Ours Is A Story Of Hope
As the lights went down in our See Hear Love studio and last hugs were exchanged with one another, I felt it.
I had felt it from the moment the first tear landed on my cheek as we sung traditional carols around the table with familiar faces. With each passing episode being taped, we were overwhelmed with a beautiful sense of awe & wonder. The presence of God was rich as it became evident how special our Advent & Christmas shows would be. Our assignment for this season was clear…we are on a HOPE mission. 🙂
The holiday season has always been a bittersweet mix of emotions for so many; a time filled with deep joy & sadness. The stats for depression & suicide rates are devastatingly higher this time of year as so many struggle with loss and overwhelming loneliness. For many others, joy is confused for consumerism as minds are filled with shopping, santa, parties….and more shopping. Even I’ll admit, that if I’m not careful, I can get caught up in the tinsel filled hurricane that is ‘Xmas’,lol. Thankfully, we’re not talking about ‘Xmas’, we’re talking about Christmas -and there is so much more to Christmas than what’s under the tree!
Celebrating Advent is a wonderful way to step away from the ‘ho,ho,ho’ into the holiness of Christmas. It’s beauty lies in the building anticipation of our coming Hope which is Jesus Christ. Advent means ‘coming’. Just as the Old Testament believers anticipated the first coming of the Messiah, we, the New Testament church, anticipate His second coming.
The bible says that when the angels left the shepherds, “they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger” (Luke 2:16). Just like them, we’ve also received the good news of His second coming with great joy! Celebrating Advent season means taking intentional time to prepare our hearts to adore our Savior. “Oh Come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!” (Psalm 95:6)
I’m so excited to share with you all that, thanks to Melinda & the team, this is my very time I’m celebrating Advent!! <3
I’ve spent most of my Christian life in a pentecostal church that didn’t walk through the 4-week advent calendar (I’m sure I’m not alone in that). I knew that day in the studio, that I had stumbled onto something so incredibly powerful. You see, something extraordinary happens when you dedicate the first Sunday of December through to Christmas eve to being intentional with your focus…You become more Christ centered than Christmas centered!
My prayer is that you would invite your family, girlfriends & loved ones to join us on this meaningful journey as we focus on Hope, Joy, Peace & Love. We need so much more of it these days, don’t we? We want you to know that there is Hope, in the midst of your darkest situation. That Hope is Jesus, the light of the world that is ever shining around us! Our story is not one of brokeness, sorrow or defeat…OURS IS A STORY OF HOPE!
As it’s written in Isaiah 40:1-5: “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins. 3 A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD ; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. 5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
Ours is a story of hope: Hope in the One who is coming, Hope for a better world, Hope for those who are broken & lost & a hope that we would never lose sight of the real meaning of Christmas.
From All of Us to All of You…We wish you a Blessed & Joyous Advent Season!