JOYFUL WORDS
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Speaking
  • Writing
  • Hospitality
  • About Sheri

Pay Attention

11/30/2020

2 Comments

 
And what I’m saying to you, I’m saying to all: Stay awake! Mark 13:37

I thought of my Dad at mass Sunday.  Swirling among the words that you hear the first Sunday of Advent like watch, wait, prepare Father said “Pay Attention!”  It grabbed me and I thought of one of Dad’s most famous one liners; “Pay attention…always pay attention…it doesn’t cost anything to pay attention!”

I guess it’s my Advent message so now I’m offering it to you too.  The thing about paying attention is that you have to be in the present to do it.  You have to be HERE, NOW…even if here and now aren’t where you want to be.  As 2020 winds down (Thank you Jesus!) we’re thinking about wanting to be somewhere else…as if the mayhem and sadness of all of this will magically disappear one month from Tuesday.  Advent is a time to get ready and the time for that starts now.  I have to make room for him today…here…now…not when I think I will like things better.  The funny thing is, he’s not “there” in that land of “normal” or “what used to be”.  He’s HERE…NOW…today in this weird, strange, bizarre and surprisingly beautiful season.

I had to adjust my thinking a little today.  Jesus is coming and things may not look much better on December 25th.  I’m caught between warning him about the giant mess he’s about to enter and suggesting he wait a while longer until things get better.  Then it hit me…HE makes things better and the thing he wants to make “better” the most is ME!  Things aren’t changing, so it occurred to me that I’m the one being called to change and if I don’t PAY ATTENTION I’m gonna miss it all!  When you study a little Scripture it’s pretty easy to see the world was pretty much a giant mess when Jesus came the first time so I don’t think he’ll be surprised or frightened or dismayed at all.  I think he’ll find the good in all of it and all of us!

For the next few weeks I’ll be trying to pay attention.  I’ll be sure to check the corners and the unexpected places where I might find Jesus trying to grab my attention.  Scripture tells us he could always be found in unexpected places like sinners homes, with prostitutes, with the poor and in a stable.  Paying attention is the work of the expectant. It’s a place of noticing, observing, eyes-wide-open attention each day but it’s not a place of fear or a place of excitement.  It’s something different; it’s looking and expecting with hope but not prescribing the outcome.  It’s no time for “fearful doom” thinking and it isn’t time for “Jesus make me feel warm, fuzzy and gleeful.”  It’s paying attention with faith knowing that his will is perfect and he will reveal it little nuggets at a time.  It’s being so expectant that even the teeniest of those nuggets fills us with a joy that leaves us breathless until we see the next one.

This Advent is different because this year we have something (thank you Covid) we usually don’t have; TIME!  We aren’t rushing to parties and concerts and events.  On one hand that can seem a little sad but wait…haven’t we all said in the past, “I could do Advent better if I had some time and wasn’t so busy!”  Here we go…lets make this a really great Advent…let’s pay attention and prepare for him HERE and NOW!  My prayer for the first week of Advent is to pay attention to the places I need to make room.  I’m asking him to show me what needs to be shoved to the side and what needs to be tossed completely out to prepare room for HIM.

A Seed To Plant:  Make a short list of specific things you can do to prepare and pay attention now that we have a little more time. ​

Blessings on your day!

2 Comments
Krista Welte
11/30/2020 10:16:05 am

What a beautiful and powerful reflection! I am going to share this with my Facebook group I started during COVID. We have over 430 members from our Catholic Parish, some of whom are very isolated in their homes, afraid to go out. Your words may encourage them to pay attention and have their eyes open for the little nuggets of joy that God scatters through the day. And I pray that we can be a source of joy to those we may encounter or reach out to with love during this Advent Season. Thank you for your beautiful words today.

Reply
Todd Knight
12/14/2020 07:31:32 pm

Ellie Jones told me about Lanx Credit Solution and how they helped her increase her Fico and improve her credit, at first it was difficult to believe but I had pressing credit concerns that I needed to clear up I had foreclosure, evictions, late payments and some debts. It was like my life was over because I could not do anything about it, she persuaded me and I had to let them handle it. This review is as a proof that they are really good at what they do. My credit score sits at 760, and the evictions, late payments, and foreclosure on my credit reports are gone, my debts were also cleared. I appreciate their job and I would like you to contact them on LANXCREDITSOLUTION@GMAIL.COM or (214) 888 9709. It really was worth it.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Joyful Words magnet picture

    ​Click on the items below to expand the options available to you to explore the Joyful Words blog.

    Categories

    All
    1 Corinthians
    1 John
    1 Thessalonians
    2 Corinthians
    Acts Of Love
    Advent
    Ageing
    All In
    Amazing
    Anxiety
    Armor Of God
    Asking For Help
    Bad Habits
    Balance
    Baptism
    Be
    Beauty
    Being Gracious
    Blessed Mother Teresa Of Calcutta
    Blessing
    Blessings
    Brokenness
    Carry Our Cross
    Catholic Education
    Change
    Changes
    Cheerfulness
    Children
    Choices
    Christian Belief
    Christmas
    Colossians
    Commitment
    Comparisons
    Compassion
    Consistent
    Content
    Contentment
    Courage
    Crosses
    Crumbs
    Dad
    Daughters Of God
    Delight
    Desire
    Details
    Die To Self
    Discipleship
    Dissapointment
    Easter
    Ecclesiastes
    Education
    Encouragement
    Enemy
    Ephesians
    Evangelization
    Exodus
    Expectations
    Faith
    Faithfulness
    Falling Short
    Family
    Fathers Love
    Fear
    Flag
    Footstool
    Forgiveness
    Fresh Start
    Friendship
    Fr. Mike
    Fr. Mike Schmitz
    Galatians
    Generosity
    God In Everyday Things
    God In Scripture
    Gods Beloved
    God's Enough
    God's Forgiveness
    Gods Gifts
    God's Guidance
    God's Love
    Gods Love
    God's Plan
    Gods P Lan
    God's Restoration
    Gods Strength
    God's Timing
    Gods Timing
    Gods Ways
    God's Will
    Gods Will
    Goodness
    Good News
    Grace
    Grandma
    Grandpa
    Gratefulness
    Gratitude
    Greatness
    Gretness
    Grief
    Happiness
    Healing
    Heart
    Heaven
    Hebrews
    He Chose Me
    Holiness
    Holy Spirit
    Holy Thrusday
    Holy Thursday
    Holy Week
    Hope
    Humble
    Humility
    Identity In Christ
    Intimacy
    Isaiah
    James
    Jeremiah
    John
    Joshua
    Joy
    Judgement
    Justice
    Kids
    Kindne
    Kindness
    Labor
    Laughter
    Lent
    Lessons
    Light
    Listening
    Little
    Love
    Lovelies
    Luke
    Mark
    Marriage
    Mary
    Matthew
    Meekness
    Mercy
    Mom
    Mornings
    Mud
    Obedience
    Openness
    Parenting
    Parentng
    Patience
    Peace
    Pentacost
    People
    Perseverance
    Perspeceive
    Perspective
    Philippians
    Pioneers
    Pleasing God
    Poor
    Porch
    Positive
    Possibilities
    Pray
    Prayer
    Priorities
    Promises
    Proverbs
    Psalm
    Relationship
    Religion
    Romans
    Sacrifice
    Sacrifices
    Sainthood
    Saints
    Samuel
    Scripture
    Seeking God
    Service
    Serving God
    Signs
    Silence
    Simple
    Sin
    Sinfulness
    Slow Down
    Small Stuff
    Steve Ray
    Stillness
    St. Mary's 4th Of July
    Strength
    Stress
    Suffering
    Surprises
    Surrender
    Temptation
    Thanks
    The Right Thing
    Time
    Troubled Times
    Trust
    Trust In God
    Truth
    Understanding
    Unravelled
    Valentines
    Waiting
    Weddings
    Word Of The Year
    Words
    Worry


    ​Archives

    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012


    Back to Home

    RSS Feed


      HOME                        BLOG                       SPEAKING                        WRITING                        HOSPITALITY                        MEET SHERI  

CONTACT: 989.640.6673
Picture
EMAIL

FACEBOOK

Twitter

Content is the intellectual property of Sheri Wohlfert 2017
Created by dhengesbach
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Speaking
  • Writing
  • Hospitality
  • About Sheri