Its here at last. My new Advent meditation video for 2013. Enjoy.
Music: Place of Resurrection from the album Psalmus, Jeff Johnson with Janet Chvatal. ℗© 2011 Sola Scriptura Songs / ArkMusic.com, Used with permission. All rights reserved.
Advent starts (officially) on Sunday and I wanted to make sure that you are aware of all that we are planning for the season. Our theme this year is Coming Home: Uncovering our Roots in the Advent Story.
Saturday morning Seattle time we will post our first podcast hosted by myself and Ryan Marsh. This is specially planned so that our Aussie and Kiwi friends can begin Sunday by listening to the session. Be prepared for a wonderful experience. Ryan has worked hard to collect stories of homecoming and to interview theologians on the topic. What does it mean to come home for someone who has lost their home or who is a refugee in a foreign land? What does it mean for us to come home fully to the presence of God in our lives? These are some of the questions we will reflect on.
Each day during Advent we will post reflections on the theme. Contributors come from around the world – Australia, South Africa, Britain, U.S. and Canada, so we will share a great array of perspectives that I will be both thought provoking and enriching. Periodically we will also add music, prayers and liturgies. So you don’t want to miss out. For notifications either sign up follow the blog or like the Facebook page Coming Home.
We have other resources available to help you through the season. To get ready for Advent you might like to check out Advent meditations from previous years. Or consider purchasing our Advent devotional guide Waiting for the Light or purchasing our new prayer cards as an aid to quiet contemplation during the season. They make great Christmas gifts too and help support the ministry of this blog.
We have decided to mess with tradition this year and are beginning Advent a week early with a celebration of gratitude and thankfulness. With American Thanksgiving on Thursday this seems pretty unoriginal but, at least for me, what is new is the thought of seeing as the beginning of Advent, entering into a week of reflection, sharing what we are grateful for each day and savouring the presence of God who gives us all things good.
Lord We Give You Thanks
Today’s post is by Kimberlee Conway Ireton, mother of four and author of The Circle of Seasons: Meeting God in the Church Year and the recently released memoir, Cracking Up: A Postpartum Faith Crisis.
outside, a crow climbs the steep angle of the neighbor’s roof
rain drips from the fig tree, branches bare and barren
inside, heat rattles the registers
boys squeal in delighted play on the blue carpet
rain drips from the fig tree, branches bare and barren
on my lap, a fleecy blanket and an open book
boys squeal in delighted play on the blue carpet
before me, a cozied teapot and a white china cup, brim-full
on my lap, a warm fleecy blanket and an open book
why are you cast down, o my soul
before me, a cozied teapot and a white china cup, brim-full
hope in God, for I shall again praise him
why are you cast down, o my soul
outside, a crow climbs the steep angle of the neighbor’s roof
hope in God, for I shall again praise him
inside, heat rattles the registers
Photo by amandabhslater, Creative Commons via Flickr.
God eternal, righteous and glorious One,
We give you thanks
For breath that fills us with your life,
For love that softens our hearts,
For beauty revealed at every turn.
Christ redeemer, faithful and forgiving One,
We give you thanks
For renewal, transforming our lives,
For peace calming the chaos of our souls,
For hope restoring our faith.
Spirit sustainer, abiding and compassionate One,
We give you thanks
For caring when our hearts are aching,
For friends supportive in times of need,
For generosity lavish and overflowing.
Eternal One, Redeeming One, Sustaining One,
We give you thanks
For You.
Today’s prayer is written with American Thanksgiving in mind. But gratitude and thankfulness is something all of us need more of. What are you grateful for today?
For more thanksgiving prayers you might like to check out
A Thanksgiving Prayer for 2011
A Thanksgiving Prayer for 2010
A Thanksgiving Prayer for 2009
Prayers and Creeds also has some wonderful thanksgiving prayers.
Including this one:
Thanksgiving starts with thanks for mere survival,
Just to have made it through another year
With everyone still breathing. But we share
So much beyond the outer roads we travel; (See complete prayer here)
For the last couple of years I have posted prayers, often with photo images, on Facebook. Now we have some of the most popular available as prayer cards. I have a set on a small easel on my desk. Each morning I change the card. It gives me a great focus for moments of prayer throughout the day. We specially chose the photos so that they draw you into the prayer and hopefully a deeper experience of God’s presence. They are also great as bookmarks or can be sent as post cards. Their purchase is also a great way to support the ministry of Mustard Seed Associates of which this blog is a part.
This last week I had someone ask me about creating an Advent prayer garden. As many of you already know I love creative ideas, and this one really stirred my imagination. I am a little sick of Advent wreaths, maybe not in church where I love to see each new candle on the wreath lit at the beginning of each Advent service, but at home I found I wanted something a little different. So I put my thinking cap on and here is the result.
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