Awake - 1st Day of Advent

Good morning!  (Or if you're industrious and checking the blog when I finish, good evening!)

Today's word is actually "awake", but in looking for pictures of that word that might be inspiring, I discovered there's a movie by that name, and as I want to focus on the verb form, I added the N. :)  I'd like to thank the Awaken Church in Wenatchee, WA for the loan of their logo - they're a non-denominational Bible Church, and they've got great taste in logos and messages. :)

SSJE (Society of St. John the Evangelist) has a great sermon with many thoughts on which one can meditate regarding being "awake", discussing Matthew 24:37-44.  One portion of it says:

Some of you here today may need to wake up. There may be events in your life right now – very full events or very vacuous events – that God is using to speak to you or lead you. Wake up to it! For others of you, the invitation that God may be giving you now is from another side of Jesus’ personality and another side of his teaching: an invitation to rest in the peace of Christ, to savor the sampling of food that shall last forever, to drink deeply from life, to relax, to abide, to enjoy, to reincorporate the word “leisure” into your soul.

Keep those things in mind as you go through your day - awake to the possibilities within yourself!

Activity for the Day:  Call a friend or family member that you have not talked with in a while.  Maybe you can mention how excited you are that this is the first day of Advent!  Ask what they're going to be doing to get ready for their own holy days - or if they're non-religious, ask what their plans for the holidays are.  Find a way to re-awaken your connection (C'mon, it's my job to make everything come full circle - you had to expect it).