Advent....a season of waiting....

These four crazy weeks in between Thanksgiving and Christmas can sometimes be filled with stressful preparations, overwhelming demands or perhaps even a deep emptiness for a loved one that is missing this year. 

What are some words that describe how you are feeling right now about this holiday season?  

The time between the holidays is also known as Advent which is a Latin word meaning “to arrive or to come”. Webster defines advent as “the arrival of a notable person or event”.  

Over 2000 years ago, the world waited for the First Advent and the arrival of the promised Messiah….It had been 400 years since the Israelites had last heard from God…..He was silent for four centuries! 

Wow…..400 yrs…That is a very long time to wait and we all know how difficult waiting can be. Been to the mall or the grocery store lately?

Having to wait for something tests your patience…..

frustration and anger can start building and threaten to explode. 

To be honest, our current society is totally out of practice. 

We have INSTANT EVERYTHING! 

Where's my package? 

Check the tracking...

I'm hungry! 

Run through the drive-thru....

I'm bored! 

Queue up something to watch on TV right now...

Our "modern technologies and conveniences" have 

created a generation who DO NOT KNOW how 

to be still and wait well. 

Being patient in the checkout line at Target is rough but waiting through really hard times to come to an end is one of the most difficult journeys to be on…

Doubt and despair come knocking and try to steal your hope. 

If you don't know how to wait well....this can totally take you out. 

Physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.

“ When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days 

and the storm continued raging, we finally 

gave up all hope of being saved.” Acts 27:20

That brings me to my second question for you to think about…. 

What is the hardest thing you have had to wait for or perhaps what are you currently struggling to hold on to hope for?

    

I want to share with you a difficult waiting story that forever changed how I approach the season of Advent. I am going to be open and honest about mental illness because it affects many people in my immediate family. 

There are several depression, anxiety and anger management issues 

that have affected our lives for several generations.  

The holidays of 2014 was a dark season and a number of us were struggling.  My husband had been unemployed since January and was unable to find a job that could support our family. Watching his self-esteem and hope diminish each month was devastating. 

My oldest daughter was in 5th grade at the time and had attempted to start middle school back in September. Both her sensory processing and anxiety disorder made it very difficult in this new learning environment so we decided to homeschool her. We were six weeks into this new chapter of our lives and I’ll be honest….it was not going well. I had argued with God back in September that I did not think this was a good idea and from my vantage point, she was not getting better at home and we were certainly not learning anything! 

BUT…

God is never in a hurry and He knew that great things were 

coming but I needed to be patient and learn how to wait & trust Him.

So, here we were….the Thanksgiving of 2014..... My husband and daughter were struggling and then my inlaws called saying they were feeling too overwhelmed and sad to have us come up this year. Darkness seemed to be affecting everyone! It was just too much…..

A deep emptiness in my heart started to consume me and I began aching for something, anything to cling to. All the pieces were broken around me and the storm kept raging on day after day….

For the first time in my life, the thought of creating my annual Christmas letter absolutely broke my heart. We had just finished a TERRIBLE year from my perspective….what “highlights” could I possible write about? We had no extra money for the holidays and the thought of buying a bunch of useless presents felt so meaningless. 

But, in that darkness and sorrow…..God started showing up day after day

and the true meaning of Advent suddenly became very real to me. 

One early December morning, I randomly stumbled upon some Advent youTube videos and noticed they all mentioned that it was more than just waiting for Christmas time to get here…..

Yes, focusing on Christmas is an important part BUT there was more!  What? Really? Usually after Thanksgiving wraps up….I am digging out the tree & ornaments, brainstorming gift ideas for the family as well as trying to figure out if there were any decent pictures of us all to use on the annual Christmas card. 

But not that year…..that year, all I wanted to do was hide. My hope was lost….things were so dark and I didn’t know when it would get better again. 

But the Christmas songs playing on the radio each day would take my breath away…..”Come to Bethlehem and see….Christ the Lord, the newborn King”….”Away in a Manger, no crib for a bed. The little Lord Jesus lay down his sweet head”….The thought of God’s only Son…..my precious Jesus as a tiny, fragile infant…..can you imagine?  A baby with God’s eyes? Gazing into divine majesty and holding His precious little finger? 

The manger started to speak to me like it had never had before... and the profound little details of the very First Christmas awoke a new wonder and awe within me. I then noticed in the story what happened after the baby was born…. all the rejoicing! The skies FILLED with angels singing that Jesus had finally come! Just like God promised! My heart started feeling lighter and a bit of joy came in…..Jesus was born into a dark world and dwelt among us!

As the prophet Isaiah spoke centuries before 

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel.”  

 Immanuel means “God with us”. During the First Advent, God came

down to earth in the flesh to teach, to heal and to love.

So the first piece of Advent is to REMEMBER that Jesus came at Christmas because He loves you. Jesus became the one and only way to reconnect you with His Father and rescue you from wrath.

Then, another level of Immanuel burst through my heart as I realized that

not only did Jesus come at the first Christmas but

He was WITH ME RIGHT NOW! Jesus said...

“I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth….. he lives with you and will be in you.” 

Jesus repeated this promise in his last words before going back up to heaven

 “I will be with you ALWAYS….till the very end of the age”. 

Claiming this truth -  that God was with me even in that dark season  - brought a burst of new HOPE that I cannot even try to explain with words. 

It changed how I looked at everything. I stumbled upon a website during the second week of December that showed detailed photos of what snowflakes actually look like close up. Wow! Have you seen them? 

They are unbelievable! Those white blobs falling outside which made traffic horrible suddenly transformed into hand-crafted gifts from God filled with intricate and breathtaking beauty.  I was excited each morning for the new day and began looking for treasures that God had placed all around me. Cardinals would appear out of nowhere; my morning devotional would mention snowflakes or the manger. The radio would play a song I hadn’t heard in a very long time but was exactly what I needed to hear. 

The second piece of Advent is to ENJOY the present. 

Right here…..right now because that is where God is. 

He wants to fill you in the present moment with His presence…..

Oh but God wasn’t done yet…..because there 

was a third piece of Advent that I had yet to discover. 

Immanuel….”God with us”…..

He came to earth over 2000 years ago (Christmas Past).  

He lives in us now thru the Holy Spirit (Christmas Present). 

But there is a glorious hope and a future because……all throughout the New

Testament, God promises another wonderful thing…

Jesus is coming back!

The angels at the ascension told the apostles...

 “Why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”  

 Jesus himself said the same thing ...

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms….I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go….I will come back and take you to be with me.”

Suddenly, the church liturgy I grew up with came flooding into my thoughts.

”He will come again to judge the living & the dead

 and His kingdom shall have no end”

”Come Lord Jesus be our guest…”  

”the Lord God, who is and was and is to come”. 

We are currently awaiting the Second Advent.

For Jesus to come back again! That is our Christmas Future! 

In the book of Titus, it teaches 

The third piece of Advent is to ANTICIPATE. 

Be ready and waiting for Jesus!

So I ask you a third question……

How well are you waiting this Christmas season? 

Are you looking forward for Jesus to return? 

Do you have HOPE? Do you need more of Immanuel?

When we cry out to God….He hears us and comes near. 

I don’t know you all personally but if you or someone you know is struggling with mental illness….you are not alone in this! 

Please know that this will not last forever and there is HOPE because God’s light and love can come & transform any darkness that you are experiencing. 

He has transformed my family and He can come into yours as well.

Merry Christmas and Happy Advent!

United we stand....

What is unity?

It is the state of being joined together...."to be as one".

The blending of many different pieces into one common entity.

We live in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA...

yet lately, we seem very divided.

Almost 250 years ago, our nation was oppressed by a

British government who demanded they pay taxes 

for things they didn't agree with. 

The nation stood together against this common 

enemy and declared it's independence!

The founding fathers knew that divided we would fall! 

If the American people were split up into little groups, 

they would eventually bicker among themselves and never

make progress against the true enemy that oppressed them.

So I ask you....how united is our nation right now?

Do we Americans have a common enemy? 

Are we fighting it or are we fighting among ourselves?

The pledge of allegiance for our country is as follows:

Allegiance means loyalty. This is a promise to be loyal to 

your country which is to stand indivisible!

In 1954 during the threats from the Communist, President Eisenhower

 added the words "under God" to this pledge. Why? 

The Washington Post quoted him as saying...

...the new version would add "spiritual weapons 

which will forever be our country's most powerful resource"

The phrase was not his own....they were borrowed from 

Abraham Lincoln and his Gettysburg Address....

"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. 

It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. 

It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

I believe our nation is seeing the pains of an internal war. 

The elections this fall will be a big factor in determining how well 

this nation created of the people, by the people and for the people 

will survive the next few decades.

"In God We Trust" is the country's motto....is it yours?

Is this thing on?

LIGHT...

...one of the those modern advancements that we use EVERY DAY!

We are a generation that has forgotten 

how to live without electricity.

We are very accustom to flipping up the light switch

 and....ta-da....let there be light!

But what happens if we switch on that desk lamp and nothing happens?

What could be wrong?

Perhaps the bulb burnt out....time to get a new one.

Perhaps it is not plugged in....better check the outlet.

So I ask you...how bright is your spiritual light?

"In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see 

your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." 

Matthew 5:16

Is it on today? Can other people tell?

"When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of 

the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness,

but will have the light of life." 

John 8:12

A follower of Jesus has the light of life within 

them and that light should be noticeable 

in contrast to this dark world.

Let's take a look at this illustration of a lamp, 

electrical cord and outlet with a spiritual viewpoint....

Without plugging the cord into the outlet, this lamp 

has no power and cannot shine on it's own.

In the same way, all of humanity is sinful and disconnected from God.

"When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam's sin brought death, 

so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned." 

Romans 5:12

Every person has been born unplugged and there is only One that has 

the ability to reconnect us to the power source of life.

JESUS

He died for each one of us so that we may be connected to His Father. 

Jesus is the only one able to take the cord and plug it into 

the outlet, thus providing us a connection to the power of God.

"Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also 

raise us up through His power." 

1 Corinthians 6:14

Once we are reconnected to God through faith in Jesus, 

we are given the promised Holy Spirit.

"You heard and believed the message of truth, the Good News

 that Jesus has saved you. In him you were sealed with 

the Holy Spirit whom Jesus promised."

Ephesians 1:13

Our life light is switched ON and ready to SHINE

 by the power of Holy Spirit!

"For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, 

but gives us power, love and self-discipline"

2 Timothy 1:7

 Each day we will have struggles and battles to overcome. 

That is why we need to get some rest each night.

Then every morning, we can ask the Holy Spirit 

re energize us and switch the light back on.

"Give us today our DAILY bread" 

Matthew 6:11

"Be [continually] filled with the Holy Spirit" 

Ephesians 5:18

If we get too distracted or busy with this world, 

we are still plugged into the outlet but we are

not shining His light because we have not

asked for the daily power to live in Christ.

So, I ask you.....is your life light shining?

If not, first check the outlet and then the daily switch....

Contrast.....

Have you watched the news lately?

One quick log onto the internet shows 

violence, death, terrorist attacks....daily!!

All of this evil, hatred and war....

It could bring fear into our minds....

It could bring hopelessness into our hearts....

OR, it could bring the clarity of contrast.

When war spreads, the desire for peace grows.

When hatred flows, the need for love increases.

We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy...And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good.      Titus 3:3-8

People sometimes ask why would an 

all-powerful God allow evil in the world?

Perhaps it is to display our desperate need for good. 

You don't need a hero if there isn't a villain.
You have an enemy my friend....

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls 

around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.

1 Peter 5:8

But you also have a hero that longs to save you.

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand 

slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone 

to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

2 Peter 3:9

Only after you realize you are lost 

does the need of rescue become clear.

In you, Lord, I have taken refuge..Turn your ear to me, come quickly to 

my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me.

Psalm 31:1-2

Redemption is complete only after you admit you are broken.

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those 

who are crushed in spirit.

Psalm 34:18

An old wound re-opened...

Four years ago we moved out of a 

wonderful, safe and comfortable neighborhood...

downsizing to a small house in downtown Waconia.

To be honest, I didn't really want to move....

it was hard for me to say goodbye. 

Goodbye to great neighbors...

...to a peaceful, quiet street.....

...to a beautiful wooded lot....

...to the many perennials I had

transplanted from previous moves...

...to a life I thought I would be 

in for a very long time...

But, the decision to take this leap of faith was a blessing. 

One year after we moved, Bryan lost his job which would have

been very stressful with our previous financial situation.

But our new cost of living at Little Blue made it manageable. 

Time slowly moved on and the pain hurt less and less. I didn't

feel the loss of leaving it all behind as often anymore.

When we started meeting with our old small group this winter,

I really didn't think it would be that hard to visit Hunters Crest

once a month and spend time in that old neighborhood....

I was wrong.....it hurts. 

I look around and see all the kids biking on nice 

sidewalks and playing together on big playgrounds 

in their backyards. I see all the beautiful yards 

with gorgeous landscaping and decks with grills....

And the wound of my heart tears open a little bit again....

I actually ask myself, was it really worth it?

Life in this old house isn't easy....

Our roof is falling apart, our backyard is

covered with clovers and weeds. We still have

about 30% left to renovate inside.

And yet my heart has a tough time investing in our

house again. We poured tens of thousands of dollars into

our other house....for what purpose? Just to have it

look nice? Is it wrong to have a nice backyard to relax in? No.

Yet my heart breaks because there are kids in other countries

 dying because their water is contaminated.....am I okay with that?

They don't have bikes or playgrounds with curly slides....

they wonder if they will have any food to eat today.

How can I justify pouring money into a piece of property that 

won't last for another century when there are people dying

out there....people who may not know what will happen to

them after they die....am I okay with that?

I know we did the right thing by moving....

it just hurts sometimes....