Well, it's been almost a month since the completion of my Advent Project here on IJHAW, and I guess it's time to bring my "blogging vacation" to an end.

In the end, I managed to learn a lot through the Advent Project.  First of all, daily blogging can be a bit of a challenge, especially when you work full-time, try to exercise, and have to take care of those daily errands.  It really forced me to plan ahead and budget my time to be able to put together a post each day, especially during the busy holiday season.

Second, I got to do some more research about different aspects of the nativity story, like finally learning what frankincense and myrrh are.  I always enjoy learning new facts.

Third, I learned a lot about how I view Christmas and the world.  It's amazing how simply writing thoughts down can help you better formulate what's going on in your head.  It really got me thinking about the things that are important to me, as well as the kind of characteristics I'm looking for in a church as my wife and I continue our search.

I hope that some of you got something out of this exercise as well, and if not, well...at least I did!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Rejoice, for today a savior was born!

Building off yesterday's post on candles, I'd like to briefly look at the main themes behind the candles which make up the Advent Wreath.

• Hope - The coming of Jesus was the answer to all the hope that had been held in the Old Testament.  Even today, we live our lives in the hope of one day spending eternity in the Kingdom of God.
• Love - "For God so loved the world..." (John 3:16)
• Peace - Jesus is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6), who taught us to love our enemies (Luke 6:27-28).
• Joy - Elation and celebration of the coming of Christ.  The Sunday before the birth of Jesus, almost nobody knew of the coming of the Lord, but today we can get excited before the event because we have already received His gift.
• Jesus - Symbolically, towering above all else when this final candle is lit.  It reminds us that he Lord rules above all else.

For today's post, I was going to do a summary on the role of candles in the advent season from The Christian Season of Advent at the CRI / Voice Institute, but in all honestly, they probably write it better than I.

Here's the main excerpt that I was pulled to:

The Advent wreath is an increasingly popular symbol of the beginning of the Church year in many churches as well as homes. It is a circular evergreen wreath (real or artificial) with five candles, four around the wreath and one in the center. Since the wreath is symbolic and a vehicle to tell the Christmas story, there are various ways to understand the symbolism. The exact meaning given to the various aspects of the wreath is not as important as the story to which it invites us to listen, and participate.

The circle of the wreath reminds us of God Himself, His eternity and endless mercy, which has no beginning or end. The green of the wreath speaks of the hope that we have in God, the hope of newness, of renewal, of eternal life. Candles symbolize the light of God coming into the world through the birth of His son. The four outer candles represent the period of waiting during the four Sundays of Advent, which themselves symbolize the four centuries of waiting between the prophet Malachi and the birth of Christ.

The colors of the candles vary with different traditions, but there are usually three purple or blue candles, corresponding to the sanctuary colors of Advent, and one pink or rose candle. One of the purple candles is lighted the first Sunday of Advent, a Scripture is read, a short devotional or reading is given, and a prayer offered. On subsequent Sundays, previous candles are re-lighted with an additional one lighted. The pink candle is usually lighted on the third Sunday of Advent. However, different churches or traditions light the pink candle on different Sundays depending on the symbolism used (see above on Colors of Advent).  In Churches that use a Service of the Nativity, it is often lighted on the fourth Sunday of Advent, the final Sunday before Christmas.

The light of the candles itself becomes an important symbol of the season. The light reminds us that Jesus is the light of the world that comes into the darkness of our lives to bring newness, life, and hope. It also reminds us that we are called to be a light to the world as we reflect the light of God's grace to others (Isa 42:6). The progression in the lighting of the candles symbolizes the various aspects of our waiting experience. As the candles are lighted over the four week period, it also symbolizes the darkness of fear and hopelessness receding and the shadows of sin falling away as more and more light is shed into the world. The flame of each new candle reminds the worshippers that something is happening, and that more is yet to come. Finally, the light that has come into the world is plainly visible as the Christ candle is lighted at Christmas, and worshippers rejoice over the fact that the promise of long ago has been realized.

Yep, purple.

At a time of year when almost everything is red, white and green, it's almost funny to think of purple being the primary color of Advent.  It's considered to be the color of penitence, fasting, and royalty.  Interestingly, it speaks to both us and Jesus.  We should be penitent in our lives before the Lord, be willing to fast to be able to hear Him better.  And, of course, Jesus is the King of Kings; royalty above all other.

Sure, purple may not be the manliest of colors, but next time you see it, think about all that the Lord has done for us.  For without Him, we may be facing a future of black.  

Just a short entry today, because I think this story speaks for itself.

Sometimes when we try new things, and really think how they can impact people, it's amazing what can be done.

Well, today is my birthday.  Yep, I'm one of those people who has a birthday so close to Christmas, it often got overlooked by many friends and acquaintances.  "Oh, yea..." was a phrase I heard fairly often during the month of December.

As a kid, it was horrible.  When you're young, your birthday is quite possibly the most important day of the year.  It's the one day that's supposed to be dedicated to you, and on my birthday I heard more "only 5 more days until Christmas" than "Happy Birthday".

However, my family always did a fairly good job of keeping the two events separate (maybe because I was insistent that they do so).  We'd always do something special on my birthday, and most of them avoided talking about Christmas and presents for the day.

As I've grown older, my birthday has taken on less importance to me personally, and I've grown happy to have it overshadowed by the celebration of the birthday of Jesus.  I still like my family to take a little time out of their busy season for me, but I don't mind if others overlook it.  After all, it's not too big a deal to be overlooked in favor of the Son of Man.

Even with extra time, it's hard to get ahead during the holiday season.

Yesterday morning, the power went out in the office where I work.  In fact, the whole office complex lost power.  After waiting a few hours and finding that the power wouldn't be restored until sometime in the evening, we went ahead and took off with an unexpected half-day.

I decided to take the time to try and wrap up my holiday shopping, needing to pick up a gift that was on hold for my brother, before I took my car in for some winterizing.  It ended up taking more time than expected to get the gift, and then I was stuck waiting while my car was getting serviced for two hours.

Then I picked up my wife, who had been out wrapping up her shopping with my sister, and went home.  Ah, but we weren't done yet.  I still had to make a tray of cookies for my wife to take to work with her today, and then a big box to drop off at my dad's for him and my brothers coming into town.

By the time I got that done, it was already 11pm, and I was dragging after several late nights and long days.

However, I am thankful for those few extra hours.  Otherwise, who knows when I would have gotten to bed!

But even as I write this, I begin to realize how easy it is to get busy with all the things going on this season that don't have much to do with Jesus.  It's easy to lose focus among all the hubbub, and it's at these times when we have to take time to think about why we are celebrating the season.

After all, it's not about all the decorations, food, and gifts, but about celebrating the fact that the Lord came down to earth to redeem us through His mercy and grace.

Every year, the Christmas season is a busy one for traveling.  It's the one time of the year when almost everyone is getting together with loved ones to share in the celebration.  Fortunately, my wife and I won't need to travel this year, but we do have several family members coming into town.

However, with all the traveling, it can throw some kinks into the daily workings of the church.  The last few years, when I was the worship leader at our church, I was unable to help with the Christmas Eve/Christmas services because I was out of town.  In some settings, that might not be a big deal, but in our small church that essentially meant that I had to pass the musical responsibilities on to our pastor and his wife.  Fortunately, they enjoyed doing that, so it wasn't too big a deal.

So, sometimes it's this time of year that we have to make some choices between family and church obligations, because we can't be everywhere at once.  Hopefully you don't have any particularly tricky choices to make yourself this year!

As I'm sure you've seen from my posts the last week or so, the nativity story is very symbolic.  From the Magi, to the gifts they brought, to the shepherds who found their way to the manger as well. 

The shepherds are the dichotomy of the Magi, they are the poor and uneducated.  Yet the Lord has come to absolve their sins as well.

He does not see them as lesser because of their worldly "inadequacies".  He does not hold the Magi in esteem because of their wealth and knowledge.  In fact, He does not care about many of the differences which we magnify when looking at each other in this world.  He sees us all as imperfect beings, in need of his saving grace.

And that may be one of the hardest lessons when it comes to following Christ, and one which I and many others struggle with every day.