“Advent is made of the moments. This slow unfurling of grace…Each day of Advent, we will actively wait.” Ann Voskamp

Advent means coming. Advent means Jesus is coming. And each day of Advent we turn our gaze to Him, and wait for the beautiful day of his birth.

I’ve had Ann Voskamp’s book The Greatest Gift since last Christmas and have been waiting all year to read it! When the reminder on my phone went off yesterday and said “Get ready for Advent, start reading The Greatest Gift” I was so excited! (yes I set a reminder in my phone a year ago so I wouldn’t forget) Her writing is so beautiful and poetic. I am so excited to dive into this book as Christmas draws near. I will try to blog about it every day so you can experience it also! If you go to her website http://www.tyndale.com/web/greatestgift/ and type in the code JESSE, you can get print outs for an advent tree. Each day is a different little ornament you can hang up on a tree or some branches in a vase. Some way to mark the passing of Advent and the coming of Christ. “Anticipate Christ, and celebrate Christmas, His coming.”

Today’s picture is a stump with a branch coming out of it. From Isaiah 11:1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.

In the silence of a midwinter dusk, there is far off in the deeps of it somewhere a sound so faint that for all you can tell it may be only the sound of the silence itself. You hold your breath to listen. You walk up the steps to the front door. The empty windows at either side of it tell you nothing, or almost nothing. For a second you catch a whiff in the air of some fragrance that reminds you of a place you’ve never been and a time you have no words for. You are aware of the beating of your heart. The extraordinary thing that is about to happen is matched only by the extraordinary moment just before it happens. Advent is the name of that moment.

~ Frederick Buechner

I’ve been visiting churches here in NC and trying to find a place that I love, where I feel like I fit and I can grow. It has been hard! First of all its so weird to visit churches alone. Its even more awkward when NO one talks to you. The largest church I visited has 5-8,000 people and 3 campuses, the one I visited last week had only about 100.

Each week I walk out of church naming the positives. They had great music, they had lots of greeters, the announcements were well done, but also each week I leave not even remembering what the sermon was about. I take lots of notes. But the point of the sermon wasn’t clear. There was no “takeaway”, nothing to remember it by. Nothing making me want to change, or do, or act in any way.

Forgettable

Frustrating

So I began praying, is it just me? Am I not prepared enough when I go to church? Am I missing my own personal devotion time too often? Am I being too critical? And I started paying MORE attention, taking more notes. Really digging into the sermons and still…nope.

This sermon from Northridge really hit me. David was talking about how we grow. And one part he mentioned what a good sermon should consist of.

A Practical Sermon should be:

Accurate: Here’s what the bible says and here’s what it means

Clear: Are people able to in 30 seconds say here’s what it was about, here’s what I’m supposed to do

Compelling: motivates you to DO something

If the sermon is only:

Accurate & Clear = intellectual exercise, leads to spiritual pride (Doesn’t cause you to want to change)

Clear & Compelling = motivational talk: moralism

Accurate & Compelling = emotional, moves you but you are just not sure what you’re supposed to do.

And after hearing that, I thought back to all my weeks of visiting churches and thought  “AHA!” This is what they are all missing. They are confusing. Their points don’t make sense. They start with one topic and end with a point about something entirely different. No wonder I am so frustrated! I want going to church to be a positive experience. I long for the community and the fellowship that I have had before. I want to learn and grow and change.

This week, since friends were visiting and left Sunday morning, I just went to church in my living room and watched last weeks sermon from Northridge. That feels like home.

Next week I’ll get out there again, and visit another church, but for now, I’m thankful for David and I desperately miss my people, my community, my home, my church.

Today was a soup day. It was 48 degrees when I woke up. We put on lots of layers and went to the flea market. It was cold and crisp and really felt like fall. A perfect day for soup.

I pulled out pots and pans and spices and fresh herbs and cooked away all afternoon. I made Mushroom, chicken, acorn squash soup with wild rice, and roasted tomato bisque. I even finished up the day with another one of Shauna’s recipes. Blueberry crisp. But the bisque. It was delicious. A little spicy. Warm. Filling. Healthy. Hit the spot. I toasted a baguette and dipped it into the hot soup. Mmm… Really, so delicious.

Instructions

For Roasting the tomatoes:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Toss together the tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread the tomatoes in 1 layer on a baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes. When roasted, remove from oven, let cool for 10 minutes.

For the bisque:

1. In a 5-quart stockpot over medium heat, saute the onions, celery, carrots, and red pepper flakes with the 2 tablespoons of olive oil, for 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and continue to saute for another 5 minutes. Add the vegetable broth, canned tomatoes, bay leaf, dried thyme, dried oregano, sugar, and red wine vinegar. Add the oven-roasted tomatoes, including the liquid on the baking sheet. Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 40 minutes. Let mixture cool for 10 minutes, fish out the bay leaf and using an immersion blender, puree the mixture. Or working in batches, transfer the mixture to a blender and puree until smooth. Return the puree to the pot and reheat over medium heat. Add the cream and whisk until smooth. Add the basil. Taste for seasonings and adjust as necessary. Serve warm. And with a toasted baguette. Or a fancy grilled cheese sandwich. Or just eat it plain!

I adapted the recipe from this website