Please select a line from Howard Thurman's reflection, "The Sacrament of Christmas." I make an act of faith toward all mankind, Where doubts would linger in suspicions brood. I make an act of joy toward all sad hearts, Where laughter pales in tears abound. I make an act of strength toward feeble things, Where life grows dim and death draws near. I make an act of trust toward all of life, Where fears preside and distrusts keep watch. I make an act of love toward friend and foe, Where trust is weak and hate burns bright. I make a deed to God of all my days— And look out on life with quiet eyes. Which line encourage you the most during this Christmas Season?

Pam, your sacrament of Christmas, the love you use to help others, will make the Baby Jesus real.

Vanessa, you made yourself a sacrament of love towards your foe. This sacrament of Christmas perhaps did more for you than you can imagine. There is an inner word of affirmation, God anointed you in advance. Praise the Lord.

Deacon, I really like the aspect of laying your hand on the participant's shoulder. A sign of God creating us into his image, almost like the Potter in the book of Jeremiah. Yes, God loves us all. Great words of affirmation, Deacon.

On our zoom call last night, we discussed the Season of Affirmation. I was reminded this morning by one of your classmates of the difficulty of affirming a friend, family member or maybe a stranger. We talked about how Jesus never assumed even though he knew what each individual needs in life. Often the scriptures show Jesus asking what do you want, or need? Jesus would meet their needs, and then affirm them, your faith has made you whole. I hope you will reach out to at least one person (I know I said three people), regardless of the challenges and affirm them in their faith walk. We must, "Strengthen the hands that are feeble, make firm the knees that are weak," they need to hear affirming words. There is healing in affirmation.

Pam, I wished I had saw this post before our zoom meeting last night. Your thoughts are worthy of a conversation, "Extend that line for as many times as you have. Do you want to be achieving, or do you want to be miserable! You decide. You know, it takes a whole lot of discipline to 'turn the other cheek'. Life is real!!" Extend the line until you reach harmony. Jesus continues to extend the line for us in our relationship. We must do the same for each other.

Pam, you must be a wise soul. My grandmother often said to me that I should live a life that people would want to remember. I agree with you that we must remember our purpose in life is to serve God and others. The five "R's" can bring us a bountiful harvest for our brothers and sisters.

Thank you, Deacon Hosea, for reminding us of the truth that the Holy Spirit is always waiting to assist us on our journey. I also like the idea of the Holy Spirit helping us through the seven gifts you mentioned. Truly when using these seven gifts, we can create the peace and justice that we so badly need. The challenge for us sometimes is that when we gather to plant seeds of faith, can we do it ungrudgingly? During this gathering season, we can be selective, thinking we should not waste our time with someone who needs a helping hand again. The second reading from Sunday is appropriate. James said, "Be patient, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You too must be patient" (Ja. 5:7-8).

Darlene, this is a great comment "So when I choose to be like the lion, I want the lamb to be able to see that I'm not there to hurt them, but that my roar is truly worse than what the lamb thinks might happen." We don't want people to be fearful of our roar, or zealousness to accomplish a goal. My daddy roared to get may attention, in end he was shaping me to be who I am today. He wanted me to see I could be and how much he loved me. No wonder we have the Holy Spirit, teaching us how to plant seeds in each other. Thanks Darlene.

Review from Advent Week 2! On our zoom called on Monday we looked at three important elements. Frist, we reflected on this comment, "Great and significant as is the harvest in nature, the most pertinent kind of ingathering for the human spirit is “the harvest of the heart.” Next, we looked at what kinds of seeds did we plant this past year, are the fruits ripening? Finally, we focused on Isaiah 11:1-10, to uncover the importance of harmony with one other. Rita asked the question of the hour, how do you capture harmony with one another, where do we draw the line? How long do we sit next to the wolf to create harmony? Look over your PowerPoint slides, please share your thoughts.

Read the reflection by Howard Thurman again, Season of Remembrance. There are some special thoughts for us to consider in this reflection.

Darlene, this is a line from the reflection by Howard Thurman. He said, "I match the darts of my despair with the treasures of my dreams." Your story of the darts of despair, missing your mommy, seems to me to have turned into treasures of dreams. You have reflected and remembered mommy in a happy way. I like the song Take me Back, as well.

Deacon, looking at Advent as a healing process is interesting. Going "with and through," brings me to wonder if we see small moments of Advent when being healed. Are we focused because of the expectations we have through Christ? Hum, that brings me to reflect on the time element when trusting Christ, waiting on the Lord is tough.

Yes, Advent is a time of waiting. However, how do you know if your personal Advent, the moment when Christ came into your life if you are aways starting something new?

Wanda, it sounds like you got some excellent spiritual direction from the priest. There are times when we all hold on to that filthy rag that at times only a dog wants to chew (forever reason). I am delighted that you could call out these names to forgive them and yourself. Thanks for sharing.

Awesome! This makes sense, it lines up with God is preparing you. Once you make it through the storm, you can complete your mission as a disciple. Great thought. Thanks for our input.

Robin, we are truly the light of the world. And as you said that on this journey we discover gifts to help our light shine brighter, let us pray for wisdom for our newly found gifts of love, peace, and joy during this Advent Season. I also am loving how you used the word discover in post, since we are all on this road of discovering our best self through being a "Christ-conscious person." Very inspiring words, I am sure others will agree.

Wanda, I holler when you said "cheap robe." This comment reminds me of the old theologian I studied years ago Dietrich Bonhoeffer, he called it "Cheap Grace." Here are his words, "Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession...Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.” We need to invest in rich deep personal reflection during this Advent season this is what small groups s all about, because only the prayers of the righteous will help us. Thanks Wanda, I am still smiling.

Barbara, your theological question, "How am I behaving as I wait for the coming of the Lord?" is inspiring! We know the Lord is coming, but are we living what we profess, "As we wait for the joyful coming of the Lord," are we that shining light? I like the idea of making room for Jesus by controlling my surroundings. Less noise and more concentration on the Christ in me. You are spiritual and motivating.

Thank you Pam for your encouraging words. I like the idea of going to church during the week to break the pattern of doing the same old same old. That moment during the week affirms one desire to be close to Jesus.