Advent Day 7

The last day of the first week of Advent.

Going back to the first day of Advent 2013, my worries about a grueling week of work were unwarranted. My Monday gate duty, 6-9 p.m. is tomorrow, not last Monday. We got another big snow storm that resulted in school closing at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday and all day on Friday. I also was able to skip work at the public library due to the snow and cold (it was 1 degree Friday night/Saturday morning).  This isn't the first time I worried about nothing.

This week's Advent theme has been hope and today is the last day of that theme.  I've recently experienced lessons on hope from two different sources, each with a very different presentation style.  Oddly, both people are called Beth.

The first Beth is Beth Moore.  We are watching her DVD series "Believing God" at a women's Bible study.  She is a loud, robust person, preaching God's word with authority. She was speaking about miracles and how God still performs miracles today just like he did in New Testament times. One of her statements, punctuated with volume, was that if you don't believe in miracles then you steal my hope from me." I'm not really sure how what someone else believes can steal anything from another person; but maybe I missed something when I stopped listening.

The second Beth is Beth A. Richardson whose Advent book I am reading. It's easier to absorb written information (for me anyway); for one thing, you can re-read passages if you need to. This Beth writes about spending time in silence with the Lord and the benefits of being quiet.  A gentle and peaceful spirit is evident in her words. This is the presentation style that most appeals to me.

There isn't a right way and a wrong way to share about God.  It takes many ways to connect with all the different people. The important thing is that we all find a way to find our way and then help others on their journey.