advent is (second)coming!

i've started reading up on the advent--we're going to practice the advent traditions, or at least some of them, this holiday season. i think one of the things i hate about growing up in the SBC is the lack of a liturgy, or at least one that dates further back than the 50's. the more i read about the traditions and symbols of the advent, the more moved i am, and the more excited i get about celebrating it with our family at hope.

one of the prayers i came across reads like this:

Come, long-expected Jesus. Excite in me a wonder at the wisdom and power of Your Father and ours. Receive my prayer as part of my service of the Lord who enlists me in God's own work for justice.

Come, long-expected Jesus. Excite in me a hunger for peace: peace in the world, peace in my home, peace in myself.

Come, long-expected Jesus. Excite in me a joy responsive to the Father's joy. I seek His will so I can serve with gladness, singing and love.

Come, long-expected Jesus. Excite in me the joy and love and peace it is right to bring to the manger of my Lord. Raise in me, too, sober reverence for the God who acted there, hearty gratitude for the life begun there, and spirited resolution to serve the Father and Son.

I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, whose advent I hail. Amen.

it takes a lot of guts to pray a prayer like that and mean it...

moving from my fresh experiences in NOLA back into life in frankfort/lawrenceburg has been weird; it's really like walking into a familiar place for the first time. i'm seeing things i've never seen--needs, hearts, people. like at qdoba: i love qdoba tacos, and they fix into my diet on p90x (as i read it, anyway). so i've gone to qdoba about 3 times in the past week, and each time the same dude makes my tacos. and i find myself wanting to talk to this guy...and not just about what i want on my delicious qdoba tacos. i'm praying for him, and i'm praying that as a door opens, i can connect with him, and connect him with Christ if he's not already.

i'm also hanging out at panera a lot, even now. free wifi + republic of tea's chai = happy drew study situation. and there are regulars here, and employees, and people who don't go to hope but do go to panera.

the prayer above is a prayer about preparing my own heart for the coming of Christ. advent is the celebration of the first coming of Jesus and a look toward His second coming. it's about expectation. it's about anticipation. it's about preparing yourself for His return; it's hope, peace, love and joy. and it's about the heart before the actions...

that's one of the big truths the NOLA trip drove home for me...that all of the things this world needs start with a heart that is yielded and bowed down to Jesus...and i see that preparing for everyday situations with everyone i may encounter, including my coming savior, starts with correcting my posture.