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From Thankfulness to Watchfulness

My 30 Days of Thanksgiving has been a bit sporadic, but my last one is to you for sticking with me... 
But now, as we enter into advent I would invite you to continue with me in 25 Days of Watchfulness; watching and waiting as an "attentive pilgrim" looking for signs of grace in the world around us... For a couple of years a number of friends of Crookedshore participated in a shared exercise of advent watchfulness under the title of "Mockingbird's Leap"... It was a useful discipline, and I resurrected it last year on a patchy basis here on VM. I thought it would be an interesting experiment this year again following on from the 30 Days of Thanksgiving... I hope you  find it helpful in the midst of the pre-Christmas madness. To kick it off here is a reblog of a piece I posted last year. It is inspired by the last set of prayers in David Adam's wonderful wee book "The Rhythm of Life" which are a short set of devotions for a Saturday night, under the title of "Advent: the Coming One." 

Come, Lord, awaken us to your presence.
Dispel the darkness of night.
Come, Lord, awaken us to your presence.
Clear the deafness from our ears.
Come, Lord, awaken us to your presence.
Remove the blindness from our eyes.
Come, Lord, awaken us to your presence.
Soften the hardness in our hearts.
Come, Lord, awaken us to your presence.
Eradicate the slowness in our brains.
Come, Lord, awaken us to your presence.
Stimulate our senses and make us more aware of you.
Come, Lord, awaken us to your presence.

Into a world of gathering gloom
Into a society riven by strife
Into our sense of impotence
Come, Lord Jesus
Come, Immanuel

Into our joys and celebrations
Into our homes and families
Into our work and rest
Come, Lord Jesus
Come, Immanuel

Into the hearts of those in desperation
Into the bodies of those who are ill
Into the void left by those who are absent
Come, Lord Jesus
Come, Immanuel

Come, Lord, awaken us with your presence
Maranatha
Come, Lord Jesus.

ps. Tomorrow I will be posting the first of the Hope and History Advent Candle Liturgies, entitled "Into the Neighbourhood," as promised earlier in the week, but if you haven't picked up on them by now and would like something a wee bit different for this year's Advent services, you should be able to find them via the Hope and History site.

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