Shannon S. McKee

musings and moments

Anticipating Advent {Some Suggestions}

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It’s hard to believe that we’re nearing the last month of 2017! For me, it’s been a tiring year. Emotionally, spiritually, physically. I just feel weary. I’m not saying it’s been a bad year because God is always doing profound, meaningful things and I see His hand working it for my best. But, He has been upending some things in my life, throwing some challenges into my path, and just generally digging around a bit in my heart.

So, as I head into this holiday season, I’m looking forward to being intentional about the Advent season and trying to coax my heart into a posture of restful anticipation. The Advent season is a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of Jesus’ first coming – His birth that we celebrate at Christmas. The word Advent is a version of the Latin word meaning “coming”. Some churches who keep to a more liturgical calendar will celebrate with formal traditions. At Redemption Chapel, we are more casual with only a few church-wide observances.

But, that doesn’t mean we’re not all preparing our hearts for worshipping Christ! The headlong rush of the tasks and extras that seem to come with this time of the year can make it difficult to pause. But, it’s so important. To that end, I wanted to offer up some of my favorite resources. Each day during December, I like to light a candle, put on worshipful Christmas music, boil up a pot of tea, and cozy up under my Christmas quilt as I read one of these – ideally in the morning before things get busy. (Ideally.)

Watch for the Light

This is an old favorite for me – it’s not a Bible study where you’ll get in the Word a ton but a book with great reflections from great theological writers. Honestly, it’s hard to go wrong with essays and poems from people like Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Madeleine L’Engle, Martin Luther, and  Henri Nouwen. There are 40 days worth of deep, sometimes jarring reflections.

The Greatest Gift

This one will get you in the Word a bit more and is traces the beautiful love story of Jesus’ coming. Beginning with Jesse, the father of David, The Greatest Gift retraces the epic pageantry of mankind, from Adam to the Messiah, with each day’s reading pointing to the coming promise of Christ. It’s well-done and worshipful. BONUS if you have a young family, she’s done a companion book for doing it with your children.

She Reads Truth Advent 2017

She Reads Truth is a favorite of mine when I’m not in a Bible study with women from church. Honestly, it’s a little bit pricier than I prefer but it really is beautiful and so well thought-thru. This book intentionally includes the Joy to the World: Advent 2017 reading plan only, with a written introduction and many other helpful elements throughout. Because God’s Word is living and active, the focus of these books is the scripture – not a reflection by a human author. However, written responses to each day’s reading can be found on SheReadsTruth.com and the She Reads Truth app. You can join the community of other women who are online – for further commentary and conversation via the website. As a bonus, they have other helpful tools and kid-friendly options on their site. Also, shipping is free for all Advent orders now through November 16th!

I hope that helps give you a few ideas for your devotional life as you prepare your heart and mind for worshiping our beautiful Savior… He is truly “better” than anything we think we need/want. After studying Hebrews this Fall, my eyes will view the Christmas season with an added reverence and awe.

The Keeper of the Stream – A Parable

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There once was a town high in the Alps that straddled the banks of a beautiful stream. The stream was fed by the springs that were old as the earth and deep as the sea.

The water was clear like crystal. Children laughed and played beside it; swans and geese swam on it. You could see the rocks and the sand the rainbow trout that swarmed at the bottom of the stream.

High in the hills, far beyond anyone’s sight, lived an old man who served as Keeper of the Springs. He had been hired so long ago now that no one could remember a time when he wasn’t there. He would travel from one spring to another in the hills, removing branches or fallen leaves or debris that might pollute the water. But his work was unseen.Munroe Falls Metro Park, Indian Spring Trail

One year the town council decided they had better things to do with their money. No one supervised the old man anyway. They had roads to repair and taxes to collect and services to offer, and giving to an unseen stream-cleaner had become a luxury they could no longer afford.

So the old man left his post. High in the mountains, the springs went untended; twigs and branches and worse muddied the liquid flow. Mud and salt compacted the creek bed; farm wastes turned parts of the stream into stagnant bogs.

For a time, no one in the village noticed. But after a while the water was not the same. It began to look brackish. The swans flew away to live elsewhere. The water no longer had the crisp scent that drew the children to play by it. Some people in the town began to grow ill. All noticed the loss of the sparkling beauty that used to flow between the banks of the streams that fed the town. The life of the village depended on the stream, and the life of the stream depended on the keeper.

2016The city council reconvened, the money was found, the old man was rehired. After yet another time, the springs were cleaned, the stream was pure, children played again on its banks, illness was replaced by health, the swans came home, and the village came back to life.

The life of the village depended on the health of the stream.

The stream is your soul. And you are the keeper.

(taken from John Ortberg’s book, Soul Keeping)

What I’m Reading

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I’m a self-confessed book junkie. It’s sort of ridiculous really. I like just walking into a library and running my hands along rows and rows of  book spines. I’ve been known to drool a little bit when Rick brings a new book home or to just go stand in his office near his shelves. And, everytime a new book review splashes across my Facebook feed, I am tempted to buy it.

The trouble is, everybody and their brother is writing a book these days. There is a constant, overly flooded stream of new stuff to read. Somewhere along the line, I started to realize that I was letting the pace of new books coming out dictate what I was reading. I also realized that a lot of what I was reading was based around a topic of the day. I decided that wasn’t the best approach for my reading time.IMG_4355

Rather, I want to own my reading list. Me. Not the savvy mom-blogger who is launching her latest book or pushing her friend’s new book. Not the pop-culture book that everyone else is talking about. Just me. I want to own it. I want to be intentional with it. I want to read books that challenge me or make me think more deeply.

When I decided to make 2016 a year of soul tending, I chose a year’s worth of non-fiction books that would help me with that goal. Books that would get at the deeper places of my heart. Books that would push me toward investing in my inner life.

I was a little ambitious with my list and I don’t know if I’ll get through all of them. Probably not. (If you only knew how many books I considered but didn’t put on the list!) But, I’m OK with it. Because I own the list. The list doesn’t own me.

Here’s what I’ve been working on so far:

I finished Soul Keeping by John Ortberg several weeks ago. Mostly it’s a collection of reflections taken from things Ortberg learned from his mentor, Dallas Willard. And, Willard (who has since gone home to be with Jesus) knew how to tend to his soul. He offers much wisdom for us to glean. For me, this book was a perfect first book of 2016. I was refreshed and inspired and hopeful as I contemplated my inner life. I think I underlined half the book. It’s one I’ll return to over and over again, I’m sure.

The basic premise won’t be surprising to you. It’s the idea that the health of my soul isn’t just a matter of being saved or unsaved. I’m saved. Have been for 30-plus years. That’s a settled issue, thanks to Jesus’ grace. But, my saved soul wasn’t just restored with a view toward eternity – out there, someday. God wants to satisfy my soul now. Today. In the nitty gritty of this life.

The big takeaway for me on a practical level? This thought: I and no one else am responsible for the condition of my soul. I must arrange my days so that I am experiencing deep contentment, joy, and confidence in my everyday life with God. I can’t wait for perfect circumstances or a new phase with the kids or a completed to-do list or a different job or more time or more money or more anything. I can’t wait for others to care for my soul. Not my husband or my pastor or my community group leader or my friends. Hopefully they will love me and encourage me and hold me accountable but it’s not their job to tend my soul. By God’s sanctifying Spirit at work within me, I am the keeper of my soul.

Which leads me to the other two books I’m reading right now: Habits of Grace by David Mathis and Crafting a Rule of Life by Stephen A. Macchia. If Soul Keeping was the inspiration and foundation for my year, these two books are the practical outworking of what that could look like. They help me put flesh on this idea of tending to my soul – something often referred to as the spiritual disciplines. Basically, I’m asking myself what things I’m going to do or not do to make sure I’m experiencing deep contentment and joy with God? If I truly believe my soul is the most important part of me, how will I care for it? I’m a chapter into Habits of Grace and I don’t want to put it down. It’s really excellent. I’ve only barely cracked into Crafting a Rule of Life and I can’t tell what I think of it yet. I do like that it’s a workbook that I’ll interact with.

What about fiction, you say? Well, I’m not getting to much fiction lately. Not because I don’t think it’s valuable. It is. But because I just have limited time right now. So, I’ve taken to listening to audio books as I fold laundry or travel in the car or work out. I’ve listened to a few well-crafted, insightful stories… but, I can tell you about those another time.

How about you? What’s on your nightstand lately? Why?