What Advent Means

In my family, a greater-than-average love for Christmas is mandatory.  Cue my baby sister, who once said, pertaining to a boy she was seeing and why she liked him, "well, he really loves Christmas!"  It's true--we Kingston (Russell) women are nuts about the holiday.

My preparations for Advent have been frenzied.  But I am determined that Advent itself, the discipline of preparing oneself for Jesus to come, should be just the opposite.

My mom reminded me this weekend while I was home for Thanksgiving that as a little girl, I badgered her for months about the coming of Christmas, counting down the days many months in advance.  Once December rolled around, I couldn't sleep at night for the excitement!  That is just the spirit that Advent recaptures each year for me.  I may not be that enthusiastic seven-year-old anymore, but sitting in my cozy Connecticut apartment with the tree lit and my Bible open, I feel as though she and I have been reacquainted.  Only now it's not Malibu Barbie or American Girl Dolls that get me excited.  It's that this Jesus whom I love has come...and He will come again!

Christmas on Greenwood Ave.

Tonight, on the first night of Advent, the Scriptures speak of Jesus' second coming as much as his first.  2 Peter 3:1-10 reminds us that He is "not slow in keeping His promises," but He is waiting for just the right time to return for His bride.  And in Matthew 25, we're reminded to be prepared for that any-day-now arrival.  This is the hope of Advent: That Jesus would come through a birth canal (as Alistair Begg has pointed out in an essay "Wrapped in Humility"), and what's more that He promises to return for us, fully, finally, once and for all.

For those of us who love Jesus, this hope also means that we will live differently.  I'm increasingly challenged by that thought recently, especially as it pertains to my materialism.  {Ouch...this being vulnerable stuff is painful at times.}

I was really excited to see that my favorite non-profit/parachurch ministry/human rights organization is to be the recipient of this year's Advent Conspiracy campaign.  Advent Conspiracy is an organization that challenges Christians to remember what Christmas really means by giving more and spending less.  Check out the  video and support the work of IJM here!

If you want to follow along with the Scripture reading plan I use each year (it's adjusted from the Book of Common Prayer), you can find it below.  

Much love to you this Advent!
chelsea

It will be said on that Day "Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him."

Isaiah 25:9

Advent Readings 2011

For this I have Jesus

Our college pastor recently said something so inspired.  As we were chatting about the demands of ministry, he pondered a minute, then said "In ministry, all my weaknesses come out in full force.  And in ministry, I find that God's grace overflows for my weakness."  (That's my own paraphrase, and it's probably not quite as eloquent as he said it!)

Well it's been one of those days when I am soooo so painfully aware of all my weakness.  And it's true, God's grace does overflow.  I recently heard a story about a gentleman in the UK who clung to the words "for this I have Jesus" in every circumstance.  Such grace!

My world feels full of kids in impossibly hard situations who are languishing for a Savior.

For this I have Jesus.

As I meet with students, I'm overwhelmed by the need--they are steeped in religious tradition but do not understand the gospel; they are looking for something True but have so few resources.

For this I have Jesus.

I am weak and small and broken.  And even when I respond to God's call in obedience, the Enemy is lurking to tell me I've done the wrong thing, said the wrong thing, messed it all up.

For this I have Jesus.

I confess, on days like this one I selfishly wonder who is supposed to take care of me while I take care of others. 

For this I have Jesus.

The [New England] harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.

For this we have Jesus.

Nassau 2011 Video

I couldn't be prouder of the 17 high school students who served on our Nassau team this summer! 

This team was so special to me because of the way they served the Lord, the Haitian and Bahamian communities, and each other.  They made Nassau 2011 the highlight of my summer and maybe even my year!

The song in the background is another team favorite--Gungor's "Beautiful Things."  The entire album is awesome!  Thanks to our friend Elenore, who took some gorgeous photos of our students with the kids at Carmichael Evangelical Church.

p.s. Pastor and Madam Joseph are coming to visit Walnut Hill this weekend!  (Past participants of the trip, holler at me if you want to hang out with them!)  More about their stay next week.

Summer Trips in Review

I figured it was about time I shared a little recap of our Walnut Hill Youth Ministries 2011 Summer Trips!  Coordinating the five trips is a labor of love for me, as the minute details consume a huge portion of my time at work from Christmas until the start of the new school year.

Summer Trips are also one of my FAVORITE things we do here at WHY Ministries.  It's so exciting to see students' hearts enlivened to what God is doing through His Church around the world!

This year, our team and more than 80 students served 


locally in downtown Danbury, CT for our middle school trip to the Jericho Partnership

regionally in Portland, ME for our entry-level high school trip serving with African and Asian refugees through a ministry called the Root Cellar

and at the Joni and Friends Family Camp in New Hampshire for our high school trip serving kids with special needs and their families

internationally in Nassau, Bahamas, where our older high school students served with Haitian refugees at Carmichael Evangelical Church and with hospice residents at a local AIDS camp.

We also offered a leadership expedition in New York's Adirondack Mountains through the La Vida Center for Outdoor Education at Gordon College.

Here's a video our staff audio-visual guru, Pete, made to showcase how God worked through the trips!

p.s. The song in the background is a favorite of this year's Nassau team--"Give Me Faith" by Elevation Worship.  Check it out!

Just a quick post to say..."Call your senators, please!!"

International Justice Mission's office of Justice Campaigns designated today "National Call-in Day," to involve the American public in helping to pass the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA). It's a mouthful, I know. But that's one of the things I love so much about IJM! They make this Washington politics stuff so accessible to us average-Joe Americans who want to help put an end to slavery, once and for all.

In short, the TVPRA is an extension of a bi-partisan bill that has helped to combat trafficking at home and abroad since 2000. The original bill made trafficking a federal crime in the United States, and it imposed a minimum global standard for confronting human trafficking. The renewal of the bill will ensure that these positive advances continue for another three years.

Even though the clock is inching toward midnight, you can still join the efforts to pass the TVPRA. Congress will vote on the bill late in the fall--so if you call your senators tomorrow, they can still be moved to pass the TVPRA! IJM has made it so easy--I was able to call both of my senators from Connecticut and both from Illinois (I live in Connecticut and still have residency in Illinois, so I figured I might as well make some noise!) in fewer than ten minutes.

Visit IJM's National Call-in Day page to quickly find the phone numbers for your senators in their DC offices and for a script to use when you call. This is such a practical opportunity to be a voice for the voiceless.

Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.
Isaiah 1:17

Hunkering Down for Irene

It seems crazy to be bracing for a hurricane in Western Connecticut, but that's exactly what I'm doing here in Bethel. The experts are saying that even though Irene is only a Category 1 storm, she's about 300 miles wide and could really wreck havoc on parts of New York and New England. They've even evacuated parts of New York City, which is just 70 miles west of where I live.

Something about this experience is conjuring up memories of my sophomore year in college, when Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. Even though we were states away, things were tense at the University of Richmond. My good friend Megan's dad was missing for days on end after he went back in to New Orleans to search for friends, and we received several displaced Tulane students for the semester. I know that I'm in about as much danger now as I was that fall in Richmond (i.e. none), but there's still something about these experiences that makes me realize how powerful are the forces of God's creation.

I don't typically get worked up about the weather (other than to turn my nose up at the winter months, that is), but I have to admit, it's a little eerie here! The streets are crowded, and grocery stores, gas stations, CVS, Ace Hardware--everywhere in Bethel--are all overrun with people rushing out to get last minute essentials to weather the storm.

I brought everything in off my porches:



And I'm even bracing my windows here on Greenwood Ave. (does my renter's insurance cover hurricane damage?!):


There's something about the whole experience that is just a little spooky. I find myself humming the Laura Hackett song I've been kind of obsessed with this summer:

when I am afraid I will trust in You
when I'm overcome I will cling on to the Rock
that is higher, He's higher
the Rock that is higher
...oh for there is no peace of mind
outside of truth in Christ

I'm headed to our Saturday evening service, which is replacing all our weekend services because of Irene, to proclaim that truth in community on behalf of New England. Good stuff! Then I'm "evacuating" to my friends the Whites' house for camaraderie and most certainly some good food.

More updates later, provided power and internet hold out.

Hello From Nassau, Bahamas!

Our Walnut Hill Youth team of 17 students and four adult leaders arrived here safely on Sunday morning. I know it sounds like we're really suffering for the Kingdom here in the Bahamas, but I promise--this is NOT an easy trip! In fact, out of our five WHY Summer Trips, this is the one we reserve for the most mature students because of the conditions and the emotional content.

The team has been amazing. The students are meshing so well, serving the kids at Carmichael Evangelical Church with big-hearted enthusiasm, and grabbing hold of some deep spiritual truth in the process. I'm so proud of our students and so humbled to be their leader!

Here are some pictures and a video from the week so far!

Over the next couple of days, please pray for:

-the team as we process our time here. We've had some amazing time together as a team worshiping, talking about Scripture, and asking tough questions about God's justice in the world. Please pray that each student would be open to what God wants to show him or her this week, and that each one would walk in greater boldness with the Lord.

-the safe return of Pastor Joseph, who has been in Haiti this week. We were hoping to make it to church at Carmichael for the Wednesday evening service tonight, and can only go if the pastor returns this morning on schedule!

-our students as they have the opportunity to go to All Saints Camp and visit with residents living with AIDS. It's looking like everyone from our team will have a chance to go! But visiting with the residents is heavy--so pray that our students will be able to process this well.

-our last two days of VBS. Wednesday is typically the toughest day of this trip--will you pray that every team member would have an extra measure of energy and physical strength as kids tug on their hair and ride on their backs?

-our time as a team on Friday and Saturday. Please pray that it would be fruitful time spiritually and that we'd have fun together as a team!

-the church we're with whom we're serving. We value the partnership with a local church here in Nassau so much, and it was encouraging for me yesterday to speak with Madam Joseph at length about what God is doing here. Please pray that he would continue to raise up Haitian leaders and that He would give the church favor in meeting the needs of the community.

Grace and peace!

Chelsea

Let them give glory to the LORD and proclaim his praise in the islands.

Isaiah 42:12