… watching for the brushstrokes of God
When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flocks,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among people,
To make music in the heart.
~ Howard Thurman
What is your first step?
I will light candles this Christmas,
Candles of joy despite all the sadness,
Candles of hope where despair keeps watch,
Candles of courage for fears ever present,
Candles of peace for tempest-tossed days,
Candles of grace to ease heavy burdens,
Candles of love to inspire all my living,
Candles that will burn all year long. ~Howard Thurman
What candle will you light?
How silently, how silently the wondrous gift is given!
O come to us, abide with us…
How do you receive Immanuel ~ God with us?
God is exalted over all the nations, his glory above the heavens. Who is like our God, the one who sits enthroned on high, who stoops down…raising the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the ash heap… (Psalm 113) And God stooped down in the birth of Jesus.
How do you hold the mystery of glory stooped down?
Winter landscapes have the appearance of death and all the potential of resurrection. The whole mystery and power and glory of life is on display during winter.
How do you lean into that potential?
“When I think of the incredible, incomprehensible sweep of creation above me, I have the strange reaction of feeling fully alive. Rather than feeling lost and unimportant and meaningless, set against galaxies which go beyond the reach of the furthest telescopes, I feel that my life has meaning…I feel a soaring in my heart that the God who could create all this—and out of nothing—can still count the hairs of my head.” ~ Madeleine L’Engle
What do the galaxies awaken within you?
With the Eyes of the Heart 