Joyful Words Blog
Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path.
– Psalm 119:105
– Psalm 119:105
The wait is almost over, I hope it’s been a prayerful and peaceful Advent! Twice in the last few days these words from the Prophet Isaiah have hit my heart. It makes me wonder how often we ask and look for signs. For the most part I think we ask out of faith. Many of us look for or pray for signs so we can feel guided or assured but I suppose sometimes in our frustration and disappointment we can get a little crazy with our demand for a sign. I’ve never asked him for something outrageous like a banner flying behind an airplane with the answer to my question, but I am guilty of asking for signs because I’m low on trust.
I think the problem with asking for signs is that we’ve already been given so many. I have to imagine God in heaven doing a face palm when we ask for a sign and wondering how many more times he has to dazzle us before we just shut up and trust. When you read this entire passage, Isaiah predicted the sign with remarkable, dramatic detail; Virgin birth and a baby name decades and decades in advance…now that’s a sign! When we trace back the story of God’s love, it’s easy to see time and time again he’s been showing us some pretty spectacular signs of his endless love for his people. Todays post includes a Christmas present. The link below will take you to a video by the Skit Guys that is a 3-minute wonder to behold. It’s a gem I stumbled on while searching YouTube and every time I used to play it for the Middle Lovelies they ask to watch it again and again to see all the signs and stories unfold. Each of the events are a sign of His wonder and love. When I really think about it, he’s already given me far more signs than I’ll ever need. I guess I just need a reminder from time to time. Perhaps I’ll work on asking for fewer signs and aim for greater appreciation of the ones that he’s already shown. I’d like to wish all of you a beautiful and blessed Christmas! Please know of my Christmas prayers for all of you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLcTLCCpI5A&t=5s A Seed To Plant: Take three minutes and watch this beautiful video. Blessings on your day!
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I love the season of Advent because it gives me a chance to practice waiting and longing. To be honest, I’m not so whippy at either one of those things so I always welcome this season and try my best to embrace the opportunity to slow down and wait well. By the time we get a wee bit past the halfway point I feel the rushing and busy noise step up the pace. Thank goodness for that pink candle that is a lovely reminder that the PERSON I’ve been preparing for is almost here.
I heard a priest mention one time that Advent is the season given to us…and I have no idea what he said next because I had failed to realize what a gift this season is. It’s so easy to begin the season strong and then get swept away as Advent morphs into pre-Christmas stuff but I’ve prayed with those words and realized Advent is a gift that renews itself every morning for nearly a month and whether it’s the first day or the middle of the third week, the invitation for slowing down, pondering and longing was given to me so the simple act of thinking of those words puts my mind in a different place and makes me grateful. We aren’t given this season to be perfect, we are given this season to remind and encourage and prepare. St. Bernard of Clairvaux wrote about Advent as preparation for the three comings of Christ. The celebration of Jesus the baby, Jesus the judge in the second coming and Jesus in the third or middle coming as he comes to us each day. I love pondering this third coming and it helps me be where my feet are. Sometimes we get swept away in thinking about what’s been or what’s coming and forget Jesus is right here with us…where we are right now, in the mess, in the noise, in the string of stuff that makes up our days. Whether it’s the beginning, middle or the tail end of Advent what if we pondered this each time our thoughts drifted away from the season? As a little Advent re-focus for all of us to ponder, here are the 5 P’s of a great Advent day (notice I said day…don’t worry about the whole season…just this day). Purpose…remember we’re not preparing for a holiday…we’re preparing for a PERSON. Ponder this as you think of all the reasons you’re grateful for his love and his presence in your life. Peace…find a few minutes each day away from the noise just to think about Jesus and his enormous love. I might suggest heading to the laundry room to find your peace because nobody usually follows you there. Plan…make that big ole to-do list but offer it to the Father asking him to be the manager of your time and tasks. Ask him to control the tempo of the day in order to show you how he’s leading you and asking you to love and serve him and others. Patience…this one will require surrender instead of control. Each time you feel the rush and the pace pick up just close your eyes and lift your hands palms up and ask Jesus to take whatever burden or bother is wrinkling your peace and testing your patience. Presence…be where your feet are! There are things to start and things to finish but Jesus is with us in this moment…is there room for him? When we joyfully still ourselves, he will open our eyes to his wonder and the gift will be peace, contentment and grace. A Seed To Plant: Write down the 5 P’s and put them in a visible spot so you can practice them each of the remaining days of this beautiful season. Blessings on your day! When the Christmas decorations come up from the basement each December there are a few things I unpack first; the really special things. The first is the handmade Nativity Stable my father-in-law made, the second is the needlepoint stockings with the kids names Dave’s sister Jan made and the third is much less sentimental but still a personal favorite; the movie Elf. Quite a contrast I know but there is a good reason. When I take out the first two my heart is touched! I think of the time and love that went into the creation of the stockings and stable and I re-play Christmas past. When the movie comes out, I laugh; plain and simple…it just makes me laugh! It’s always good to laugh but this time of year it’s even more important to balance the hectic days with some spirit lifting laughter.
One of the things I love most about the main character; Buddy the Elf, is his contagious enthusiasm and cheerfulness. Granted, he’s a bit over the top but he just seems to roll with life, finding the good in everything and every person, including angry Taxi drivers and mean raccoons! He finds great pleasure in simple things like revolving doors, paper snowflakes and maple syrup. He works hard, doesn’t complain, tries his best to please everyone, compliments easily and speaks the truth always. He is good, kind, friendly and sincerely thoughtful and sweet. I think the world could use a lot more Buddy’s! The one thing though that really makes Buddy unique is his passion for Santa. One of my favorite scenes is when the store manager announces that Santa will be arriving the next day and Buddy jumps and claps and screams “I know him, I know him!” He immediately recognized the Santa that arrives the next day as an imposter. Right away he saw him and said, “That’s not him, I know him and that’s not him.” When you think about it Buddy and a great Advent share some connections. In the movie, Buddy stayed up all night preparing the toy department for the arrival of his favorite guest; the guest he knew intimately. Buddy nearly jumped out of his elf tights with excitement when he found out he’d be seeing his friend. He loudly demonstrated passion, happiness, excitement, and unmeasurable pleasure at the mere mention of his friend’s name. What if the movie was called “Jesus” and we were the main character? What would our reaction to our friend be? Would there be jumping, clapping or unmeasurable joy and excitement at the mention of his name? Would we stay up all night making the perfect preparations for our special guest or would we just try to make time when we could squeeze in a minute or two here and there? Do we know him intimately or are we sometimes tricked or have our focus diverted from the ways Jesus is present to us each day? Sometimes we do the same thing over and over and wonder why it didn’t turn out differently. Maybe that describes your Advent but not to worry…we’re just getting started. There is great value to looking at something familiar with a completely new perspective. Maybe it’s time to think like Buddy the Elf. Maybe it’s time this Advent to imitate his enthusiasm. Maybe it’s time to put away doubt and skepticism and look with eyes and hearts of hope, joy and thoughtfulness. Maybe it’s time to imagine ourselves standing at the Nativity scene with contagious enthusiasm because he came…the savior came…to see me…to live for me…to die for me…to bring me the gift of salvation! Maybe our goal this Advent is to expect and anticipate Jesus with the same excitement Buddy had for Santa. A Seed To Plant: Watch Elf, or at least a YouTube clip from the movie and see it through the lens of you and Jesus then make a plan for how you will imitate Buddy’s enthusiasm during this last week of Advent. Blessings on your day! |
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Sheri's writing can also be found at Faith Catholic Publications and on CatholicMom.com
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