“The beginning of this holy story can be read in the first chapter of Luke. Luke 1:26 tells us that an angel named Gabriel was sent from God to speak with a young woman named Mary. I like to think God chose this specific angel to visit Mary because of his gentleness and compassion. Gabriel greets her by telling her that she is favored by God. Mary, of course, is taken aback as it is not every day that an angel comes to visit you while you’re doing chores. Gabriel totally gets why Mary is troubled and reassures her that she doesn’t have to be afraid. Here comes the surprising news!”

“The birth of Jesus was the fulfillment of a promise that was waiting to be fulfilled for thousands of years! I want to go back to the meaning of Advent. The word “advent” means “coming or arrival”. These 4 weeks leading up to Christmas are meant to prepare our hearts for the coming of Jesus. And although the birth of Jesus has already happened. We are continually in a season of Advent as we prepare our hearts for the second coming of Jesus.”

“When I think of the story of Jesus’s birth, I often think of a full paragraph of detail describing Mary and Joseph surrounded by livestock, how Mary laid in the hay to labor, the care with which Jesus was swaddled. How can one of the most important, if not the most important, moments in our faith be only two sentences? How is it that those two sentences have the greatest impact on our lives today? “

“The beginning of this holy story can be read in the first chapter of Luke. Luke 1:26 tells us that an angel named Gabriel was sent from God to speak with a young woman named Mary. I like to think God chose this specific angel to visit Mary because of his gentleness and compassion. Gabriel greets her by telling her that she is favored by God. Mary, of course, is taken aback as it is not every day that an angel comes to visit you while you’re doing chores. Gabriel totally gets why Mary is troubled and reassures her that she doesn’t have to be afraid. Here comes the surprising news!”