An Advent Appeal
For me, Advent has always been a season of taking stock, looking back, and anticipating what lies ahead. Perhaps this is because the season usually begins so close to Thanksgiving and leads up to Christmas and the beginning of a new year. But, there is also something else about this season: the longer, colder nights, the lights of Advent wreaths and holiday decorations, and the reverie that goes along with familiar holiday movies, songs, and even a favorite Christmas ornament or family photo. Advent, however, is also a season of gratitude. As we look back in prayer and Scripture to the prophecies of Old Testament and the revelation of who Jesus was and is (which we hear in these early Advent days) and to the fulfillment of time when we will celebrate the second Advent of Christ, these days invite us to reflect on the gifts we been given. And, for me, an important part of that is considering how I have--or have not--passed those gifts on to others... "paying it forward," a...