Advent Now and 'Till He Returns

"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times." - Micah 5:2

I'm not an Old Testament scholar, but from what I understand, 400+ years transpired between the prophet Micah's prophecy -  that the awaited King, the Son of God, would be born in Bethlehem. This is just one of the many prophecies that the people of Israel were waiting upon to be answered. 

But God was faithful and He sent His Son to earth. The years leading to the time may have been dark, and filled wih questioning of his intent but The Lord fulfilled his promises. 

The beauty of Christmas is celebrating the birth of our Savior and treasuring that season of Advent - of waiting for Him. Let's not forget we are now in another stage of waiting - for His return. The world is dark and evil, but our Savior - who came to earth as both God and man- has a perfect plan for all of history. His birth was foretold and The Lord knows when he will come again. 

We can't lose hope, but must press on for His Kingdom. His Birth is cause for reflection and celebration as his period of Advent concludes. May our hearts always be in a state of Advent for his second coming. 

Christmas in the OBX

Snow on the beach is a very funny thing - actually, it's quite beautiful! While tradition is comforting, and I'm so thankful to have spent most of my Christmases at home with my family, it was really a neat experience to spend Christmas in Duck, North Carolina. We went out to the beach three different times - at sunset, to see the stars, and to see the snow!

The sunset was beautiful - not exactly the vibrant colors you might see during the summer, but beautiful pale blues, pinks, and purples. Our God is amazing with watercolors in the sky!

Nigthttime was equally magnificent. Earlier in the evening we stepped out on the porch of our beach house (well, one of the four decks!) to see the stars, and they were absolutly vibrant. That was actually Christmas Eve, and I couldn't help but wonder what it must have been like on the night of our Savior's birth. What would it have been like to have been a lowly shepherd out in the field, to have an incredible host of angels visit you declare the arrival of the King? What would it have been like to have seen the awaited star of Bethlehem?

Later we walked down to the beach that night - the stars weren't as vibrant because the moon had lit up the dark sky. In fact, we could see our shadows the moon was so bright! The waves were powerful and never missed a beat. It was an awe-inspiring reminder, the the God of the universe, who created the stars and the moon - which controls the oceans - also cares for, and loves me.

On Sunday, the 26th, we were snowed in! When the blustery winds had subsided, a few of us went out to the beach to see the snow and sand mixture. It was quite a sight - incongruous yet beautiful. Although I must say, I prefer sand when the sun is out, and the thermometer is far north of 20 degrees!

The beauty of the beach brought peace to my soul. It helped me to remember the absolute audacity of Christ coming to the world he created as a human - a mortal, yet without sin. One of the lines from Hark the Herald Angels sing, especially stuck out to me during our family's makeshift church service in our beach house on Christmas Eve - "born to give us second birth!" He was born to die - to die and be raised again, so that I - you - we, can know Him as Savior and have our sins washed from us - like the pure-driven snow I witnessed on the beach.