Third Sunday of Advent

After an amazing weekend away with my sweet husband, it was great to sit down with our kids and celebrate the third Sunday of Advent. Callie lit our 3rd candle, the Shepherd's candle or candle of joy. What an incredible meaning behind this candle! On the evening of the Messiah's birth, the angels appear to the shepherds first to tell the miraculous news. The shepherds! Not the high priests or the wealthy influential people of the day but to lowly shepherds keeping watch over their flocks. The insignificant, the ordinary.

 ~That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” ~Luke 2:8-12 (NLT)

God showed his love for ALL people! Through this, he reminds us that he uses ordinary people for such extraordinary things. As you go throughout your week and have times when you feel insignificant or just plain ordinary, remember that God wants to do extraordinary things through YOU! His love for you is documented all through the scriptures. Take it...read it...and go forward in victory! 

Take time this week to ponder on this amazing event of the Christmas story. Remember that the angels sang over the shepherd's field that night. They sang praises to God. No matter where we are this week, sing praises to HIM! Tell others of his love! Just as the lowly shepherds did. 

~ Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them. ~Luke 2:13-20 (NLT)


Have a blessed day in The Lord! 

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."Luke 2:14 (KJV)