Advent Devotional 16

Finding Joy in Our Love

By Kathy Pefley

Everyone knows that the Christmas season is supposed to be joyful. Decorations, lights, great food, gift giving (and receiving), anticipating the looks on children’s faces as they greet Santa at the mall … all these things are supposed to contribute to an overwhelming sense of joy during these very busy days leading up to the grand finale of Christmas morning. But for many of us, what we feel is an overwhelming sense of overcommitment, overspending, unmet expectations, and looming stress of not enough time, not enough money, and surely - not enough joy.

Let us remind ourselves (sometimes many times a day) not to confuse joy with pleasure, happiness, or success (whatever that means to you). If we seek a quiet moment and turn our focus inward toward the Holy Spirit inside us, we may feel a quiet murmur of anticipation that has nothing to do with the outward trappings of the holiday season, and everything to do with the glad tiding of great joy - for Behold unto us is born this day a Savior which is Christ the Lord!  And He does not look for how beautifully we decorate our homes or how lavish the gifts are that we purchase or make for our loved ones. He would rather rejoice in how we have prepared a place for him in our hearts when there was no room for him at the inn for his birth. And He is more pleased with our gifts of prayer, time, and effort toward loving our neighbors.

Lots of times I feel like I have failed to give my children and grandchildren the Christmas memories I have from my past of cookie baking, sledding, and perfect Christmas celebrations. Then I remember that the littles in my life know that Papa’s big ask at Christmas is for the family to attend Christmas Eve services together.  Let them enjoy and build memories of other Christmas traditions with other extended family (the other Grandma is way more put together when it comes to holiday stuff). I will try to demonstrate that we need to find joy in the love we have for each other, and the love we show those who may be unloved by others in the world, and most importantly by the love God showed by sending his son as a little baby to grow up to die for us - who were powerless in our sin. 

Father God, prepare our hearts to receive the gift of your son Jesus freshly this Christmas. Let us feel your joy of new birth, and hope for the future. Use us to spread your joy to a hurting, fearful world. Amen.

St. John member Kathy Pefley sings in the worship band and is a Biblemania leader.

Advent Devotional 15

Be Still My Soul

By Carrie Gruhn

We have 4 family birthdays in the time between Thanksgiving and Epiphany (Jan 6th). 

Epiphany has been important to me for years as the time to celebrate the wise men, but it became even more special when it became my son’s birthday

21 years ago, we spent quite a bit of the Christmas season in the hospital, since he couldn’t decide whether he was ready to be born yet.

With his own meticulous timing, he was born on his due date.

And with him, an extension of the Christmas/birthday joy was born too.

The Advent and Christmas season is so overwhelming,

it felt important to create a tradition *just* for the Epiphany birthday.

I came up with the 12 days of birthday.

       1 gift for each day, even if it was just a small note

It’s been a tradition that brings us joy.

Being celebrated brings him joy.

That’s what I want to inspire during this week when we light the candle of Joy.

Hope has been renewed. Peace is flowing. It’s time for Joy to bubble up and fill us.

Take a moment to think. 

Take a breath. 

Soften your eyes.

What is your favorite Christmas item?

            An ornament, a song, a memory

While taking another breath, and keeping your eyes soft

Let that favorite item become more real to you.

Do this for two more breaths.

When I do this,

Even just for a few minutes

It restores some of the joy in my heart that can be saddened by life events.

Our family has had some losses this year. Life can be hard in many ways.

But Joy,

a truly peaceful emotion that lives within us

Is still reachable when we look for it

And the simple exercise of breathing and remembering can bring the spark of joy back to our awareness.

Giver of all, we take a moment to thank you for joy.

We ask that you ignite the joy within us,

helping us celebrate the Christ child

as we sing Joy to the World.

St. John member Carrie Gruhn is a Certified Lay Servant and part of our youth group leadership team.

Advent Devotional 14

Be Still My Soul

By Betty Hertz

Sunday 2:00 AM … sleep isn't coming. Clock is ticking closer to 6:30 AM alarm.

Well, if I can't sleep why not be productive? So, I decided to work on this Peace reflection. As you might have guessed that didn’t go well. No words came. I heard a chuckle from Above. Once again God was laughing at my feeble attempts to calm my anxieties.

I stopped and said a prayer, “God help me quiet my mind. Open my heart to feeling your presence. Give me peace. Amen.”

Of course, sleep came. Although I started the day at 6:30 with limited sleep, I felt calmness in my soul. This event reminded me of a quote of Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati: “Quiet the mind, and the soul will speak.”

When I quiet my muddled thinking, I make room in my soul for God to enter. When I remember the words, “Be still my soul, the Lord is on my side,” I feel God’s peace. When I am at peace within I can “Go in peace to love and serve my God and go in peace to love and serve my neighbors.”

God,

You declared, “Be still and know that I am God.”

You calmed the wind and waves.

Help me remember you are my strength and refuge.

You bring peace to my soul through the gift of your son, the Prince of Peace.

Amen.

Betty Hertz is St. John Lay Leader and a Stephen Minister.

Advent Devotional 13

Pausing to Just Be

By Linnea Wells

“Now may the Lord of Peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.” 2 Thessalonians 3:16

Camping in the rain is not generally considered peaceful. However, in that moment before you fall asleep and you listen to the rain falling on your tent, there’s a very specific sense of calm and peace. It’s just a matter of your perspective. Peace is out there, sometimes we just need to stop and pay attention.

When my sister and I were mid-grade school, we used to get up early on December mornings and just sit in front of the lit-up Christmas tree. The house was quiet, and it was the very definition of peaceful. The holiday season can get hectic with all the activities and gifts (which are not automatically bad things), but the pause to just ... be ... was necessary for my spirit.

When we only see the inconvenience of rain, or the hustle and bustle of Christmas, then it’s time to pause and remember to let the Lord of Peace guide us.

Holy God, lead us into your peace at all times and in every way this Christmas season. Amen.

St. John youth member Linnea Wells plays in the bell choir and is on the youth leadership team.

Advent Devotional 12

The Gift of Peace

By Elizabeth Nicolai

Dona nobis pacem. Give us peace. In 1989 there was a “peaceful revolution” in East Germany of prayer vigils and gatherings in churches of activists singing “Dona Nobis Pacem”. Nearly 100,000 people gathered in a peaceful protest in Leipzig, Germany to pray, chant, and sing. That revolution, that anthem would lead a month later to the fall of the Berlin Wall. A song, a prayer, a gathering of people, and a nation becomes a domino that ends decades of cold war. 

We follow a Prince of Peace, we celebrate people who change the world and bring forward peace. We can name Nobel Peace Prize winners, leaders who negotiate treaties, philanthropists who start movements. And it is easy to think that I can not do that. If I am honest, I can not always create peace between the children in my own household. But just as it wasn’t only one person singing in East Germany, it isn’t only me who has been asked to create peace.

Peace is a movement that is stronger with a hundred, with a thousand, with a hundred thousand voices singing. As you celebrate peace this week, look around your community and rejoice in the work of those around us, see where you can add your voice, song, effort. I’m heartened by all the many people who showed up for In My Backyard to create that positive change for our neighbors. I see the letter writing campaigns and calls to politicians to support a variety of causes. And I can feel the prayers and support that our congregation and our neighbors send.

Dona nobis pacem. Give US peace. Peace is a gift to all of us. Peace is a gift from all of us, working together.

Source materials:

https://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/19/sports/olympics-german-olympic-bid-has-sour-note.html

https://www.dw.com/en/how-east-germans-peacefully-brought-the-gdr-regime-down/a-50743302

St. John member Elizabeth Nicolai is a Sunday School teacher, Girl Scout leader and substitute bell choir ringer.