SUNDAY MUSINGS

Study therefore to wean your heart
from the love of visible things,
and to attend rather to things
invisible. For the man who in-
dulges his sensual nature. sullies
his conscience and loses the grace of God.
from: Of the Imitation of Christ
by: Thomas A Kempis

I wrote myself a letter last year.
It was a letter reminding me what a downer I was for Christmas in 2008.
My letter was an attempt to have me behave differently this year.
Im glad I wrote it!!

I have learned that today is the beginning of Advent.
Im going to do something about it this year.
Advent is about lighting candles each Sabbath day until Christmas Day or Christmas Eve.
Its about remembering our Savior and His life, His mission, His purpose.
My Advent candle wreath will be simple.
I believe most Christian faiths practice this tradition with more symbolism than I will. There is supposed to be a pink candle representing joy and purple candles representing repentance and a larger white candle in the center representing Jesus Christ.
Tonight we will light the first candle.
(The Candle of Prophecy/Hope)
The first candle is sometimes called this because it symbolizes the promises the prophets delivered as messages from God; promises that foretold Christ’s birth. Others consider the candle to be a symbol of the hope we have in Christ and so it is called the Hope candle.

Next Sunday-
It the candle of the Way

The third candle is-
(The Candle of Joy)
This candle indicates that the only lasting Joy to be found in life on earth is through Christ. All other joy is fleeting and does not last.

The Fourth Candle (The Candle of Peace)
This lighting should reminds that Jesus comes to bring Peace to both the world and to people's hearts. Without Christ there is no peace in this world.

The fifth and final candle-
(The Christ Candle or Christmas Candle)
Represents Christ himself who is born to save people from their sins. It is a celebration of the fulfillment of prophecy as represented in Christ’s birth and hope in the final fulfillment when Christ comes again and Christians join him.

Im grateful to learn these things. It helps me to focus on things of importance.
Keeping Christ in Christmas. Thats for me!!