December 2024 - Waiting for Christmas
Christmas is just a few weeks away. In the church calendar these weeks are called Advent. Yesterday an interview with my long-time friend Judy Lewis aired on my Prodigal Podcast. Judy is a writer, retreat speaker, and a spiritual director, with some insights on waiting.
We talked about how Advent is a season of waiting, something everyone with a prodigal knows about. But so do those who don’t have a prodigal. There is always something we are waiting for.
Advent is a “liminal season” in which the Church, in preparation for the Second Advent of Christ, lives out the expectation of the First Advent of Christ—the birth of Jesus.
“Liminal” comes from the Latin word for threshold. We stand at the dawn of something new. Not in the past, but not yet in the future either. Consider standing at the threshold of a doorway: Waiting betwixt and between. And like all waiting, it can be oh so difficult.
Thanksgiving with My Montana Family
I arrived to about 6 inches of snow on the ground. Gratefully for this Texas/California/Florida girl, there was no more snow and the temperature made it into the 40’s. We ate well, watched football (Texas won), did a little black Saturday shopping, played Settlers of Catan, began the Christmas decorating. And I had wonderful conversations with each one in the family.
Kids Around the World
This wonderful ministry began with building playgrounds where there were none, connecting with churches to reach out to children in war-torn areas and after natural disasters.
Then they expanded to Story Telling and providing food. Thus their slogan: Sharing Hope thru Food, Play, and Story. And now they have an Advent video series for you: KidsStory@Home.
My Mother’s Christmas Tassies—a Christmas tradition
"What Are You Doing with Your Moment?"
I received a special gift from Roy Ganse, an MIT classmate of Steve's. Roy wrote: "It was an honor to travel through life in Cambridge and Boston with Steve. We all miss him, though his impact will live on through many people for a long time."
Roy wrote this song based on a question Steve often asked: What are you doing with your moment in time?"
So I'm sharing this song with you--a sweet Christmas gift.
With abundant blessings to you,
Judy