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Pause + Breathe:: DOWNLOAD the Advent calendar + devotional journaling guide.
Meditation:: Joy
Ponder:: Joy is no fickle thing. If hope is the act of continuing in life in the face of suffering, then joy is the act of rising up and making something of life, together, in community, in the face of that suffering. Mary (Miriam) is the epitome of rising up and making something of life, together, in community, in the face of suffering.
Prayer for Joy in our Homes
May this be a House of Joy.
May we be open here to dreams,
and to each other.
May all who enter in these magic walls
feel love and feel respect
for learning and each other.
May we be always friends to life.
May we walk in that friendship.
May learning live in this house.
May it never leave.
Read + Ruminate:: Read Luke chapters 1 and 2; Matthew chapters 1 and 2 - Joy in the Story of Mary's Presence
Artwork: Madonna, by Sue Ellen Parkins
Listen:: The Magnificat - Song of Mary
“My soul magnifies the Lord
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors.”
Songs::
This Joy I Have, Shirley Caesar
Joy, Georgia Mass Choir
artwork by Ija Charles - Black Boy Joy
"This joy that we have, the world didn’t give it to us. The world didn’t give it, the world cannot take it away." - sung by Shirley Caesar
Until next time,
Scribble. Speak. From your soul.
Links for further discovery
Visit the Advent series page. Next, we will open another Advent door... Love
LEAVE A COMMENT: Where have you recently jumped for joy within your being?
