The Liturgical Season of Advent started Sunday, November 29th. We sang the first of four rounds of "Light the Advent Candle One" , a favorite for adults and youth alike. Sunday afternoon it dawned on me that I am missing the Advent readings and reflections that I used to read in the Church Herald. Are you? I felt inspired to offer a blog for all of us at St. John's to write and read together as we anticipate the birth of the Christ child.
What this blog is meant to be.
My idea ( open to suggestions ). I will start.
Twice a week I will post a scripture based reflection. You are welcome to log on as a reader or to contribute an Advent reflection of your own (or more than one). Everyone is encouraged to log on daily so that we can walk the next 22 days (and maybe more) together, writers and readers alike. This is a place to write about God sitings, about moments of inspiration, of joy, of reverent anticipation. You are welcome to share a sweet story about your wee ones and their joy as they wait for Christmas and all that means to them or about your own childood memories of this magical time. In this way we will nurture one another in our faith, we will walk hand in hand toward the star of Bethlehem, toward the manger, toward the magnificent moment when the star shone brightly over that manger so long ago.
What this blog is not.
This blog is not a place to air our complaints. It is not a place to discuss the business of the church or to discuss the current budget, stewardship campaign or election of consistory members. If you are unsure if what you want to post is appropriate for the blog, email me at bkipp@frontiernet.net or give me a call at home and we can talk about it.
Who can participate?
It is too late for me to put this in the Kerk, so email and word of mouth is it folks. Spread the word! Everyone associated with St. John's is welcome to join us here.
The Technicalities.
I am no techy, but this is how I think it has to work. If I find out differently I will let you know. To just read, you go to stjohnshealthministry.blogspot.com. No capitals, no spaces, no punctuation. That should bring you to the blog and you can read along. To post you must log in. the gmail account is adventreflections ( you don't need to put in @gmail) and the password is healthministry. Go to dashboard at the top right of the screen and then to new posts.
Don't worry about spelling and punctuation. Do your best, we will be forgiving. (At least I will- I write late at night when I am tired and my fingers fly low and clumsily. It is OK if yours do too.)
So, I will post my first entry tonight or tomorrow and then will log in every night and see what wonderful things you have written for us to share. I am so excited; I hope you are too!
Again, my email is bkipp@frontiernet.net. That is probably the best way to let me know if you have a problem, a suggestion or a concern. I will get back to you within a day or two.
My prayer is that this will be a source of wonder as we share this Advent Season.
Yours in Christ,
Beverly Kipp, Health Ministry Coordinator
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It was a beautiful morning, and I had set the alarm early to have enough time to clear the snow off my car. As I scraped, brushed, and at times shoveled, I was thanking God for these little blessings that kept popping into my head. When I finished cleaning off the car, I turned around to see that Nala, our St. Bernard/Akita/Golden Retriever, had disappeared. I should have remembered that every first snow, she takes off. But I didn't. So after calling her name a couple times, I went inside, praying that she'd be OK on her walk-about. I proceeded to shower and get ready for church. The blessings kept making themselves known and I continued to offer them up and thank God for them all. Then I realized I should be thankful for having the extra time, now that I needed it to drive around the neighborhood to look for Nala. No sooner had I praised God for that too, and Nala barked to get in. God is so good. All was well and I could leave for church, ready to serve, to prepare for Christ's birth once again without a worry on my mind. Desiree
ReplyDeleteBeautiful Desiree, thank you for persisting til we got this right.
ReplyDeleteRyan said it best today after we had sung the last hymn. it just needed an Amen. that is how your sharing makes me feel.