HOPE

Sights...Words...Tastes...Experiences 

from the First Week of Advent

The theme of the first week of Advent is hope.  Hope.  I'm pondering the historical event of Jesus' birth and imagining the hope that the chosen people were clinging to as they waited for their Messiah.  I'm hoping that my desire to grow closer to the Savior, will be realized as I prepare for the celebration of his birth in a few weeks.  I also look forward with hope, along with other Christians, to the second great advent, or coming of Christ.

On the first Sunday of Advent, we lit the Hope candle and read the following scriptures after our sabbath meal-

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath

anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent

me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim the acceptable year

of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all

that mourn."        

 Isaiah 61:1-2

"For, for this intent have we written these things, that they may

know that we knew of Christ, and we had a hope of his glory

any hundred years before his coming; and not only we ourselves

had a hope of his glory, but also all the holy prophets which

 were before us.  Behold, they believed in Christ and worshiped

 the Father in his name, and also we worship there Father in his name."

Jacob 4:4-5

"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God

 through our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom also we have

 access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and 

rejoice in hope of the glory of God.  And not only so,

 but we glory in tribulations also; knowing that tribulation 

worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience,

 hope; and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of 

God is shed abroad in our hearts by the

 Holy Ghost which is given unto us."   

Romans 5:1-5

"And what is it that ye shall hope for?  Behold I say unto you

 that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and 

the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal."

Moroni 7:41

I taught the Sunbeam class stories from the scriptures about Jesus.

Yoga class is my guaranteed hour for quiet pondering.

(Pumpkin pecan waffles.)

"If you want to follow Jesus... you must control what you take in every day.  It's not just a question of pushing bad things out, but a question of holding on to something really good.  It is good to have a prayer on your lips wherever you go."        Henri Nouwen

"The heart that makes time and space for Him to come will be a glorious place.

Because each day of Advent, we will actively wait."                        Ann Voskamp

"The careful balance between silence and words, withdrawal and involvement, distance and closeness, solitude and community forms the basis of the Christian life and should therefore be the subjects of our most personal attention.  Let us therefore look somewhat closer, first at our life in action, and at our life in solitude."             Henri Nouwen

"Advent is made of the moments, the slow unfurling of grace.  What are you waiting for?  Yearning for this season?  Peace, moments of quiet, slow, expectant waiting...

Where can you see new life coming in what you may have considered dead?"                

                                      Ann Voskamp

#Light the World challenge -

 Jesus Honored His Parents and So Can You 

(Drawing inspiration from this stack of books.)

#Light the World challenge-

Jesus Fed the Hungry and So Can You

"We only find out where we are when we find out where He is. 

 We only find ourselves...when we find Him."              

 Ann Voskamp

(Worship on the hiking trail.)