Advent Devotions
All are invited as we Make Room this Advent season.
Support through hard times
Today’s author is Prince of Peace member Deb Cordes.
It’s been a tough year for me. 6 deaths. Each one felt harder to cope with. My prayers became “dear Lord, please no more” and “I can’t take anymore”. Yet, there were. Sorrow is not something I show to others. In our family, it’s assumed you just carry on. Crying is for a private space. It was hard to move forward. I can say this now but not then.
Through this time my community – my family, business colleagues and Prince of Peace stayed with me. Silently supporting. Quietly asking how things were and being OK with short non-answers. The community provided love, encouragement, and companionship when most needed – even if people didn’t know that’s what they were doing.
God’s love exists in those who wrote, walked, spoke, and just cared. There are no words to fully express how grateful I am. You provided assurance of God’s unfailing love and comfort in the hardest times.
My prayer today: May each of us understand that we are the expression of God’s love in a world of chaos, hurt, and sorrow. May our hearts be open to simply walking with others just where they are. God help us to be empathic and open. Thank you for loving us just as we are.
Previously…
Dry Bones
Today's author is Prince of Peace’s Intentional Interim Pastor, Steve Sylvester. Text: Ezekiel 37:1-14 “Prophesy to these bones…” In Ezekiel’s dry bones story, four times God tells the prophet to prophesy, to speak to the bones. And it’s not just that the prophet...
Hope and Trust
Today's author is Prince of Peace member Carol Swanson After my dad retired, he took up cross stitching as a hobby. While on a visit with Dad, he was flipping through a cross-stitch catalogue. He showed me this quote from Thomas Merton and asked me what I thought of...
Faith, Hope and God’s Enduring Love
Today's author is Prince of Peace member Carol Swanson …and he is namedWonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6b) Maybe you are like me. When I hear or read Isaiah 9 and it gets to the part about a child born, a son given, my...
gather Devotional
Gather, the magazine of Women of the ELCA, offers a mix of articles, theological reflections, devotions and stories of comfort and challenge that help readers grow in faith and engage in ministry and action. If you are looking for an Advent devotional, gather has one...