Tag Archives: Advent

On That Silent Night

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“In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.”–Luke 2:1-7

On a very silent night, over 2000 years ago, Christ was born into the world as the promised Messiah: the promised Messiah who comes as the light in the midst of the darkness to bring hope, peace, and love to all the world. This promised Messiah comes as the light of the world who was born to the most unlikely woman: Mary in the most unlikeliest of places–in a dirty cattle stall; a manger in Bethlehem.

The only cries heard that silent night where the cries of this infant; our King as he entered into the world. Those cries proclaimed the promise of this holy child who promises to never leave us or forsake us…even and most especially in our sorrows and our doubts. This King comes to bring hope and peace to a world in need of that very hope and peace. It is an extraordinary gift…a King born to bring God’s love to all the world.

That silent night, the shepherds stood on a hill watching over their flocks by night. They were simply doing their job and minding their own business when the angel appeared to them. The angel proclaimed, “Do not be afraid…for I bring you good news of great joy for all the people. For today is born in the city of David Christ the Lord.” The shepherds immediately ran to see this thing the angel told them about. When they arrived, they found Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus lying in the manger. They were overjoyed and left proclaiming and telling the news of this newborn king.

Now on our own silent nights, may we too listen and hear the cries of this infant born for each and every one of us. May we too be filled with comfort, peace, and hope shared together. May we know the promise of this one who always walks with us even in our darkest moments.

I am reminded of these words from the prophet Isaiah ” But now, this is what the Lord says—-he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: ‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”

Like God called Mary to give birth to the promised Messiah and like God called so many in the world, God calls each and every one of us by name too just like God called Jesus; Emmanuel “God with us!”

Merry Christmas my dear friends and readers! I am so thankful for each and every one of you who have joined me here in this space over this past year. May you have a blessed Advent, a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I am linking up with my very fave women today: Holly and Testimony Tuesday, Angela and the RaRa linkup, Jennifer and Tell His Story and Holley and Coffee for your Heart!


 
 

Guiding Our Feet Into The Way of Peace

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“By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”–Luke 1:78-79

These words have been replaying in my head and my heart today. They are in the text I will be preaching on Sunday. In this text, Zechariah and Elizabeth are told that Elizabeth will give birth to a son and they will name him John which means “God is gracious and/or merciful.” Yet even in the midst of this annunciation to Elizabeth, that is not where I’m finding myself focusing instead I’m pulled to the above words from Luke 1.

Have you ever noticed that when your electricity goes out, you don’t need much…one candle can give off just enough light? That light takes away the shadows of the darkness. That light reminds us of this precious holy child who comes as the light in the darkness. In contrast, John comes to give us knowledge of this promised Messiah while Jesus comes to fulfill that promise; the light of the world.

During this season of Advent, not everyone experiences joy. There are many who are in the depths of death and are sitting in those shadows of darkness. I think of my friend who recently lost his father; also a beloved grandfather, spouse, father-in-law.  I also am reminded of dear Laura’s daughters. For them, that empty chair at the table or around the Christmas tree is evidence of this one they loved and lost. They are literally sitting in the shadows of death. Yet God reminds us that God will guide our feet into the way of peace. Both these dear souls are no longer in pain, but rather have been guided into the way of peace.

In addition, in our world that so often feels so full of hatred and war and ugliness, it is also hard to hear these words. In an unpeaceful world, how can we be guided into the way of peace? Yet that’s the beauty. God sent Gods one and only son into world as this gift who promises to guide our feet into the way of peace. “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring Good News!”

And those feet that bring Good News and guide them into peace, they came first as infant feet; born in an stable in Bethlehem; a Son born for our sins; a Son born to guide us all into the way of peace. This peace is a peace that only this infant son can bring in the midst of our sorrows and joys and showers upon us through God’s love for God’s people.

This love is a love that reminds us always of the power and gift of love and relationships in our own lives. As my friend Laura was laying in her hospice bed, she asked us her friends, family and mat carriers to send her pictures etc to decorate her room. Only a week there, her room was filled with so much love. There was no white space left on those walls; a concrete example of the power of love; Gods love that guides us all into the way of peace; a peace that passes all human understanding.

Our gracious merciful God sends this infant child as an embodiment of God’s love for all God’s people. This unlikely King born to this unlikely woman triumphantly breaks the dawn from on high especially to all of us who sit in darkness and/or in the shadows of death and guides our feet into the way of peace!

Let’s walk forward trusting in this promised Messiah who always promises to take our hands and guide our feet into the everlasting way of peace that only God can provide!

Linking up with Jennifer Dukes Lee and Tell His Story and Holley Gerth and Coffee for your Heart: 


 

Advent and Our Own Inconveniences

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It is a beautiful December day here in North Dakota. Fresh snow from this weekend layers the ground while frost covers the trees. It is a picture straight out of a North Dakota winter calendar. I love the peacefulness this time of the year brings upon the land. But then something happens and I am shaken back into my reality. This morning, I woke up to a cold sore. Now don’t get me wrong, there are worse things than cold sores, but I always seem to get one this time of the year which just annoys me and makes me extremely self conscious.

I want to hide away from the world and not show my face until that ugly cold sore has disappeared. And, of course, this week I am helping with the women’s Christmas party on Thursday and preaching this weekend. So this morning, I quickly texted my friend Chris who loves her essential oils and asked her if she would recommend an essential oil to help my cold sore disappear more quickly. She had some recommendations and borrowed them to me. So at lunch time, I ran over and grabbed them from her office. Time will tell if they will do the trick! 🙂

I don’t know about you, but I can so easily let these little inconveniences get in the way of who God has called me to be. God has created each and everyone of us as “fearfully and wonderfully made.” God loved us so much that God sent God’s one and only son into the world for each and every one of us.

I can so easily get sidetracked by how I look, but it’s really about what is on the inside, isn’t it? I think of the movie The Grinch Who Stole Christmas where we hear “It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes, and bows.” Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before…”Maybe Christmas doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas…he thought…means a little bit more.” And yes, my friends, that is the true…Christmas isn’t bought in a store. Christmas is so much more!

Christmas is about spreading Christmas cheer to those who cannot afford their own packages. Christmas is about spending time with those that we love….or perhaps spending this Christmas without that special someone and yet knowing we are not alone. Christmas is about trusting in our God who sends God’s son; the promise Messiah as this precious infant boy born in a stable in Bethlehem. Have you ever thought about that? The stable wasn’t the cleanest place in the world. In fact, it was probably pretty dirty and didn’t emit the nicest odor. And perhaps it wasn’t such a silent night after all?

My prayer is that we can remember what this season is truly about…not to get hung up on our own inconveniences which in the grand scheme of things are actually pretty petty…but rather to listen for the cry of this babe born in the stable in Bethlehem and hear the words as the angels and so many proclaim “Glory to God in the highest and peace to those whom he favors” Amen!

I am linking up with Holly at Testimony Tuesday and Kelly at the RaRa Linkup:


 

Our Eternal Advent Hope

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Grief has a funny way of catching us off guard, doesn’t it? It definitely caught me off guard this past weekend. As I was reading through the list of names in our prayers during worship, my eyes wondered down to the bottom of the list where my seminary friend Laura’s name now was laying. I was able to get through the list of names, but then it came time to read Laura’s name and the emotions took over. The tears poured down my face. I was able to compose myself…but barely…and get through the rest of the prayers. 
After the 8:30 am service, my colleague asked me if I wanted him to read the prayers at the later service. I was like “No I think I can get through them this time.” The time came for the prayers and I read slowly through each name. Then the time came to read Laura’s name again, so I took a deep breathe and proceeded on with the prayers as I uttered her name. This time, I was able to get through the prayers without any tears.

I have always been a crier…tears of joy and tears of sorrow have been intermingled throughout my life. I also have been known to cry at a Hallmark commercial or two. But so often those tears come as holy tears. Much like the waters of Baptism call and claim us as beloved children of God and cleanse us of our sins, our tears often help us to be reminded of that promise. Those holy tears are often a sign of new hope and promise.
I have been thinking a lot about Advent hope and promise in these last week especially because it seems like it is so hard to find that hope and promise in these days. During these days of Advent, it is important to remember that it is there; we just have to remember to look for it and savor it in this holy season. Jesus was born to an unlikely woman in the most unlikely of places. This promised Messiah came in the form of an infant son. God has a way of doing that; turning the ordinary into extraordinary—turning a simple chocolate bar into a flowing fountain of chocolate fondue. (Anyone else craving chocolate now?)
This infant Son came as the light in the midst of the darkness. This infant Son stands with us in a world that seems to be falling apart. This infant Son comes to calm our fears especially when it feels like our world, with good reason, is full of anxiety. This infant Son comes to call us each by name. This infant Son comes in the midst of our grief and promises to sit with us. 
Most of all, this infant Son comes as eternal Advent hope that is born in a manger in Bethlehem thousands of years ago to an unlikely woman Mary and her betrothed Joseph. This infant Son comes as OUR ETERNAL ADVENT HOPE! “The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight (O Little Town of Bethlehem, verse 1).”
I am linking up with these lovely ladies today: Holly and Testimony Tuesday, Kelly and the RaRa Linkup, Jennifer and Tell His Story and Holley and Coffee for your Heart!

 
 

The Greatest Story

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I am a lover of story especially a well-crafted, historical story. The way the characters are woven through the plot of the story; the emotions felt; the well thought out deeply insightful conversations; and the way the story concludes leaving me satisfied or leaving me to want even more. Each piece of the story plays a vital role in the telling of the story.
Can you think of some of your all time favorite stories? Why do you love them so much? Do they leave you feeling satisfied or do they leave you aching for more…wanting to spend just a little bit longer with the characters as you get to know them more intimately?
I have so many stories that I love, but my absolute favorite story comes straight out of the pages of the Bible: Jesus’ birth, life and death. Today, I am going to focus solely on the true story of Christmas as we find ourselves dwelling in the season of Advent. 
The story begins with a humble mother: Mary. Here she is a virgin woman, engaged to be married, and she is told she will bear a child. Talk about a little bit of scandal. This virgin woman can NOT be “with child” yet she is! As a single woman myself, I know that people would think I was crazy if I told them that an angel had told me that I was going to bear a child….and not just any child…but the Messiah. Yet God sends one of God’s messengers to Mary to calm her fears. I love the simple words of the angel as she utters “Do not be afraid.”
“The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom there will be no end.'”–Luke 1:30-33
Enter another important person, the husband and soon-to-be father, Joseph. Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem where Mary is to give birth to this precious holy child. They arrive and find out there is no room for them in the inn. Mary gives birth to Jesus in the most unlikely of places; in a manger. Despite the circumstances, Mary and Joseph welcome their son into the world with joy.

“In those days a
decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered.
This was the first registration that took place while Quarinius was governor of
Syria.
All went to their own towns to be registered.  Joseph also went from from
the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called
Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went
to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a
child. While they were there, the time came for her deliver her child. And she
gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him
in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.”–Luke 2:1-7

After Jesus’ birth, an angel appears to the shepherds who are
keeping watch over their flock. Upon seeing the angel, the shepherds are terrified.
Who could this be? And what news are they bringing us? The words that follow
are one of my favorite words from this beautiful holy story because they remind
us of the power of God and God’s love for all God’s people.
“But the angel of the Lord said to them, ‘Do not be
afraid; for see–I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people:
to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the
Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth
and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of
the heavenly host, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest
heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors.'”–Luke 2:8-14

The shepherds travel and find Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus lying
in the manger. They then tell everyone what they have seen. The people are
amazed at what the shepherds tell them. The shepherds glorify and praise God
while Mary treasures and ponders all these things in her heart.
This story is a story that sticks with me! It is a story that
I want to continue to tell over and over again. It is a story that calls each
of us to shout “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among those
whom he favors.” It is a story that we too shall ponder and treasure in
our own hearts during this Advent and Christmas season because it indeed is one
of the greatest stories ever told!
And this greatest story ever told sticks with me because of my family especially my mom. My mom has lived most of my life with a mental illness yet this is one of her most favorite seasons of the year. Growing up, she always immersed my sister and I in hearing the story of Advent/Christmas. It is a story that I never tire of hearing over and over again. It is a story that brings me great joy and hope because like I stated earlier, I have always loved a good story and it doesn’t get any better than the Advent/Christmas story! 
Join me over at Literacy Musing Mondays and link-up about your favorite story.

There is a Season

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I am linking up for the Five Minute Friday. The FMF is hosted by Kate Motaung on her blog Heading Home. Today’s prompt is “Season” Write for five minutes; unedited.

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.”–Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Growing up on the prairies of North Dakota, I have always loved living in an area of the world where we experience four distinct seasons. I love in the spring watching new animals and new life come to fruition. In the summer, it is my joy to watch farmers especially my family tend and care for the land. In later summer/early fall, I love watching the grain, sunflowers, corn fields come even more to life. Then as Fall gives way watching as those fields are harvested. Then in the winter months, everything is covered in white as the snow covers the ground. This year, it is unseasonably warm and there is like no snow on the ground. It was 40 degrees yesterday!

Each of these seasons has their role in caring and stewarding for the land just like our lives have different seasons too. Seasons of life and death; seasons of joy and sorrow, seasons of war and peace. This week has been a week of death; a season of death that came way too early. My seminary friend Laura lost her battle with cancer earlier this week. My heart breaks for her daughters who have now lost both parents to cancer. It just doesn’t seem fair. In fact, it rather sucks!

Laura was an incredible woman who always turned to Christ even in the last moments of her life. * She continued to teach even until those last moments. “Be gentle with yourselves while you are grieving and tell those that you love that you love them and know that you are loved.” Those words from her are a reminder of this season of waiting and trusting in Emmanuel who comes as the light in the midst of the darkness. “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it.”

So during this season of Advent, may we take time to dwell and wait for the birth of Emmanuel “God with us” who promises to never leave us or forsake us. May we tell those that we love that we love them and treasure the time we share together. May we simply remember the true reason for this season..”For God so loved the world that God gave God’s only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send God’s Son into the world to condemn the world, but to give eternal life.”

*This is where my five minutes stopped.

Advent Waiting

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Have you ever noticed how much of life is about waiting? We wait in the drive thru line at the fast food store. We wait in the waiting room at the doctor and/or dentist’s office.We wait for those we love. We wait for packages and fun snail mail to arrive in the mail. We wait at the airport. The truth is that we actually wait a lot in our lives. Yet, I don’t know about you, but for me, I have a hard time waiting. I can get pretty impatient.

And when it comes to God answering my prayers and/or the desires of my heart, it seems like my patience meter runs even shorter. I want it to be answered right now! Yet God doesn’t answer our prayers or the desires of our heart like that, does God? God has a plan in store for each and every one of us. I am reminded of a Tweet from my blog friend Kaitlyn “God has a very, very good plan. We may not understand it, but that doesn’t make it any less good.” Oh how I need to cling to those words in the waiting!

Sometimes it seems like those plans are coming into place for every one but me. Just a few weeks ago, a camp friend got engaged. I am so excited for her. Her fiance is a single dad so she gains an instant family. Then on Thanksgiving, a good friend was proposed too. My heart and head have a hard time holding my emotions during these joyous occasions because part of me is so excited for them while another part of me feels deflated.

Yet Advent is all about waiting, isn’t it? My friend Susan gifted me an early release copy of Mandy Hale’s book “A Beautiful Uncertainty.” She knew her words were exactly what my soul needed. My favorite chapter is a chapter titled “Advent, Single, and Waiting” Funny thing is that I read that chapter just as Advent was nearing. Because Advent is indeed all about waiting.

As the weeks lead up to Christmas and Jesus’ birth, we find ourselves dwelling in the Word and the peace and holiness of this season. In John chapter one, we read “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it.”–John 1:1-5

We wait for this Word, born of flesh, Emmanuel! Like Mary, we ponder and treasure all these things in our hearts. Like the shepherds, we wait and find the baby Jesus lying in the manger. Like the wise men, we wait and bring the Messiah gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. We wait for this one who is sent into the world to bring hope and peace and joy and will later die on a cross for our sins. We wait because we trust in a God who fulfills God’s promises!

Yes, a God who fulfills God’s promises. Those are important words for us all to cling to and remember especially during this Advent season. Much like we await the birth of Jesus, I find myself waiting and clinging to God’s promises to me. I may not know the day nor the hour but God has a plan for me and each and every one of us. In fact, it may not be the plan I have pictured for myself but it is the plan God has designed specifically for me. And that plan is oh so good!

May we all wait and hold onto the hope of our faithful God who is always ever faithful especially as we wait and watch for this precious baby boy born in a stable in Bethlehem oh so many years ago..this holy child who comes to remind us of God’s love and faithfulness for all God’s people.

I am linking up with these beautiful faith-filled women: Holly at Testimony Tuesday, Kelly and the RaRa Linkup, Jennifer and Tell His Story, and Holley and Coffee for your Heart.


 

Finding Our Simply Tuesdays

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The weekend rolls around and then the calendar page turns to Monday where we find ourselves heading back to work, school, etc. And then it is simply Tuesday. Have you ever found yourself just stuck there? Tuesday isn’t Monday. It isn’t Friday or the end of the week. It isn’t even hump day. It is just laying out there all by itself. Yet perhaps maybe we are called to embrace our simple Tuesdays.

I just finished Emily P. Freeman’s book “It’s Simply Tuesday.” In the book, Freeman shares about how we are to enjoy those Tuesdays in their smallness. We are to embrace our Tuesday people on our Tuesday benches on that simply Tuesday ordinary day.

“Let’s gently poke our sleepy souls refusing to wait for a big event to wake us up. Let’s stop running from ordinary time but begin to sit in the midst of it (P. 26).”

Yes, let’s sit in the midst of that ordinary time because the truth is that ordinary time is longer and more than the other special days. In fact, in the seasons of the church year, the liturgical color green which is for ordinary time is the longest season of the church year. It can be so easy to get caught up in what seems like boredom and smallness of that ordinary time. But as Emily reminds us, that ordinary time is an important time for us to dwell. It is a time that leads to those extraordinary times and helps us to enjoy those extra special days even more.

The truth is that on those simply Tuesdays, God is there with us. “As it turns out, Jesus doesn’t come riding in on a white horse to save me from my humiliation, my daily work, my endless list. Instead, he whispers a quiet invitation to keep company with him the way he came to earth to keep company with us. It won’t always feel like a rescue. It might feel like surrender.  But on the other side of that space I find Jesus. I find his peace, I find his companionship (Introduction; Location 237).”

I love that I just finished this book as the calendar page soon turns to Advent. Advent is my most favorite time of the year because it continually reminds me of Jesus “Emmanuel”; God with us who comes in the most unlikely place to the most unlikeliest people. God has a way of doing that; showing up in those small mundane simply Tuesday spaces. And it is in those spaces, that we are reminded of God’s love for us; a love that comes not just on Sundays, but every day of the week including those simply Tuesday days.

“Being led by love has to start by recognizing we already have it. I can’t let love lead if I don’t know it’s there to begin with (P. 188).”

“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love moves toward (P. 193).” 

God’s love reminds us that God is there in the light and in the darkness, in the joy and in the sorrow, and in the morning and in the night. It is just that sometimes we have a hard time seeing God in those places. But the truth is that God is always there. God promises to never leave us or forsake us. God sits with us on our Tuesday benches with our Tuesday people on those simply Tuesdays and shows us who God has created us to be.

“And even as we stand with our feet firmly planted on our Tuesdays, we’ll let our souls, with childlike wonder, stand high on tiptoe with great hope, knowing the King of our Kingdom will one day come again (P.218)”

And that, my friends, is enough!

I am linking up with Holly at Testimony Tuesday, Kelly and the RaRa Linkup, Jennifer Dukes Lee and Tell His Story, Holley Gerth and Coffee for your Heart and Literary Musing Mondays.


 
 

Dwelling in Advent

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I am linking up for the Five Minute Friday. The FMF is hosted by Kate Motaung on her blog Heading Home. Today’s prompt is “Dwell.” Write for five minutes; unedited.


“One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.” Psalm 27:4

Dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. These words make me think of my friend Laura, and Andrew and all of those who have lived their lives sharing God’s love with the world. I am so thankful that my friend Laura has dwelt here in this place all of her days and will continue to dwell there until she takes her last breath and God asks us to lay Laura’s mat at his feet.

But as I am reminded of those who dwell in the house of the Lord, I also think of those places that I do not want to dwell either. I do not want to dwell on the news that only seems to be bad news. I would much rather dwell in those joy-filled happy spaces. I do not want to dwell on the evil in the world. There is so much I do not want to dwell on.

Yet as Thanksgiving draws near and Advent is soon upon us, I find myself in a place that I want to dwell. Advent is my most favorite time of the year! I love waiting and watching for this precious Christ child to come. I love sitting and dwelling in this space…this deep breathe of fresh air that reminds me of what comes in this infant; this unlikely son born to an unlikely women in a dirty stable in Bethlehem. This one who comes simply as the light in the midst of the darkness. This one who is Emmanuel–“God with us!”

During the days of Advent, I find that this is a place that I want to dwell as I reflect on the true reason for this season. With all the lights off, Christmas lights twinkling all around me, cup of hot cocoa in my hand, my favorite music playing in the background, I simply dwell in the peace of this season. 
Go Fish-More Than A Story 
(One of my fave Christmas songs. And hopefully you’ll forgive me
 for posting a Christmas tune before Thanksgiving!)

It Isn’t About Those Cups!

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The Starbucks seasonal cups are the talk of the town and world as of late.

But, my friends, Christmas is not at all about those red cups. Christmas is about Jesus—Emmanuel (God with us)–who comes into the world in an unlikely place; in a dirty stable in Bethlehem. This infant comes into the world as our savior who later will die on a cross for each and every one of us. This infant is the person who is our one true king who enters the world in the unlikeliest form; a lowly infant.

So often we forget the true reason for the season. This holiday has become so commercialized. Stores cannot even wait for the Halloween costumes to be packed away before they pull out the Christmas decorations. I love decorating for Christmas and don’t think there is anything wrong with decorating before Thanksgiving at all–especially when we have the right motives. But I also believe Thanksgiving opens the door to “Eucharisto”; giving thanks for all God has given and blessed us with in our lives.

“Eucharisto” continually reminds me of what God did when God chose Mary and Joseph to be Jesus’ parents. “Eucharisto” reminds me of the power of God’s love for all of God’s people. “Eucharisto” is Jesus born in that stable in Bethlehem. And “Eucharisto” is giving thanks for that infant Jesus; the unlikely one chosen to be the Messiah; the Messiah we are called to celebrate and remember not just one day a year, but all year round.

One day, when I was at seminary, my friends and I walked into our friend Louise’s office. As we entered her office, my friend Mark immediately noticed a nativity set out on Louise’s desk. It was the spring of the year, so we found that just a little odd. My friend Mark being Mark asked, “Why do you have a nativity set up?  It’s not Advent or Christmas.” I’ll never forget our friend’s response. She smiled and asked, “Should we celebrate Jesus just one day a year?” To which we all replied, “Not at all.” She then shared that she keeps one up all year long to remind her of the promises that come in that infant son. Ever since, I keep a nativity up all year long to remind me of that too! (Talk about a conversation starter!)



And that’s the thing friends, Advent is about waiting for this precious son to be born. It is about the birth of this chosen one called to be our Messiah. It is NOT about what is or is not on those red Starbucks cups. It is about who and whose we are. It is about this one who comes as the light in the midst of the darkness.

This Advent and Christmas may we take the time to break bread, give thanks and spend time with those we love; knowing that God loves us so much that God sent God’s son into the world; to be our Messiah; to be a world changer; a world changer who sat and broke bread with tax collectors and sinners.

Linking up at Inspire Me Monday