Devotional

Friday Check-in: First Week of Advent 🙏 - 12/06/2024

Welcome to our weekly Friday Check-in. If you are new to Soul Care, WELCOME!! We are so glad you are here. We have a weekly rhythm of checking in together on Fridays.

Soul Care
Dec 5, 2024
Friday Check-in Audio
4:00

 

Welcome to our weekly Friday Check-in for December 6th, 2024 âś…

If you are new to Soul Care, WELCOME!! We are so glad you are here. We have a weekly rhythm of checking in together on Fridays. We use Mindy Caliguire's Page, Person, Plan framework to create a weekly rhythm and prepare ourselves for Sabbath rest.

Happy first week of Advent! If you’d like to engage daily Scripture readings and reflections throughout the four weeks of Advent as we prepare for Christ’s coming, check out our free Soul Care Advent Guide.

Let’s pause now to check in - take a few deep breaths. How are you doing? How does your body feel right now? What do you need as we start the month of December? What do you hope Advent holds for you?

Page: An Invitation to Reflection
 
Today’s reading from the Advent Guide is Isaiah 7:10-17 (NRSVA)
 
God spoke again to Ahaz. This time he said, “Ask for a sign from your God. Ask anything. Be extravagant. Ask for the moon!”

But Ahaz said, “I’d never do that. I’d never make demands like that on God!”
So Isaiah told him, “Then listen to this, government of David! It’s bad enough that you make people tired with your pious, timid hypocrisies, but now you’re making God tired. So the Master is going to give you a sign anyway. Watch for this: A girl who is presently a virgin will get pregnant. She’ll bear a son and name him Immanuel (God-With-Us). By the time the child is twelve years old, able to make moral decisions, the threat of war will be over. Relax, those two kings that have you so worried will be out of the picture. But also be warned: God will bring on you and your people and your government a judgment worse than anything since the time the kingdom split, when Ephraim left Judah. The king of Assyria is coming!”

 

Spend a few minutes journaling in response to this passage:

  • First Reading: What stands out to you most? Is there a particular word or phrase?

  • Second Reading: As you read through it again… ask God, “to what area of my life does that particular word or phrase connect?”

  • Third Reading: And as you read a third time, be asking God, “Is there an invitation for me?” Is there a response of some kind that God is inviting you into?

 
Person: An Invitation to Connection

 

This can be an exceptionally busy time as the year draws to a close. As you encounter people, prayerfully be present - try to make eye contact and listen well.

Some people we will come in contact with may be at their absolute breaking point this season... Friends, family, co-workers, teachers, strangers in the grocery store, retail workers. While it may be very merry for some, it can also be the saddest, loneliest, most stressful, most heartbreaking time for so many others.

Take a minute to check in with yourself to note what is present for you - what emotions, what stresses? and how busy are you right now?

None of us are too busy to be kind, caring, and patient.

Perhaps you are the one at breaking point and burned out. How can you take time to show yourself kindness and compassion? What help is available to you that you feel drawn to seek out?  If you are seeking rest, space to reflect, renewal, community and solitude, you’re invited to join us for the Semi-Silent Retreat TOMORROW! Check your time zone and hope to see you there!

Perhaps you know someone at breaking point... Pause to pray for them.


Now take another minute to visualize yourself interacting with others throughout this season with kindness and care. Please remember the best thing you can give someone right now is love.

 
Plan: An Invitation to Intention
 

Let’s practice HOPE with intention this week!

If you have a candle near by, light the candle as an embodied act of prayer and keep this lit throughout the week as a symbol of Hope. Ask for God’s blessing and for a deep sense of “God-With-Us.” How might the presence of “God-With-Us” change how you’re approaching this day, this week, this month?

Take a few minutes in closing to turn all your reflections, feelings, and concern for others into a final prayer.


Thanks for checking in today. Blessings!

 
Have a blessed Friday,

Team Soul Care

Join Us For Advent With Our Free Guide

Christmas is a time when we typically rush from one thing to the next, often fulfilling obligations and dreams that belong to others. But what dreams, what hopes and desires are in our souls - and how does Advent teach us about our waiting and our wanting? This guide is designed to help us bring the dreams of our soul together with the God who is Always With Us and Always Coming to Us.
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