Time! We all need more of it! This is such a busy time and it is sometimes hard to give time to the best things and most important things. Most of us struggle with these things. I know I do.

Traci and I made it a priority to start Advent with family dinners accompanied with Advent devotions. We managed to do this for three nights in a row…tonight would be the fourth night. It’s HARD…on one of the nights we were missing Christina since she has a Monday night class at University High School in Irvine! Argh! Our perfect record is already tarnished!

It is so hard to coordinate and if you do coordinate…its hard to have the ENERGY to do the things you know are important and really want to do, but truth be told…we need to keep trying. We all struggle. We are all sinners. But the Lord loves us and is merciful towards us even when we know full well our guilt and shame. We are all in the same boat. Thank God that Jesus joins us!

We need the Word. Not only for what I spoke of last Sunday — dealing with all the distractions of a commercialized season — but for the down-right frightening and discouraging things we see all around us. Today about 4 1/2 hours ago, there was another terrible act of violence, this time in San Bernardino. It appears that at least 12 people were murdered at a county facility that serves people with disabilities.

We live in a world that is full of pain, fear, violence…so much sin, but these things are close to home…these things are in our hearts as we struggle with anger, fear, anxiety, etc. You’re not alone if you struggle with these things from within.

So what will we do?

One of the things we will do is that we will worship more during this holy season of Advent, not less. We will counter all of the negative, by putting forth the Word, God’s love, God’s hope, God’s grace in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Hope to see you at 7 pm tonight.

In Jesus’ Love,

Pastor