The New #AdventWords and #HashTags With Meaning are here! Today's word is #Shine

Good Evening Family of Love,

Happy New Year on the Christian liturgical Calendar! Today we begin a new year and journey through the life of Jesus as told from the Gospel of Matthew.  The Episcopal Church uses Cycle A and the Revised Common Lectionary so that's where we will get our info for the next year. Just in case you are wondering. Last year we did a daily meditation series on a series of Advent Words and we are doing it again today. Today's word is  #Shine.

 But before we Shine let us see the list  of Advent Words for this year:

We all must be God's Light to each other and the world and that includes our enemies. How do we shine? 

Here are a few ideas of mine:

Have courage to spread God's Good News.
Show love to all wherever you go.
Smile and never look down on people.
Be CALM (Compassionate, Accepting, Loving, and Merciful)
Care for your selves as you would have our family members care for you.
Radiate a peaceful demeanor.
Give of yourselves without condition.
Learn to show humor in tricky situations.
Be patient with all  service workers this season.
Walk with a spring in your step.
Sing lustily and with heart.
Be a light to those who are going through dark times.
Love, love, love, and more love!
Open your hearts to life's possibilities.
Keep a positive outlook in life.
Release yourself from all negativity and be the Living Bible to those who haven't heard the Good news.
Include family members you normally wouldn't.

What's on your list?
Take time to meditate on our #AdventWord #Shine and create your own list. 

Remember we look ahead to the next #AdventWord remembering today's is #Shine and look towards tomorrow,

Let's start with an uplifting praise song !

Shine Jesus Shine

Let us light our first Advent Candle of Vigil and pray we will be using blue this year.

Numbers 6:24-26New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

24 The Lord bless you and keep you;
25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.

The Lord Bless you and Keep You- Rutter

First Sunday of Advent

Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of

darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of

this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit

us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come

again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the

dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives

and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and

for ever. Amen.

God help us to shine your light to the world.  Open our hearts wide so that our family members whom we know and don't know may see your light shine through us.

God help us to be the light to others and especially our family members who are in dark places at the moment. Help us to remember to pray for the least of these and be lights to them as they are to us.

God give us courage to shine the light of justice to a world that is in need of equality, acceptance, universal human rights and liberty.

God  help us to be able to shine lights in areas of the world that are plagued by injustice, oppression, terror, and war.

God help us to be sources of comfort to those who are ill  or in grief.

God we pray for those whom we name now and that our hearts may be illumined to  pray for the urgent concerns you have laid upon our hearts.

God  we give thanks to you for bringing Jesus the light  of the world  to us and all people.

Let us pray these words to each other:

The light of Christ In me recognizes the light of Christ in you.

Prayers with light in them. From the BCP

O Gracious Light Phos hilaron

O gracious Light,

pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven,

O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!

Now as we come to the setting of the sun,

and our eyes behold the vesper light,

we sing your praises, O God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices,

O Son of God, O Giver of life,

and to be glorified through all the worlds.

The Song of Simeon Nunc dimittis

Luke 2:29-32

Lord, you now have set your servant free *

to go in peace as you have promised;

For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, *

whom you have prepared for all the world to see:

A Light to enlighten the nations, *

and the glory of your people Israel.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *

as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Be our light in the darkness, O Lord, and in your great mercy
defend us from all perils and dangers of this night; for the
love of your only Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen

God, we pray that we may carry your light into the world and serve you with love and a lightness of being. May we shine brightly to others so that they may see you in us, through us, and around us.
 We pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

++++++

Good Night Lovely Family ! Have a blessed and restful night. I love you and give thanks to God for you this night and always.  Keep Shining God's light and never be afraid. 

With love, hope, joy, and peace.

Sara

Here were today's lessons if you should want to use them.

Isaiah 2:1-5

The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

In days to come
the mountain of the Lord’s house

shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be raised above the hills;

all the nations shall stream to it.
Many peoples shall come and say,

‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob;

that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.’

For out of Zion shall go forth instruction,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

He shall judge between the nations,
and shall arbitrate for many peoples;

they shall beat their swords into ploughshares,
and their spears into pruning-hooks;

nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more.

O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk
in the light of the Lord!

Psalm 122

Laetatus sum

1 I was glad when they said to me, *
"Let us go to the house of the Lord."

2 Now our feet are standing *
within your gates, O Jerusalem.

3 Jerusalem is built as a city *
that is at unity with itself;

4 To which the tribes go up,
the tribes of the Lord, *
the assembly of Israel,
to praise the Name of the Lord.

5 For there are the thrones of judgment, *
the thrones of the house of David.

6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: *
"May they prosper who love you.

7 Peace be within your walls *
and quietness within your towers.

8 For my brethren and companions' sake, *
I pray for your prosperity.

9 Because of the house of the Lord our God, *
I will seek to do you good."

Romans 13:11-14

You know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Matthew 24:36-44

Jesus said to the disciples, “But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.