“Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.’” -John 18:37

Good morning on this Saturday after Thanksgiving. Did you shop until you dropped on Black Friday? Well, for the first time in a few years we didn't. We really like doing it (why I sure don't know) but I am done with my shopping except for a few stocking stuffers and maybe a couple of other things. So, those few things I need to purchase I can do it when it is not so busy and hectic. I haven't seen the news so I don't know if there were a lot of crazy people out there or not. Grabbing things out of other people's hands and fighting for an item is not exactly how I want to see people. I believe that most people are truly good people. Those that do those kinds of things probably are good people too, but they just go crazy for a great deal and might be extra stressed. In this day and age when there are so many people out of work and hurting, sometimes they just crack a little for something that is on sale.

One simple way you can stay spiritually grounded this Christmas season is by participating in the season of Advent. I hope that we can remember the reason for the season and keep our focus on Jesus this Advent season. Tomorrow is our first Sunday of Advent. If you don't do an Advent Litany at church, find one online and read it each Sunday of Advent. It helps to keep our focus on the reason for the season, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Advent won’t add stress to your life; you don’t need to buy presents for it. Advent is simply the period of time leading up to Christmas (running from December 2 to Christmas Eve), during which Christians around the world take a bit of time to reflect on the true meaning of the holiday. It’s specifically meant to pull our attention away from our everyday worries and focus it on the person of Jesus Christ instead. Advent reminds us of Jesus’ first coming two thousand years ago, while pointing us to his long-awaited second coming.

Our church, I believe is actually starting Advent Season a week early, tomorrow night with the Hanging of the Greens Service.  Did you know that the period of time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is the most amount of days in several years because of the way the calendar falls? As a matter of fact, this December has 5 Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays. My husband heard on the radio that won't happen again for 832 years. Well, I did a little research and found out that it will happen again in 2018. But it is still pretty cool to have such a long time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It gives us more time to prepare our hearts for Jesus birthday, and to shop for our friends and loved ones. Let's be honest, we are going to shop. I guess that is the American way.

There’s no limit to what you can do to observe Advent, nor any requirement that you observe it in a particular way (or at all). But if you could use an extra dose of spiritual peace and joy this Christmas season, try commemorating Advent in a way that makes sense for your life and situation—you’ll find that time spent focusing on Jesus Christ will put the rest of your hectic holiday schedule in a healthy perspective.

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about : His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 1:18

So, have an awesome Saturday. Jesus loves you!

Les (lesbear)




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