Chapter 12, Page 10, Book 18

 ¸¸.•*¨*• Joy to the world, the Lord has come!  Let earth receive her King !

Let every heart prepare Him room, And Heaven and nature sing!   ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ 

Day 10 - peace is an inside job

 May Peace be your gift at Christmas and your blessing all the year through.

Author Unknown

Peace, like happiness is an inside job.  It’s about us.  You and me and what is going inside our heads, inside our hearts.  You can’t buy or achieve serenity and peace of mind.  No matter what is happening there is always the option to pause and choose peace.

Set peace of mine as your highest goal, and organize your life around it.

Brian Tracey

Circumstances  affect our mental state, but they don’t have to control it, not if we make choices for our well being.  It’s not easy when we’re going through tough times, but there are countless things we can choose to create peace of mind. Sometimes it is as simple as taking a walk. Other times it’s good to focus on what you appreciate about the people and things in your life.  Gratitude works.

Sometimes peace can be a matter of letting go and letting God taking care of our problems.  Sometimes it is a matter of taking a deep breath and saying a prayer. 

The important thing is to do something every day, no matter how tiny, to create inner peace. Peace is a choice.  Choose love and peace will follow.  Choose peace and love will follow. 

Christmas is not a time or a season but a state of mind.  To cherish peace and good will, to be plenteious in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.

Calvin Coolidge

Chapter 12, Page 9, Book 18

 ¸¸.•*¨*• Joy to the world, the Lord has come!  Let earth receive her King !

Let every heart prepare Him room, And Heaven and nature sing!   ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ 

Week 2: It’s a time for Peace

I heard the bells on Christmas Day

Their old , familiar carols play,

and wild and sweet

The words repeat

Of peace on earth, good will to men

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Day 9 - Let Peace be your gift at Christmas

We all need peace in our lives.  We need inner peace, and we need peace with others.  In these precious days of Advent we can be peace makers in our home, with our friends and relatives and where we work.  

God rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

Advent is a whisper in the chaos.  A small flicker of hope that peace might be more than an illusion . Advent is nothing more than peace coming to us. Peace in the pain lose, fear and hate. 

Resting in the arms of our Creator, brings peace and knowing that He is always there and will never leave us reassures me that I have nothing to fear.  

The angel said to them, Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good new of great joy for all people.

Luke 2:10

Peace comes when our hearts are at peace within us.  Fear is said to be the enemy of Peace.  Peace takes daily commitment.  We saw last week that hope has to do with patience and waiting. Today we are looking at peace and remembering the pronouncement of peace to the shepherds on that first Christmas.   It is a part of the Christmas message that should take to heart. Peace is a gift that comes to us in spite  of what else is going on

Peace on earth will come to stay,

When we live Christmas every day.

Helen Steiner Rice

Chapter 12, Page 8, Book 18

 ¸¸.•*¨*• Joy to the world, the Lord has come!  Let earth receiver her King !

Let every heart prepare Him room, And Heaven and nature sing!   ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ 

Day 8 - hope in the journey

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.

Albert Einstein

We find hope for today because of tomorrow.  That is not to say we should live in the future, because that would rob us of the present moment.  We wouldn’t appreciate the life we have right now.  

However, Advent offers hope of the future, while living right here and right now.  It is hope, above all that gives us strength to live today the best we can.

The Advent journey:  Hope becomes peace. Peace becomes joy, Joy becomes love. Love becomes Christ.

Robert Schuller

Advent is a like a journey toward Christmas.  This journey is 4 weeks long and Hope is only the first step on our Advent journey, tomorrow we’ll move on to the 2nd week of Advent which will be about Peace as we keep the joy of Advent in our hearts.

Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.

Joseph Addison

Chapter 12, Page 7, Book 18

Day 7 - Be Patient, Be Persistent.  And Never Give up Hope.

When the world says, Give  up,

Hope whispers, Try it one more time.

Author Unknown

Hold on to hope and never give up.  You never know what tomorrow might bring.  Sometimes you have to fight through some bad days to earn the best days of your life. Advent increases our hope, a hope which does not disappoint.

When hard times come, as they most assuredly will, we must never allow ourselves to lose hope that the best is yet to come.  If you give up on hope, you give up on the future.  If you give up on the future, you give up on life.

The future is not guaranteed for any one, but we have today and it’s our choice how we’re going to react to what happens.  Hope will keep you going.  Joy will take you further.

I may not be there yet, but I’m closer than I was yesterday.

Author Unknown

Chapter 12, Page 6, Book 18

 ¸¸.•*¨*• Joy to the world, the Lord has come!  Let earth receiver her King!  Let every heart prepare Him room, And Heaven and nature sing!   ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ 

Day 6 - there are too few voices of hope and too much hatred.

O tidings of comfort and joy

Just as the angels proclaimed glad tidings to the shepherds, we can give give tidings of comfort and joy to others.  We can be a rainbow in someone’s cloud by sharing a little hope with others.

It can be depressing when we think about global warming, terrorism, war, economic uncertainty, sickness, old age, death.  On the bright side there are signs of hope in our world.  There are millions of people who do their part to make the world a better place, with a smile, a kind word, with a helping hand.

We can let the light of hope shine in our lives. Be kind to one another.  Build up one another.  Encourage one another.  Agree rather than disagree.  Be humble.  Listen rather than judge.  Love one another.

Advent puts the spotlight on light and good news.  Where there is light there is hope and meaning in our lives.

When there is silence,

Give your voice.

When there is darkness,

Shine your light.

When there is desperation,

Offer hope.

Tim Fargo

Chapter 12, Page 5, Book 18

 ¸¸.•*¨*• Joy to the world, the Lord has come!  Let earth receiver her King!  Let every heart prepare Him room, And Heaven and nature sing!   ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ 

Day 5 - hope is a gift

As long as there’s Christmas, I truly believe

That hope is the greatest of the gifts we’ll receive.

Don Black

Hope is one of the greatest assets in the entire world .  It is one of greatest treasures we can ever find for ourselves.  And it is one of the greatest gifts we can give.

 

Unwrap the gift of hope.

See the good in others. Believe in their greatest potential.  And encourage often.  There is never a wrong time to give hope

Faith makes all things possible

Hope makes all things work,

Love makes all things beautiful

Chapter 12, Page 4, Book 18

 ¸¸.•*¨*• Joy to the world, the Lord has come!  Let earth receiver her King!  Let every heart prepare Him room, And Heaven and nature sing!   ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ 

Day 4 - joy in our heart

Christmas!  The very word brings joy to our hearts.  No matter how we may dread the rush, the long Christmas lists for gifts and cards to be bought and given — when Christmas Day comes there is still the same warm feeling we had as children, the same warmth enfolds our hearts and our homes.

Joan Winmill Brown

Advent is about waiting, but waiting with a purpose.  As much as we want to celebrate Christmas, Advent is meant to slow us down a bit and focus inward.  This season offers a beautiful time to grasp the deep meaning that brings joy to our hearts.

Remember:  Waiting is inevitable.  Joyful hope is a choice.

All life involves waiting.  We wait at stoplights.  We are caught in traffic jams. We agonize over medical test results.  Waiting teaches us about our passion and purpose.  

Waiting can be frustrating, challenging and overwhelming, but for the season of Advent, waiting is meant to be a joy filled occasion.  Waiting with a purpose.  We are preparing for Christmas, the most wonderful day of the year.

The wait is where we draw closer to God, test our determination and faithfulness. We wait so we can be prepared.  

All human wisdom is summed up in two words wait and hope.

Alexander Dumas