Advent is the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event.

The Christian Advent season is the four Sundays preceding Christmas and either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.  The advent wreath has four or five candles.  There are three purple candles and one pink candle on the wreath and some include a white candle in the middle.

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ADVENT                    COLOR           NAME                        REPRESENTS

1st Sunday                  Purple              Prophecy                     Hope

2nd Sunday                 Purple              Bethlehem                   Love

3rd Sunday                  Pink                 Shepherd’s                  Joy

4th Sunday                  Purple              Angel’s                       Peace

Christmas Eve or

  Christmas Day          White              Christ                          Purity

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him – the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,

the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD –

and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears;

but with righteousness he will judge the needy,

with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.

He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;

with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.

Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

Isaiah 11:1-5

Isaiah’s words gave his people HOPE.

I do not have to cross my fingers or daydream or wish.  Instead I have confidence!  I know the words of Isaiah are true and give me hope.  This Branch (Jesus) is my hope.  He is wise and has understanding.  He is powerful and has knowledge.  He is righteous and faithful.  And the Spirit of the LORD rests on Him.

Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.

Psalm 62:5

Find rest  --  God alone  --  Hope from Him!  I don’t know about you, but I need the gift of hope, because I have no idea how today is going to end or how tomorrow is going to begin. 

I don’t know about you, but I need the gift of hope.  Without hope, I would just stay in bed and hide under the covers.

THANKSGIVING

6 DAYS TILL THANKSGIVING!  No way…it has to be more than that.  It … oh my, THANKSGIVING IS IN SIX DAYS!

THANKSGIVING – DID YOU KNOW?

No pumpkin pie – delay Thanksgiving:  In 1705, Colchester, Connecticut postponed Thanksgiving, for a week, until enough molasses could be found to make pumpkin pies.

Jingle Bells – wrong holiday:  We consider Jingle Bells a Christmas song.  Au contraire!  One Horse Open Sleigh, composed by Jame Pierpont in 1875, was originally a Thanksgiving song.

Touchdown:  Thanksgiving Day football is not a recent happening.  If you purchased your train ticket soon enough, you might have attended the game between Princeton and Yale which started this tradition in 1876.  This tradition quickly spread to high schools and colleges. 

Dinner is over, let’s shop:  The economy has long been a consideration when setting the date for Thanksgiving.  In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed Thanksgiving would be moved one week earlier to lengthen the Christmas shopping season.  Many states did not comply, so a second proclamation, in 1942, declared the fourth Thursday of November as Thanksgiving Day.

Leftovers:  In 1954, an employee of Swanson & Sons made a slight miscalculation, which resulted in 260 tons of extra frozen food.  A salesman, always on the lookout for a way to increase his commission, suggested food on an aluminum tray.  An assembly line was formed and 5,000 trays were filled and marketed as TV Tray Dinners.  Are you ready?  They sold 10 million turkey TV tray dinners in their first full year of production. 

Set free:  A couple of Presidents could not resist the pleadings of their children and released the turkey presented to the White House.  George H. W. Bush was the first President to officially pardon a turkey.  In 1989, he announced, “The turkey has been granted a presidential pardon as of right now.”  Never fear.  The First Family does not go hungry.  Two turkeys are sent to the White House and the second one is invited inside to get warm.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving is like all holidays.  It is a combination of history, traditions, and memories.  Above all, Thanksgiving is a day to give thanks.  Or maybe, just maybe, every day is a Thanks  Giving  day!

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.

Know that the LORD is God.

It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with THANKSGIVING and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;

his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Psalm 100

CUSTOMER SERVICE?  NOT!!

I have an old flip phone and it is usually in my purse – turned off.  I do not see the need to be connected 24/7.  Plus, we still have a land line.  I also have an iPad and I use it – a lot.  I have the Bible app and use that to prepare Sunday School lessons, access numerous versions quickly, and search for scriptures.  I read books on the Kindle app.  I use the map to find all those amazing back roads.  I take pictures.  I keep in touch through Facebook and Instagram.  Okay – Okay.  I play games on it.  My phone can stay in my purse, but my iPad ---

I have had two iPads.  Hubby uses my first one to send messages, check the weather, and listen to YouTube.  It will no longer update.  My current iPad, purchased in July of 2015, is developing issues so I decided to splurge and purchase a new one.

I called the Apple store – which is two hours, one way, from my home– to set up an appointment to buy a new iPad and get help to quickly set it up. 

“I am sorry we do not make appointments for purchases.”  You mean I have to drive two hours and it is first come first serve?  I thought that is why you made appointments.  “We do not make appointments for purchases.”  I told her I was going to hang up.

I contacted Apple Support and waited to be connected with the right department.  “I am sorry you were not helped and I will set you up an appointment.  They should be able to make sure it is set up correctly.”  Wait – did you say should?  “We never know how busy a store is going to be.”  Let me get this straight.  I am to drive two hours to an Apple Store, which makes appointments for repairs and even on how to use a device, to purchase a Pro iPad plus accessories and they should be able to help me.  So if they are really busy, they will sell me a device and then show me the door?  “I can make you an appointment and they should be able to help you, but we never know… and you can always call the help line.”  Honestly, I was polite through this whole conversation.  I then told the lady I was not going to drive two hours for a “should.”  I told her I was going to hang up.

I called Best Buy and they were very helpful.  As soon as I finish writing this, I will open my new iPad and, if I have any trouble, the nice man at Best Buy told me to call him. 

My husband’s dad managed a hardware store.  I wish I had met him, because I believe he was a wise man.  He said, “I am not doing the customer a favor by having the door open.  They are doing me a favor by coming in.”  That is customer service.  Apple has gotten so big they no longer care about the service part.  Best Buy has not forgotten the service part. 

This all got me to thinking?  When I need something, where do I get the best service?

EASY ANSWER:  From my God.  God is sooooo in the service business.  His store is stocked with every conceivable thing I might ever need.

“Good Morning, Mary.  What may I help you with?  Oh by the way, I was very proud of you yesterday.”

When?

“I was listening when you were talking with Apple and you actually stayed calm.  An Apple seems to cause humans to…  Back to you.  You must have remembered Proverbs 15:18.”

Oh, sure.. No I didn’t but I did stay calm.  Did you have something to do with that?

“At your service.  Calm can be found third shelf on the right.  You received calm before you even asked for it.  That was yesterday, what are you in need of today?”

I need…

“Of course you do.  I have this all ready for you.”

How did you…?  You know I often forget .. I make mistakes ..  I say …

“Now, now, my child.  My love for you, unlike your flip phone, is 24/7/365/lifetime!  Now see if I included everything you need.”

But there is so much and I only came to ask for one thing.  And you have given me mercy, grace, peace, compassion, wisdom, forgiveness, ---

“Keep digging.”

Of course.  I should have known.  This is exactly ….  Now I can ..  How can I ever …  How can I ever thank you?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

Yesterday was my birthday!  I love birthdays!  Birthdays mean I made it another year.  Birthdays mean I am special!  I am unique!  One of a kind!

And to that last one, many people say, “AMEN!”

As a kid, I got to pick what we had for supper.  I usually picked mom’s Swiss steak, cooked in gravy, and mashed potatoes.  It also meant waiting till my dad got home to open presents.  Dad was a trucker and he did try to make it home for our birthdays.  It might be selective memory, but I think he always made it.  (If one of my sisters reads this, do not tell me any different!  This is my memory and I want to keep it!)  Birthday presents consisted of one toy, a dress mom made, and a few small gifts.  Of course, a cake!

Then along came our children.  I would buy a paper table cloth (Remember those?  They we very inexpensive, especially if you could find one in the sale cart.), cut it up, and decorate the house.  The kids never knew what to expect.  One year, we took yarn and strung it through the whole house.  At intervals, we would put a gift.  Willie thought it was fun until he realized two people could string yarn where one person had trouble winding it back up.  (Getting it under and wrapped around the bed was a challenge.)  The next year was easier:  a scavenger hunt.  Once, Terri wanted to play Let’s Make a Deal for her birthday.  Which door would she pick?  Door 1, door 2 or door 3?  Would she keep that gift or trade for another?  Then there was the year she wanted one gift for each year, which required 12 gifts.  She did not see the humor in socks wrapped individually instead of in a pair.  Willie encountered a car full of balloons one year.  Ever tried to fill a car with balloons without them blowing out?  Darn that was fun!  And all the while, my reserved hubby would shake his head and wonder exactly how my mind came up with all this stuff.

Now?  Birthdays are a bit quieter.  Even the grandkids have outgrown crazy birthdays.  No more yarn.  No more guessing which door the best gift was hidden behind.  No more balloons in cars.  Sadly, no paper tablecloths cut apart and taped everywhere.  BUT, each birthday is still special!

Why?  Each birthday is a reminder that God is not done with me yet.  He has a world for me to enjoy.  God has doors for me to open.  He has gifts for me to find.  He wants me to pop those birthday balloons.

When your birthday comes around, remember –

You are special!

You are unique!

You are one of a kind!

and

GOD IS NOT DONE WITH YOU YET!

LIFE – INVOLVED or WATCHING?

I began the book, The Little Paris Bookshop:  A Novel, by Nina George, and quickly came across this passage:

I am about half way through the book, but my mind keeps going back to this quote.  The picture in my mind is of a person, shoulders drooping, head bent down, but their eyes are watching ---the eyes are watching others live.

The main character lost his true love.  She walked out of his life and then he received her letter…a letter he refused to read.  Instead, he “stayed in the background, a small figure in a painting, while life was played out in the foreground.”

And I want to shout at the man, “LIFE SUCKS SOMETIMES!  Read the letter instead of hiding it in a drawer.  For goodness sake, that unread letter might be hidden from your eyes, but it is a ball and chain keeping you from life.”

But then, the word “fear” entered the story.  Fear? 

“…for a chance to go back to the moment he’d decided not to read the letter. ……. Shame on you, Jean Perdu.  Shame on you for choosing fear. …. Never listen to fear!  Fear makes you stupid.”

Fear makes you miss adventures, joy, the wonders around you, love --- fear makes you miss life.  Fear makes you stay in the background.

AND THEN –

“It was as if he passed through a gate of fear and had realized to his surprise that behind it lay not a gaping chasm, but other doors, bright hallways and inviting rooms. 

Ah, now I see a person standing tall, head raised, and taking a step toward the bright hallways and inviting rooms.

“I’m scared!”  “Remember the feeling….it’ll be good to know how the fear feels and to go ahead and dance all the same.”

This leads to two questions:  Are you involved in life or watching from the background?  Is fear keeping you from life?