I wrote an article during our “lockdown Christmas” last year about my feelings regarding winter and slowing down. I also wrote an article in 2017 about the Winter Solstice and how the sun stands still for the few days from solstice to Christmas day. So it looks as if I have a bit of an affinity with this time of year.
I do love the roll into winter. I love the ways the days get rapidly shorter and I have to rethink my dog walking times–because by 4 pm it isn’t fun to walk around the park. Though I also love that if I can get out before 7:30 am, I can watch the sun rise over the trees in the park. This is a time when I just pray out loud giving glory to God. Christine talked about the Wow factor of Advent and for me, every sunrise is a “Wow!” factor.
This morning I was blown away starting my walk lit only by street-lighting, then seeing the clouds start to get tinged with light and come into definition. Even though the sun still hadn’t fully risen by the time I got home, the world had come into definition. That to me is so awesome. It truly is “new every morning” and I can then remember “Great is his faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:23). So no matter my mood when I start my walk I come to a place of being with God and giving my morning over before I return home.
I noticed this last year and again this year, people are putting their outdoor Christmas lights on earlier and earlier. I know it has been said that because of the pandemic and other things, life is bleak so people need lights; but the posts by Liz of Pocket Fuel have made me think. In the daily emails for the first week of December, she explored how we seem to no longer embrace the darkness as our ancestors would have and how from that we miss out on things – like trusting God in the darkness.
It got me thinking about how our ancestors, and I’m talking pre-Industrial revolution, would use the winter season as a time for gathering the family, of sharing the tales that made up their culture. This is when the stories were retold about heroes, monsters, family history, how the earth came into being, etc. But now we have made the winter, especially this run-up to Christmas, so busy–whether that is rushing round buying, partying, Church services, etc. It is all busy, busy, busy, when in fact our bodies are crying out for us to slow down and the next generation needs to hear our stories, our history, our faith tales.
I am lucky in that in my freelancing work I have been healed of the need to see planning and money as the driving force and have moved more into trusting God to provide so I am more able to roll with the seasons and the daylight hours. But I still have had to think through how not to get sucked into being busy in church, feeling guilty for not saying Yes to everything, for making a quieter way. It isn’t easy. It is countercultural. It takes focus, but I am trying.
So as I allow this season and this shortest day to enfold me I listen to my heart – because it is my heart that connects me with God – and then ask my heart what it is thinking and feeling. I breathe and pray and then feel safe. I want to learn all this so I can take the slowness of the darker season into the spring and summer.
Picture by myself of the view on one of my dog walks at about 7:30 am
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We are now in the last week of Advent. Yesterday we lit the fourth Advent candle, the Peace or Angel’s candle, and now we wait in joyful expectation for the celebration of the birth of Christ once more. The question is, “To where will we welcome him?” Do we really want him moving into our homes or is easier to relegate him to the stable, to see him as an outsider, not really part of the family? Seeing Jesus in an out-of-the-way place where disreputable people like shepherds can come to worship without us having to worry about them messing up our homes makes life easy for us. We get that glow that tells us Jesus is here, but there is very little commitment required of us.
According to New Testament theologian Kenneth Bailey in his wonderful book Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes, Middle Eastern cultures are known for their hospitality and Joseph was coming home with a new wife and an expected first child so there is no way they would have been relegated to the stable. The whole family was gathering, aunts and uncles, cousins and brothers and sisters. All of them coming home. Yes, there was a census that brought them together–but in a fun-loving culture like this, it would not have diminished the welcome or the excitement of a homecoming gathering. The expectation of a baby to be born in their midst would only have increased the excitement.
As Kenneth Bailey explains, the Greek word (katalyma or kataluma) translated as inn in Luke 2:7 does not mean a commercial building with rooms for travelers. It’s a guest space, typically the upper room of a common village home.
“A simple village home in the time of King David, up until the Second World War, in the Holy Land, had two rooms—one for guests, one for the family. The family room had an area, usually about four feet lower, for the family donkey, the family cow, and two or three sheep. They are brought in last thing at night and taken out and tied up in the courtyard first thing in the morning.
“Out of the stone floor of the living room, close to family animals, you dig mangers or make a small one out of wood for sheep. Jesus is clearly welcomed into a family home,” See the entire article here
It was to this simple village home that the shepherds and Wise Men alike came. Shepherds despised and regarded as unclean by their society, are visited by angels and invited to join the great homecoming celebration that marks the arrival of the child who will become the Messiah. That they were welcomed and not turned away from this home is remarkable. This is good news indeed for the outcast and the despised.
Then the Wise Men come, according to Bailey–rich men on camels, probably from Arabia. And they come not to the city of Jerusalem where the Jews thought God’s glory would shine, but to the child born in a manager around whom there is already a great light. The Wise Men come to find a new home; a new place of belonging that has beckoned to them across the world. This too is remarkable and good news for people of all nations who long for a place to call home.
Bailey tells us that the birth stories of Jesus “de-Zionize” the Messianic traditions. Hopes and expectations for the city of Jerusalem are fulfilled in the birth of the child Jesus. (p54)
The new family, the community that will be formed around this child, does not look to the earthly Jerusalem as its home, but to the heavenly Jerusalem which will come down from heaven as a gift of God at the end of history. (Revelation 21:1-4). And it is to this home, a place with no more tears, or oppression or starvation that all of us are beckoned by the birth of Christ.
I love this imagery. Even in the birth of Jesus we are called towards a new family and a new home. There are family and friends and animals. And special invitations by angels for the despised and rejected, and a star to guide the strangers and those who seem far off. The new family and the home envisioned in the birth of Jesus is inclusive of all who accept God’s invitation.
On the third Sunday of Advent, when we lit the joy candle, our rector Father Rich Weyls reminded us that “joy requires us to hold onto the reality of the world’s brokenness in one hand and the love of God in the other”. To rejoice, he said, “is to lean into the longing for God’s perfect shalom to break into our suffering world and make things right, a longing that compels us to participate in God’s good work and that drives us to anticipate and enact shalom everywhere we can while also admitting our desperation, our helplessness, and need for a saviour.” (Listen to his sermon here )
What will it take for us to really lean into the longing for God’s perfect shalom to break into our suffering world and welcome Jesus into our homes this Christmas season?
Let’s recognize Jesus as a part of our family.
I have friends who always leave an empty chair at the dinner table when they hold a festive meal. It is a symbol of the fact that Jesus is the unseen guest at all our meals, the family member who is always present even when we cannot see him. It makes me wonder if at this time of year we should set up the manager in the centre of our dining room tables in preparation for the birth of a baby into our families, a constant reminder that Jesus came to be a part of our family and welcome us into God’s eternal family.
Let’s be willing to invite all those who come with him.
They too are part of our family. We cannot welcome Jesus without also extending our hand of welcome to those who gather round the manger – the disreputable and despised, the foreigners and aliens.
These days when a baby is born many young couples keep it cloistered away for the first couple of months, afraid that it will be exposed to germs that it has no immunity to. Most parents would certainly not welcome those who came to see Jesus – first the animals and then the homeless shepherds who slept in the fields at night. Who do we exclude from our families because we are afraid they will contaminate us and the babies in our midst?
I love the French custom of santons, in which clay models of villagers are positioned around the manger bringing their gifts to the Christ child. Imagine all our neighbours, those we enjoy and those we don’t want to have anything to do with, clustered around the manger, invited into that place of intimate hospitality with God. I encourage all of us to consider creating our own “santons” this Advent and Christmas season, santons of words, photos, and actions, not figures of clay.
Emma Morgan adapted this idea for her church in Australia. You can read her account of what she did here
I am more convinced than ever that it matters a lot where we think Jesus was born, who was with him and how we relate to him.
What is Your Response?
Sit and think about what kind of Jesus you are waiting for this Advent season. Visualize this baby being born into your family. How would this baby be welcomed? Who would be welcomed with him? Who would not be welcomed into the family circle around him?
So as we light this candle of Advent, the candle of hope, listen to Kathy Troccoli as she encourages us to go light our world because–as she says–we are a family.
(This post is adapted from this post I wrote several years ago after reading Kenneth Bailey’s book Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes). His book continues to impact me and I love to repost this regularly.
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Breath prayers, scripture readings, walking meditations, creative and contemplative activities, and unstructured time for quiet reflection help us rekindle the wonder of Advent. Enjoy the wonderful opportunity for inner reflection and renewing silence that this free downloadable Advent retreat invites us into as the season of prayerful expectation unfolds.
This retreat is best done with a group—so gather with friends or family, or a church small group.
A contemplative service with music in the spirit of Taize. Carrie Grace Littauer, prayer leader, with music by Kester Limner and Andy Myers.
Permission to podcast/stream the music in this service obtained from One License with license #A-710-756 with additional notes below:
“Magnificat” Copyright and all rights reserved by GIA/Les Presses de Taizé
“Maranatha, Come Lord Jesus” Written for The University Of Notre Dame Folk Choir by Steven C.
Warner, released on the album “Prophets of Joy”
Copyright 1996 World Library Publications
“Kyrie” Text and music by Kester Limner, shared under the Creative Commons License, Attribution (CC-BY)
“I Wonder as I Wander” Public domain American folk hymn
Arrangement by Kester Limner, shared under the Creative Commons License, Attribution (CC-BY)
Thank you for praying with us! www.saintandrewsseattle.org
Companions of Brother Lawrence Worship for Advent December 2021: A special guest post compiled by Margery Tate
Advent opening prayer
Holy God, we long for your peace, and trust in your promise.
We hear your call to turn towards you, to change our lives and welcome you in.
Holy God, meet us here and fill our minds with your wisdom and our hearts with your peace. In the name of the one who is coming. Amen. (Rev. Susan A. Blain)
Light a candle of hope.
As we light our candle of hope we remember that the light of Christ shines in the darkness and the darkness has never put it out.
H is for humble.
In this season of Advent we come to you humbly as we wait in hope.
We place our hope in you O Holy one.
O is for ordinary
In this season of Advent help us to pay attention to the ordinary things that have the power to transform the world in extraordinary ways.
Remind us again how ordinary humanness and extraordinary God come together in the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
P is for prepare.
In this season of Advent, we decorate our homes and churches in preparation for your arrival.
We pray that you will help us to prepare the way for you.
in our lives and in our world.
E is for expectant.
In this season of Advent, all of creation waits for you with longing and expectation.
We worship you and open our hearts in joyful expectation.
(Rev. Katelyn B. Macrae, Richmond CC Vermont)
Reading – Pregnant with hope by Kate McIlhagga
Now is a time of watching and waiting
a time pregnant with hope
a time to watch and pray.
Christ our advent hope,
bare brown trees, etched dark across a winter sky,
leaves fallen, rustling, ground hard and cold,
remind us to prepare for your coming;
remind us to prepare for the time
when the soles of your feet will touch the ground,
when you will become one of us
to be at one with us.
May we watch for the signs, listen for the messenger,
wait for the good news to slip into our world, our lives.
Christ our Advent hope,
help us to clear the way for you:
to clear the clutter from our minds,
to sift the silt from our hearts,
to move the boulders that prevent us meeting you.
help us to make straight the highways,
to unravel the deception that leads to war,
to release those in captivity.
May sorrow take flight, your people sing a song of peace and hope be born again.
Hymn – O come, O come Immanuel
We say together the words of Brother Lawrence – Companions’ Prayer
O God here we are all devoted to you; make us according to your heart.
O God Thou art one make us one.
Spend a moment in God’s presence.
Be still.
Now mention our family, friends and others we know to be in need by name, holding them in our hearts and in the bright flame of God’s light and love.
Words of Brother Lawrence
I do nothing else but abide in his holy presence.
Let us pray together
On those days when we have cause to doubt your promises
come close to us Lord Jesus.
On those days when we long for safety at any price,
come close to us Lord Jesus.
On those days when we cry out for justice from the depths of our hearts,
come close to us Lord Jesus.
On those days when we are afraid to face the future,
come close to us Lord Jesus.
Pause for a moment in God’s presence
Today you have come close to us Lord Jesus, abide with us and in us.
We are filled with hope, knowing your light will shine in the darkness.
Help us to share your love and your light with all we meet in the days ahead. Amen.
Give the Gift of Wonder this holiday season! Our newest virtual retreat experience, Walking in Wonder Through Advent, is partly inspired by but separate from The Gift of Wonder. Rekindle the wonder of the Advent season; experience renewal in an online course at your own pace. Look beyond the Advent season with our other Gift of Wonder resources! Explore what childlike characteristics shape us into the people God intends us to be. Be encouraged to develop fresh spiritual practices that engage all our senses and help us to live a new kind of spiritual life that embraces the wonder and joy that God intends for us. Embrace the gifts of Awe and Wonder; gifts that sustain us, practices that are relevant and important in these times. Find it all in our shop!
words and music by Carol Dixon
John 1 v 1-5; 9-14 [English Revised Standard Version]
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life,[a] and the life was the light of all people.. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own,[b] and his own people[c] did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
One of my favourite Advent Bible passages is the beginning of John’s gospel above – The Word of God becoming a human being. I love the idea of God, the Creator of the Universe communicating with creation, speaking the Earth into being. Then when the creatures he had given life to failed to hear, sending part of himself as a living Word to humanity as a tiny baby so that God could speak to us in a language we would all understand.
Some years ago when I worked as the Moderator’s secretary for the Northern Synod of the United Reformed Church I wrote an Advent hymn based on John chapter 1 and it was sung during the opening worship at the very first Ecumenical Synod in the UK which we were hosting. During each verse of the hymn representatives from all the denominations processed into the hall carrying different symbols – Bible, Candle, Bread, Wine, Cross, etc and finally the Synod banner covered with embroidered squares from every United Reformed Church in the area. It was a very powerful and moving experience.
‘In the beginning’ is an ‘echo’ song with a cantor and congregation (as it was sung originally) but it works equally well as a simple song with 2 voices. I hope you enjoy singing it this Advent.
Listen to the song below:
featured photo by Unsplash ©Greg Rakozy @grakozy
Breath prayers, scripture readings, walking meditations, creative and contemplative activities, and unstructured time for quiet reflection help us rekindle the wonder of Advent. Enjoy the wonderful opportunity for inner reflection and renewing silence that this free downloadable Advent retreat invites us into as the season of prayerful expectation unfolds.
This retreat is best done with a group—so gather with friends or family, or a church small group.
by Tom Sine
Prep now for an Omicron Crisis Christmas!
On Monday, the UK reported its first death from the Omicron variant, and on Wednesday it reported 78,610 new cases of the coronavirus, the highest number of daily cases since the pandemic began.
CNN reported on December 15th that “Omicron is spreading faster than any other variant.” Many of our hospitals simply won’t be able to deal with the rapid spread. For the sake of all those you care about, don’t hesitate a minute longer. Get vaccinated today or get your booster today! The lives you save for Christmas 2021 could be your own or those you love! Also, create careful celebrations.
Christine and I normally have 40 to 50 people over for our annual Christmas Party for many years. However since the coming of COVID that has not been possible.
Last week we invited 7 good friends over, for a festive Christmas dinner, who had all had their shots and boosters. The day before the event one friend called and shared that she had been vaccinating people for the last two weeks and was concerned that she might have been exposed to the virus.
Out of concern for aged hosts, she opted to re-schedule when she was “safer,” which Christine and I appreciated. Just as the other three were arriving we got a call from our 7th guest. Mark was in bed with what was likely a bad cold and bowed out too.
However, Christine and I and our 3 other guests had a great time. In fact, it appeared they even felt responsible to eat for our two other friends…who missed out.
Even though this Christmas 2021 and we all want to be with family and friends, a number of people paid a much higher price than they expected Christmas 2020. Christine and I urge you for the sake of family and friends to consider the cautions listed below that the CDC recommends.
For those that are up to date on your shots, here are the CDC Guidelines of how to celebrate safely:
CDC Guidance for Celebrating Holidays in 2021 Published October 4, 2021
With the coronavirus pandemic continuing into a second holiday season, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention appeared to have released updated guidance over the weekend for those looking to celebrate safely.
“The content is in the process of being updated by CDC to reflect current guidance ahead of this holiday season,” CDC spokeswoman Kristen Nordlund said in a statement. “The page had a technical update on Friday, but doesn’t reflect the CDC’s guidance ahead of this upcoming holiday season. CDC will share additional guidance soon.
“Attending gatherings to celebrate events and holidays increases your risk of getting and spreading COVID-19,” the guidance read. “The safest way to celebrate is virtually, with people who live with you, or outside and at least 6 feet apart from others.”
But for those who wish to still gather indoors when outside is not an option, the CDC recommended bringing fresh air in.
“If celebrating indoors, bring in fresh air by opening windows and doors, if possible,” its holiday celebrations guidance stated. “You can use a window fan in one of the open windows to blow air out of the window. This will pull fresh air in through the other open windows.”
It was unclear which portions of the guidance would remain for the 2021 season.
Here is what the CDC recommended before the page became inactive.
For “safe celebrations”:
- Host a video chat party with family and friends to share in the celebration…a Zoom visit.
- Plan a special meal with people who live with you inspired by the holiday or event.
- Have an outdoor celebration with everyone at least 6 feet apart.
- Watch virtual events and celebrations.
- Drive or walk around your community to wave to neighbors from a safe distance.
- Take food or gift to family, friends, and neighbors in a way that does not involve contact with others, such as leaving them at the door.
- Throw a virtual dance party and collaborate with friends and family on a playlist.
- Celebrate outside with neighbors and friends.
- Attend a virtual ceremony or celebration.
For making in-person celebrations safer:
- Get vaccinated when you are eligible.
- Know when to wear a mask.
- If you are not fully vaccinated and aged 2 or older, you should wear a mask in indoor public places.
- In general, you do not need to wear a mask in outdoor settings.
- In areas with high numbers of COVID-19 cases, consider wearing a mask in crowded outdoor settings and for activities with close contact with others who are not fully vaccinated.
- In general, you do not need to wear a mask in outdoor settings.
- Outdoor activities are safer than indoor gatherings.
- Have conversations ahead of time to understand expectations for celebrating together.
- Do not attend or host a gathering if you are sick or have symptoms of COVID-19.
- If celebrating indoors, bring in fresh air by opening windows and doors, if possible. You can use a window fan in one of the open windows to blow air out of the window. This will pull fresh air in through the other open windows.
- C.D.C. Guidelines for Celebrating Holidays in 2021 The Chicago Health Department October 4, 2021
WISHING YOU AND YOURS A JOYOUS AND SAFE CHRISTMAS & THE OPPORTUNITY TO REACH OUT TO THOSE WHO ARE STRUGGLING AS WE RACE INTO 2022!
Photo by Andre Ouellet on Unsplash
Are you ready to rekindle the WONDER of the season? Join Christine Sine and Lilly Lewin in this virtual retreat as they walk you through practical and fun activities focused on Advent Wonder. Sign up for 180 days of access to work through enriching discussions and engaging exercises at your own pace. Or give it as a gift! If you have purchased courses from us before or plan on purchasing in bulk, email us for a discount code.
We celebrated at our annual thinplaceNASHVILLE Christmas party this past week…in person and online. Our Sunday gathering was actually around our table for the first time since March 2020. We’ve met outside and had picnics together, but it was so good to gather, eat dinner and laugh in real time!
Sunday Night thinplace
Tuesday Night Thinplace
It was truly WONDERFUL to just be together! And it was WONDERFUL to gather on Zoom too! To laugh and share our Christmas memories, ugly sweaters, and Secret Santa gifts with each other.
Throughout Celtic Advent and into Traditional Advent, we’ve been practicing walking in WONDER.
How are you doing with that practice? Maybe you are in need of a reminder to use your shoes each day. As you put them on, Ask Jesus to help you WALK IN WONDER! Try using your Wonder Shoes or Advent Socks this week.
And see what God shows you!
To help you get started: What is a favorite Christmas tradition from childhood that brings you wonder, makes you smile?
Is there a favorite dish, baked good, meal, or tradition that brings the wonder of Christmas back to you?
Share your story or a recipe with your friends or family this week. Take a drive around town and look at Christmas lights, or turn off the lights except for the Christmas tree and sit in quiet or listen to your favorite Christmas songs. Listen to Handel’s Messiah
or listen to one of these
NOW let’s consider the WONDER that is about to appear! And take in the WONDER of the Shepherds and Mary and Joseph at the Birth of Jesus in LUKE 2: 1-20
LISTEN TO THE PASSAGE in the NIV
LISTEN IN THE MESSAGE TRANSLATION
READ IT in the PASSION TRANSLATION
LUKE 1: 1-20 THE PASSION
2 1–2 During those days, the Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus, ordered that the first census be taken throughout his empire. (Quirinius was the governor of Syria at that time.) 3 Everyone had to travel to the hometown of their family to complete the mandatory census. So Joseph and his wife, Mary, left Nazareth, a village in Galilee, and journeyed to their hometown in Judea, to the village of Bethlehem, King David’s ancient home. They were required to register there, since they were both direct descendants of David. Mary was pregnant and nearly ready to give birth.
6–7 When they arrived in Bethlehem, Mary went into labor, and there she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped the newborn baby in strips of cloth, and Mary and Joseph laid him in a feeding trough since there was no available space in any upper room in the village.
8 That night, in a field near Bethlehem, shepherds were watching over their flocks. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared in radiant splendor before them, lighting up the field with the blazing glory of God, and the shepherds were terrified! 10 But the angel reassured them, saying, “Don’t be afraid, for I have come to bring you good news, the most joyous news the world has ever heard! And it is for everyone everywhere! 11 For today in Bethlehem a rescuer was born for you. He is the Lord Yahweh, the Messiah. 12 You will recognize him by this miraculous sign: You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in the feeding trough!”
13 Then all at once in the night sky, a vast number of glorious angels appeared, the very armies of heaven! And they all praised God, singing:
14 “Glory to God in the highest realms of heaven!
For there is peace and a good hope given to the sons of men.”
15 When the choir of angels disappeared and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go! Let’s hurry and find this Word who is born in Bethlehem and see for ourselves what the Lord has revealed to us.” 16 So they hurried off and found their way to Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in a feeding trough.
17 Upon seeing this miraculous sign, the shepherds recounted what had just happened. 18 Everyone who heard the shepherds’ story was astonished by what they were told.
19 But Mary treasured all these things in her heart and often pondered what they meant.
20 The shepherds returned to their flock, ecstatic over what had happened. They praised God and glorified him for all they had heard and seen for themselves, just like the angel had said.
What do you notice?
What is missing that you always thought was there?
What does the Holy Spirit Highlight just for YOU TODAY?
I love that the shepherds don’t hesitate! They don’t wait til the next day to go to Bethlehem. They are so caught up in the wonder of the Angelic host that they are ready to act! What is a WONDERFUL thing of God you’d like to tell others about? Who is someone who needs to know the WONDERFUL love of God this year? Begin to pray for them to feel God’s love and ask Jesus to show you tangible ways to show this love to them!
I wonder how many doors they had to knock on to find the baby in a manger, or how long it took them. Were people annoyed at being awakened by dirty shepherds in the middle of the night? Did these townsfolk get excited too and go with the shepherds? What would you have done?
I wonder what Mary and Joseph thought of this band of young shepherds coming to visit and sharing their story about the angels?
Like Mary, What do you need to ponder in your heart this last week of Advent as we approach Christmas?
Use ART to help you connect with the Story…
Check out Nativities around the World from contemporary artists….
website of NATIVITIES AROUND THE WORLD to help you engage with the WONDER of the story….
What do you notice? What speaks to you today?
Good News of Great Joy Melani Pyke
Melani Pyke is a Canadian artist who sells her beautiful work on Etsy.
You can buy a print of this amazing painting here.
Henry Ossawa Tanner The Annunciation to the Shepherds
Learn more about Henry Ossawa Tanner, African American artist who studied and worked in the United States and Paris in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s
ANGELS appearing before Shepherds TANNER
LEARN MORE HERE:
TANNER Annunciation to the Shepherds
As a part of your WONDER PRACTICE this week, if weather permits, take time to sit outside and stargaze. Imagine the sky filled with angels. You might want to read Luke 2 again or listen to it being read. Allow the heavens to declare the WONDER and GLORY of God. Allow the beauty of the moon and stars to fill you with WONDER! and the moon will be full this Saturday night, December 18th, 2021
Lord God,
Calm us as we wait for the Gift of Jesus.
Cleanse us to prepare the way for his arrival. Help us to slow down and prepare our hearts. Help us to wait and take time to be with you. Teach us to contemplate the wonder of God with us.
Teach us to know the presence of your Spirit. Teach us to bear the life of Jesus and live out his Kingdom.
Today and Always. AMEN
(adapted from Ray Simpson of Lindesfarne)
JOIN US THIS TUESDAY, DECEMBER 21st at 7pm central time for a thinplaceNASHVILLE BLUE CHRISTMAS gathering via ZOOM. If you, or someone you know needs a way to process some of the pain of this year, join us THIS TUESDAY NIGHT, DEC 21st. You will need a pitcher of water and a large glass, a blanket or throw, lemons and honey to pray with us. EMAIL freerangeworship@gmail.com to sign up and receive the zoom link.
BLUE CHRISTMAS Gathering
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