Advent. It means "the arrival of a notable thing, person, or event." In the Christian calendar, it is the beginning of the Christian year, the four Sundays that lead up to Christmas and the celebration of the birth of Jesus.
Advent is waiting. We spend this time knowing that we need a Savior and knowing that God has promised a Messiah, but he hasn't yet come. But, he will.
I grew up in a non-liturgical church, so we didn't observe Advent. Right after Thanksgiving, we were in full Christmas mode. And I still enjoy my Christmas tree and lights and Nativity sets.
But, I also understand the need to be still and wait. To remember how much I need Jesus. To feel the brokenness and pray for healing.
It's the time of year to remember the promises that God made about his coming Messiah.
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this.
I realized today how much Advent is like having chronic pain. I'm waiting. Always waiting. I know that in the end, I'll be pain-free. God will either heal me or take me to heaven, but I have to live this life that I have right now.
So I wait and I pray, like the people of Israel did for those many years. I read the words of the prophets that they heard or that they heard read in the synagogues. "The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this." Yes. God will do this. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but He will.
What are you waiting for this Advent? Jesus is right beside you and ready to walk this life with you. He may not choose to physically heal you right now, but he'll walk through whatever is hurting you right now right with you. All he asks is that you trust him.
Over these next few weeks, read your Bible, particularly the stories of the birth of Jesus and the prophecies that they reference. Anticipate the arrival of the Savior. Pray for Jesus to have a real impact on your life this Christmas.
Thoughts?
CCM
Election day is over. For the vast majority of us, that means we go on living our lives as usual. Barring any great catastrophe, the checks and balances placed on the branches of government by our founding fathers mean that there won't be any dramatic changes in our lives based on the election results anytime soon. I am so blessed to be in a family that believes in love, tolerance, and patience. But, one of my "adopted" daughters has received some hateful messages on Tumblr because of her sexual orientation. Please remember that there are some out there who are vulnerable to other peoples' rudeness, hate, and persecution; and pray for them when you can.
My mom and dad are recovering well from their surgeries. Dad has his catheter out and had a very good visit with the urology clinic today. Mom has been able to drive since Monday, which is good since I've had an intermittent migraine for about five days. Mom still has some pain from healing, but she's managing. She likes to pick up things that are too heavy and doesn't do well with resting, but she never has . . .
Mom bought a new microwave today at Home Depot. It was the last one of the floor model, so it came without a box. She had someone load it into the car at Home Depot. When she came home, though, I brought it upstairs, which wasn't very hard because it's not all that heavy. But, then, I moved the old microwave from the shelf to the floor of the living room. It was heavy. Then, I put the new microwave in it's spot and life was good! And my nephew gets to move the old microwave downstairs. Because I'm old.
I've been working on some knitting projects that I'm not at liberty to discuss because Christmas!!!
Speaking of Christmas, I made a Christmas music playlist on my phone!! I'll rotate between that and Hamilton when I want to listen to music.
I was going to recruit my nephews and work on getting Mom and Dad's Christmas tree and a few decorations up, but I woke up with such a bad migraine yesterday that I couldn't do it. We might try again Friday after school. The stuff is up on a high shelf and I think I need my 15 year old and very tall nephew to help!
I've also been reading. My brother loaned me Disinformation by Ion Mihai Pacepa and Ronald J. Rychlak. It's a book about how the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc misled the West during the cold war, but particularly about how they tarnished the image of Pope Pius XII. It's a pretty good book, but I wasn't getting much reading done. I came across Church of Spies by Mark Riebling in Overdrive, which is an audiobook also about the Catholic Church's true role in WWII. I decided to listen to this one instead since I'm doing more listening than reading right now.
My other two books are The King Jesus Gospel by Scot McKnight which is excellent and Seriously Dangerous Religion by Iain Provain about reading the Old Testament which is also excellent. I also have The Big Short by Michael Lewis from Overdrive, but I haven't started listening.
Tomorrow, it's back to normal life. Hopefully, I wake up without a headache. Help Mom clean house. Do some knitting. Maybe check out a yarn shop. Love the people I come in contact with. Wonderfully boring. And I'm glad.
How are things with you? Anything interesting? Do share.
CCM
Election day is over. For the vast majority of us, that means we go on living our lives as usual. Barring any great catastrophe, the checks and balances placed on the branches of government by our founding fathers mean that there won't be any dramatic changes in our lives based on the election results anytime soon. I am so blessed to be in a family that believes in love, tolerance, and patience. But, one of my "adopted" daughters has received some hateful messages on Tumblr because of her sexual orientation. Please remember that there are some out there who are vulnerable to other peoples' rudeness, hate, and persecution; and pray for them when you can.
My mom and dad are recovering well from their surgeries. Dad has his catheter out and had a very good visit with the urology clinic today. Mom has been able to drive since Monday, which is good since I've had an intermittent migraine for about five days. Mom still has some pain from healing, but she's managing. She likes to pick up things that are too heavy and doesn't do well with resting, but she never has . . .
I've been working on some knitting projects that I'm not at liberty to discuss because Christmas!!!
Speaking of Christmas, I made a Christmas music playlist on my phone!! I'll rotate between that and Hamilton when I want to listen to music.
I was going to recruit my nephews and work on getting Mom and Dad's Christmas tree and a few decorations up, but I woke up with such a bad migraine yesterday that I couldn't do it. We might try again Friday after school. The stuff is up on a high shelf and I think I need my 15 year old and very tall nephew to help!
I've also been reading. My brother loaned me Disinformation by Ion Mihai Pacepa and Ronald J. Rychlak. It's a book about how the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc misled the West during the cold war, but particularly about how they tarnished the image of Pope Pius XII. It's a pretty good book, but I wasn't getting much reading done. I came across Church of Spies by Mark Riebling in Overdrive, which is an audiobook also about the Catholic Church's true role in WWII. I decided to listen to this one instead since I'm doing more listening than reading right now.
My other two books are The King Jesus Gospel by Scot McKnight which is excellent and Seriously Dangerous Religion by Iain Provain about reading the Old Testament which is also excellent. I also have The Big Short by Michael Lewis from Overdrive, but I haven't started listening.
Tomorrow, it's back to normal life. Hopefully, I wake up without a headache. Help Mom clean house. Do some knitting. Maybe check out a yarn shop. Love the people I come in contact with. Wonderfully boring. And I'm glad.
How are things with you? Anything interesting? Do share.
CCM
