I made it! Here is the 4th and final Advent 2020 post. These may or may not have been helpful to you, but for me it has been good to put all of the Advent reflections together. I have done these Advent photo-a-day posts for several years, going back to the days when #alivenow posted the challenges. Then when they no longer posted them (or I couldn't find them), I began to post them. It has been a way for me to offer a spiritual practice to those who might enjoy the reflection. Also, it is a way for me to engage in a spiritual practice that gives me life.
Here are the words for Advent 4: love, holy, mystery, anticipation, renew, birth
December 20. Today's word is love. On this 4th Sunday of Advent we light the candle of love. As you reflect on today's word, what comes to mind? Where do you experience love? How have you seen love lived out this Advent season? Our new "campaign" at St. Elmo is #livinglovehere. As you reflect on today's word, may the love of the Creator be evident to you and may it fill you. You are invited to share your thoughts and reflections on today's word, as well as any photos or drawings you may have. #love #adventphoto #saintelmoumc
Today's word is love. This is the love mug in my Advent wreath set. There is much about love that comes to mind. God [G-d]/Creator/Great Spirit/YWH is love (1 John 4:8,16). What difference does that make in my life? As someone who seeks to follow the ways of love, it means everything. Loving God and others as I love myself is a life-long transformation of growth and learning. There is grace along the way. In reading Nan Merrill's Psalms for Praying, the word love is found in many of the Psalms. For example, Psalm 46:10--"Be still and know that I am Love." Ah. That opens a space of grace. It was written already in 1John, yet seeing it in unexpected places is a cause for a pause. The truth remains. The love exists. Yet, there is an ongoing opportunity to learn, to grow, and to apply these things. Reflecting on love today, I am grateful for love lived out, modeled well, and shown by many. #loveandacceptancepracticedhere #loveyourneighbor #love #adventphoto #saintelmoumc
December 21. Today's word is holy. Have you experienced holy this Advent season? How so? As you reflect on this word, what comes to mind? How do you express today's word in a photo or drawing? #holy #adventphoto #saintelmoumc
Today's word is holy. This book came timely today in the day of a winter Solstice and services of Blue Christmas and Longest Night. This is always a holy time for me, to offer space for those who need it, including myself. The Advent season can be busy. We all need time for reflection. A quote from this book‐ what it's about: "honoring our weary hearts in a weary season in a weary world and traveling the road of Advent together as honestly as we can on a quest for encouragement, hope, and strength in the places we are currently living--emotionally, spiritually, and physically." (2) That is holy stuff for me. And lights. Lights somehow draw me into a space of being, of reflection. It's a first for outside lights. If you notice the tree is lacking ornaments, it has been busy for me getting services ready. Ornaments will be on the tree for the Christmas season. For me today, the sacred, the holy, has been this longest day. #holy #adventphoto #saintelmoumc
December 22. Today's word is mystery. How have you experienced mystery this Advent season? What does mystery mean to you? What comes to mind as you reflect on today's word? How do you share these reflections in word and through a photo or drawing? #mystery #adventphoto #saintelmoumc
Today's word is mystery. Grace is difficult to explain. It is a mystery. The gift of Jesus, the Christ child, is surrounded with mystery. To live into mystery, to not require answers for all things, opens us up to freedom. As we allow ourselves to receive the love given and gifted to us in Jesus, we experience grace. As I reflected on today's word, these are my thoughts. #mystery #adventphoto #saintelmoumc
December 23. Today's word is anticipation. As the end of Advent draws nearer and the celebration of the birth child is upon us, what do you anticipate most? As you reflect on today's word, what comes to mind? How do you share that in a photo or a drawing? #anticipation #adventphoto #saintelmoumc
Today's word is anticipation. I typically think of ketchup when I reflect on this word and the commercial from back in the day. As I look toward the coming of the Christ child and the celebration, what fills me most is the anticipation of whole lives and whole communities. There is anticipation of the coming of the Christ child and what that means-- for me, for community, for the world. Is it going to be the same ole, same ole or will something change? Can we break through to healthier patterns and truly love one another? As I look into an empty sanctuary week after week in a frustratingly high red zone, my thoughts go to my anticipation of regathering with the flock. May we be changed because of this time apart physically. May we be ready to intentionally be and do that which we are called to be and do. I anticipate awakenings, healings, and sharing life with one another. I still hear Carly Simon singing. #anticipation #adventphoto #saintelmoumc
December 24. Today's word is renew. Have you been able to renew this Advent season? Renew yourself? Renew your spirit? Maybe there has been some renewal, yet there could be more. What area of your life still needs renewal? As you reflect on today's word, what comes to mind? You are invited to share your reflections in a photo or a drawing. #renew #adventphoto #saintelmoumc
Today's word is renew. Though the past two weeks have been busier than normal, the past several days have begun to fill and renew me. Getting to see the smiles on faces as I delivered stockings, and those online, baking, decorating the tree, seeing snow, and getting some Christmas Eve Cliff time. These are a few of the things that renew me currently. Rest will renew me too. #renew #adventphoto #saintelmoumc
December 25. Today is the end of the Advent season and the beginning of the 12 days of Christmas. Today's word is birth. We have gone through 4 weeks of anticipation, waiting, and reflection for this day. What does the birth of the Christ child mean to/for you? Has anything new been birthed in your life this Advent season? What comes to mind as you reflect on today's word? Share your thoughts and any photo or drawing to accompany them. #birth #adventphoto #saintelmoumc
Today's word is birth. Birth isn't the beginning, but rather the next step in the journey. There has already been much going on prior to the moment of birth. Each of these nativity scenes remind me of the holiness, awe, and miracle of birth. Whether it is an idea, a project, or a person that is birthed, there is much along the journey that surprises us, that causes us to grow. Bamboo Encounter was an idea that birthed for me. The photo of the little child-- that's Charlie. He has taught me much and brought me joy. The nativity scenes with the Christ child- that child, Jesus, has taught me much too-- how to live and love. I'm still learning. As I celebrate anew this birth, it is my desire for hope, peace, love, and joy to grow deeper. #birth #adventphoto #saintelmoumc
Peace on your journey,
Rev. Deb
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