Advent

Sunday kicked off the advent season. We, the Noonan's, have found a fun, helpful, and yet simple Advent devotional. It's called, A Jesus Advent Celebration ... every day unwraps more of his love. We were able to download it for free from http://www.aholyexperience.com/. If you are looking for something to do with your family this Advent season, you may want to take a look at this material. Here is a sample from the first day...

Today’s Reading: Isaiah 11:1-2 (NIV)

1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of might,
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD

One bite of a fruit right there in the Garden and our tree of life fell.

Our hopes all crashed to the earth and the whole planet groaned and we’ve lived our whole
lives like stumps. Cut off from God.

And then out of our fallenness, out of our cut-down tree, springs this singular fragile shoot.
It’s the only hope we’ve got.

Out of a family line of obscurity, poverty and small account, comes a King. God is in the
business of clothing the neglected and unexpected in royal robes.

And out of the last and forgotten son of Jesse, comes forth one tender branch that will grow
into a crown of thorns… a rugged cross…. our ladder back to God. Jesus will go to
impossible lengths to rescue us.

It’s out of the stump of that fallen tree, watered with the living waters that flow from His
grace, that a twig sprouts that will be the sceptre that defeats sin… and lets us grow again.

Today we begin Advent. Today we begin the season of waiting… yearning. Today we can
feel it coming already – this new life stirring.


Lord God, let there come forth out of this fallen tree New Life, and cause me to see it
today – new growth in people all around me, even in the dead of winter.