Beyond the Garden Gate

This week we light the final candle of our Advent wreath- the candle of PEACE The words Peace and Christmas seem like an Oxymoron, because even since the 1st Christmas was anything but peaceful, it was chaotic and messy. If you think about it Mary's world got turned upside down, and Joseph got thrown into a world-wind, then they had to travel to Bethlehem with Mary being pregnant on a donkey, only to get there and have no place to stay, and give birth in a dirty barn with no other place to lay the baby than on a manger filled with hay.  And in our present day version of Christmas is also filled with peace challenging moments like crazy drivers, filled parking lots, long lines at the stores, packed schedules, family gets little too close for comfort and dynamics get tense, money get tight and debt grows, sweet kids become ungrateful... In other words we get too frazzled and too distracted to remember WHAT this Holiday is all about and WHO we are actually celebrating. But Ma

This week as we light the 3rd candle (pink) on our Advent Wreaths we get to ponder on Joy. Sometimes life can feel like a battle for joy because well life is hard and to be honest joy is not our natural reaction to the stresses we encounter in our every day to day. We are incredibly tempted to look for joy in the external like the celebrations, traditions, gifts and things rather than on God. And when we do this we fall victims to comparison and discontent takes over our hearts sending us into a dark spiral where we end up feeling void and blah, and it is incredibly hard to come out of, I am sure you know if you've ever been there like me. But the secret of joy is that it is a matter of focus, lets focus on Jesus, and not of worldly things. We are the gatekeepers of our heart, our minds, and our lives. So as we light this third candle let it burn away all that weighs us down, things that in the grand scheme of things don't really matter, worries, insecurities, and focus on all

This week we light the second purple candle in our wreaths representing: Faith As we enjoy all the Christmassy things like decorated trees, lights, cookies, and songs we prepare for the most important birthday of all         THE BIRTHDAY OF LOVE The day that God became man because He loved us. "In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we may live through Him" 1John 4:9 While in Christmas we celebrate the birth of Jesus we must remind ourselves to not only focus on the tiny baby in the manager but keep the cross in our minds, because that is where the greatest act of love happened. That baby came for a specific, dark, and also beautiful reason. He was born to die. He came to live a perfect sinless life and die for those who live an imperfect and sinful life. God loves us so much that He chose to become one of us. An innocent needy baby dependent on those He created in order to care for H

The 1st week of Advent we light a purple candle representing:  Christ is the light of the world and gift of Hope! We live in a time were we find ourselves searching for HOPE in our lives. Some of us look for it in money and the thought that having a bigger house, nicer car, fatter bank account, high end purses or lable clothes, amongst other things will give us the hope, peace, and stability we seek. Others look for it in polititians with their promises of a better life, while others find themselves looking for it in relationships, food, social media, shopping, or drugs to fill the void and emptiness that only God can fill.  What we fail to realize is that hope was born from a virgin tired from a long journey riding a donkey at 9 months pregnat, in a major surrounded by animals because they couldn't find a room, wrapped in clothes and laying on a bed of hay. That 1st Christmas thousands of years ago teaches us that hope came to our world even though it was not perfect and things do

hello everyone, I know, a few weeks ago when I wrote I was taking a break from social media for the holidays I said I would keep the blog going but what I did not expect was the rush of emotions that would come at me as the Christmas season started. Some of you know by now that we had a baby born into heaven earlier this year and even though the first few weeks and months were hard I thought I was over the big emotions but with the Christmas season approaching, baby showers and pregnant friends the wave of grief has washed over me leaving me in a numb and less than joyful state.  So this year I am embracing this time and feelings to bring me closer to God and experience the Advent season with journaling and prayer. I thought it would be fun to share what I have written down in my journal each week as I light each candle of our wreath to inspire you to prepare your heart as well for the reason we celebrate this season. I do a reading and reflection each day in my journal but I won't