What is God trying to say to us in our busy lives? He suggests this: "Be patient! Learn to prepare. Learn to wait—for each other, for love, for celebration, for God!" In a culture that wants immediate gratification, Advent teaches us that we can rush things to such a degree that we minimize the impact. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, we will be doing a series called PREPARE. Picture a green log in a fire. It heats up for a long while before it bursts into flame. That is Christmas. There was a certain waiting before the Messiah came. There is purpose in the waiting. It is a season of preparation. We will look at the ingredients of preparation: Hope, Peace, Joy, Love, and, finally, Jesus. Please join us for our Advent Series and let us all learn how to PREPARE for Jesus to be born anew in all of our hearts.