Love

This past Sunday was the fourth Sunday of Advent.  In our church service, the candle of love was lit.  The speaker read,

“Today we have the privilege of being able to look back to the birth of Jesus.  We no longer wait for the coming of the Messiah but we look back to His birth, His ministry, His death and resurrection.  We live in this in-between time as those who have been saved by Christ, who are being transformed by Him day-by-day and are longing for His promised return.”

"O come, Thou Key of David, come

And open wide our heav'nly home ;

Make safe the way that leads on high,

And close the path to misery.

Rejoice ! Rejoice ! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel."

Joy

"Rejoice in the Lord always"!

This third Sunday of Advent is all about the joy in expecting.  Jesus came for love of the world and he will come again!  With just about two weeks till Christmas there are reminders everywhere of the joyful atmosphere.

"O come, Thou Dayspring, from on high,

And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice ! Rejoice ! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel."

Hope

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free

Thine own from Satan's tyranny ;

From depths of hell Thy people save,

And give them victory o'er the grave.

Rejoice ! Rejoice ! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

Anticipation

This Christmas season I am going to post a short entry on Advent in the 4 Sundays leading up to Christmas.

This is a running blog, sure, (and there will be plenty of future run-related posts) but I'd like to take the time, in the spirit of the season, to post about something even more important to me than running.

Advent is a season of watching and awaiting the coming of Jesus Christ. At Christmas we celebrate that first coming in human form to make a way for all people to be with God and now presently we await the second coming when Christ will come to gather up all who are his.

"O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice ! Rejoice ! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel."

The candle of anticipation is lit on this day to signify the waiting and watching.

I have been thinking about becoming a morning runner for a while now.  I decided to make my move this month.   

There is one small detail that has been standing in my way...I am probably the opposite of a morning person.  I find the transition from sleep to activity extremely challenging and not to mention I'm super uncoordinated when groggy.  My body becomes its own tripping hazard.