Advent Lessons and Carols

Yesterday was the first Sunday in Advent which marks the beginning of the liturgical year. The Advent start of the year is counter-cultural in every way. With the start of Advent not only does the liturgical chuch year begin at the end of the regular calendar year, but also with the season of Advent we are asked as Christians to slow down and to wait and to watch as we prepare our hearts while living in a world that speeds up in a frenzied rush to get to the end of the Christmas journey before it has even begun. To slow down and to really take the time to prepare my heart for the Nativity of the Christ child takes a lot of painful effort. It would be much easier to get swept into the whirl of all of the holiday happenings and to simply say, "I am too busy," to slow down and to wait and to watch. I was reminded of the painful effort of slowing down on the very day that Advent began. I awoke Sunday morning knowing that I had one million things that I had to do all before noon.

 As the Children's Ministries Director at our church I am in charge of the Nativity Pageant this year. It has been my hope that in this production and through the participation of such a wonderful program that the children, parents and myself would feel the blessing of the event in which we are involved. To get to that point, however, I as the leader need to slow down, to watch and to wait. I will admit that with the busyness of the holiday season, I sometimes forget to start my mornings with prayer and intentional willingness to let God guide me through the day as He intends not as I intend. Yesterday however, with so much on my morning breakfast plate, I did intentionally stop and ask God to guide me step by step through the day as I taught my morning Sunday school class, led the children's worship services and finally conducted the Nativity Pageant interest meeting. Along each step of the way yesterday, I felt God's guiding hand and encouragement in the smiles of the children I was teaching, in the assistance of the volunteers who graciously offered amazing words of encouragement, in the parents who enthusiastically signed up to help with the Nativity Pageant and in the never-ending support of my dear friend and boss Deacon Amy Morehous who truly is the wind beneath my wings in Children's Ministries.

 At the end of the day, Howie, Sophie and I made our way back to the church to listen to Emma-Caroline and our wonderful church choir sing in the Advent Lessons and Carols.

 As I sat in the dimly lit church listening to the voices of all God's Children, I heard God's voice whisper, "I am with you in everything." I am with you in EVERYTHING! That's just it, God is with us in everything that we do.

 The watching and waiting and slowing down is not the hope that we will experience God incarnate only on Christmas Day, it is the hope that we will experience God incarnate every day during the entire year in EVERYTHING that we do.

 As I continue on my Advent journey to Christmas, I will intentionally slow down and watch and wait in order to see God in all the people and things and happenings in the world around me. He is there in everything. All I have to do is to open my heart  to see him and to find him there. For everyone I would like to quote a Chistmas carol I have been hearing on the radio, "May every day be Christmas and may every day be blessed . . .may God bless you and keep you come what may." Amen