Joy

Joy to the World, the Lord is come! The theme for this week's advent is joy. I have so much joy in my life. That is not to say that my life is easy nor has it ever been. But, the one thing that I have learned in recent years that joy can be found in any situation. When I was lying in the hospital waiting to learn my fate, away from my children during Christmas, I learned to find joy in little things. Having great nurses or a visitor bringing me a cup of coffee or the carolers who sang to me on Christmas all brought me joy. When I saw my baby on the ultrasound or felt him move, joy surged through my heart. One of the things I learned during this time is that if we wait on circumstances to bring us joy, then we will be waiting forever. Life is hard and when you become a Christian, it doesn't get any easier. We must seek out each day where we can find joy. I was not happy staying in the hospital for 81 days knowing that I might live or I might die but I found joy in knowing that God does not waste one single instance in our lives. I now take joy in visiting others in the hospital when they are unsure of what is coming next. God took my bed rest and is using it to help other women. Joy, joy, joy!!!!
Mary, in her Magnificat(Luke), finds joy in her impossible situation. Here she is, young, unmarried but engaged, a virgin, poor, uneducated and pregnant. This may seem overwhelming(can you imagine having to tell your parents the news?) yet Mary was able to pen the words in Luke 1:
46And Mary said:
"My soul glorifies the Lord
47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.

That is finding joy in a seemingly impossible set of circumstances. Mary knew that her strength didn't come from her but from the God who created the universe. She rejoices in knowing that she is called favored by Him. After waiting for over 400 years, God has finally spoken to Israel in a most unlikely way, through a woman and a baby! Praise God! May you find joy this season!

Hope, Expectation, Prophecy

 I wrote this post 2  years ago.  I love the theme and since it is the 1st week of Advent, it is appropriate.  I hope you enjoy and are celebrating the season with us!





This year, my family decided to start a new tradition and celebrate Advent. I grew up Baptist and, until recently, I didn't really know what it was all about. My friends and I are doing an Advent Bible study and we are learning so much. So, despite the fact that finding pink and purple candles in November is almost impossible, we began the tradition on Sunday night. My husband and I explained to our children what the candles mean and why hope is the first week.
We told them that the Jews has heard nothing from God through the prophets for more than 400 hundred years. Malachi was the last written prophet and he along with all the other prophets spoke on the coming Messiah. Then, all of a sudden, the angel Gabriel shows up and speaks to an old man and a teen age girl. The old man, a priest, is in the Holy of Holies performing his duties. Gabriel tells him that the baby he has hoped for will come in about 9 months time. He cannot believe because he is old and his wife is old and they have been barren for so long. Standing in the holiest place in the Hebrew nation, he didn't believe that God can do anything that He wants to do. How many of us are like this old priest? We see what God has made and done and yet we still can't believe!
Then, Gabe goes to Mary and tells her that the Hope of all the nations is going to be in her womb. He tells her that she has found favor in God's sight! I want God to tell me that, too! Don't you? He tells her, when she asks how(she is a virgin), that the Holy Spirit will take care of all the details. She thinks on it for a moment and then says do to me as you have said. Mary is not some 30 year old woman. She is a 13, 14, 15 year old girl who is betrothed to Joseph. In a time where women had very little standing, she found favor!!! I imagine that she must have been scared and full of questions but she had faith that God could do it! She knew that the nation of Israel had been longing for the Messiah and weird as it was, He was coming! He would be the fulfillment of prophecy spoken hundreds and thousands of years earlier. She knew it! She probably couldn't read or write but she knew the scripture and realized that God had never worked in a conventional manner before i.e. parting the sea, plagues,etc. Why would He do so this time? As she waited and pondered, what were her hopes? Did she hope that she would be a good mother to the Son of God? Did she wonder, like many mothers, if she would be able to accomplish the task set before her? Many of us have hopes for our kids, but Mary knew what the fulfillment of Jesus' hope would be.
What are your hopes for this Christmas season? For the new year? For you? For your family? My hope for you is that you treasure all that God has done for you and for the world! He came to the world as a baby, vulnerable and fragile. "This is such a strange way to save the world!"