Advent - day 8

Dec. 8 Luke 1:26-38

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy,  the angel Gabriel  was sent by God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, a descendant of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. The angel  came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled by his words and began to wonder about the meaning of this greeting. So  the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God!  Listen:  You will become pregnant and give birth to  a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father   David. He  will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end.” Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I have not had sexual relations with a man?”  The angel replied,  “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow  you. Therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called the Son of God. “And look,  your relative   Elizabeth has also become pregnant with   a son in her old age – although she was called barren, she is now in her sixth month! For nothing will be impossible with God.” So  Mary said, “Yes, I am a servant  of the Lord; let this happen to me according to your word.” Then  the angel departed from her.

Activities: Deliver brownies; light candles;

Prayer focus: Missionaries;

Advent - day 7

Dec. 7 Luke 1: 18-25

Zechariah  said to the angel, “How can I be sure of this?  For I am an old man, and my wife is old as well.” The  angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, who stands  in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring  you this good news. And now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time,  you will be silent, unable to speak,  until the day these things take place.” 

Now  the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they began to wonder why he was delayed in the holy place. When he came out, he was not able to speak to them. They realized that he had seen a vision  in the holy place, because  he was making signs to them and remained unable to speak.  When his time of service was over,  he went to his home. After some time  his wife Elizabeth became pregnant, and for five months she kept herself in seclusion. She said, “This is what  the Lord has done for me at the time  when he has been gracious to me, to take away my disgrace among people.”

Activities for today: Baking, Angel craft

Prayer focus: Students with upcoming finals

Advent - day 6

Dec. 6 Luke 1: 11-17

An angel of the Lord, standing on the right side of the altar of incense, appeared to him. And Zechariah, visibly shaken when he saw the angel, was seized with fear. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son; you will name him John. Joy and gladness will come  to you, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of  the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. He will turn  many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go as forerunner before the Lord  in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him.”

Activities today: Celebrating Mollie's 2nd birthday;

Prayer focus: The persecuted church

Advent - day 4 and 5

Dec. 4 Jeremiah 33: 14-16

“I, the Lord, affirm  ‘The time will certainly come when I will fulfill my gracious promise concerning the nations of Israel and Judah In those days and at that time I will raise up for them a righteous descendant of David. “‘He will do what is just and right in the land. Under his rule Judah will enjoy safety and Jerusalem will live in security. At that time Jerusalem will be called “The Lord has provided us with justice.” For I, the Lord, promise: “David will never lack a successor to occupy  the throne over the nation of Israel.

Dec. 5 Luke 1: 5-10

During the reign of Herod king of Judea, there lived a priest named Zechariah who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah and he had a wife named Elizabeth, who was a descendant of Aaron. They were both righteous in the sight of God, following all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly. But they did not have a child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both very old. Now while Zechariah was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the holy place of the Lord and burn incense. Now the whole crowd of people were praying outside at the hour of the incense offering.

Activities: Party for Mollie (2); drive around and look at Christmas lights;

Prayer focus: Reaching the lost; 

Advent - Day 3

Dec. 3 Isaiah 11: 1-10

A shoot will grow out of Jesse’s root stock,

a bud will sprout from his roots.

The Lord’s spirit will rest on him –

a spirit that gives extraordinary wisdom,

a spirit that provides the ability to execute plans,

a spirit that produces absolute loyalty to the Lord.

He will take delight in obeying the Lord.

He will not judge by mere appearances,

or make decisions on the basis of hearsay. 

He will treat the poor fairly

and make right decisions for the downtrodden of the earth.

He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,

and order the wicked to be executed. 

Justice will be like a belt around his waist,

integrity will be like a belt around his hips.

A wolf will reside with a lamb,

and a leopard will lie down with a young goat;

an ox and a young lion will graze together,

as a small child leads them along. 

A cow and a bear will graze together,

their young will lie down together.

A lion, like an ox, will eat straw. 

A baby will play

over the hole of a snake;

over the nest of a serpent

an infant will put his hand.

They will no longer injure or destroy

on my entire royal mountain.

For there will be universal submission to the Lord’s sovereignty,

just as the waters completely cover the sea.

Israel is Reclaimed and Reunited

At that time a root from Jesse will stand like a signal flag for the nations. Nations will look to him for guidance, and his residence will be majestic.

Activities for today: eat breakfast out; finish shopping for Mollie's party; Dance to Christmas music;

Prayer focus: Eli's continued recovery; the pregnant women that I know;

Advent - day 2

Dec. 2 Isaiah 9: 2-7

The people walking in darkness

see a bright light; 

light shines on those who live in a land of deep darkness.

You have enlarged the nation;

you give them great joy.

They rejoice in your presence

as harvesters rejoice;

as warriors celebrate when they divide up the plunder.

For their oppressive yoke

and the club that strikes their shoulders,

the cudgel the oppressor uses on them,

you have shattered, as in the day of Midian’s defeat. 

Indeed every boot that marches and shakes the earth

and every garment dragged through blood

is used as fuel for the fire.

For a child has been born to us,

a son has been given to us.

He shoulders responsibility

and is called:

Extraordinary Strategist

Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, 

Prince of Peace.

His dominion will be vast

and he will bring immeasurable prosperity.

He will rule on David’s throne

and over David’s kingdom

establishing it and strengthening it

by promoting justice and fairness,

from this time forward and forevermore.

The Lord’s intense devotion to his people will accomplish this.

Activities for today: Read Christmas books with girls; make paper gingerbread ornaments;

Prayer focus: Eli's quick recovery following a successful surgery: Ms. Rhonda and her family;

Advent - day 1

Dec. 1 John 1: 1-5

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was fully God. The Word was with God in the beginning. All things were created by him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. In him was life  and the life was the light of mankind. And the light shines on in the darkness, but the darkness has not mastered it.

 Activities of the day: head to the mall to let the girls look at the Christmas decorations; fill the Advent calendar and let Mollie open door #1; begin ABC advent book tonight;

Prayer focus of the day: Baby Eli is having surgery to remove a lobe of his lung-praying for the surgery, his recovery and for his parents.

*note: If you read this blog on the day it was posted, I copy/pasted 1John 1:1-5, now the text is John 1:1-5 sorry for the editing error (it may happen again :)) Blessings ~ Jessica