{"id":1527,"date":"2015-12-05T11:33:12","date_gmt":"2015-12-05T10:33:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/?p=1527"},"modified":"2015-12-05T14:19:29","modified_gmt":"2015-12-05T13:19:29","slug":"advent-anticipating-faith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/2015\/12\/05\/advent-anticipating-faith\/","title":{"rendered":"Advent: Anticipating Faith"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>On Sunday I got out the advent candles, even though it was still November. \u00a0There are a number of different interpretations of what the different candles in an advent wreath stand for. \u00a0This year I have chosen to look at <strong><span style=\"color: #008000\">Faith<\/span><\/strong> as the first of those candles. \u00a0In subsequent weeks I will focus on Hope, Joy and Peace. \u00a0The Christmas candle focuses on Love.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_737\" style=\"width: 381px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/2011\/12\/05\/christmas-preparations\/advent-candles-cropped-comp\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-737\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-737\" class=\"size-full wp-image-737\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2011\/12\/Advent-candles-cropped-comp.jpg\" alt=\"Advent candles to remind us of the meaning of advent.\" width=\"371\" height=\"336\" srcset=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2011\/12\/Advent-candles-cropped-comp.jpg 371w, http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2011\/12\/Advent-candles-cropped-comp-300x271.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 371px) 100vw, 371px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-737\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Advent candles to remind us of the meaning of advent.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Advent is \u00a0a time of preparation or anticipation. \u00a0A focus on growing in faith this week is a challenge. \u00a0Finding the faith to believe that God could work good in this world and in my life despite the circumstances is hard. \u00a0As the week has unfolded with both tragic and joyous events my desire is to look beyond the circumstances and with &#8220;the eyes of faith&#8221; to see the world as God sees it.<\/p>\n<p>Join me in prayer that by faith:<\/p>\n<p>* \u00a0I would pray for the orphaned child of those who carried out the massacre in San Bernardino. \u00a0Specifically that she would be raised with love and not hate.<\/p>\n<p>* \u00a0I would believe that the premature grandson of my friend would continue to grow strong and healthy.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1531\" style=\"width: 730px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/2015\/12\/05\/advent-anticipating-faith\/12301748_10207029474048389_2198837716051142076_n\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-1531\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1531\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1531\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2015\/12\/12301748_10207029474048389_2198837716051142076_n.jpg\" alt=\"What peace on his face!\" width=\"720\" height=\"960\" srcset=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2015\/12\/12301748_10207029474048389_2198837716051142076_n.jpg 720w, http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2015\/12\/12301748_10207029474048389_2198837716051142076_n-113x150.jpg 113w, http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2015\/12\/12301748_10207029474048389_2198837716051142076_n-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1531\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">What peace on his face!<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>* \u00a0I would celebrate the steps forward that my students make, even if they occasionally stumble.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000\">ANTICIPATING \u00a0*** \u00a0WAITING *** PREPARING <\/span><\/h2>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000\">\u00a0for the birth of our Savior !!<\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-report-this\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker?moderation_action=report_form&object_type=post&object_id=1527&width=250&height=300\" class=\"thickbox\" title=\"Report This Post\">Report This Post<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Sunday I got out the advent candles, even though it was still November. \u00a0There are a number of different interpretations of what the different candles in an advent wreath stand for. \u00a0This year I have chosen to look at &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/2015\/12\/05\/advent-anticipating-faith\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":100,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1527","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Advent: Anticipating Faith - Stoker Stories<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/2015\/12\/05\/advent-anticipating-faith\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Advent: Anticipating Faith - Stoker Stories\" \/>\n<meta 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