Advent is Coming – Will You Join Me?

Tom and I are finally done with our travels.  It is good to be back in Seattle and getting my clock and my life turned around after our hectic Fall schedule.

I came back to beautiful orchids in bloom which certainly lifted my spirits when I considered the mountain of work that awaits me…. and it is almost Advent.

During Advent which begins November 29th, I plan to host a blog series entitled What Are We Waiting for This Advent Season? and I would love to have some of you contribute to this series.

Advent is the season when we await the coming of the Christ Child.  But what does that mean?  Christmas and the coming of Christ mean different things to different people.

For some the season of Advent is the anticipation of the coming of a Saviour who brings personal salvation for those who choose to follow him.  For others it is the anticipation of a Saviour who will redeem all creation with love and righteousness.  For others this season is the anticipation of the coming of a God who brings justice for the poor and freedom for the oppressed.  For others it is the anticipation of judgement for the oppressors.  For still others it is the remembrance of a child whose birth two thousand years ago radically refocused our world.

What are you waiting for this Advent season? I would love to hear and I know that many others would be interested too.  You may wish to contribute written reflections, photos, poetry or even music.  My plan is to list the readings from the daily lectionary each morning and post the contributions that have come in each day.  I am hoping that these contributions will reflect a variety of viewpoints and encourage all of us to think more deeply about the birth of Christ and what it means to those who follow him.

If you are interested in participating in this blog series let me know.  Leave a comment on this blog post or send me an email at seasickdoctor@gmail.com .  I will send out instructions at the beginning of next week.
I am really excited about this series.  The last series I hosted over the summer What is a Spiritual Practice was highly successful and many people told me how helpful they found it to reflect on how they encountered and interacted with God.  I am hopeful that this Advent series will help us to take our focus away from the distractions of our consumer driven lifestyles and really enable us to enter into the contemplation of the coming of our Saviour whose life and love created our world and still fill our world.