I walk
I crawl
I stumble
I sprint
To the hope
To the joy
To the faith
To the peace
Of the birth
Of the explosion
Of the struggle
Of the love
Nestled
Radiating
Churning
Burning
Within God
Mewling
Cooing
Sobbing
Wailing
As an infant
To inspire me
To walk
To crawl
To stumble
To sprint
To hope
To joy
To faith
To PEACE.
Shared by Susan Phillips
“Why are Dasher and Dancer always taking Coffee Breaks? Because they are Star Bucks.”
“Your work holiday party gives you the chance to meet all of the people you’ve been emailing from four feet away.” from sweatlife_nyc
It’s December 18th, but I already ate all of the chocolate from my Advent Calendar.
I found a meme that had a child fist pumping: “Day after Christmas and I still have chocolate left in the Advent Calendar, I must have lost weight this Advent.”
Advent Calendars: A tradition bringing families together so kids have one more thing to fight over.
Please feel free to add any other Advent funnies into the comments, I know you have them….
14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14
My three and a half year old granddaughter Lucia, not only came to me, but spoke up: “Lita, I don’t like it when you are here because you don’t cuddle!”
At the time, we were in bed and I was reading to her. I felt a little pin prick at my heart and I know that I turned a bit red in embarrassment. Truly though, I felt hurt. At first I did not realize Lucia was telling me what she wanted. And now I know, I needed to take notice. She felt that an important part of our relationship should be cuddling while I read to her.
Sometimes from the mouths of babes, a message comes from God and we need to stand at attention and take notice.
Recently, I told Lucia that I’m taking cuddling classes and even ask her from time to time, how am I doing? Lucia will tell me the truth for sure.
People tell us every day what they want and need from us. Do we listen?
Jesus tells us in those moments of prayer when silence enfolds us what he wants and needs from us — listen to His message of love and blessings and step forward with grace knowing that He will always give us what we need.
Enjoy the Advent season and let’s all listen together to the spiritual nourishment that this season provides for us all.
Shared by Carmen Matias
For so many, the darkest days of the year that lead up to December 21st, the first day of winter are bleak. Last night, I watched coverage about a massive snow storm in Romania and the rainy weekend the Northeast endured where many are wondering when the rain will end.
My Sunday was spent in the Minneapolis, Minnesota area shopping with a friend, laughing all the way and attending a wonderful children’s Christmas Concert at a local church. The children sang their hearts out! And then there were the angels. Oh! How they lit up the stage in their wings and waved to the audience of family and friends. Exactly what our angels are supposed to do in our lives, make us feel like we are valuable and protected.
On our drive back to my hotel, I kind of forgot the bleakness I oftentimes see this week of darkness. It was strangely a spectacularly beautiful day here in the Twin Cities with a balmy temperature of 48 degrees. And the sunset had some of the most fabulous colors I have seen in the week leading up to the shortest day of the year. Hoping that you have one of those days soon!
So, if you have one of those bleak midwinter days, listen to this. Susan Boyle’s voice somehow makes the day better.
Listen to Susan Boyle singing “In the Bleak Midwinter.”
1. In the bleak mid-winter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter
Long ago.
2. Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him
Nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away
When He comes to reign:
In the bleak mid-winter
A stable-place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty,
Jesus Christ.
3. Enough for Him, whom cherubim
Worship night and day,
A breastful of milk
And a mangerful of hay;
Enough for Him, whom angels
Fall down before,
The ox and ass and camel
Which adore.
4. Angels and archangels
May have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim
Thronged the air,
But only His mother
In her maiden bliss,
Worshiped the Beloved
With a kiss.
5. What can I give Him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd
I would bring a lamb,
If I were a wise man
I would do my part,
Yet what I can I give Him,
Give my heart.
Shared by Marcie Doll
Fall is here and winter is on its way. This is my time for reflection and renewal. The anticipation of Christ’s coming brings me comfort with feelings of Hope for the coming year. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” is my mantra of anticipation.
However, there’s actually more encouragement in this verse. Paul wrote these words while facing some of the worst trials of his life. Despite the threat of pain and death, he realized that God gives us strength in ways that go beyond the good times and the not so good moments. The strength of Christ reaches right down into our turmoil and pain. And it’s there that we can truly do “all things.”
Romans 12:12
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Psalm 33:20-22
We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, LORD, even as we put our hope in you.
Shared by Brenda Walker
I stumbled on this hymn, which was not previously known to me. The lyrics tell not just of Advent but the story of salvation.
THOU DIDST LEAVE THY THRONE
by EMILY S. ELLIOT music by Ira David Sankey
Thou didst leave thy throne and thy kingly crown,
When thou camest to earth for me
But in Bethlehem’s home was there found no room
For thy holy nativity:
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus!
There is room in my heart for Thee;
Oh, come to my heart, Lord Jesus, come,
There is room in my heart for Thee.
Heaven’s arches rang when the angels sang,
Proclaiming thy royal degree;
But of lowly birth cam’st Thou, Lord, on earth,
And in great humility:
The foxes found rest, and the birds had their nest
In the shade of the forest tree;
But Thy couch the sod, O Thou Son of God
In the deserts of Galilee:
Thou camest, O Lord, with the living Word
That should set Thy people free;
But with mocking scorn, and with crown of thorn,
They bore Thee to Calvary:
Oh, come to my heart, Lord Jesus!
Thy cross is my only plea;
Oh, come to my heart, Lord Jesus, come,
Thy cross is my only plea.
When heaven’s arches shall ring, and her choirs shall sing
At thy coming to victory,
Let thy voice call me up, “Yet there is room,
There is room at My side for thee!”
And my heart shall rejoice, Lord Jesus!
When Thou comest and callest for me;
And my heart shall rejoice, Lord Jesus!
When Thou comest and callest for me.
Shared by Annemarie Edwards
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
Ephesians 2: 8-10
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
2 Corinthians 12:9
“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Hebrews 4:16
“I do not at all understand the mystery of grace – only that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us.”
Anne Lamott
“Grace, then, is grace,–that is to say, it is sovereign, it is free, it is sure, it is unconditional, and it is everlasting.”
Alexander Whyte
“Grace is available for each of us every day – our spiritual daily bread – but we’ve got to remember to ask for it with a grateful heart and not worry about whether there will be enough for tomorrow.”
Sarah Ban Breathnech
Shared by Agatha Pratt
Happy Rosh Hashanah. Wait!! Isn’t this a Christmas Blog. Well, I’d like to share with you the Christmas lesson that I received during the Jewish New Year.
One Saturday morning in September, I was driving through a narrow street. Suddenly I felt the dreaded thud of my car mirror hitting another car. I pulled up until I found a spot where I could safely pull over. The other car pulled in front of me. When I got out I could see the mirror of the other car dangling from its hinges. “Oh no”,I thought. When I looked closer at the car I realized it was a very expensive car(and thus a very expensive mirror). The gentleman was very civil despite the situation and I greeted him by apologizing. It was my mistake. We exchanged information and agreed that we would decide how to further handle the situation. Later that day I got the most surprising text of my life:
In brevity the text included the following:
Tonight starts the Jewish New Year. My parents who are both gone, always taught me to do an act of kindness for the new year. My parents were Holocaust survivors and 90% of their family were murdered by the Nazis for being Jewish. Despite this they raised me to think of others not only yourself. I have decided that I will take care of the full cost of repairing my car. I ask of you to do kindness for a stranger.
He continued by telling me about an organization in which he is involved . I immediately followed up by seeking out ways in which I could support the organization. We communicated back and forth sharing more life stories. I told him about the wonderful work being done at Marble.
I’ve shared this story with friends and others who might be questioning the kindness of humanity. Each time I read the texts sent by my new friend it ignites the spirit of Christmas in me. I ask myself, “What more can I do?” May I encourage you to do the same?
Shared by Denise Kaaland
From Catholic.org
God’s challenge to us is always about following Him in true faith. It shouldn’t be a walk of faith that is “mamby…pamby.” One that is forged on whether we get what we ask for, in the way we want it and at the time we want it to happen. Oftentimes, we pray and then go ahead and think and do things as we see it and leave God’s intervention and authority out of the equation. It’s easy to do, especially when we are laser focused on what we want instead of what God wants for us. So the question is, do we trust God with our lives?
Trust is a major lesson and a difficult one to practice in our faith walk. It requires us to go deep into defining what our relationship to Christ really is. It requires us to center our hope in the assurance of God’s love for us and not a hope of maybe or possibly.
At times I struggle in accepting God’s grace because I know I don’t deserve it. Yet each day I experience that grace and it humbles me. His grace is tenderness which washes over me, increasing and deepening my faith. It reveals a sense of belonging and deeply being loved by someone I cannot see but who sees me. It expands and nurtures my love for Him. I hear God’s voice which says, “I am infinitely tender with you.”
1 Corinthians 15:10
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect.
Shared by Myrna Rodriguez
