of them. Henry asked an unusual question during one of his talks, tho: "Who's your monkey?" - and it really made me think.
The premise of his question is that in stress-test experiments with monkeys, a monkey who has company during the stress-test will inevitably be less affected by the stressors in his/her environment than the monkey who is left alone in a room with those same stressful factors. And so it is with people. We're wired for community - we need it to survive. Something that's come to mind often since that weekend is that, while Adam (before the Fall) walked and talked with God all the time, God still looked at him and said, "It isn't good for man to be alone." I find that interesting, in the context of American Christianity, where we're so fond of saying that Jesus is enough. He is - and yet. I haven't come to any conclusions about that, except that I want to study this idea more, and read a bunch of commentaries on the subject, and see what smarter people than I am have to say about it. And in the meantime, I think Henry Cloud is right - we all need a monkey. Sometimes we need twenty.
And so I've taken a good long look at the relationships in my life, and realized that I've been incredibly blessed with very good friends, several of whom have stepped up in some pretty awesome ways over the past few weeks and just been there to cry with me as I've been grieving. It's been pretty amazing, and I've felt far less alone these past few weeks.
2) One of the themes I heard in every talk throughout the weekend is that God has a purpose in every thing He allows into our lives, good, bad or indifferent. Each woman who took the stage (and both of the men as well) had stories to tell about some of the tough places they've been - and the way God worked through those situations to bring them to a place of healing and wholeness and then used their stories to impact hundreds of thousands of people every year, giving them hope for their own situations.
and 3) This very fact gave me hope for my own future - that all I've been through, all I'll go through - will somehow bring Him glory. I've felt a number of my dreams start to die these past few years; there are so many obstacles, so many things that just haven't worked out the way I thought they would, so many reasons why "I can't" seems the logical conclusion - and yet. And yet. Just because a dream lies fallow for a very long time doesn't mean there's no life in it. Hearing the stories of ordinary women who have been given extraordinary opportunities to share their stories with the world, and to impact the world for the kingdom of God on an international level gave me hope that God can use my stories to change lives as well. That is no small thing. It's extremely humbling, actually. But it's exciting, too - and leaves me wondering - what's next?
And glad for a handful of monkeys who will be there to see it.
First, my apologies to Thomas Nelson and Women of Faith for the ridiculous delay in posting. I initially wanted to take a couple of days to process and actually have something substantial to say, aside from "It was awesome!" (which it was) - and then my grandmother passed away and there was the flurry of the unexpected trip out east for the funeral, and the craziness of trying to catch up on work, and the odd paralyzation of my usual bent towards productivity that came with all the emotions involved with all of that - and I've just been procrastinating. I don't really have an excuse at this point. Just... I'm sorry. Please forgive me. And thank you for a life-changing weekend.
The Women of Faith conference was exactly what I thought it would be. I met with God. He had some things to say that I needed to hear. It was fun - I laughed a lot. And I came away refreshed, rejuvenated, and ready to re-imagine the possibilities of what God could do in and through my life.
I also came away feeling like I'd been hit by a truck, emotionally speaking anyway. Friday was awesome - it was relatively light-hearted most of the day (tho definitely not without depth), and fabulous to just be away. We had seats in the second row, and were seven feet from Natalie Grant at one point. It was pretty amazing. And then Saturday - wow. Saturday was one big long emotional haul. I could write for days about everything we saw and heard, but honestly - to all the ladies who read my blog, I will just recommend that you go. Listen to the stories these women have to tell. You won't regret it.
But here are my three big takeaways:
1) Without a doubt, my two favorite speakers over the weekend were Sheila Walsh and Henry Cloud. Henry was a very good sport about being one of the only men in the building. They tag-teamed beautifully all day on Friday, and I learned a lot from both of them. Henry asked an unusual question during one of his talks, tho: "Who's your monkey?" - and it really made me think.
The premise of his question is that in stress-test experiments with monkeys, a monkey who has company during the stress-test will inevitably be less affected by the stressors in his/her environment than the monkey who is left alone in a room with those same stressful factors. And so it is with people. We're wired for community - we need it to survive. Something that's come to mind often since that weekend is that, while Adam (before the Fall) walked and talked with God all the time, God still looked at him and said, "It isn't good for man to be alone." I find that interesting, in the context of American Christianity, where we're so fond of saying that Jesus is enough. He is - and yet. I haven't come to any conclusions about that, except that I want to study this idea more, and read a bunch of commentaries on the subject, and see what smarter people than I am have to say about it. And in the meantime, I think Henry Cloud is right - we all need a monkey. Sometimes we need twenty.
And so I've taken a good long look at the relationships in my life, and realized that I've been incredibly blessed with very good friends, several of whom have stepped up in some pretty awesome ways over the past few weeks and just been there to cry with me as I've been grieving. It's been pretty amazing, and I've felt far less alone these past few weeks.
2) One of the themes I heard in every talk throughout the weekend is that God has a purpose in every thing He allows into our lives, good, bad or indifferent. Each woman who took the stage (and both of the men as well) had stories to tell about some of the tough places they've been - and the way God worked through those situations to bring them to a place of healing and wholeness and then used their stories to impact hundreds of thousands of people every year, giving them hope for their own situations.
and 3) This very fact gave me hope for my own future - that all I've been through, all I'll go through - will somehow bring Him glory. I've felt a number of my dreams start to die these past few years; there are so many obstacles, so many things that just haven't worked out the way I thought they would, so many reasons why "I can't" seems the logical conclusion - and yet. And yet. Just because a dream lies fallow for a very long time doesn't mean there's no life in it. Hearing the stories of ordinary women who have been given extraordinary opportunities to share their stories with the world, and to impact the world for the kingdom of God on an international level gave me hope that God can use my stories to change lives as well. That is no small thing. It's extremely humbling, actually. But it's exciting, too - and leaves me wondering - what's next?
And glad for a handful of monkeys who will be there to see it.
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