The Thanksgiving holiday is complete. Thanksgiving, however, should be in our hearts forever. Today marks the beginning of Advent, and those who have read my entries over the years are aware that this season is hard for me. I don’t enjoy Christmas. I don’t desire the hype, the stress, and the financial turmoil it brings. I am purposed to enjoy Christmas this year, not for the commercialism and hype of the season, but to know Christ more deeply. As I anticipate Christmas Day and celebrate the advent of Jesus Christ, I want to seek Him every day and hope to know Him in a new and fresh way. I desire to be thankful, not just at Thanksgiving, but the whole year through. I need to cultivate a thankful heart; to create a theology of thanksgiving. Thankfulness does not just appear in our hearts willy-nilly; we must cultivate it, practice it. Devoting myself to prayer, reading the Word, and engaging in the liturgy of the seasons of the church are a few ways to prepare a thankful heart. 
Thankfulness does not always come
easy in the face of hurt, loss, and disappointment. The pain screams and drowns
any hope of joy, yet we have a journey to a manger to break any threat of
darkness. God is so faithful; if you can think of nothing to be thankful for,
remember that Jesus came to a lowly manager into the fallen, dark world and was
beaten and bruised to redeem us because His love was too great to leave us in
the dark in sin. If He does nothing else for me—I am forever awed at His mercy
and grace. Thanksgiving may be over, but our thanksgiving to Him should not
rest. Advent is the arrival of the Light of the World to give us light on our
path and to break through the darkness in our lives. Seek the Holy Child every
day. Cultivate thanksgiving, find joy, feel His peace, and keep your eyes on
Jesus—For He is why we celebrate.
When we truly prepare for the coming of Christ, He fills us
with Hope (the first candle of Advent); the Hope that He
came once, the Hope that He will come again. The Messiah was the Hope
of Israel, and He silently crept into our chronos in the quiet of the night, in
the humble surroundings of a stable, to humble Jewish parents. The only
audience for His coronation—cows, sheep, donkeys, a few frightened shepherds,
and a glorious choir of God’s angelic host. He left the presence of the Father to
dwell among us—Immanuel. The first Advent has come, fulfilling all that
the Old Covenant promised. Prepare for His second Advent and be ready.
Today begins the Advent season, celebrating that fulfilled
promise, with the lighting of the first candle—the ‘hope’ or ‘prophecy’ candle.
We hope in His coming, the promise that dripped like honey off the lips of our
Savior, of His return. He came once; He shall come again.
It is good to give thanks to the Lord and to sing praises
to Your name, O Most High; To declare your lovingkindness in the morning and
Your faithfulness by night. Psalm 92:1-2
Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with
gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the Lord Himself
is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His
people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His
courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the Lord is
good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all
generations. Psalm 100
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