Advent has always been a really special time for me. I have great childhood memories of growing up and having special traditions during Advent. Advent is the time of preparation and and expectant waiting for the celebration of the nativity of Christ. Sometimes it gets kind of lost in the whole “celebration” of the holiday. We are supposed to be preparing for Christ–not preparing for all the commercialism. This year I have not even started with the decorations yet except for a few Christmas mugs, flags and little things I have put out. We have a busy time coming up with 4 chorale concerts this week and next as well as my normal volunteer adventures. Christmas Blessings tops the list and I will get to decorating when I can. We have forgone the inside Christmas tree for years and either decorate one on the deck or as we will do this year –just decorate our lovely “volunteer” pine that is in the backyard. I love to look out and see it lit up with a few simple ornaments.
This is the first week of Advent–the candle of Hope is lit. It is sometimes called the “Prophecy Candle” in remembrance of the prophets, especially Isaiah, who foretold the birth of Christ. It represents the expectation felt in anticipation of the coming Messiah and can embody many things. According to Wikipedia hope is:
Hope is the emotional state which promotes the belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one’s life. It is the “feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best” or the act of “look[ing] forward to with desire and reasonable confidence” or “feel[ing] that something desired may happen”. Other definitions are “to cherish a desire with anticipation”; “to desire with expectation of obtainment”; or “to expect with confidence”. In the English language the word can be used as either a noun or a verb, although hope as a concept has a similar meaning in either use.
During this time of expectant waiting and anticipation my “hope” for each of you is that you find hope of your own this season.
.
May your have HOPE this Advent season. Without HOPE we have nothing. I would love to read what gives you hope in the comment section today. Share your hopes with me. It is also time for Comments for a Cause and I will continue to support Sharing House this month with all that they do — Hurricane Helene relief continues, Christmas Blessings for local families , food and clothing and warm items for our unhoused population,. It continues to be my favorite place to donate time and money so for each comment on any blog post this month, Chris and I will give 50 cents to Sharing House. Thank you for all your support.
