We have a fabulous group of people who come over on Wednesday nights. We eat dinner, all of us together crowding around two or three tables and seated in a mismatched array of chairs. We catch up, fill in, and introduce. We laugh.
And very occasionally cry.
We celebrate. We are learning to celebrate together--God's goodness to us, His majesty, His faithfulness, His gifts.
We are learning to imagine together--imagine what it looks like if God means (as we believe) what He says; imagine the best and not the worst. Why is it so easy to imagine all of the troubling scenarios and such hard work to imagine what could be? In truth it will be better than we can imagine. Some day. And our imaginations were not given us in order that we might cherish fear or our own self-sufficiency.
We are learning to confess. to rejoice. to pray. to wait.
On these nights we also discuss the sermon from the previous Sunday together. And, guess what? All of our sermons from now until Christmas are about ADVENT! And so I get to learn and reflect on and during this time with our friends.
So that's the evening that's on my mind right now--now, when the dishes are (mostly) washed, the chairs (mostly) put back in their various locations. But I did want to share what we're doing as a family for week one, before it gets away, since I know some folks are walking through this along with us.
For evening worship, the Covs start by singing; we'll do a different hymn each week. This week, we're singing "Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus." We sing it with the traditional tune, which I treasure. But this Advent I'm really loving this version, too:
I think it will always be on the "Advent 2011" soundtrack of my life.
And guess what? This performance happened in my baby sister's stomping grounds! Bonus!
Anyway, after our hymn, we'll do the Jesse tree (beginning tomorrow--Advent is loong this year).
Then we say the Lord's prayer together--ending, "Amen--Come, Lord Jesus!"
And we snuggle and say "the peace" and give piggy-back rides to bed. At least that's how it wrapped up tonight.
Happy Fourth (day of Advent)!
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
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2 comments:
Indelibly sweet. Your articulation of what home means, and family and friends, is precious. And partaking of the deep wonders together. Makes me lonely for heaven, with sweet reminders of that kind of life on earth, too. Once, God hold you close and bless you for letting us in. We love you!
that was to be "once again"--not just once!
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