Post Advent Reflection: Day 6 Friday, December 4 Jeremiah 1:4–10; Acts 11:19–26 When I was studying for my PhD at Baylor University, I had a professor whom I will call Dr. T. When Dr. T was convinced that a certain idea was correct, it was somewhat risky to contradict him. His students learned very quickly that if you were going to […] Gardner-Webb University | November 12, 2020
Post Advent Reflection: Day 7 Saturday, December 5 Ezekiel 36:24–28; Mark 11:27–32 Pausing was her only symptom. A mother’s keen eye noticed it. Her once active baby began taking “short breaks” while crawling, as if to catch her breath. The diagnosis was grim. The severe effects of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy left her child in heart failure. There were no choices. Fourteen–month–old […] Gardner-Webb University | November 12, 2020
Post Advent Reflection: Day 8 Sunday, December 6 Isaiah 40:1–11; 2 Peter 3:8–15a; Mark 1:1–8 Shortly after graduating from college, my best friend and I traveled to the Pacific Northwest for a four–day adventure led by a mutual friend who lived in Seattle. She knew the area well and from the moment she picked us up, we were busy exploring. […] Gardner-Webb University | November 12, 2020
Post Advent Reflection: Day 9 Monday, December 7 Psalm 27; Isaiah 26:7-15; Acts 2:37-42 Last summer, my family went to Sunset Beach for our vacation. As we were leaving from a fantastic week at the beach, my 4–year–old daughter said, “Can we just start this week over?” On the opposite end of the spectrum, does anybody feel like that about […] Gardner-Webb University | November 12, 2020
Post Advent Reflection: Day 10 Tuesday, December 8 Isaiah 4:2–6; Acts 11:1–18 As I was driving down the Bostic Sunshine Highway in my Ford pickup truck with all the windows down listening to Willie Nelson singing “It’s All Going to Pot,” I could not help but reflect on Isaiah’s description of Judah at the time of this writing. In the […] Gardner-Webb University | November 12, 2020
Post Advent Reflection: Day 11 Wednesday, December 9 Malachi 2:10-3:1; Luke 1:5-17 In a world painted by panic, politics, and a pandemic identified as COVID–19, it is safe to say that the year of 2020 will not be soon forgotten. One of the crucial steps in decreasing the spread of COVID–19 is washing your hands. This pandemic has revealed our […] Gardner-Webb University | November 12, 2020
Post Advent Reflection: Day 12 Thursday, December 10 Psalm 126; Habakkuk 2:1–5 Philippians 3:7–11 I have a friend who has three dogs and she is convinced that the Lord speaks to her through those dogs. Every time she preaches a sermon or leads a devotion, she uses them in some analogy. While I also have three dogs, I feel like the […] Gardner-Webb University | November 12, 2020
Post Advent Reflection: Day 13 Friday, December 11 Habakkuk 3:2-6; Philippians 3:12-16 Growing up, my church did not celebrate Advent. When I was young, our celebrations included rehearsals, Christmas plays, concerts, and brown bags of fruit, nuts, and hard candy. I remember the anxiety of forgetting my lines, fear of embarrassment, and thoughts of people laughing at me. During Advent ceremonies, […] Gardner-Webb University | November 12, 2020
Post Advent Reflection: Day 14 Saturday, December 12 Habakkuk 3:13–19; Matthew 21: 28–32 I don’t know what it is about being in the car, me driving, my six–year–old daughter sitting in the back, but something about this situation prompts her to ask challenging questions such as “why are people mean?” and “why does God let people get sick?” She asks […] Gardner-Webb University | November 12, 2020
Post Advent Reflection: Day 15 Sunday, December 13 Isaiah 61:1–4, 8–11; Luke 1:46b–55; John 1:6–8, 19–28 I am not someone who likes surprises. One need only look through my Netflix viewing history to find that, rather than trying something new, I return to the same, well-worn television content again and again. I enjoy the predictability of knowing where a story […] Gardner-Webb University | November 12, 2020
