advent devotion - Ellen Chauvin | Soaked & Sprouting

When Life is Like a Freeway

December 13, 2018 by Ellen 4 Comments

When you hear the phrase “Country comes to town,” are you the country or the town person? Me? Definitely country. My friend Carmen and I recently travelled to the big city of Dallas to meet up with our writer friends. My country side was shining bright!!

Y’all.

SO. MUCH. TRAFFIC.

SO. MANY. LANES.

All six lanes of traffic were zooming past me at the speed of light! Down where I live, three lanes of cars would be a lot. Two is more my speed. But to be in the midst of six lanes? Oh, my. I just wanted it to stop. I needed to take a moment.

I wanted to be a cartoon character (Goofy comes to mind) who could bring all the traffic to a screeching halt by stretching my rubbery arms across the bajillion lanes. Everyone would slam on their brakes, blow their horns and scream every kind of ugly at me. But I’d be stopped, breathing, catching up.

Whew! That’s what it feels like during the Christmas season, doesn’t it! The days zoom past, you are constantly going and doing, and sometimes you just need a moment. Right?

We need to stop. And, what I’ve found is, we need to be intentional about it.

Oh, I’ve had no problem slowing down since I retired. Yet, my calendar this season was booked by December 2! From now till Christmas, we have non stop events and get togethers. All good and fun, but man, it’s like six lanes of traffic zooming by.

However, I’m being very intentional about taking time each morning to sit quietly before the Lord and read His Word, abiding with Him. You can too.

If God’s Word brings peace to your heart, be intentional about guarding your time with Him. Set the alarm fifteen minutes early. What, you say? Lose fifteen minutes of precious, early morning shut eye? Ok, ok, even five minutes will work. It’s better than nothing.

Then, choose a portion of scripture to read. Find a great advent devotion (Abiding Joy comes to mind, wink, wink).

Take the time. Think of it as something you do for yourself – your soul care. Fix a good hot cuppa coffee, hot chocolate or tea. And settle in for a visit with Jesus.

Maybe mornings aren’t your thing. You’re a night owl. Again:

[tweetthis]Be intentional about carving out time for you and Messiah.[/tweetthis]

Don’t have time at night to spend in God’s Word? Gotta feed the family? Chose a meal that is easy and doesn’t take much time to prepare. Ragu with meatballs (pre-made, frozen) and bag o’ salad is my go to quick meal. Or, you could order a pizza. The time you have saved prepping for a major meal can be used to slow down and ponder God’s word. Sit yourself down in a favorite chair, prop your feet up by the fire, and soak in the story of Jesus this Christmas.

Stop the traffic in your life this Christmas!

Sooooo, what do you personally do to spend time with the Lord during busy seasons? Do you turn off the radio in your car? Sit quietly with a journal? Turn off the TV at night?

Be intentional. Guard your time.

“Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 CSB

In light of this, I will be taking a break from blogging for the remainder of December. Rest assured, I will be writing! Looking forward to “talking” to you in 2019!

Merry Christmas! Come Lord Jesus!

Abide

November 29, 2018 by Ellen 2 Comments

(Today, I’m letting you in on a little preview of Abiding Joy – Pondering the birth of Jesus. It’s a 20 day advent devotion I wrote this past year, after feeling like the Christmas season was RUSHING past me, and I had no time or space to ponder Christ’s birth. I hope you enjoy this sample. Click the graphic to receive Abiding Joy in your inbox!)

Day 1

Abide

Today’s Reading: John 15:1-11

A perfect scenario of the days and weeks leading to Christmas would be this: A slower pace, making time to be with loved ones. Time to sit and listen to them spin tales of days gone by; time spent dreaming of days yet to come. Time listening to their stories. Time to BE, and not DO. Abiding with those we love.

To abide is to remain with, stay, or dwell. This takes time – time that we never seem to have during the rush of the Christmas season.

Dwelling conjures images of lingering by a warm fire, embers glowing orange, sipping hot chocolate with white, fluffy marshmallows. Of being together with those you love. Talking, spending quality time. Not in a hurry to leave. Not in a hurry to move on to the next thing.

Yet it happens every year. Time gets away from me. The frenzy of shopping for just the right gift; rushing here and there searching for ingredients for that perfect Christmas dessert; seeing white space on the calendar one day, disappearing the next.

Oh, don’t get me wrong. Everything is fun. Great food, great friends and family visits. But before you know it, Christmas has come and gone and I feel like I’ve missed the most important parts of it:

Time abiding with Jesus.

Time listening to His story.

Just being.

With Jesus.

And Him with me.

Now, that’s Christmas!

Together, let’s purpose to make this year the year we slow down and abide with Jesus in joy!

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. John 15:4 (NASB)

Points to Ponder:

*Spend time each day being with Jesus in His word. Don’t rush. Enjoy the story of His birth. See it through fresh eyes. Let it remain in you all day.

*Is there someone you could spend time with this week? A nursing home resident? A veteran? Someone who needs a listening ear. Give them the gift of time this Christmas.