Dear friends (and those who find that they have stumbled upon this oddly titled blog by mistake),
I would like to introduce you to Advent. In latin adventus means "coming." For those who embrace Western Christianity, Advent is the season of four weeks leading up to Christmas--the celebration of Christ's birth. It is a time of joyful expectation and preparation. The four weeks are marked by the four Sundays, on which the candles of the Advent wreath are lit. Each week/candle carries a theme: Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love.
And so each week I will be writing about these themes. My field of study is history, and as many of you know, genealogy is a hobby of mine. Recently (in the last few months), I have become fascinated with the genealogy of Jesus--especially as traced from Ruth. In poetic terms, Christ's ancestry was a Lineage of Expectation. In the following days and weeks I will do my best to delve into this theme and draw us closer to Christ's birth. In addition to my own thoughts, I will include poems and reflections from some of the great writers in Christendom and list scripture passages that point to the coming of the Messiah.
Thank you for sharing in this journey with me. I'm excited, and I hope this brings meaning to what the world calls "the Christmas season."
