Welcome!

Welcome to OC Advent 2007...This year our family has decided to acquaint ourselves with the tradition of Advent, celebrate it together, and share this special gift with others. Why? Because year and after year, the Christmas season comes and goes, with little distinction from the years pasts....parties, celebrations, shopping, Christmas programs, Christmas carols, more buying - all of which drain our lives rather than give us life. Christ gets lost in it all, and our souls are empty. Christ came to give us life, not drain it, but unfortunately, this season robs our souls in so many ways.

We are determined that this year will be different. Without intention, it will become like all those in the past...

If you have found yourself again longing for Christ this season, we hope this year will also be different for you...We will long and seek together.

I will post something everyday for the next 25 days leading up to Christmas Day and pray that there will be something that will touch, inspire, convict, or encourage you and your family. And of course, you are welcome to our gatherings on Sundays at 6 pm.

Peace, Russ

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The following is an article from Creighton University's website about Advent:

Experiencing Advent Deeply, for Busy People

The challenge of entering Advent, or of entering into any religious experience, these days is that we are often very busy. We may feel bad that we don’t have time, but it is true, we just don’t have time. The result is that our experience of Advent is four Sunday Masses, which begin with lighting a new candle in the Advent wreath and the rest of it just passes around us, without any real effect.

A Proposal for a New Way to Experience Advent This Year

There are two things that are critical for a new way to experience Advent: desire and focus.

Desire: The powerful advantage of Advent is that it offers us light in the midst of darkness, hope in the midst of despair, liberty in the midst of captivity, and peace in the midst of war or conflict. The key to a grace-filled Advent is to begin by identifying where I am experiencing darkness, despair, captivity and war. Recognizing our own unique version of these struggles is the first grace of Advent. We can’t say “Come, Lord Jesus” with any real meaning unless we have a felt experience of what it is we need. Once we experience our need, then the desire can formulate in our heart to ask for what we need.

Focus: How do we do this first step, if we don’t have time? We do it by focusing our attention whenever we can, especially during the “background” times of our day. These are the in between times – in the shower, getting dressed, walking down stairs, getting coffee, driving to work, walking down the hall, doing laundry, shopping, walking to the bathroom, preparing a meal, walking from one meeting to another, heading home from work, getting ready for bed. In these very brief times, there is something in our minds. Sometimes, we are “day dreaming” or our minds are wandering. At other times, we are thinking about what we have to do, or we are full of anxiety about something coming up, or perhaps we are “replaying” a memory or imagining a future conversation. Whatever is going on in our minds and hearts during those “background” times can easily be refocused. It takes a little practice and some discipline, but it works.

The First Week of Advent: Our days of the first week of Advent can be transformed if we decide – consciously choose, with a deep desire – to use the background times of each day to explore where I am in spiritual need. We can use the images of Advent to help ourselves explore “darkness,” for example. Darkness can include any discouragement, disappointment, frustration and any limits I’m experiencing. It might be struggles in my primary relationships or feelings of self-doubt. It might be struggles at work, that tend to dominate my life and hurt my family relationships. It might be repeated struggles with temptations and sin that have become patterns in my life and embarrass me, while I can’t foresee any hope of change.