Journaling the Journey: Follow Up

Today's post is by Deb Lewis:

I mentioned Janet Conner’s book Writing Down Your Soul in my last blog. These thoughts in the blog over the weeks have been my response to Conner’s suggestions in the book: Show Up, Open Up, Listen Up, and Follow Up. In the book, she has much to say about each of these points.

As I was thinking about the idea of “Follow Up” for today, I reread my journal to see if some of the patterns that are emerging that I mentioned in my last blog were things that should indeed be “followed up”. So far, other than to continue the practice of writing and going more deeply into “listen up”, nothing really seems revealed. The book would tell me to continue to be patient… and just keep on writing.

Since I am new to this practice, I asked Janet Lott, who first recommended Conner’s book to me, if she would share from her much longer experience with spiritual journaling. She sent me the following in response, which I gratefully include here. Janet says:

      Yes, I have continued to journal. So much of this sounds cliché, but it's my experience and it's what has kept me going back to my writing on a deeper level

      Let go...write like no one will ever read it (even yourself!)...write a fairy tale about going deep inside yourself. I like to see my insides as an actually place with rooms - I go down to see what's going on. My entrance is in the forest in a place no one can find but me, and I jump down a hole kinda like Alice in Wonderland. It's been very revealing and healing for me

      Write about or to yourself in third person - a story, a description, a compliment, etc....and be oh, so gentle with yourself.

      In some seasons I fill a notebook full in two weeks and in other seasons (like this past year) it takes months to go through those 100 pages. I am still in the same notebook that I started months ago.

      For me, I am journaling all the time and sometimes I actually write it down. What I like most about my little cheap notebooks and my refillable pen is that they don't have legs and walk out on me when I ignore them.

      They are so patient and willing to write when I am.

      And mostly . . . listen. Be still and listen. Then just start writing and see what happens. Sometimes I write nonsense words and sometimes I surprise myself with what's on the page afterwards. Sometimes I doodle or draw.

      Two more resources that have really loosened me up to listening and writing are "The Artist's Rule" by Christine Valters Paintner and "Seven Thousand Ways to Listen" by Mark Nepo.

I plan to try a number of these suggestions myself, becoming more creative in how I approach my journal! If you have also been journaling in this season, whether regularly or not, may Janet’s experiences and suggestions encourage you, too! And if you haven’t been journaling but the idea has caught your interest, perhaps consider making it a (gentle) commitment to at least write when you feel called to do so in the New Year!

Blessings on your journey,

Deb Lewis

Greetings to the Winter Solstice and be Transformed

Today's post is by Darla Ewalt:

Today is December 21, the Winter Solstice, shortest day of the year and the first day of winter.  The winter storm yesterday brought a beautiful blanket of snow that sparkles in the moonlight and sunlight. Last night as I went down to the shed to feed the horses, I marveled at the stillness all around me and the beauty of the bright stars shining in the clear night sky.  Surrounded by the quietness of the night broken only by Thunder’s greeting, I could feel God’s presence.

Quoting Thomas Keating “Silence is the greatest teacher there is.  God’s creative Word is uttered in sheer silence, and it is in our ability to resonate with it that we are transformed.”[1] This is a time of rest for God’s creation. A new cycle of life begins today. Tomorrow the days begin to get longer.  Spend some time today listening to the sounds of the creation.  Mostly you will hear silence.  Begin a new journey of renewal and transformation by communicating with your creator and let God speak to you in the Silence.

---

[1] Centering Prayer & Resting in God by Thomas Keating. Contemplative Outreach Newsletter, 29(1):1-2; Dec. 2012.

Journaling the Journey: Listen Up

Today's post is by Deb Lewis:

I often have trouble sticking with a task, like exercising or some other new activity that requires a regular, even a daily, practice. “I’m too busy today…,” is my frequent response, then by the next day, the practice is forgotten. But as athletes and other focused people know, continuing a practice develops it into habit. But I am surprised to find that I have been pretty successful at journaling through this Advent season. Is it worth the few minutes of time that I’ve spent each day (having missed only two days since starting)? Definitely! Developing a habit is much easier when the activity is joyful!

When we travel, we often focus so much on the fun we’ll have at the end that we miss what we’re passing by on the journey itself. In her blog, Pastor Mary Jane wrote about how her parents would try to distract the kids when they were traveling when she was young so they would quit asking, “Are we there yet?” The “find the letters of the alphabet” game, or how many different state license plates can you find, or other such games were fun when we were children, but as adults, we often weary of the trip, maybe even feel the aches in our bodies from sitting too long, and feel that anxiousness to arrive at our destination. “Enjoy the journey itself” is advice given so frequently that it has become almost trite. But as I look back through what I’ve written, I see that it really does focus my thoughts and senses to pay attention and appreciate each day of this Advent journey. For all of us, mixed among the joys of anticipation of Christmas and the pleasure of gatherings with friends around tables of food (like last Sunday’s fellowship dinner) as is so common in this season, we’ve experienced the horror and grief of the tragedies in a number of places over the past week, especially in Newtown, Connecticut. Obviously, my reactions get recorded in the journal, along with the more mundane events and thoughts closer to home.

As I go back and read through the journal, “listening” for what I’ve written, patterns are emerging. For one, each of my journal entries ends with a prayer. I’m not very good at consistently praying, especially from my heart, but there on the page are prayers that start my day. Other patterns are too personal to share here, but they are also good to note.

One general pattern that I notice is that I have written lots of questions – difficult, deep ones – and these are often repeated over the pages of several days. So far, these have not been answered, but I’m writing with a deeper hope that they will be. I am rereading “Writing Down Your Soul” by Janet Conner, and in the book, she says that “listening” – rereading and paying attention – to what has been written and what is flowing from your pen – is fairly easy to do. This has been my experience. But she writes about the patience that is required to dig deeper, and for truly getting to “the story behind the story” as one writes from the soul. This writing from as deep a place as you can reach, from the “source” within, takes weeks and months of writing to fully experience. I’m not there yet, but enjoying the journey!

Deb Lewis

The Journey

I remember when I was a child and my parents would pack us kids in the Impala and head out on a trip.  It wouldn't be very long before one of us would ask, "How much farther?" or "Are we there, yet?"  My parents got very creative about keeping us entertained, especially since some of those trips were from Iowa to California to visit my grandma.  We'd sing songs and play the "alphabet" game which always lasted longer than you think because it was always hard to find "Q" and "Z" on billboards we passed, unless we were in the Ozarks with many Antique shops.  Yes, my parents were masterful at finding ways to keep us "occupied" or maybe "distracted" so we wouldn't be so aware of the long road ahead.  And, of course, I've done the same with my children.

As Christians, however, there is a sense that goes all the way back, that we need seasons of waiting and anticipation and reflection in order to go deeper in our faith journey and in order to connect to the Source of our life.  Surface encounters, while nice for the short-term, are not enough to keep us going.  Occupying ourselves with "things to do" is okay sometimes, but will not build up our strength as Christians.  Distractions may be necessary at times and even inevitable, but not as a way of life.  And so the Christian tradition developed seasons of the Christian year to encourage and nudge us to be still and quiet and go deeper and sit with our questions and our doubts and our desire for that which has not yet come in order to develop our strength of character and faith.

Advent is a season of waiting and anticipating and being aware of the darkness in which we know the light will shine.  It is easy in this day and age to allow ourselves to be pre-"occupied" with all the preparations - decorating and cooking and gifts - or to be "distracted" by the lights and glitter and parties and sales.  But the focus of Advent was meant to be waiting, watching, hoping, praying, going deeper that Christ might find room at the inn of our hearts and lives.

So, what can we do in this season to allow ourselves to be present to the journey we are on and not just occupied, passing time and distracted until we can shout "Christ is born!"?  What can we do to sit and be aware of our deepest thoughts and desires for our lives and for the world?  What can we do to become more aware of the dark places of our souls that need the light of Christ to shine?

Those are the questions of Advent.  May we be aware of the journey and use this time to connect to the "one in whom we live and move and have our being."

Centering In God

Today's post is by Darla Ewalt:

When the world around you turns upside down and all you seem to see is pain, suffering, and sadness; the only place of peace you may find is by resting in the presence of God.  

The practice of Centering Prayer is the Christian form of meditation.  

It is where I find a gentle and loving presence that quiets my fears and fills me with a peace that cannot be found anywhere else.  

On Sunday, December 9, I gently introduced 2 minutes of Centering Prayer to those present in the sanctuary.  The room was so quiet you could sense God’s presence.  One visitor told Tim that those two minutes of silence (resting in God’s presence) was the most memorial part of the entire service.  It was a very powerful experience for this young man considering the competition of beautiful music, communion and baptisms that are also memorable. 

Consider joining me on Sunday afternoons at 4:00 or on Tuesdays at 6:30 pm and experience God’s presence.  Blessing to all.

Mary's Song - The Magnificat

As we prepare for the Third Sunday in Advent, hear Mary's response (recorded in Luke 1) to the news of Jesus' coming:

And Mary said, 
“My soul magnifies the Lord, 
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 
for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. 
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 
for the Mighty One has done great things for me, 
and holy is his name. 
His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. 
He has shown strength with his arm; 
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. 
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, 
and lifted up the lowly; 
he has filled the hungry with good things, 
and sent the rich away empty. 
He has helped his servant Israel, 
in remembrance of his mercy, 
according to the promise he made to our ancestors, 
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.” 

God-touched

Today's post is by Sue Prins:

My soul yearns

For sacred places,

For silence to hold my questions,

For music to carry my prayers,

For lofty spaces

to enfold my being

And set away corners

To hold me tight.

They touch my being,

These holy places.

Calm me, quiet me,

Compose me, fill me.

And they leave me

God-touched.

Journaling the Journey: Open Up

Today's post is by Deb Lewis:

As I wrote last week, some of us FCC folks have committed to regular journaling in this Advent season. As a small group of us met on Sunday afternoon, we found that we were pretty successful, having at least written in our journal on most days. It helps me to have made that commitment to myself and to others, and also that the commitment has an endpoint on Epiphany. On the other hand, I’m hoping (and maybe beginning) to find such joy in the practice of journaling that I’ll keep it up!

In my message last week, I wrote about “showing up”, with journal and pen and a block of time in mind for writing. This week, I’d like to go a step further and write about opening up. Many of my journal entries this past week centered around events or something I had observed or heard. But to open up means paying attention to the source of our words so that we can be “open to them”. Of course, words may come from many places – things we see or hear, our experiences or memories, our longings or joys, our relationships, and on and on. Sometimes, though, we may feel as though the words are coming from a special source deep within or beyond us. We may notice this as we write, or we may not realize it until we read what we’ve written, and ask ourselves, “Where did that come from?”  This special, positive source has been given many names – our muse, inspiration, our soul, the wellspring of words, the Source, the Voice, the Holy, God, Spirit,… However we may choose to label it, we know that we are given a special gift as the words “just flow”.

Are there ways to open ourselves so that such a spiritual depth may be reached in our writing? Several books that I am reading say “yes”, that we can at least encourage it (although we should not take it for granted that it will always happen). One suggestion is to go through a ritual to start and to close your writing time. It can be as simple as going to a quiet place and lighting a candle before writing. Another suggestion is to begin with prayer, asking for the words to come that you need for this day. It may be helpful to follow this by starting to write in your journal as quickly as possible with whatever words come to you – just keep the pen moving, then the source of inspiration may influence your words. Read and think about what flows from such practice to be sure that it isn’t leading you astray. But the words may surprise you with new insights and needed clarity.

Blessings on your journey,

Deb Lewis

SEEING CHRIST IN OTHERS

Today's post is by Tim Button-Harrison:

This Advent we are exploring five spiritual practices at Ames First Christian Church in worship, Sunday afternoon workshops (4:00-5:30), and through this blog.  Seeing Christ in others is the practice I am leading.

Today, I’m thinking about music and how it relates to hospitality, in part because I’m preparing right now for a few extra music events.  Tomorrow (12/12) Mary Jane and I are doing music at the First United Methodist Church here in Ames.  FUMC offers a meal at 11:45 then everyone goes up to the sanctuary for music.  We plan to share folk songs of Christmas from around the world – and hopefully get everyone to sing along with us.  And Sunday (12/16) I’m heading to the Stover Memorial Church of the Brethren in Des Moines to lead peace and justice songs for Iowa Peace Network’s Open House and Alternative Gift Faire from 1:00-3:00.  The next Sunday (12/23) I will lead the people of Ames First Christian Church in caroling to older members of the church and people in care facilities.  We will leave from the church around 12:30 after a simple soup lunch.

Advent is a musical season.  And especially in singing together, our hearts and lives are joined in a deep place.  I encourage you to put yourselves in the midst of singing this Advent season and sense how you are surrounded by the light and warmth of kindred souls.  And may that spirit remain with you and help you to recognize Christ in the people around you, wherever you go.  

Dwelling in the Word (Lectio Divina)

Reading scripture is something we do as Christians.  But that can seem a bit daunting sometimes.  There is an ancient practice of reading scripture that anyone can do and receive much spiritual benefit from.  Below you'll find a description of how to practice "Dwelling in the Word" or "Lectio Divina".  Why not try it during your daily devotions this Advent!

Dwelling in the Word, or Lectio Divina involves reading the scripture passage four times while listening for a particular prompting.  You might want to alternate reading the scripture out loud.

In order to practice Lectio Divina, select a time and place that is peaceful and in which you may be alert and prayerfully attentive. Dispose yourself for prayer in whatever way is natural for you. This may be a spoken prayer to God to open you more fully to the Spirit, a gentle relaxation process that focuses on breathing, singing or chanting, or simply a few minutes of silence to empty yourself of thoughts, images, and emotions.

Reading (lectio) - Slowly begin reading a biblical passage as if it were a long awaited love letter addressed to you. Approach it reverentially and expectantly, in a way that savors each word and phrase. Read the passage until you hear a word or phrase that touches you, resonates, attracts or even disturbs you.

Reflecting (meditatio) - Ponder this word or phrase for a few minutes. Let it sink in slowly and deeply until you are resting in it. Listen for what the word or phrase is saying to you at this moment in your life, what it may be offering to you, what it may be demanding of you.

Expressing (oratio) - When you feel ready, openly and honestly express to God the prayers that arise spontaneously within you from your experience of this word or phrase. These may be prayers of thanksgiving, petition, intercession, lament, or praise.

Resting (contemplatio) - Allow yourself to simply   rest silently with God for a time in the stillness of your heart remaining open to the quiet fullness of God’s love and peace. This is like the silence of communion between the mother holding her sleeping infant child or between lovers whose communication with each other passes beyond words.

At the end you might just thank God for the gift you have received.

The Inner Journey

Today's post is written by Janet Lott:

The Inner Journey

“Stand at the crossroads and look,

and ask for ancient paths:

where the good way lies; and walk in it,

and find rest for your souls.”  - Jeremiah 6:16          

We are nearing the end of the first week of Advent. What ancient paths have you found yourself upon this past week? Many of us have chosen to experience ancient spiritual practices such as seeing the Christ in each other, creating worship settings, diving with lectio divina, salving with centering prayer, jounaling, and experiencing the labyrinth. Many people have said that in being faithful to the inner journey their outer journey with the community is more whole and alive.

During the whole month of December, First Christian holds a labyrinth in the Fellowship Hall which is available on Sundays from 9:00 a.m. to closing (except Dec. 9 when it is available from about 3:00 to closing). There are guides available at the entrance to the labyrinth to help your experience of it.

Here is a movement for the labyrinth, which may also be applied to our journeys in life, the big one that stretches over our lifetime and the small ones we have each day:

Prepare . . .

Prepare to be open to what you may experience on the path. Follow the path where it may take you.  Ask God to lead you, to go before you.

Enter . . .

Quiet your mind.  If you were to relax and trust the path you are on, what might you discover or learn? Listen. What do you want to say to God at this moment?

Center . . .

Being in the center is a time for praying, meditating and listening for clarity and insight into who God is calling you to be and do.  Be still in your soul. If you get distracted, it’s okay. God is ready at any time to offer gifts for you to receive and use in the world.

Go Forth . . .

With each step outwards, give time to consider what God has offered you during these last few moments. How will you integrate into your life what you experienced or heard?

Open yourself to letting God encourage and empower you to take on a larger life, a deeper life of action as a child of God.

In our Journey to Jesus this Advent, we move along this life-path with the one who said,

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart,

you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

– Matthew 11: 29-30

Consider Jesus’ burden being the kind of “light” that illuminates the path...

Be Still and Know That I Am God

Today's post is written by Darla Ewalt:

“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10

Centering Prayer is a method of silent prayer that prepares us to receive the gift of contemplative prayer, prayer in which we experience God's presence within us, closer than breathing, closer than thinking, closer than consciousness itself. This method of prayer is both a relationship with God and a discipline to foster that relationship.

The focus of Centering Prayer is the deepening of our relationship with the living Christ. The effects of Centering Prayer are ecclesial, as the prayer tends to build communities of faith and bond the members together in mutual friendship and love.

Four Simple Guidelines

1. Choose a sacred word as the symbol of your intention to consent to God’s presence and action within.

2. Sitting comfortably and with eyes closed, settle briefly and silently introduce the sacred word as the symbol of your consent to God’s presence and action within.

3. When engaged with your thoughts*, return ever-so gently to the sacred word.

4. At the end of the prayer period, remain in silence with eyes closed for a couple of minutes.

*thoughts include body sensations, feelings, images, and reflections

Try the practice of centering prayer for 20 minutes twice a day or at least once a day. It will change you.

Creating Sacred Space

Today's post is by Sue Prins:

Anyone who has walked in the moonlight through silently falling snow, or lay beneath a spreading pine filtering the star-scape above, or tried to memorize the colors in a wondrous sunset so you could replay it over in your mind's eye.... anyone who has experienced nature's wonders knows there is sacred space.

But that is God-wrought.  How can we hope to create sacred space?

For me, it begins with prayers for guidance.  My hope is to reach beyond myself, to listen intently and then trust where I am being led.

If you're trying to build a personal sacred space for yourself, inside or out, there really isn't a wrong way to do it.  Listen to yourself.... how do you experience the Holy?  Is it through music?  Is it through silence?  Is it through reading or writing?  Do you experience God while drawing or painting?  Maybe it's while seated in your favorite chair watching dust motes float by on a sunbeam.  Whatever it is , make space for it,

That space may be a shelf filled with candles or a mantle of family photos or a collection of stones and twigs gathered on a walk with a friend.  Or maybe sacred space for you is actually giving yourself time to experience the beauty God has already laid out for us to behold.

There is no wrong way, only your way.

Journaling the Journey: Show Up

Today's post is by Deb Lewis:

Some of us FCC folks have committed to regular (I’m shooting for daily) journaling in this “Journey to Jesus”. We write in so many ways that we take the gift of writing for granted: our grocery list, the note about tomorrow morning’s dentist appointment, and on and on. At least in a small way, any words put down on paper or on the computer even casually, briefly or of necessity (like the grocery list) say something about us.

But sometimes, many (most?) of us carve out a block of time and find a place, pick up a pen or sit at a keyboard, and allow our mind to walk through a door marked “Writer”. The brain engages hand, and the words are chosen. We might simply be recording a thought or observation – there, it’s down in black-and-white. We may wad it up and throw it away or hit the delete key, but even this has changed us, just for having walked through that door. On the other hand, we may save the words as a record because they capture something about who we are: I live, I am here, I matter. Our words become a milepost for our journey.

This may inspire us to purchase a journal and a nice pen (or set of colored ones to match our mood as it changes). A warning for those like me – I’ve done this, spent several dollars for a bound journal, then have hardly used it because my words just don’t seem worthy of recording in something so nice. So I’ve put my nearly empty bound journal aside and, since last spring, I’ve been writing on a yellow notepad. For the coming weeks of the Advent journey, I’ve gone slightly more upscale – a spiral bound composition notebook with cute puppies and flowers on the cover, an investment of less than $2.

Another problem that I’ve run into as a writer, whether of poetry, journaling or other forms of writing, is soon bumping into my internal censor or critic. You know, the one that says, “You can’t really write.” “This is a waste of time when you ought to be doing ____.” “Your spelling or grammar are too ‘atroshus’ to be a good writer.” “You just can’t get your thoughts together this morning, so why bother.” “You’re too busy to write right now.” So in my journal (and the small group of us who met this past Sunday afternoon did this, as well), I imagined a form for my censor/critic, drew it on the inside cover, then took a red crayon and X’ed it out. My censor/critic is banished, not welcome here – or at least that’s my intent! (We’ll see how it goes…)

So with this introduction, I invite you to journal your journey in this Advent Season! And, if you want to share your experiences of journaling, and learn from others on the journey, I invite you to join us on Sunday afternoons! [A slight note of caution here, though: don’t write your journal with the thought that you’ll be sharing your words with us directly from it – that’s a cue for your censor/critic to show up.] Pay attention and take pleasure in whatever you write, whether journaling or otherwise – even your grocery list! But this Sunday we’ll also start to explore how we can be open to the holy and write with deeper meaning.

Blessings on your journey,

Deb Lewis

Seeing Christ in Others

Today's post is by Tim Button-Harrison

            Leo Tolstoy’s “Papa Panov’s  Special Christmas” tells of an old shoemaker who has a vision on Christmas eve where Jesus comes to him and says, “Tomorrow on Christmas I will come and visit you.  But look carefully, for I shall not tell you who I am.”

            He wakes the next morning and invites the cold street cleaner into his home for a cup of tea, all the while looking past him for a sign of his special visitor.  Later, a young woman and child come by and, noticing the child’s cold, bare feet, he offers her his special little shoes he had been saving, but still no visit from Jesus.  Throughout the day, beggars come by and Papa Panov offers them  comfort and food, but at day’s end he sadly concludes the vision was only a dream for Jesus never came.

            But suddenly, he realized he is not alone and he begins to see all the people who had come to him that day, the old road sweeper, the young mother and her baby, and the beggars he had fed. As passing by, each whispered, “Didn’t you see me, Papa Panov?”

            “Who are you?” he called out, bewildered.

            Then another voice answered him. It was the voice from his vision, the voice of Jesus.  “I was hungry and you fed me,” he said. “I was naked and you clothed me. I was cold and you warmed me. I came to you today in everyone of those you helped and welcomed.”

            Then all was quiet and still. Only the sound of his big clock ticking. A great peace and happiness seemed to fill the room, overflowing Papa Panov’s heart until he wanted to burst out singing and laughing and dancing with joy.

            “So he did come after all!” was all that he said.

            "Look carefully” at the people who are in your life and also those in the world all around you this Advent and Christmas.  What if Jesus is your spouse, your neighbor, your store clerk, your garbage collector, your child, your letter-carriers, your co-worker, in disguise?  And what about all the strangers you see in passing cars, in stores, in restaurants, walking down the sidewalk?  Who are they?  What is their life story?  Could it be that the light of Christ is shining within them?  Could it be they are also Jesus in disguise?

            How might you regard someone differently, even a stranger, if you knew that person might be Jesus?

Advent "Journey to Jesus" Begins

We begin our Advent "Journey to Jesus" with a DREAM.  In Matthew's gospel, Joseph was going to dismiss Mary quietly for becoming pregnant by someone other than him.  That was the good and "righteous" thing to do.  It was also compassionate.  No one could fault Joseph.

But then Joseph had a DREAM.  And, as dreams do, it called upon him to have a bigger vision of the future.  Don't dismiss Mary quietly, even though that is a good and proper thing to do.  Marry her! Joseph's dream invited him to be part of God's plan and purposes.  Joseph's dream invited him to rise even higher than being a "righteous" man. Joseph's dream asked him to give up fear and take up the courage to believe something greater was going on and he could be part of it.  God is coming to live among us and Joseph, because he paid attention to his dream, got to be part of that good news of great joy to all the people.

Advent is a time to get in touch with your dreams.  It is is time to focus on what really matters; a time to deepen awareness of God in our midst - among us - and to live faithfully to that awareness.  December can be fraught with a flurry of activity and shopping and commercials and glitter and lights that direct our focus on things that do not bring abundant life.  This time leading up to "Christmas" in the commercial sense can leave Jesus and the meaning of his birth lost.  It's like the picture.  "Where's Jesus"?  (Based on the "Where's Waldo" books)  In order to "find" Jesus, or make room in our lives and hearts for Jesus, or to stay true to the "reason for the season," I want you to ponder these questions:

• What is God's dream?
• What is God's dream for me?
• What fears hold me back?
• How can I bring good news of great joy in my daily life?
• How can I give gifts that honor the spirit and meaning of Jesus' birth?
• How will Christ be born in me this season?

Maybe you want to keep an Advent journal of your thoughts and reflections on these and other questions.  You may also want to use the Advent Prayer Calendar to guide you in an intentional way.  Feel free to respond to these questions or post your own.  Blessings to all on the journey!