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Regina Stafford

You're Invited

Depending on your faith, you may or may not pay much attention to the season of Advent. For many years, I hadn’t. To be quite honest, I used to buy my children the Advent chocolates, where they’d each get one piece per day until Christmas.


Many nuances of my faith have changed through the years as I have dug a little deeper, sat a little longer, and inquired a little more with the Lord. One of those right now is using the seasons as a way to guide me into more meditation for greater insight and understanding.


Many people are aware of the Easter season of Lent. They give up certain things to share in a sacrifice of sorts. They also honor certain rituals for more prayer time and meditation on the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Advent, however, I feel gets overshadowed by the busyness of shopping, decorations, and food preparations (all wonderful things) and Santa Claus (no shade). This year I’ve chosen to be more intentional about participating in Advent.



Today I began with a reading to contemplate the prophetic word given about the birth of Christ in the Old Testament of the Bible, and the amazing fulfillment of it thousands of years later in Bethlehem. The promise of Jesus’s coming was to bring hope to the hopeless, love and healing to the brokenhearted, and reconciliation to the Father, our beloved Creator.


Advent was pointing to the “Good News.” It was the “Joy to The World.” A contemplation of the one who would bring “Peace on Earth and Goodwill Toward Men.” The people who received this prophecy were living oppressed under the powers that were at the time and needed someone who would deliver them and set them free from their captivity. Fast forward to today, can you see a few similarities to the times we are living in? We could use some good news, some joy, some peace, and lots of goodwill toward men (all people).


Let’s do this together and see what it brings. I’d like to extend an invitation to you to join me this Advent. Let’s slow down just a bit and add in some time of reflection, contemplation, and renewal (or revival) of your faith and your relationship with Jesus. We can let the peace, the joy, and the hope that Christ brings to settle into our hearts, enabling us to be more present and less stressed with our loved ones this Christmas. Together we can then carry the hope from His coming into all areas of our lives. Will you join me?


Let me know in the comments who’s in.


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