Advent IV ~

"Our eyes are at fault, that is all.

 God is in the manger,

 wealth in poverty,

 light in darkness,

 succor in abandonment.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

God Is In the Manger

*  *  *

And this shall be a sign to you;

 You shall find the babe

 wrapped in swaddling clothes,

 lying in a manger.

Luke 2:12

*  *  *

“In total reality, he comes in the form of the beggar,

 of the dissolute human child in ragged clothes, 

asking for help.

 He confronts you in every person that you meet.

 As long as there are people,

 Christ will walk the earth as your neighbor,

 as the one through whom God calls you,

 speaks to you, makes demands on you.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer 

Advent III ~

"So, Advent is not waiting on tiptoe for Santa Claus to appear.

 It is gradually allowing ourselves to remember

 what unfathomable hope there emerges

 in God’s identifying with the human realm

 so fully that it embraces and reverses

 even the loss of hope."

Laurence Freeman

*  *  *

"You keep us waiting.

 You, the God of all time, want us to wait.

 For the right time in which to discover

 Who we are, where we are to go,

 Who will be be with us,

 and what we must do.

 So thank you ...

 for the waiting time."

John Bell

*  *  *

Wait on the LORD:

 be of good courage,

 and he shall strengthen your heart:

 wait, I say, on the LORD.

Psalm 27:14

Advent II ~

A prison cell, in which one waits, hopes,

and is completely dependent on the fact

that the door of freedom has to be

 opened from the outside,

 is not a bad picture

 of Advent.

 Dietrich Bonhoeffer

*  *  *

"…to open blind eyes,

 to bring out prisoners from the dungeon

 and those who dwell in darkness from the prison. "

portions of Isaiah 42:1-8

you can read it in its entirety

here

*  *  *

comments will be off

during Advent

thank you for stopping by

blessings as you prepare for His coming

Advent 1 ~

“The season of Advent

 means there is something on the horizon

 the likes of which we have never seen before.

What is possible is to not see it,

 to miss it, to turn just as it brushes past you.

 And you begin to grasp what it was you missed,

 like Moses in the cleft of the rock,

 watching God’s [back] fade in the distance.

 So stay. Sit. Linger. Tarry. Ponder. Wait. Behold. Wonder.

 There will be time enough for running.

 For rushing. For worrying.

 For pushing.

 For now, stay.

 Wait.

 Something is on the horizon.”
Jan L. Richardson

 Night Visions:

 Searching the Shadows of Advent and Christmas

*  *  *

comments will be off

during Advent

thank you for stopping by

blessings as you prepare for His coming

Come IV ~

 "Joseph, son of David,

 do not be afraid to take

 Mary as your wife,

 for the child conceived in her

 is from the Holy Spirit."

Matthew 1:20b

"Look, the young woman is with child

 and shall bear a son,

 and shall name him Immanuel."

Isaiah 7:14

*  *  *

Fourth Sunday of Advent

Come III ~

Be patient, therefore, beloved,

 until the coming of the Lord.

 The farmer waits for

 the precious crop from the earth,

 being patient with it until it receives

 the early and the late rains.
You also must be patient.

 Strengthen your hearts,

for the coming of the Lord is near.
Beloved, do not grumble against one another,

 so that you may not be judged.

 See, the Judge is standing at the doors!
As an example of 

suffering and patience, beloved,

 take the prophets who spoke

 in the name of the Lord.

James 5:7-10

*  *  *

Come II ~

A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse,

 and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
The spirit of the LORD shall rest on him,

 the spirit of wisdom and understanding,

 the spirit of counsel and might,

 the spirit of knowledge

 and

 the fear of the LORD.
His delight shall be in the

 fear of the LORD.

 He shall not judge by what his eyes see,

 or decide by what his ears hear;

Isaiah 11:1-3

*  *  *

the

Second Sunday of Advent

Come ~

Isaiah 2:5

*  *  *

the 

First Sunday of Advent

Awaiting A Journey ~

quietly tucking

 November

away

*  *  *

preparing the way

for Advent

*  *  *

But as for me,

 I watch in hope for the LORD,

 I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.

Micah 7:7

A Little Snow ~

[a little click will enlarge]

the camera rests

quietly

on the table

the car sits

idly

in the garage

the snow falls, then melts,

capriciously

from day to day as 

December

 spends its days

*  *  *

thinking of you

throughout this Advent season

*  *  *

"A little Snow was here and there
Disseminated in her Hair --

Since she and I had met and played
Decade had gathered to Decade --

But Time had added not obtained
Impregnable the Rose
For summer too indelible
Too obdurate for Snows --"
Emily Dickinson

 

Prepare Ye ~

"Every year we celebrate

the holy season of Advent, O God.

Every year we pray those

beautiful prayers of longing and waiting,

and sing those lovely songs of hope and promise."

Karl Rahner

*  *  *

Sunday marks the beginning of the Advent Season.

Even though I was raised in a liturgical church

which observes the Advent season,

it is difficult for me to truly grasp

the concept of Advent,

 the preparing for a Savior

 who has already come.

I do understand the need to rid my heart

 of all those things

 that keep the stable there too small,

 too full to make room for all of Him.

 The cares of the world

 seem to take on crowd proportions at times,

 and crowd control is not one of my strong suits,

 especially when not feeling well.

For that reason, I will be taking a break this Advent season.

 A time to mend both spiritually and physically (nothing serious).

 A time to celebrate the Christ Child that loves us

 at our weakest moments

 as well as at our best.

My heart and prayers will be with all of you

my hope that your hearts

 will be touched with the wonder and magic

 of His love and His coming

for you, for me,

 for all.

I leave you with the words of the prophet, Isaiah

 knowing the Light will shine in the darkness.

The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make straight in the desert
A highway for our God.”

Isaiah 40:3

[archived photo]

A Time For Peace ~

first

keep the peace

within yourself

then

you can also

bring peace to others

Thomas Kempis

: : :

if it is possible

as much as depends

on you

live peaceably with

all men

Romans 12:18
: : :
with Deidre

For The Joy ~

"The Scotch catechism

says that man's end is 

'to glorify God and enjoy Him forever'.

But we shall then know

that these are the same thing.

Fully to enjoy is to glorify.

In commanding us to glorify Him,

God is inviting us to enjoy him."

C.S. Lewis

: : :

You will show me the path of life

in Your presence is

fullness of joy

at Your right hand

there are 

pleasures forevermore

Psalm 16:11

Joining Deidre 

here

A Key ~

{click to enlarge}

 He will be the sure foundation for your times
   a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge
   the fear of the LORD

is the key

to this treasure

Isaiah 33:6

: : :

a prison cell in which

one waits

hopes

and is completely

dependent

on the fact

that

the door of freedom

has to be

opened

from the outside

is not a bad picture

of Advent

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

: :

joining with Deidra

A Time of Contemplation ~

will the fulfillment 

of the promise

be what

we anticipated

[two little sisters]

: : :

A Season of Light ~

I look up

expecting to see light

I look down

and discover that

light

has been

closeted by darkness

: : :

for You will light my lamp
         the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness

Psalm 18:28 NKJ

: : :

[an access in the sidewalk to electrical wiring]

A New Season ~

Lord Jesus
Master of both the light and the darkness

send your Holy Spirit

upon our preparations for Christmas

we who have so much to do
seek quiet spaces

to hear your voice each day

we who are anxious over many things
look forward to

your coming among us
we who are blessed

in so many ways
long for the complete joy

of your kingdom.
we whose hearts are heavy
seek the joy of your presence
we are your people

walking in darkness

yet

seeking the light

to you

we say

“Come Lord Jesus!”

Henri Nouwen

A Time ~

ADVENT

 a

time of light

a

time of truth

a

time of revelation

a

time of preparation

 I will lead the blind

by

ways they have not known,

along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;

I will turn the darkness into light before them

and

make the rough places smooth.

These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.

Isaiah 42:16