when we call for Him...

it always starts with a call for Him,

a crying out for Emmanuel to come and save, to draw near...

and as i stood in the back row in a crowded sanctuary this evening, i couldn't hold back the tears.  my own cry for His presence to come close.


o come, o come Emmanuel...


and He has, but do i always see it?  do i always recognize it?


my feet pass over a rectangular mat in the early hours this morning, the timing and pain seemed such that it was time to head to the hospital.  my bag was packed, his was too, the friends tag-teaming so that my 3 would be taken care of until they could see the face of their littlest sister...
i passed over it and i forgot.

i forgot what it said...

right outside my front door is the reminder that i hold in my life the Good News and it is filled with Great Joy...for all who take it in...

i forgot because i was scared of what lay ahead.


and i think of those moments when i forget that He has already made a way to draw near to Him, to allow my life to live out His Good News and it's right there, plain as day, right in front of my nose.  change my posture, change my view and i see it...I see Him.


they send us home after a couple of hours - everything slowing down and nothing progressing. and yes, i still have a week or so before she's due, but this carrying, this stretching and growing...it has been different...harder...and i wonder when i will finally see her face.

this was the year i wanted to start traditions, to grab hold of Him in the middle of the craziness of this season...i want to not just give Him lip service, but to actually see Jesus and so we begin to enter into the practice of advent...

i need His Light in my dark...


week after week we light each candle,

day after day we turn each page,

and we see Him a bit clearer,

we know Him a bit deeper,

and Who He is becomes so much dearer...

and it's right there, on december 22...before that last advent candle is lit, the reminder that He chose us...in the middle of all our sin and all our dark, we are chosen, appointed...His.

and i can do this,

you can do this,

whatever He has asked you and i to do...we can, because we are His.


and this evening, in the back of a crowded sanctuary, the Christ Candle was lit.

the center one,

the pure white one,

and one by one, the dark space around me became aflame because of that one solitary flicker.


i held in my hand a burning wick and all i could think of was Him...


and that ancient call, the one that sings out a plea for His presence,  He answered it.

Very God, Creator of the vast universe and the minute cell...He entered into the dark...

and when we draw near, when we bow in wonder at His Holiness and mercy, our own hearts ignite within us.

and it spreads...

sets those around us on fire...

i was given the beautiful door mat and table top devotional from Dayspring for the purpose of this review...

and as my pregnant brain and clumsy fingers would have it, i've accidently pushed some button that isn't allowing me to embed links to these products...so, please click on these links below to see these and other decorations that celebrate the beauty of Jesus this season...

table top devotional:

http://www.dayspring.com/themed_collections/redeemed/redeemed_christmas/redeemed_christmas_the_heart_of_jesus_advent_tabletop_devotional/?F_All=Y

Good News door mat:

http://www.dayspring.com/themed_collections/redeemed/redeemed_christmas/redeemed_christmas_good_news_doormat/