Blessings to you this first Sunday in Advent. Advent means “coming.” We will now prepare for the coming of the Christ Child once again. Let us not forget as we wrap packages, trim trees, fight the traffic on Cooper St., bake cookies and place lights on the house who is the Light of the World and prepare for Him to come into our hearts once again fresh and new.

Worship was amazing today. The first Advent candle was lighted by a family as a symbol of the light coming into the world. The light of Jesus. Pastor Joel is preaching for the next four weeks on Christmas wishes. The first Christmas wish he preached on today was change. Many years ago another pastor’s wife helped paint the nursery at church and painted this verse over the changing table ; 1Corinthians 15:51, “We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed.” (I thought this was hilarious!! Only a pastor’s wife!) I don’t think this is exactly the change of which Pastor was speaking. He was speaking of turning from our sinful selves and allowing the love of God in Christ Jesus to change us into beings that are more like Him. Anyway, the music, the sermon and the entire worship was awesome. There will be mid-week services at Advent Lutheran Church each Wednesday between now and Christmas. I would love to see you there.

Nehemiah 8:10 says, “...for this day is holy to our Lord; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord, is your strength.” Worship always perks up my spirits. Today I went to worship alone. Bruce was sick, Travis was at work and Geni was asleep. When it came time to receive Eucharist, I walked down from the Praise Team and stood by Nichole Burkholder and shared communion with her. It is a bit of an odd feeling not to have Bruce or one of the kids by my side at that part of the service.

And then there are the Christmas movies. Most of them have happy endings, but are usually about a family in distress or separation and finally in the two hour time period all is well. You and I both know that problems are rarely solved in two hours and all do not live happily ever after. One of my favorite movies is Father of the Bride with Steve Martin and Diane Keaton. It is about a family preparing for the wedding of their daughter and all of the stresses that come with a preparation of the magnitude of a wedding with all of its myriad details and lots of dollars. As the family was decorating the house I was reminded of the afternoon when my best friend and I sat in the floor of the sanctuary of Advent Lutheran church preparing the memorial table for the celebration service for Casey and we both remembered that had things turned out differently we would have been decorating for his wedding. And after I shed tears over that, then came one of those totally sentimental Christmas movies where a family is restored to wholeness just in the nick of time and the tears flowed again. I stepped over to Bruce and asked if he remembered the first Christmas with Casey and how we were flat broke with no money for Christmas and a friend came over a gave us $50.00 for Casey’s first Christmas. And Christmas was a joy. It was then I asked Bruce, still crying, how are we going to have Christmas without Casey?

This morning my drive time devotion was the scripture from Nehemiah. It was throughout the day with its emotional ups and downs that I began to understand joy. It is easy to express joy when something is happy or successful (like I got an A on my last paper! It is my first A in Grad. School. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.) But to be joyful when your heart is breaking is tough. True joy is when everything seems to be going south the only thing you can do is get on your knees and look north. God meets us on our knees and lifts us up to remind us that His heart was broken and he knows just how we feel. When Christ lifts us up our joy is in the strength of the Lord’s saving grace, tender mercies and loving arms that wrap themselves around us when we are broken. His joy is made perfect in our shattered hearts and broken dreams. When we realize the strength of Christ is within us then we have joy inside ourselves that can overcome the greatest sorrow we experience. For you see, Christ had a mother who lost her Son too and He knows how she felt. I figure Jesus comforted His mother at the resurrection and Christ comforts me through His Word as a constant reminder that He is with me all of the time grieving with me and bringing me joy through His presence. God comforts me with Bruce, Geni and Travis when they comfort me with hugs, laughter and understanding. Through this journal I work out my feelings and meditate on the Word and how it applies to my life. It is a great source of comfort.

Tomorrow I go back to work. I will greet a new teacher to my team and hopefully help her become comfortable in her new surroundings. I pray for her to have joy in the moments that are a bit unsure and in learning a new class. As the journey continues I have a better understanding of my sign off line; take joy in the journey. I could just as easily say, “take Christ in the journey.” The journey is not always filled with joy and smooth roads, but Christ who is our strength is always there in whom we can take our joy. If we take Christ, our joy, on the journey then no matter how rough the road our guide is always there to lead the way.

So, my friends, take joy in the journey. Have a wonderful Monday. Love you all, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni and Travis.

Gcapplenotes@aol.com

I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am moved only by what I believe and I believe God.