O Come O Come Emmanuel

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.

Guys, it's officially the Christmas season!  Yes, I am one of those people that dislikes jumping the gun and skipping over Thanksgiving.  Actually, this year, Target definitely had Christmas and Halloween stuff out at the same time.  But that is another soapbox altogether.

Anyways, today was the first Sunday of Advent.  This is one of my absolute favorite parts of the Christmas season - lighting candles, advent readings, and Christmas carols all intertwined into the worship service.  There is just something about the atmosphere that changes during the Christmas season, and it is so comforting, joyous, and b e a u t i f u l.  I don't normally blog about the sermons I hear at church on Sundays, but I thought today's was especially pertinent.  Today, we looked at waiting and what it means to wait well.  We are all waiting for something: the pay raise we've long anticipated, the perfect guy or girl to marry, the job that will change our careers, the college acceptance letter, the leadership position we've always wanted, etc.  For Zechariah and Elizabeth (Luke 1:5-25), they had been waiting for a child.  So this morning, we looked at how this couple's prayers were answered in a way that they never expected.  And as we move into Advent, and the celebration of the long-awaited Messiah, I think about how long and desperately the people of Israel waited for a Savior.  As someone who has very recently been struggling with waiting, and what true patience looks like, I felt so encouraged.  I can only see a piece of God's grand picture, but I am called to be an active participant in his redemptive work.  This means, while I may continue to prayerfully wait for _______, I am also living my life, and pursuing God's purpose for my life.  My waiting cannot completely debilitate me.

Come thou  long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free; from our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in thee.  Israel's strength and consolation, hope of all the earth thou art; dear desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart.

The Christmas season also means that I've been rediscovering songs that I love but only allow myself to listen to once a year.  I hope to share some of these over the next weeks with you all.  This one was my absolute favorite Christmas song (that's not a carol) as a child.  My sister and I would want to listen to this CD on repeat every Christmas season: