Awake My Soul

Arise! Shine! Your Light has come!

These are some of the thoughts I wanted to convey

with this year’s Advent art.

Without God, all is darkness. Then God speaks a Word, and everything is forever changed into a new creation. During Advent, we welcome God’s coming into the dark places of our lives and awakening us from our dark slumber into renewed life. This is not a soft, passive awakening. It is cosmic alarm clock. It is the dawn of creation itself. God's loving light shatters the darkness and reforms it into a new, colorful creation. As the Gospel of John puts it, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

This Advent Season, may your life be so awakened, illumined, and reformed by the Light of God.

Holy Ground

Sometimes I wish that I could get a sign from God like Moses – so I painted one.

In the book of Exodus, God appears to Moses in the form of a bush, blazing as with fire, yet not consumed. God instructs Moses to take off his sandals, for he is standing on Holy Ground. God calls Moses to lead God’s people out of Egyptian slavery. This begins a wonderful dialogue between Moses and God, and sets into motion the great deliverance of God's people.

But for me, God reveals in more subtle, abstract and quiet ways. So subtle, in fact, that I could easily have missed it had I not looked with eyes of faith. I believe that God calls each of us to something great. Ok - maybe not as big as delivering a nation form slavery. But God calls us to acts of love that (to us) can seem just as impossible and frightening. But fear not. God is with us, believing in us, leading us, and empowering us to fulfill that call.

If you ever need a reminder that God is always with you, empowering you, and calling you to something great – here’s your sign.