Slideshow image

I turned the page from November to December in my planner this morning. Part of me let out a sigh of relief, a fresh start just feels good right about now. The other part of me quickly inhaled, how is it even possible that we’ve come to the final month of the year?! 

That sigh of relief signals me to settle down and slow down. There’s no need to match the energy of the rest of the world - the hustle and bustle that the Christmas season brings. So this morning I sat at my desk at home and read my Bible only by the light of two candles. I love this little Advent tradition I’ve created. It’s dark outside and it’s dark in my office at home, but God’s Word is illuminated in front of me by only the flickering light of the two candles on my desk. I have to strain my eyes a bit to really see, but that helps me take it in slowly. 

Unfortunately, it doesn’t take long until that feeling of the “quick inhale” that I mentioned earlier takes over. The room gets brighter as the sun gets higher. My candles aren’t the only source of light anymore. My mind starts to transition to the next thing, to what my day will look like. I don’t care for the dark, cold season at all. But I really wish I could transition to the next part of my day, whenever I was ready, not just when the other forces at be start moving me along. 

The tension! The pushing and pulling of the desire to speed up and slow down. Such is the point of this entire Advent season. I hope as you entered the building yesterday that you, too, felt this tension. Maybe the beautiful decorations, lovely Christmas carols and worship, lighting Advent candles or the Christmas-themed sermon series dropped you right in the middle of that same tension. Wanting to rush ahead to the special days of the week of Christmas, but also hesitant to hurry up; savoring what the last four weeks of the year will hold for you. Today, I kind of like this feeling of tension in my heart. It’s energizing me, it’s drawing me in closer to my King. May it do the same for you too!  

There’s no nice transition for me to insert here, unfortunately! Again, with the tension! So, not to rush us out of reflecting on how the start of Advent feels in our hearts, but I do want to remind you of some upcoming things in the life of the church!

  • Wednesday Roots Night - this week!
    • Family Dinner in the FLC starts at 5:45pm and then age-specific discipleship programs begin at 6:30pm. I hear Pastor Kevin’s Advent Bible Study has been really great! 
    • Youth Roots (Jr. & Sr. High!) Parent Meeting will start at 7:30pm in the Youth Wing Large Group Room. Youth should plan to attend WITH their parents! 
  • Women’s Ministry Annual Pine Trail - Thursday, 12/4 at 5:30pm. Meet at the church to carpool to all the festive destinations!
  • Christmas Card Tree - Bring your personalized or signed Christmas card to hang on our church family Christmas tree in the Gathering Area! 
  • OAKS Christmas Luncheon - Monday, 12/8 at noon. Hurry and sign-up on the bulletin board in the Gathering Area!
  • Journey to the Nativity - Saturday, 12/13! Catch all the details on our website or the Facebook Event. Who can you invite to “meet us at the manger?!”

 

What WE’RE Learning This Week: A nugget of what our Lil’, Youth and Adults Roots heard this week

Every Generation Sunday: What do the Advent Candles actually mean?

In case you missed it… yesterday was another Every Generation Sunday! On the 5th Sundays of the month we combine EVERY GENERATION together during the Sunday School hour for an intentional, whole-church family discipleship activity! This week we created an Advent Candle holder or centerpiece. They turned out so great! 

I was so sad to not be able to send home your candle sets with each household who made a candle holder! Silly UPS! But have hope (no Advent pun intended!)! They are to arrive today, so you can find your candle set in your family mailbox! 

I have spent a lot of time over the last few weeks finalizing the devotional resource to complement the Advent Candle activity from yesterday. Each week, on Monday, I will release a new podcast episode on “The Dig” helping you as an individual or as a family, deepen your understanding of that week’s Advent theme!

These podcast episodes are designed for you to listen to while you light that week's Advent candle. Obviously, Advent candles are not a requirement for you to listen and learn along on the podcast! 

This season of the podcast is specifically designed for EVERY GENERATION to deepen their understanding, ignite their curiosity and grow as fruit-producing, God-glorying disciples! Don’t miss out! To make it easier for you to find and listen, you can now grab “The Dig” episodes on the church website: mgcb.org/thedig

 

What I’M Learning This Week: Sharing what I’m reading and listening to lately

I’ll try and keep this a little shorter, considering the start of today’s email! 

Obviously, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about, reading about and writing about Advent candles lately. I just keep thinking about how neat it is that the Hope candle is the one of the four that burns the longest. 

That doesn’t make Peace, Joy and Love any less important, of course. But how clever of God to bring us to this tradition, where we honor and celebrate hope first and for the longest. Hope; what God’s people have been hanging on to for centuries. 

Hope that doesn’t EVER put us to shame (Romans 5:5). The NLT says “hope never leads to disappointment.” The birth of Jesus is our proof! 

 

Make Every Week Count: Parenting, Grandparenting & Spiritual Mentoring Resources

Something to Read: Looking for a simple Advent study to do? I always appreciate what Justin Whitmel Earley produces this time of year! His simple, yet spiritually-intentional Advent Devotional, “The Gift of Waiting” is really great!

Something to Listen to: Speaking of Hope… give this podcast episode (and the ones to follow) from the Bible Project, a listen! Hope: Waiting, Stretching, and Trusting

Something to Follow: It’s that time again! Check out this year’s ROOTS GIFT GUIDE for some spiritually enriching gifts for Roots friends of all ages! 

 

How Can You Pray? Prayer Requests and Praises from Roots Ministries

PRAY for slow and savoring, but also anxiously anticipating hearts for our church family this Advent season!

PRAISE for the many hands - decorators, candle lighters, readers, musicians, coffee makers, greeters, teachers and more - who make this season possible!