Browsing Tag

Advent

Happy Advent messages

On Thanksgiving night, I was in my bed, cozy and thankful, my tummy still full of turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, and wild rice. As I thought about the calendar turning to December and the Advent season, I asked God how I could share these four weeks of Advent with my four grandchildren. He said to my heart, “Share your favorite Bible verses with them.” So, that’s what I’m doing. I told them, “Expect a message from Jobu for the next four weeks.”

Advent is the period of four Sundays and weeks before Christmas and means ‘Coming’ in Latin. This is the coming of Jesus into the world. I wanted to use the four Sundays and weeks of Advent to share my love for each grandchild and help us remember the real meaning of Christmas. God’s LOVE coming to us in Jesus. Advent is a time of expectant waiting, knowing fully the amazing gift God is about to deliver and yet, at the same time, a period of slowing down to savor the season. It’s an opportunity to set aside special moments to fully experience the joy and the miracle of Christmas, to focus on Christ’s birth.

These are my special moments for my four grandchildren, what I wrote in their weekly Advent “messages”:

December 2. Week One: You are strong.

You can do all things through Christ, who strengthens you. Philippians 4:13

The joy of the Lord is your strength. Nehemiah 8:10

Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Ephesians 6:10

The Lord is your strength and your shield; your heart trusts in him, and he helps you. Psalm 28:7

December 9. Week Two: You believe. 

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may overflow with hope. Romans 15:13

You believe in him. You are filled with a joy that cannot be explained. And that joy is full of glory. 1 Peter 1:8

Jesus said to him. “All things are possible for the one who believes.” Mark 9:23

The Scriptures tell us that no one who believes in Christ will ever be disappointed. Romans 10:11

December 16. Week Three: You are prayed for (by Jobu!)

This is my prayer for you: that your love will grow more and more. Philippians 1:9

I haven’t stop praying for you, asking God to give you a wise mind and spirit. Colossians 1:9

I know your soul is doing well and I pray that you are doing fine in every way.  3 John 2

I can’t stop thanking God for you, every time I pray, I think of you and give thanks. Ephesians 1:15

December 23. Week Four: You are loved. (by God!)

God says, “I have loved you with a love that lasts forever. I have kept on loving you with a kindness that never fails. Jeremiah 31:3

God’s love has been poured into your heart through the Holy Spirit who has been given to you. Romans 5:5

But God is rich in mercy, and he loves you very much. Ephesians 2:4

Lord, show your love to us as we puts our hope in you. Psalm 33:22

As I cherish each of my dear grandchildren, may they cherish these Advents messages with scriptures which I so cherish.

December 23, 2018

My Christmas Story

For with God nothing shall be impossible.*

My house is quiet today. Quieter than I’d like. Quieter than I’d hoped for.

But that’s my Christmas story this year. An echo of my Advent story for the past few years.

But just as the angel of the Lord told Mary, “For with God nothing shall be impossible,” so I have held onto this as a promise for me.

What was impossible, now is possible.

And sometimes I just have to wait. And let there be quiet.

Because that’s what the Advent season is, that time of expectant waiting, that preparing for the celebration of Jesus, that word which means “coming.”

Advent is a pause … a holy waiting … for what is coming. It’s also a time of great expectancy, filled with incredible hope. And in the quiet, the stillness, I see Him coming – just like He promised.

So in these winter days, these Advent days that are short and dark and darker….

That for me are also quiet, quieter.

The impossible is possible. Jesus comes. Love is born.

What was dark, now is Light.

What was quiet, now is a chorus, Hosanna on High.

I can’t escape the fact that I’m going to have times of unexpected unwanted quiet, even as I’m ready to celebrate the birth of my Lord. It’s too quiet!

But I remember those words: with God nothing shall be impossible.

It’s been said – in movies, in commercials, on cards – that Christmas is the best time of year to be united. That Christmas is about family, the gathering of loved ones. But what if that doesn’t happen?

What if things in life have gone more sideways from anything I could have imagined?

What if those I want to be in my house aren’t there; what if those I want to come, don’t enter?

What if there is too much quiet?

Here’s my plan.

I’m staying open to Advent, to the anticipation, to the belief that what is impossible will be possible, that what is quiet will be filled, that what is broken will be repaired, and that what is lost can always be found.

God fulfilled so many promises when Jesus came as a baby in Bethlehem. I’m daring to hope and trust that He will fulfill His promises to me as well.

No matter who visits my house, there will always be Jesus.

There is more room for Jesus than anything, anyone.

Perhaps I’m exactly where I need to be, even in the quiet, to experience the miracle of Advent after all.

And to always know that with God nothing is impossible.

As I enter this last day of Advent, may my heart be focused on the real story, the only story that really matters.  May His Light brighten my darkness, may the angels singing shatter my quiet, like it did on that first Christmas, so that I can see my place in this season.

And I have incredible hope. Because nothing is more powerful than God’s love.

*Luke 1:37

December 23, 2015