Before The Madness

We are starting a new series of practices for this Advent season! Advent is a time when we celebrate that Jesus has arrived and is indeed coming again. The coming again part is amazing and should be prayed for and anticipated, but the Jesus is here with us now part is what we at 10000MINUTES.com focus on most.

I have a radio single out this Christmas, called Yes You Are. One of the lyrics got me thinking about Jesus as the greatest gift, and how the postures that He modeled in His life could encourage us this season. So here we go!

If Jesus IS the gift, then these posts will be about the accessories. It’s almost like Jesus is the Superhero and peace, grace, freedom, courage, and joy are the weapons that we get in the package. Ok don’t read too much into that:)

We are about to get into a crazy, crazy season where it’ll be easy to forget the main Gift of Jesus. If Jesus wasn’t a part of your Christmas season, would you notice any difference? I don’t mean the dear little baby Jesus in the manger version, but Emmanuel, God With Us. Most years, I end up finding Jesus around Christmas Eve. I simply get so caught up in the madness of it all that I forget Jesus is near.

What would it look like if we were to start this Advent season truly anticipating Jesus with thankfulness? Last week we celebrated Thanksgiving and practiced being thankful in all circumstances, but this week we are going to figure out why we are thankful for Jesus, God With Us. Why does this matter to you? Seriously, why is this a mighty and powerful Christmas instead of a Happy Christmas?

10000 MINUTES Practice:

Every time you see, hear, taste, or smell something Christmassy, thank God for EMMANUEL!