Advent Daily Devotional: WEEK of PEACE: DAY 11 – Wed, Dec 8
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. — John 14:27
You will decide on a matter, and it will be established for you, and light will shine on your ways. — Job 22:28
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For today, allow the lighting of candles to be an act of naming the blessings in your life. Let it bring awareness of how you can contribute to peace in your own heart and also in your corner of the world.
As you light each of the candles, name one thing you appreciate. For what are your grateful? Gratitude fosters perspective, which leads to a sense of balance and peace. — Rev Gail
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We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves. — Dalai Lama
No degree of worldly darkness can extinguish the glow of a soul’s inner light. — Wes Fesler
Advent Daily Devotional: WEEK of PEACE – Starts DAY 8 – Sun, Dec 5
The Peace of Wild Things — Wendell Barry
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
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WEEK of PEACE: DAY 8
Sun, Dec 5
Those of steadfast mind you keep in peace —
in peace because they trust in you. — Isaiah 26:3
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them
light has shined.— Isaiah 9:2
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How do you cultivate peace through this practice of reading, reflecting, and lighting candles?
Perhaps the first truth is that by setting aside time to dive into any spiritual practice, you make a commitment to yourself and your loved ones. You honor yourself and others by setting apart time, space, and attention to be present to the inner, spiritual part of your life. You cultivate this aspect of wellbeing. You give it space and priority.
When you ignite the first and second candles, you focus on wellbeing in relationship to self and others. This simple act is one step in being present. Let the light of peace warm you. — Rev Gail
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No person, no place, and no thing has any power over us,
for ‘we’ are the only thinkers in our mind.
When we create peace and harmony and balance
in our minds, we will find it in our lives.
— Louise Hay
Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart.
— Kahlil Gibran
Advent Daily Devotional: WEEK of JOY: Day 17- Tue, Dec 14
I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you,
and that your joy may be complete. — John 15:11
Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun.
— Ecclesiastes 11:7
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For now, begin with the simple act of being present to whatever is going on within you and around you. Pay attention to your body and its experience.
For instance, engage your senses. What do you see? Hear? Smell? Feel? Taste? Ground yourself by taking this inventory of your senses.
Now focus on a few simple strategies to cultivate joy through bodily self-care.
Inhale. Hold your breath a moment. Exhale slowly. Breathe.
Mindful breathing offers healthful benefits. It lowers your heart rate and blood pressure, and helps regulate your body’s capacity to manage stress and fatigue. It reduces depression, burnout, and negative thinking. It boosts your capacity to manage chronic pain and positively affects the side effects of other illnesses or conditions such as diabetes.
Repeat your breathing cycle. Then repeat it again.
Now smile. Science urges that the act of smiling triggers healthy neurological responses. Floods your brain with positive, empowering chemistry. Improves your wellbeing psychologically and physically.
Joy is connected to your body-mind-spirit connections. While it grows out of spiritual, emotional, and psychological practices, it remains an embodied experience, too.
Let your senses ground you in your surrounds and in your own skin. Now inhale deeply. Hold your breath. Smile wider. As you exhale, blow out the Advent candles. — Rev Gail
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To get the full value of joy you must have
someone to divide it with. ― Mark Twain
An age is called “dark,” not because the light fails to shine
but because people refuse to see it. – James Michener
Daily Advent Devotional (Day 26)
Wednesday, Dec 23 – DAY 26
As we draw closer to the celebration of holy love’s arrival within our lives, as honored on Christmas Day, we may reflect on how our human experience of love has already shaped us. Who in our early lives offered us models of love? What forms did that love take?
Often we see God through the lens of the primary relationships from our childhoods. This doesn’t imply that there’s a right or wrong way to relate to God, simply acknowledges that our lived experiences inform the way we connect to God.
Is your relationship with God one that is intimate or distant? Is God, to you, a faraway deity who observes, but doesn’t get involved? Or is your connection to God one of friendship and immediacy? Do you find God in nature or through action and volunteering?
How is love expressed in your life? What face does it wear? What language does it use to reach you? How does it illuminate your life? — Rev Gail
For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call on you. — Psalm 86:5
As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. — John 15:9
Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage. — Lao Tzu
We are shaped and fashioned by those we love. — Goethe
Love is not really an action that you do. Love is what and who you are, in your deepest essence.Love is a place that already exists inside of you, but is also greater than you. That’s the paradox. It’s within you and yet beyond you. This creates a sense of abundance and more-than-enoughness, which is precisely the satisfaction and deep peace of the True Self. You know you’ve found a well that will never go dry, as Jesus says (see John 4:13-14). Your True Self, God’s Love in you, cannot be exhausted. — Richard Rohr
Advent Daily Devotional: Day 22 – Week of Love
Sunday, Dec 20 – DAY 22
Love glows bright as the focus of this week’s reflections. As we light our candles, we prepare to welcome holy love into our homes and lives.
Can you imagine a love more determined than the one that chooses to show up in our messy and imperfect world? To be born human?
It takes a stubborn love to move toward us, because we cannot ever quite reach that love itself. That is what our holy stories translate to us. Love chooses to be with us and among us in this season. And every day.
The holy love narrated in our scriptures points toward agape. Agape is a love greater than ourselves. It is different than erotic or passionate love, larger and deeper than love for friends or family.
Agape gives of itself. And part of that giving begins with movement. Holy love has turned to us and returned to us, chosen us over and over, meeting us where we are, coming to this world and time in which we live.
— Rev Gail
But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love, answer me. — Psalm 69:13
Agape doesn’t love somebody because they’re worthy. Agape makes them worthy by the strength and power of its love. Agape doesn’t love somebody because they’re beautiful. Agape loves in such a way that it makes them beautiful. — Rob Bell