Learning the meaning of Advent...

Although it may feel like 11 degrees outside right now, our home is warm and cozy. I'm so grateful that the snow is still falling and that I can enjoy the beauty from inside! This morning, as I curled up on the couch to read I was overcome with peace and joy as I indulged in the Advent study I got yesterday.

Since last Sunday, my heart has been longing to know more the Lord during this season. I didn't want this holiday season to just pass by, again, with little thought or mention of God's goodness through the birth of His Son, Jesus.

I picked up the book "Immanuel, Praying the Names of God through the Christmas season", by Ann Spangler. It's a six week study, each week focusing on a different name. This week is Lord. In Hebrew it is Yahweh and in Greek it is Kyrios. In the study, you read selected scripture that goes more in depth with the particular Name you're studying and answer a few questions regarding the scripture you read. Then, for three days, there are devotions and reflections to continue studying the Name and scripture of the week.

So far, it has been fantastic. While I've only done two days, I feel so blessed to be learning more of the Lord through His Names. I would love to share with you a few things written in the book that blessed my heart...

" Yahweh. The name couldn't have clarified things. It may have sounded odd at first, like a name you warm to over time...To the Egyptians the name Yahweh would have been a terror - a name to forget because it conjured plagues, darkness, defeat and death. But to Moses and the Israelites Yahweh would forever mean deliverance, freedom, promise and peace. God's people could not invoke His name without remembering what it was like to walk through the parted waters of the Red Sea, to gather manna in the desert, to receive the commandments on Sinai.

The amazing events of Exodus defined who Yahweh was in extraordinary detail. Yahweh - Israel's faithful, wonder-working God, the One who out of pity and love reached into human history to untie the bonds of an enslaved people - that was the name by which this God wanted to be forever known."

I'm so grateful that the God of Moses, the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob is my God. He is the same, always! During this Advent season, let's take time to remember this incredible God. Let's remember Him by praise and thanks as we recall His deliverance and peace. Remember how He freed you from the bondage of sin and death and how He promises to be with you always.

I'm overwhelmed with joy today as I have met with the Lord and walked away a very thankful, humbled servant of Yahweh.