Advent Exuberance

Today, Michaela and I were heading to a birthday party she was invited to, and we passed a Chick-Fil-A. She exclaimed,"Oohh! The Peppermint Chocolate Chip Milkshake is back!"

She was lit up like a Christmas tree, all joy. 

It takes such small things for my kids to get excited. They are still full of the ability to be exuberant. Eliana cries out over an airplane (we're at the airport, and each airplane is just as exciting and wonderful as the last one)! Christian races to the playground as fast as he can (Stop running in the church please!!), even though he was on the same exact playground before lunch, and he's on it every day. Michaela...well, the milkshakes! That apple didn't fall far from the tree...

At the end of the day this first day of Advent, I wish for exuberance. The greatest thing that could ever happen in history happened! It is this that we (remembering) anticipate, (thanking) celebrate, and (yearning) wait for again. This joy that comes from knowing that my God and Creator, my Redeemer and Savior, broke through, came down, become man, humbled himself, lived perfectly, died willingly, rose victoriously, reigns supremely, judges righteously, loves unconditionally, and will return, release, renew...

this joy ought to change everything.

And I can tell you (there are witnesses) that it does not. I pray that this will change. Zechariah's song of praise through the Holy Spirit is beautiful, and right now, it is my prayer of praise, remembrance, and earnest asking.

68“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
    because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
⁶⁹ He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
    in the house of his servant David
⁷⁰ (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
⁷¹ salvation from our enemies
    and from the hand of all who hate us—
⁷² to show mercy to our ancestors
    and to remember his holy covenant,
⁷³     the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
⁷⁴ to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
    and to enable us to serve him without fear
⁷⁵     in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

⁷⁶ And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
    for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
⁷⁷ to give his people the knowledge of salvation
    through the forgiveness of their sins,
⁷⁸ because of the tender mercy of our God,
    by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
⁷⁹ to shine on those living in darkness
    and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

Luke 1:68-79

**edited to add: I began (again!) reading Reordered Love, Reordered Lives (David Naugle) and came across this passage in the Introduction:

Despite the stereotypes, the Christian faith is life-affirming rather than life-denying. It encourages believing people to discover what it means to be fully and truly human, to live exuberantly and fruitfully as God's creatures abiding in God's creation that was, and still is, very good. St. Iranaeus summed it up: "The glory of God is a person fully alive!" (emphasis added)

So, yeah. Hopefully I'm on the right path. [brushing tears from eyes]