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The Meaning is in the Waiting
 For those of you who grew up in a mainline church, you know that the four weeks on the church calendar preceding Christmas is called Advent--a time of waiting. In the church my family attended when I was a boy, we ceremoniously lit another candle on the advent wreath each week, signifying our "waiting" in anticipation of the baby Jesus' arrival on Christmas Eve.
Last Christmas Ethie gave me a little book about Advent titled The Meaning is in the Waiting by Paula Gooder. In it she talks about finding meaning in the sacred act of waiting.
We Americans, with our instant soup, credit card, microwave, "pop-tart" society, aren't very good at waiting. It's not our forte. And yet, we get a lot of practice at it: we wait in lines, we wait for our check, we wait in the doctor's office.
We also wait for God. We wait for our prayers to be answered, our families to be healed, our hearts to be changed. We wait for direction or clarification. We wait for hope.
We wait. And we think it's a waste of time. Time is made to be spent, managed, saved; not wasted by waiting. But it is God's time, and there is always enough of it--more than enough. And so we are invited to wait. Just wait.
As I read the book I realized something: It is not only we who wait. God waits, too. He waits on us for our attention, for our ear, for the turning of our hearts. The prophet Isaiah says, "The Lord waits, that He may be gracious unto you."
This Christmas, I want to learn more about how to wait upon the Lord. After all, God isn't in a hurry. Time belongs to him. It is we who need to quiet our spirits....and listen....and wait.
There's much more to say about this, but it will have to "wait" until next week! For now, we lean into this sacred act of waiting during Advent.
Grace and Peace as you wait for the Christ Child,
Greg
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THIS WEEK'S HAPPENINGS
SUNDAY NIGHT, DECEMBER 9th: Fellowship of Followers
Gather at Debbie's house at 6:15 PM for study together as we look to deepen our walk with God. We finish the Jack Hayford book this week, so come prepared to discuss the last chapters. Call Debbie for directions at 623-329-5333. NOTE: No meeting on Monday night--the second Monday of the month. Women's Group will not meet this Monday in December. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11th: Grief RecoveryDon't forget, Grief Recovery participants, we meet at Greg & Jeane's house for this last session! Dinner together at 7 PM. Call Greg for directions at 602-622-1488. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~UPCOMING EVENTS
SATURDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 15: An Evening of Splendor Singles Christmas Dance
Only 1 Week Left to Purchase Your Ticket by Thursday, December 13!
The Lakes Ballroom, Peoria7 - 11 PMTickets: $20.00 per personHors d' oeuvre and Dessert bar For Info Call:Carol at 602-348-7563 or Sandy at 623-581-0499Put on your dancing shoes and come enjoy this festive occasion! Tickets can be purchased with a debit or credit card online at www.lifediscoveryministries.org~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ON-GOING MINISTRIES
 TUESDAY EVENINGS 6:30-8:00 PM
Community Church of Joy - Meet in the Church Lobby 21000 N 75th Ave, Glendale Our current 13-week DivorceCare Series has just begun on December 4th. Be sure to let your friends and family know about this dynamic video series presented by renowned experts on relationship and divorce issues. If you have recently gone through a divorce, please come. It could be the best thing you have done for yourself. Call Jerry for more info at 623-972-7651. You are welcome to join in at any time. | 
