Advent 2009 Archives - Eileen Campbell-Reed

December 23, 2009Advent 2009 by Eileen Campbell-Reed

Advent VIII

Unhinged and upended . . .

In my first Advent post I wrote about opening the little doors on an Advent calendar [link]. Today I’ve been thinking about a different set of doors.

It was 1993. (Don’t tell me, please, if you were in kindergarten that year.) I was just graduating from seminary. And I attended a worship service in Birmingham at the annual Baptist Women in Ministry (BWIM) meeting. Nancy Hastings Sehested was the preacher that day. The occasion was a ten-year anniversary of BWIM.

December 20, 2009December 20, 2021Advent 2009 by Eileen Campbell-Reed

Advent VII

Ten weather balloons.
One contact lens.
One very young, very pregnant girl.
Needles in a haystack, all.

December 16, 2009August 18, 2021Advent 2009 by Eileen Campbell-Reed

Advent VI

Reshaping the body with prayer

As I lay face up on the table a few weeks ago, my massage therapist interrupted my reverie.

She said, “Do you know that your right leg is listing outward.”

“Nope, I had no idea really.” She was standing at my feet and gently adjusted my wayward right leg. “Now that you mention it . . . I notice what you are saying.” My left knee cap pointed straight toward the ceiling, but my right one was tilted outward.

December 12, 2009Advent 2009 by Eileen Campbell-Reed

Advent V

On Thursday of this week I found myself stunned by beauty twice in an hour. Let me tell you about the first of those two moments. The evening before I’d been in something of a foul mood, feeling anger and disappointment, which can take their toll on a body. But the drive and conversation between St. Paul and Collegeville, Minnesota had tempered and mellowed me. I was open in mind and heart, relaxed in body, but I was unprepared for what lay ahead.

December 9, 2009Advent 2009 by Eileen Campbell-Reed

Advent IV

I’ve fallen for a rock band. Shocking, I know. Well, when you hear this song, I think you’ll understand my attraction. The group, Switchfoot released their latest album in November. “Hello Hurricane” has some fabulous tracks, and I’ve been filling myself up with them this Advent season.

December 5, 2009Advent 2009 by Eileen Campbell-Reed

Advent III

It is late in the season of Ordinary Time. I am sitting in worship. Not in my usual home congregation but another setting. I find myself sinking deeper and deeper into despair.

December 2, 2009Advent 2009 by Eileen Campbell-Reed

Advent II

Falling . . .

The thing about falling is not the falling. That can be lovely in itself. Remember the “Nestea Plunge” into a pool on a hot summer day? Or falling into a really big pile of autumn leaves? Ever tried skydiving or hang gliding? Even running is actually falling and constantly catching yourself with each step. And of course there is falling in love . . .

No, the thing about falling is not the falling. It’s the hitting bottom. The landing. The thing about falling is the end of the fall.

November 28, 2009January 14, 2022Advent 2009 by Eileen Campbell-Reed

Advent I : Be Present to This Moment

I first learned the word “Advent” not as a season, but as a description of small cardboard calendars that my parents brought home from Europe. Each year following Thanksgiving, we unpacked them from musty decoration boxes . . .

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