THANKSGIVING

CHRISTMAS

A Devotional for 2012

Stumbling upon holiness

in the midst of the holidays.

That’s our hope for this season. That somehow in the midst of parties and preparation,

shopping and decorating, families and friends — you bump into Jesus.

This little guide is designed to help you bump into Jesus so that he becomes the focus

of all of your worship in the midst of all the activity.

Here’s how it works:

Four weeks are dedicated to Thanksgiving and four weeks are for Christmas (what many call

the Advent season).

Each week starts on Sunday and we give you some thoughts and Scripture for that week.

This is written for your individual time of meditation but we’d love for you to gather with a

friend (or a group of friends) each week to share what you’re learning.

Consider journaling your thoughts, prayers and observations. This will allow you to look back

on all that God shows you.

We also hope someone will get the conversation going on our Women at CA Facebook page

each week. If you aren’t a member, just go to Facebook and search for our group. We’ll

definitely accept your request!

We’re excited to be using this guide as a community and pray that it opens the door for great

discussion, deep intimacy with Jesus and passionate worship of God.

May the Holy Spirit guide you as you seek God this season!

P.S. We’re really thankful for Allison Hughes who wrote the Advent (Christmas) section. Thank

you Allie — what a gift you have!

Thanksgiving

The First Sunday of Thanksgiving

November 4, 2012

Meditation

Gratitude... goes beyond the "mine" and "thine" and claims the truth that all of life is a pure gift. In the

past I always thought of gratitude as a spontaneous response to the awareness of gifts received, but

now I realize that gratitude can also be lived as a discipline. The discipline of gratitude is the explicit ef-

fort to acknowledge that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love, a gift to be celebrated with joy.

—Henri J. M. Nouwen

Practice

This will be the most important thing we do this month: we will give thanks. We will give thanks for eve-

rything, just like Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:18.

“. . . give thanks in all circumstances,

for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.”

How is this even possible? How do we give thanks in the midst of suffering? How do we give thanks for

the unwanted interruptions? How do we give thanks for the good and the bad? How do we give thanks

when God feels far away? I have no idea, but we will try. We’ll grab a cheap little notebook and we will

fill it with gratitude. Everyday we’ll list at least ten things. Yes, ten. Maybe twenty. We’ll list things until

we have to dig deep beyond the obvious and scribble out something that feels silly like “thank you for

feet.” And then somehow we’ll be reminded that the silly things can be profound things.

So we will be thankful. Everyday. For four weeks. Grab your notebook. At the top of the page, write in

really big letters (as if to say, I really mean this): THANK YOU FOR . . . And then begin your list, numbering

as you go.

Scripture

Monday: Luke 1:68-75

Tuesday: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Wednesday: 1 Chronicles 16:8-36

Thursday: Philippians 4:4-7

Friday: Colossians 3:15-17

Prayer

It is good to give thanks to the LORD, And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, And your faithfulness every night. — Psalm 92:1, 2

The Second Sunday of Thanksgiving

November 11, 2012

Meditation

When we learn to read the story of Jesus and see it as the story of the love of God, doing for us what we

could not do for ourselves–that insight produces, again and again, a sense of astonished gratitude which is

very near the heart of authentic Christian experience.

— N.T. Wright

The foremost quality of a trusting disciple is gratefulness. Gratitude arises from the lived perception,

evaluation, and acceptance of all of life as grace—as an undeserved and unearned gift from the Father’s

hand. Such recognition is itself the work of grace, and acceptance of the gift is implicitly an

acknowledgement of the Giver.

— Brennan Manning, Ruthless Trust

Practice

Take out that bedraggled notebook and continue your list of thanks. Ten things. Twenty things. Keep

adding to your list. Be thankful. Write it down everyday. Yes, everyday.

Scripture

Monday: 1 Timothy 1:12-17

Tuesday: Psalm 107

Wednesday: Hebrews 12:28-29

Thursday: Psalm 118

Friday: Luke 17:11-19

Prayer

I thank You, O loving Father, that, holy and transcendent as You are, You have through all the ages shown

Yourself to be accessible to the prayers of erring mortals such as I; and especially I praise Your name that in

the gospel of Jesus Christ You have opened up a new and living way into Your presence, making Your mercy

free to all who have nothing else to plead. Let me now find peace of heart by fleeing from myself and

taking refuge in You.

— From A Diary of Private Prayer, by John Baillie

The Third Sunday of Thanksgiving

November 18, 2012

Meditation

This meditation is from the book, Jesus Calling. It is to be read as if Jesus were speaking these words to

you.

Thank Me frequently as you journey through today. This practice makes it possible to ‘pray without

ceasing,’ as the apostle Paul taught. If you are serious about learning to pray continually, the best

approach is to thank Me in every situation. These thankful prayers provide a solid foundation on which you

can build all your other prayers. Moreover, a grateful attitude makes it easier for you to communicate with

Me.

When your mind is occupied with thanking Me, you have no time for worrying or complaining. If you

practice thankfulness consistently, negative thought patterns will gradually grow weaker and weaker.

‘Draw near to Me with a grateful heart, and My Presence will fill you with Joy and Peace.’

Practice

This is the week of Thanksgiving. Continue your daily list of thanks! Consider sharing some of your list with

family and friends on Thanksgiving Day. And be sure to ask those around you what they too are thankful

for.

Scripture

Monday: Romans 15:13

Tuesday: Psalm 100

Wednesday: Psalm 136

Thursday: 1 Samuel 2:1-2

Friday: Psalm 103

Prayer

Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name;

make known his deeds among the peoples!

Sing to him, sing praises to him;

tell of all his wondrous works!

Glory in his holy name;

let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice!

Seek the LORD and his strength;

seek his presence continually!

Remember the wondrous works that he has done,

his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,

— Psalm 105:1-5

The Fourth Sunday of Thanksgiving

November 25, 2012

Meditation

As we emerge from Thanksgiving week and enter into the Advent season, I am aware that gratitude is a

powerful source of energy in the spiritual life. It is an inner dynamic that has the potential to be deeply

transforming and I find myself longing for that spirit to remain, to grow and to expand in my own heart as

we enter into the busy-ness of the holiday season. Rather than the familiar experience of sensing the spirit

of gratitude slipping away as we move from the relative simplicity of the Thanksgiving celebration and into

the swirl of the Christmas holidays, I long for gratitude to be my deepest response to the wonders of this

season. I long for gratitude to infuse these days with meaning and the dynamism of Christ’s spirit. . .

Gratitude—a deep sense of who God is and what he is giving to us in the most ordinary moments—helps

us to make sense of our lives. On airplanes and in taxi cabs, amid prom dresses and pictures in the park,

while managing professional commitments and parenting children who are growing up too fast…the

willingness to make space for gratitude opens up dimensions of reality that we would otherwise miss.

Gratitude is a lens that sharpens our ability to see the gifts and the graces of our lives as more real than

the material world to which we are often tethered. Gratitude energizes us for living more fully in the

middle of the life we have been given as we become more practiced at finding God there. When practiced

as a spiritual discipline, gratitude is an inner dynamic that enables us to recognize Advent—the

coming of Christ—in the ordinariness of our own lives which is where we need him most.

— Ruth Haley Barton

Practice

This is the last week of your thanksgiving list! Keep adding to it daily and looking back over all that you

have to be thankful for.

Scripture

Monday: Hebrews 13:15

Tuesday: Psalm 73:25-26

Wednesday: Isaiah 61:10

Thursday: Philemon 1:4

Friday: Revelation 4:8-10

Prayer

We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty,

The One who is and who was and who is to come,

Because You have taken Your great power and reigned.

— Revelation 11:17

Christmas

An Introduction to Advent

Advent means “arrival” or “coming.” For centuries the church has celebrated Advent in preparation for

Christmas Day. It is the celebration of the “coming” of the Christ-child.

Typically, Advent involves a devotional like the one you have here to guide you in the anticipation of

the arrival of Jesus. It also involves the lighting of candles. There are five candles (four in a circle and

one in the middle) and each has unique significance. Here is a brief explanation:

The candles are traditionally lit in the following order: purple, purple, pink, purple, white. The first is called the "Candle of Hope." It symbolizes faith in God keeping his promises to human-ity. The second is called the "Candle of Preparation," reminding Christians to "get ready" to receive God. The third candle is the "Candle of Joy." It recalls the angels joyfully singing about the birth of Christ. The fourth candle, the "Candle of Love," reminds Christians that God loves them enough to send his only Son to Earth. The "Christ Candle," the white candle in the center, stands for Jesus Christ himself.

We encourage you to consider practicing this tradition on your own, with friends or with family.

This is a beautiful practice to keep with your children. On each Sunday of Advent you gather together

and read a passage of Scripture and light the appropriate candle. Even in this you practice the

anticipation of lighting the Christ candle on Christmas day! You are waiting for his coming!

Pause now to ask God to make this Advent Season (Christmas) one of intimacy with Jesus and

undistracted love for others.

Father of heaven and earth, God of all creation! You have existed for all eternity in perfect relationship with God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

We pause to thank you for not keeping your Son to yourself but sending him to us that we might know you and be rescued from the bondage of our sin.

We do not want to miss you in the chaos of Christmas. Give us space to ponder like Mary the amazing gift of Christ.

Stir in us the wonder of the Shepherds as they saw God in the flesh, born of a woman, come to save them from their sin.

We pause this Advent to say again, “Come, Lord Jesus, come. Have your way in our life. We worship you. We praise you.

We anticipate your arrival!”

The First Sunday of Advent

December 2, 2012

Advent and the Gift

Think of the most coveted Christmas gift you longed for as a child. The one you wrote on your Christmas list in bold, capital letters, so that it wouldn’t be missed. The toy or gift you dreamed about day and night, the one that you pic-tured yourself opening on Christmas morning over and over again. The one you searched for among the wrapped gifts, as you scanned the various shapes underneath the tree. Do you have it in your mind? The anticipation of that gift is a small taste of the anticipation that comes with the sea-son of Advent. We are longing for a promised gift that is coming, yet this gift is far greater than anything written on any Christmas list, or any package waiting under a tree. As a young child attending church services this time of year, I remember most the weekly lighting of the Advent Wreath, signifying the coming of Christmas, and one week closer to the Barbie Dream House I hoped to find under the tree. But even as a young girl of 5 or 6, I knew it was more than that. There was a holy anticipation in me, even as a child. I re-member looking at the families that were picked to light those candles, and thinking, “Man, I hope we get picked one year.” There was an honor to it, the counting down of days until heaven breaks into earth. Simply put, Advent is the first season of the church year, including the four Sundays leading up to Christmas. By definition, the word Advent means the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event. It’s synonymous with “coming,” “arrival,” and “appearance.” You see, we all know that on Christmas morning, some thing, an event of unmatched impact occurs; a king arrives, and not just any king, the King of Kings. There is an appearance far greater than anything this world can offer. A gift of far greater value than any Barbie Dream House a girl could long for, or any other longing we could entertain. This gift is the real deal. The dream come true. The answer to the greatest longings of our hearts. Jesus Christ. In flesh. Love come down. Heaven breaks into Earth. In a word, Advent is an invitation. An invitation to preparation. It’s John the Baptist shouting in the wilderness, “Prepare the way of the Lord. Make straight paths for him” (Matthew 3:3). It’s Jesus at the start of his own ministry declaring, “The time has come. The Kingdom of God has come near” (Mark 1:15). It’s an invitation to ready our hearts for the One that will change them forever. Again. It’s an invitation to make ready for a breaking in that keeps impacting us, over and over again. So, we invite you to ready your heart this Advent season. This little booklet will include some scripture readings for each week of Advent, with some devotional thoughts and short prayers. It’s meant to be an encouragement and a resource, as you ready your heart for His coming. For as often as your ready your heart, He keeps coming. He keeps breaking in.

We invite you to a season of powerful anticipation and preparation. Unlike any package under the tree, this gift, Jesus Christ, comes not to be opened, but to open us, to open our hearts to a love like no other. Join us as we ready our hearts to be opened anew.

Continue to the next page for Scripture and Prayer

Scripture Monday: Jeremiah 33:14-16

Tuesday: Psalm 25:1-10

Wednesday: 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

Thursday: Luke 21:25 – 36

Friday: Colossians 1:13-14

Prayer

Lord Jesus, Master of both the light and the darkness, send your Holy Spirit

upon our preparations for Christmas. We who have so much to do seek quiet

spaces to hear your voice each day. We who are anxious over many things look

forward to your coming among us. We who are blessed in so many ways long

for the complete joy of your kingdom. We whose hearts are heavy seek the joy

of your presence. We are your people, walking in darkness, yet seeking the

light. To you we say, “Come Lord Jesus!”

--A prayer for Advent written by Henri Nouwen

The Second Sunday of Advent

December 9, 2012

Advent and the Presence

“You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus… the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:31, 35b).

Here we find a promise of God, a promise of the great purpose He holds for Mary’s life, a purpose full of hope and salvation, of grace and of power. As we read the Christmas story, we envision Mary making her way to Bethlehem, her swollen belly literally full of the Christ child. In this fullness we see the fruition of that promise spoken over Mary nine or so months ago—the very words of God coming into being. Can you imagine how it felt to have the very promise of God growing within you, knowing you were carrying the hope of the world? Contentment. Joy. Awe. Worship. These are what Mary experienced as her physical body filled with the reality of the promises of God, and yet something spiritual was happening too. She was full of an awareness of a good God, who loves enough to come so near. Near, as the angel visited her nine months prior; near, as the babe leapt in her womb; near, as the incarnate Christ came forth and entered this broken, hurting world. And suddenly we understand Mary’s response at the birth of Jesus.

“Mary treasured up all of these things and pondered them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19) Like Mary, we too can be full of God’s presence this Advent Season by the indwelling of his Holy Spirit. As we seek to set aside time with him, there can be in us a growing presence of the living God. In Ephesians 3:14-19, Paul writes this prayer for the church in Ephesus, and it’s really a prayer for all those who would believe in the name of Christ and receive him as Savior.

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may

dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love

that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” In Mary we find a physical picture of a spiritual reality that God longs to make our reality—to be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. To have our hearts stretched taut, full of His love, his very self. That’s our longing, that’s our prayer, as we make room for Him to come anew, filling us again by his Holy Spirit. So if you enter this Advent Season feeling somewhat empty, know this: He longs to fill you. Where you feel hollow, lonely, disappointed, weak, or small, he wants you to know there is a width and length and depth of love available to you that is so great it is beyond knowing, and yet he wants you to know it. To be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Can you imagine? And this is the best part. While we, like Mary, ponder and treasure this in our hearts, he ponders and treasures us in his heart. We ponder; we treasure, and yet we are a treasure—a treasure so valuable that he was willing to enter this dark and crazy world in the most vulnerable of ways to purchase us at the very highest price. All for the love of us, of you, his treasure. This second week of Advent, ponder and treasure that truth about him, about you.

Continue to the next page for Scripture and Prayer

Scripture Monday: Malachi 3:1-4

Tuesday: Luke 1:68-79

Wednesday: Philippians 1:3-11

Thursday: Luke 3:1-6

Friday: Colossians 1:15-23

Prayer Loving God, source of my ultimate longing, you have reached out to your

people through the gift of your incarnate Son. Today in a special way I start

anew my spiritual journey toward the stable where I seek to encounter the

babe of Bethlehem. Be with me, guide me, teach me, strengthen me, and

inspire me during this journey. Draw me into closer union with you as I put

forth my best effort to prepare for the coming of Christ.

--Taken from “Advent and Christmas: Wisdom from Pope John Paul II

The Third Sunday of Advent

December 16, 2012

Advent and the Worshipper

“The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” (Luke 2:20)

It is the end of a typical working day, as they guard their flocks by night. The glory of the Lord appears, a glory so great it brings sheer terror. But with the glory comes an angelic message, a message of good news, of great joy. A Savior has been born, a Savior for all people. And at the very mention of this news, the great company of angels worships. News like this requires worship. The shepherds stand in awe, consumed by the glory of God, enveloped by the worshipping angels, stunned by this appearing. They are gloriously overwhelmed, not only that this good news has come, but because it has come to them. Living on the outskirts of town and largely overlooked by much of society, these are the chosen ones, the first to seek him, to worship him—the chosen One.

“Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about“ (Luke 2: 15). They hurry off in search of the good news, and find him lying in a manger, wrapped in cloths, just as it had been told to them. The news that began as words and worship had become flesh and blood and hope and joy. And then those that received the message become the messengers.

“When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them” (Luke 2:17).

And the outsiders become the worshippers. The overlooked become the loved, the chosen, the embraced.

“The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told” (Luke 2:20).

The ones who had no real place to belong, suddenly belong. And that is good news for each of us, for all people. There is no one who doesn’t belong to this good news. And like the shepherds, it makes us want to reach to the outskirts of our lives and find the lost, the hurting, those who feel on the outside and bring them in. If you are feeling on the outskirts this Advent season, remember that you belong. You belong to the One who chooses the outsider to be His worshipper, His messenger, His beloved recipient of good news, hope, and joy. He is seeking you out and longs to gloriously appear to you in a new way. Like the chosen shepherds, we all once stood on the outside of grace, only to be invited in. We too heard a message, and we get to become the messengers. We were the outsiders who then became the worshippers. On a dark and lonely night, good news came with a glorious appearing. In dark and lonely lives, we pray that good news will appear again. And it will. It just keeps appearing, because we worship a Savior who seeks out the outcast, the overlooked, the outsider. Just like you; just like me.

Continue to the next page for Scripture and Prayer

Scripture Monday: Zephaniah 3:14-20

Tuesday: Isaiah 12:2-6

Wednesday: Philippians 4:4-7

Thursday: Luke 3:7-18

Friday: 2 Corinthians 5:21

Prayer Stir up thy power, O Lord,and with great might come among us;and, be-

cause we are sorely hindered by our sins,let thy bountiful grace and mercy

speedily help and deliver us;through Jesus Christ our Lord,to whom, with

thee and the Holy Ghost, be honor and glory, world without end.

(1979 Book of Common Prayer)

The Fourth Sunday of Advent

December 23, 2012

Advent and the Seeker

“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem, and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?

We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him” (Matthew 2:1-2). They had traveled hundreds of miles across a desert land, most likely from Persia or southern Arabia. They set out on their journey following a single star, a new star, a star unlike any ordinary star, planet, or comet. This star was noteworthy; it caught their attention. And though we don’t know how, somehow they knew it signified a momentous event in the history of the world. It was worth seeking this star; it was worth seeking the One it represented. Within each of us there is a seeker. We were made to seek. Created in the image of a holy God, we are marked by a longing for something—Someone—greater than ourselves. We long for what is right, holy, worthy, and good. Living in a dark and desolate world, we long for the Light of the World. And this longing causes us to seek. It is the primary longing of our lives. Like the Magi who followed a light, we are also on a quest to find the Light, the One worthy of our very lives. We may be in different places on our journey. Some of us are just starting out. Like the Magi, we have heard of this King, and so we ask questions. We seek answers; we explore who He is. We begin a journey to find Him and His significance in our lives. Others of us have already found Him, and yet we continue to seek Him, because He is a mystery to be discovered again and again. We don’t know Him fully, though we are fully known. And so we keep seeking; we keep searching; we keep growing in the love and knowledge of Him. Through times of rejoicing and seasons of suffering, we search for Him and His will in the midst of our day-to-day lives. Throughout the Bible, we find encouragement to do this very seeking, to live true to the seeker inside each one of us…

“Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always” (Psalm 105:4).

“Blessed are they who keep his statutes, and seek him with all their heart” (Psalm 119:2).

“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near” (Isaiah 55:6). And later in the book of Matthew, the very same book that tells the story of the seeking wise men, the King whom they sought says this of the Father:

“…Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness…” (Matthew 6:33).

And this…

“Ask and it will be given you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8).

So, if you are seeking this Advent season, you are on the right path. If you are seeking answers to questions about this King, this Savior, you are doing the very thing that you were created to do—to seek. Ask, Jesus says. Seek. And you will find.

And if you know this King, and yet there are parts of Him and how He works in your life that still don’t make sense, keep asking. If you feel a little lost in these weeks leading up to Christmas, keep seeking…because there is good news for seekers like you, for seekers like me. The One that we seek is a seeker himself.

In Luke 19:10, He says this:

Scripture Monday: Micah 5:2-5a

Tuesday: Psalm 80:1-7

Wednesday: Hebrews 10:5-10

Thursday: Luke 1:39-45

Friday: John 1:14-18

Prayer

Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son

Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself;

who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God,

now and for ever. Amen.

(1979 Book of Common Prayer)

“…the Son of man came to seek and to save what was lost.”

We seek Him, and yet He seeks us. We search for Him, and yet He finds us.

The wise men were on a journey, and yet they followed a mysterious star. They were finding their way, and yet they were being led. “After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed” (Matthew 2:9-10).

So, whether you are just starting on this journey with Christ, or maybe you are feeling lost along the way, remember that you are not lost to Him. He knows just where you are; He knows just where you’re headed. And as you seek Him, remember that He is seeking you. It’s the very reason He came. To seek and to save the lost. Keep seeking; He’ll find you.