The season of desire

The season of Advent is also called "the season of desire." I've never picked up on that phrase before, but this year have noticed it in blogs, a few articles, and a devotional.
"What do you desire?" asks my mentor. (I'm reading Sacred Rhythms by Ruth Haley Barton.)

Here's my desire list for Advent:

• Renewed intimacy with the Presence. Sit, love, be loved. In all the busyness of the dissertation and tasks, it was easier to focus on doing rather than being with.
• Be present with guests. I love hospitality tasks but find it hard to sit down with company for any length of time.
• Discipline for health: good eating and exercise. Lose 8 lbs.
• Declutter Christmas "stuff": give away ornaments, garlands, and other excess. End up with 4-5 storage bins (from 10).
• Read and watch uplifting things. I want to resist junk on TV and in books.

What's your bucket-of-desire list?

Read more:
*If you obey the Lord your God: Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Deuteronomy 28:2-3

*May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14 NIV

*Jesus said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!” Luke 11:28

*I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints. I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints. Philemon 4-7 NIV

Moravian Prayer: Dear Jesus, you came to fulfill the law, to give the commandments a human body. You obeyed the law and infused it with love. May we know the freedom and joy of obedience. Amen.

Dealing with cravings

Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels hunger: well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim: well, there is such a thing as water… 

If I find in myself a desire, which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. – C.S. Lewis

What do you desire? What are you craving today? The ability to rest? Freedom from physical or emotional pain? Spiritual renewal? Relationships that are whole and healthy?


If you follow Christ, you are the child of another world. Tell your Father in heaven what you need, and receive hope for today as well as for your future. 

Read more:

*Please, LORD, please save us. Please, LORD, please give us success. Psalm 118:25

*All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.

And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see. 1 Peter 1:3-5 NLT