Happy New Year! Yes, I know it is only December 1, but the Advent Season marks the beginning of the new year in the Christian calendar. I don’t know about you, but I could use a fresh start right about now.

I’m excited about Advent and our devotional book Changed in the Waiting. In just the Introduction and Day One I feel as though God is already speaking to me. I want to encourage us to approach the season with reflection. The world will tell us we don’t have the time but I pray we will ignore the rush and the hustle and listen to God instead. During our Spiritual Renewal weekend, we sang In Christ Alone. The line that always catches my ear is “What heights of love, what depths of peace, when fears are stilled, when strivings cease.”

I plan to cease my strivings this Advent and mark the time of waiting to allow God to teach me and shape me. This means I will stop or do less of some things (like scrolling social media or watching too much television) so that can be more present with God and my loved ones.

I’d like to extend the same invitation that author Michaele LaVigne closes the introduction with. “These (themes hope, love, joy and peace) are not just things to observe from afar; they are the very gifts the Spirit seeks to grow in us as we wait. … But it’s important to remember that these are indeed practices, not performances. The goal is to become more aware of God’s presence and activity in our lives, not ace an assignment. I invite you into a posture of curiosity and receptivity as you engage with the readings, practices, and questions for each week. It’s okay if it’s unfamiliar or challenging, or if some days click better than others. We trust that the Spirit knows what the Spirit is about, even if we do not.”

Let’s be Changed in our Waiting,
Pastor Cindy

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

I hope that you have joined us in praying for revival for the last 40 days. I hope that you continue to go deeper in your prayer journey. This week during my devotions I read 1 Samuel 2:1-10. It is Hannah’s Prayer when she brought Samuel, the child she prayed for, to the temple to leave him in God’s service as she promised.

Some people refer to it as “The Magnificat of the Old Testament” because it is similar in theme to Mary’s Prayer in Luke 2 when she is told by the angel that she will bear Jesus. It’s a beautiful prayer, giving praise to God for the way He cares for his people.

Verse 4 caught my attention, “The bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength.” This verse is one of many where God reverses the places of people – such as humbling the proud but lifting up the humble. In this case: the strong, the warriors have their weapons broken; but those who stumble are given strength.

May I be honest Friends? I often feel like the one who stumbles. I feel like I fail God far too often. It’s not that I commit some big sin, it’s little things. Did I waste too much time? Was I too busy to see an opportunity? Could I have been kinder to someone?

If you ask my loved ones, I’ve always been hard on myself. I suppose that’s part of it. But this verse was grace to me that when I feel like I’m stumbling through life, God gives me strength.

Todd asked me this morning if I was blogging about revival, or our theme of encounters. I hadn’t thought about it before, but I realized I was writing of my own encounter with God in the present. It was a reminder that when we pray, we need to pay attention to see what God is doing. We need to slow down and have the quiet moments to allow God to work in our hearts and through our lives.

I hope and pray this is happening for you as well. I know sometimes we feel like we can’t slow down. But sometimes I think that is a self-protective mode because we are afraid the work God wants to do may be painful. And it may, but we can trust Him that it is for our good.

Sometimes healing or growing feels like stumbling. But God will give us strength.

Grace & Peace,
Pastor Cindy

Photo by NEOM on Unsplash

This coming week is Election Day. Somedays it feels like the closer the election gets, the further it pushes us apart. I see and hear people make statements that infuriate me. I see and hear people make statements that make me want to cry.

For the most part, I hold my tongue. That’s how I was raised. I was taught that it was a privilege and a responsibility to educate yourself about candidates and to vote. I was also taught that your vote was your’s alone, you did not have to share how you voted with anyone if you didn’t want to. In fact, I think my parents didn’t always know how each other voted.

I was not taught to make judgements about people’s salvation according to whether they were Democrats or Republicans. I was not taught to treat someone poorly if they believed differently that me. It makes me sad when I see people treating each other so ugly, because it goes against all that Jesus said.

Galatians 5:13-15 is good advice election season. “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.”

God will not be surprised by whatever happens this week. God will still be God no matter who is in the White House or the State House. As we exercise our freedom to vote and to speak our minds, may we still love our neighbors, may we still be humble and kind.

Grace & Peace,
Pastor Cindy

Photo by Priyanka Puvvada on Unsplash