Happy Third Sunday of Advent!
(Photo from a previous year in our former home)
"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.'" Luke 1:46-49
Today we remember Mary, innocent and powerful, sacred and scared, worried and waiting as the Savior of all grows in Her womb. She sings boldly when she might be meek; she bears her role in history with the confidence of a warrior; she is the beginning of a mighty revolution as the proud are brought down and the lowly lifted up.
Today we give thanks for the Mary's among us, who step out of the roles society has planned; unintended pioneers determined to do as God asks; fearless and fearfully stepping out in faith, and beckoning us to do the same.
On this third Sunday of Advent, we light this candle a symbol of Mary, mother of Christ, bearer of the Way.
Won't you sing along with us today as we sang
"Hark The Herald Angels Sing"
Hark! the herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King.
Peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!
Joyful all ye nations rise. Join the triumph of the skies
With th'angelic host proclaim, Christ is born in Bethlehem!
Hark! the herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King
Christ, by highest heav'n adored, Christ, the everlasting Lord!
Late in time behold Him come, Offspring of the Virgin's womb
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; Hail th'incarnate Deity
Pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus, our Emmanuel.
Hark! the herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King
Hail, the heav'n born Prince of Peace! Hail, the Sun of righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings, Ris'n with healing in His wings.
Mild He lays His glory by, Born that men no more may die,
Born to raise the sons of earth, Born to give them second birth.
Hark! the herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King
Today we learned about the angels talking to Joseph regarding the birth of Jesus and to not be afraid to take Mary as his wife, as well as warning Joseph in a dream later to take the child Jesus and His mother Mary to Egypt to flee the wrath of King Herod. (Matthew 1:18-2:18)
So thankful that Joseph was a righteous and obedient man of God. This is a wonderful story.
We are getting closer to Christmas day each day. I love this time of preparation of our hearts and minds to receive the Christ Child into our hearts and lives anew.
This past week our church ladies had a Christmas gathering to celebrate the birthday of Jesus. I was happy that I was able to participate and that the Lord was with us as we fellowshipped together .
We sang "Happy Birthday to Jesus" as this beautiful cake was presented in His honor:
We exchanged gifts with one another:
As is the norm at any church gathering, there is always more than enough food...
This was actually our first such gathering in almost a year, and we were so thankful to be together.
God has been very gracious to our church group and we are very, very thankful.
Today, let us be like Mary and "magnify the Lord" and boldly trust God when He leads us in a strange new direction, for He had done great things for us, and He will not lead us astray.
And let us also be like Joseph, and obey the Lord when He shows us His plan, no matter how unusual it may appear to be at the time.
Have a blessed Advent season.
Pam, this is such a beautiful post with a solid reminder of what the season is truly about. It's interesting to spend time pondering Mary and her role in being the mother of Jesus. She was a woman after God's own heart.
ReplyDeleteLove and blessings!
I enjoyed my visit here today. I miss church and activities. I know things will be back to normal next year. Have a blessed week!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful post. I'm so glad you and the ladies were able to get together to celebrate. Sure looks like enough food to feed an army!
ReplyDeleteWe also sang Hark the Herald Angels Sing this morning. It's one of my favorite carols. So glad your group was able to get together-we have had to put our women's ministry on hold this year and I have really missed the fellowship!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your post, Pam, and am so glad you and the other women were able to gather together and enjoy a meal and gift exchange! We haven't begun sharing food yet but are blessed with in-person Bible study on Thursday mornings and two worship services each Sunday. We are also having a Christmas Eve service! Counting the days now... xo
ReplyDeleteSeeing that generous spread of food reminded me of the monthly potlucks we had at church before covid hit. It was always a good time of fellowship and more than enough food. Hopefully in time we can get back to that.
ReplyDeleteWow, what a beautiful spread you ladies put together. I am reminded too of both Mary and Joseph and how much faith they must have had to do what had been preordained as their destinies.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful that you all could get together in person, Pamela. Our church is still under lockdown due to a renewal of cases in our area. So sad! But even if we can't have fellowship with one another, we can still magnify our Lord and obey Him willingly.
ReplyDeleteBlessings!
I'm so glad you are able to find a way to fellowship together. We are meeting for church, but have not had any dinners this year. I'm hoping to start up our ladies' Bible Study group in about April. Can't wait to see all the ladies as many attend other churches and Bible Study is about the only time we see each other. That fireplace with the poinsettias and presents is so very pretty.
ReplyDeleteHave a blessed day.
Me, too ... I'm singing along! Ironic, I just came from Bible study where we were discussing the pros and cons of having a gathering with food and gift-giving. (Unfortunately, the 'cons' won out.) So glad you were able to gather with like-minded ladies. That cake looks amazing ... such a great idea!
ReplyDeletePamela, I left a comment earlier today, but don't see it here. Not approved yet? Blessings!
ReplyDeleteI see it now...sorry, I've been busy and couldn't get to my blog until later today. I'm trying to get caught up now! Thank you for visiting. I always love to hear from you.
DeleteHi Pam! I love that passage in Luke where Mary rejoices in God, her Savior. What an incredible young woman she must have been ...
ReplyDeleteYes, Mary was "highly favored" by God...she was chosen to the most important mission any woman could ever have...to be the mother to the Son of God, the Savior of the world. What a humbling and marvelous opportunity. Yes, I can imagine that she rejoiced in God, her Savior...He truly cared for her.
DeleteI love this post so much Pam. Our church has been lighting the advent candle each week and having a different family come forth to read scripture. It has been such a sweet time. This past Sunday we had two children get baptized and their whole family came forth to partake in the scripture reading of the advent. Was very moving. Girl, that is a nice spread of food there and making me hungry. Of course it is lunch time though. Enjoy your week dear lady. Hugs and blessings, Cindy
ReplyDelete