Hello ladies and welcome to the genius project advent retreat series.

My name is Karen Doyle, your host and founder of the genius project.

And it is my great joy and privilege to be able to host

this four-part series on advent.

And to really bless you, I guess, with some input and some beautiful

reflections from some very beautiful women who are going to lead you deeper

into your preparation for Christ.

Christmas, the full weeks of advent are often thought of as symbolizing, the full

ways in which Jesus comes into the world.

The first way is his birth as a helpless infant in Bethlehem.

The second is his arrival into our hearts

as believers.

The third is at his death.

And the fourth is his coming on judgment day.

Advent is a season of waiting and preparation, but the waiting we do in

advent is hopeful and it is grounded in joy and hope and anticipation for the

way in which Jesus is going to be born.

A new.

Within our hearts at Christmas time, this is not a passive waiting.

It is an active waiting for the Lord.

And in order to do this, we have to make room.

We have to prepare space in our heart and our soul to receive Christ.

You remember that beautiful quote from St.

Joan of arc act, and God will act.

So there is an onus on us to be preparing some space within our soul.

Within our life to receive Christ and you during this beautiful season of advent,

to help you do this, I have invited four very beautiful Catholic women to share

with you a different angle on how you can personally prepare your heart and

soul to receive Christ this Christmas.

I'd love to invite you to subscribe on the link below to the.

Podcasts and the genius project, YouTube channel, so that you can access some

of these really beautiful reflections over the coming weeks to kick us off in

this advent retreat series, Laura Roland will be joining me today to unpack how

we can prepare our hearts and souls to

receive Christ.

So I'd love

to introduce you to our first keynote speaker for this advent.

Theories, the beautiful Laura Roland, who is a very good friend

of mine all the way from the USA.

She's joining us right now at the end of her day, the start of our day.

So

Laura, well, oh, thanks Karen.

I love being with you guys.

It's just, it's always the highlight of the season, whatever you're putting on,

it's just, um, it's just really beautiful.

So thank you for including me.

And, um, and I just, I pray that, that this event is just such a

blessing to, to all of the ladies that are tuning in for this.

Yeah.

Well, thank you.

Thank you for being with us.

You always, I love the way that you unpack themes with your words.

You have a beautiful gift with words and just providing this scaffolding

around an experience or a theme.

So I'm really looking forward to our conversation today.

Just looking at this journey towards Christmas with Jesus and

to encounter him at Christmas time.

During this season of advent.

But I just interested.

What did you get up to today before

we, well, today was an exciting, I, um, I actually started

a new full-time job, so I'm still going to be doing the encounter grace

and the speaking and the writing.

Um, but I am the content partnerships lead for hallow, which is the number

one Catholic app in the world.

And so my job is, um, working with their amazing, uh, content team on bringing.

The absolute stellar content that they, um, that they have.

Um, so it's, um, today was day one and it was I'm full on.

I'm in, I'm in, um, and I work virtually, so, uh, everything is on zoom and,

um, I have a whole new appreciation for what my husband does in terms of.

Being on zoom calls all day long.

I haven't had that in, in, in a while.

So it was great.

That was really good energy.

And they are a fantastic group of very dedicated individuals.

So, um, we're going to see what God's going to do with this,

but they are so blessed to have you.

I can't wait to see where it all goes, but it's a great app.

Isn't it?

The Helo app brings everybody

to check it out.

Yeah, it's um, it, for me, I've been using the app before.

For actually, they've been around for almost four years and I think I

found them right after they started.

And, um, I know it has brought me just so much solace, um, mostly in the middle

of the night when I'm struggling or restless or anxious or whatever, this

isn't a pitch for the app, by the way.

I'm just saying how I've used it.

I realize I just now sound like, Hey, um, and it's not that, but

for me, it's just been a really.

Beautiful go-to um, and knowing that I'm United in prayer with so many other people

that are also praying using the app.

So it's been great and totally has

tools, a great whether it's hello or Bible in a year or whatever.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

There's so much out there that we can use, um, this, this

happened to sort of fit my needs.

Um, but there certainly are some beautiful things out there for sure.

Yeah.

And you have just

become, oh my goodness.

This is so exciting.

I grandmother,

but we're not using the word grandmother.

I did.

I did.

Oh, you can use grandmother.

It's all good.

So my baby, my youngest, um, and his beautiful wife who I just adore.

Um, they had their first, their first baby.

So our first grandchild on November 28th.

So we have a little boy, um, we're not giving out anymore, too

much more information about that, cause he's gonna have his own.

Life and his own footprint on things, but happy and healthy.

And I didn't think my heart could explode any more, um, after having,

having, you know, my own children.

Um, and then when they got married, you know, that was like another explosion,

but I will tell you, so yeah, seeing this little guy has been like, you

know, all the things, but see my son.

Hold his son and then hand his son to my husband to hold.

It's just incredible.

It's the most incredible feeling.

So, um, yeah, God is so good.

He's just so fateful.

And I think those babies come along, it just, we don't even know how

much we need them when they, when they arrive for lots of reasons.

And he's just, I think he's the best, but I, you know, Be a little

biased to fact that just for a minute, everybody's like pleased.

They're all selling you.

Like you have permission to send me as many pictures as you want.

It's okay.

So it's like, everyone's sort of giving me that permission,

um, which is just delightful.

So everyone's sharing in the joy.

Well, and it's a whole new season for you, isn't it.

And this is what we're talking about in this advent series.

At van is a season, it's a seasonal operation.

And so I love that you get to experience two seasons.

Yeah.

We, um, when, when my husband and I, you know, knew that this

little guy I've called him little man, since we knew he was coming, even before

we knew, you know, was a little boy.

But I, I said to my husband, I said, you know, are you ready

to move to a new neighborhood?

And he said, but I don't know what you're talking about.

And I said, well, we're moving from parenthood, the parenthood

to the grand parenthood.

I said, so we are really moving into a new place and an actual new place, um, in, in

terms of, of the life of a family and, you know, all the things that that entails.

And so, um, that's just sort of been a beautiful.

Um, reminder to us of what this is, um, you know, and what it can look like.

So we're so happy,

so excited for you and us such a day, friend

of us here in Australia.

There's so many, you've blessed us by coming over, speaking at our sisterhood

conference a few years ago now.

And you've been on our virtual events and been a guest on the

podcast and we just love you, Laura.

So really looking forward to this

today.

Oh, thank you so much.

It's, it's always a delight and, um, and you all see, ladies are just,

they have my heart and you stole my heart when I came over there.

And, and I, and I meant it when I said back that, I

mean, it's going on for years?

I can't believe it's been four years.

Um, you know, you only, I left a piece of my heart in Australia

and I am coming back one day.

Absolutely you better.

Yeah.

Well, we are going to kick off today and I'm going to

throw to you in just a moment, but you're going to be sharing with us.

We're going to actually be doing four talks over the course of advent.

And these talks are from different speakers and they're really

designed to invite the ladies into.

The season of contemplation of preparation to receive Christ in

a new and a holy way at Christmas.

And we know that around the world, like there's been so much

craziness over the past two years.

So I think now more than ever, this season of advent feels

more important, more profound.

And I think there is an invitation here for us as women to go to

a whole new place with the Lord in our faith and in our walks.

So I'm going to head over to you before I do.

I just.

Drew your attention to these beautiful holy family picture behind me.

We're all very Christmasy here in Australia.

Beautiful.

That's a, that's an extraordinary picture behind you.

It's really beautiful.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Jonathan got this one.

It's just, it's so lovely.

We have it upstairs.

And just as a real centerpiece during the season.

Of advent.

So what I'd love to do now, Laura is hand over to you for you to, I guess,

journey is through this first presentation for this first week of advent.

So I know that you would like to share your screen.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

Second to get that up and running and we'll do our, um, it takes a

minute for the slideshow to come up.

All right.

How is that looking on your end?

Friends works well.

Looks good.

Awesome, awesome.

Awesome.

Well, ladies, I am just so excited.

Like I said to be here.

Um, this is a, uh, this is a retreat that I have written, um, and really the

Lord put it on my heart, um, probably about a year ago and I sort of the,

the, this idea of journeying to Jesus.

Um, you know, we, we talk a lot.

Um, in our, in our lives and our prayer lives, especially when things aren't going

well, we're wondering, where is Jesus?

Where has God and all of this?

Like what happened?

I don't feel him anymore.

I don't, I, you know, maybe we're feeling dry in our prayer life and our spiritual

life and, and, um, And oftentimes we think, well, God, God has left me.

God has, God has moved on.

I must not be worthy.

There must be something wrong with me.

And the reality is, is that God's omnipresent, right?

He's always with us and it's us who have moved away.

And so the church and all of her infinite wisdom and beauty has given

us two seasons to remember that we.

I do indeed have relationship with, with, with God that needs to be nurtured.

That needs to be, um, it needs to be nourished if you will.

And that when we feel that, that God's not really close, our,

our job is to turn back to him.

Our job is to take those steps to Jesus.

He's standing there with his hands out.

Um, Advent, especially is a really interesting time to think

about this idea of journey.

So in the, in the talk that I'm going to give now, we're going

to talk about things from sort of like the traditional standpoint.

Yes.

We're going to talk about those that we know from the Bible, from

the, uh, from the Bible accounts, from the, uh, nativity stories.

A couple of groups of people who journey to Jesus, right.

That we're very familiar with.

But then ladies, what I'd like to do is I'd like to invite you to kind of

maybe take a peak from the side door and we're going to look at other people in

the life of Jesus later on in his life who actually journeyed to him as well.

And I wonder.

As we think about some of these other people who journeyed to Jesus later

in his life, if those are people to whom we can turn, those are people

to whom we can look for encouragement and inspiration, um, when we're

feeling very far away from Jesus.

So.

Let's dive in, shall we?

So our journey to Jesus, um, for those of you that don't know me, my name is Laura

Roland and I am a speaker and a writer.

I'm a podcast host, I'm a frequent podcast guest, Karen on Karen's podcast

and a as well as some others, I'm also a mentor for something that we have

here in the states called the given.

Forum.

Um, and that's working with young Catholic women, um, and working on

projects, leadership projects and creative projects that they're bringing

forth, um, for the church around the United States and actually globally.

Um, so I'm actually a mentor for that program as well.

Uh, in 2018, I co-founded, um, a Catholic Christian women's ministry

here in the United States called encounter grace, where we do

online and, um, in-person events.

And then as of today, I am the content partnerships lead with Hallo, which is

the number one Catholic app in the world.

And, uh, I had that confirmed today at my onboarding.

So, um, ladies, it is so nice to meet you and if I haven't met you yet, um,

I do look forward to, uh, to our paths crossing, even if it's virtually, um, in

the very near future with all that being said, Let's dive into our topic for today.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Actually, somebody just said, how about, uh, how about what

you really do for a living?

And I'm like, okay, I should probably share this slide.

So my real claim to fame is all encompassed on this slide right here.

So this is my amazing.

Matthew.

We've been married for 32 years in October and please God,

another 132 and many, many more.

He is an amazing man.

Um, and I love him.

So this is actually us at our, uh, in, um, August of 2020 at

the rehearsal dinner for our son.

Um, and so this was just as we were getting ready to celebrate

32 years, I think we sort of.

Pretty much the same.

I don't know.

Maybe without the cake on her face.

Anyway, we have three beautiful children.

This is them when they were little, they were in, um, they

were, let's see, they were eight and six and four in this picture.

And, uh, as you can see, our family has grown by two people because now.

We have added a beautiful daughter-in-law and an amazing son-in-law to the picture.

And then as we talked about in the very beginning, just a week ago, we

added our sweet little grandson here.

So our family is growing and thriving.

And, uh, these th this is really my real claim to fame, everybody.

So this is, this is what makes me the happiest right here.

So that's what you need to know about me.

Um, let's dive into this idea of advent.

So when we talk about advent, um, we know that advent is a season, you know,

lots of us could, could really, you know, maybe give a good explanation of it.

If you're like me, I didn't really know what advent was until I actually

started teaching in a Catholic school.

And then I sort of had to know what advent was to be able to decorate

the classroom the right way.

Um, but there is a, there is a definition of what advent really means.

Um, and, uh, here in the.

States, this is our definition from the U S CB.

And I put this up here so that we sort of have a frame of reference

so that we understand we all have sort of a common definition here.

Um, and what I would highlight is, is that advent is the beginning

of the church's liturgical year.

And I love that idea of the beginning of the year.

Um, Having that beginning of the year start well before January 1st.

So I feel like we as Catholics get sort of a jump on the whole, like, I need

to prepare for things I need to think about changes that I want to make.

I need to think about, you know, the start of something new.

What can I do differently this, this year?

Um, moving forward.

So we don't really have to wait until January 1st.

That's the secular world's idea of a start of a new year, but the church

in her infinite wisdom pushed it back a little bit so that we sort of, we

sort of get there first and we have our spiritual, uh, plans and our spiritual

priorities in line and, and ready to roll.

Um, so that, so that when we do turn the calendar, January one, We've already

got some things in place shored up.

So that's the way that I like to think about it.

So, but advent definitely is a season and it's a time of preparation.

It directs our hearts and minds to Christ's second coming at the end of time.

And it is really the celebration of the anniversary of our.

Birth on Christmas from the earliest days of the church, people have been fascinated

by this promise that Jesus comes back.

And so we have this very beautiful time to really, um, to, to ponder what

that means and what that looks like.

Not only for the world, but you know, really in our own hearts in our own life.

What does it mean by this promise of Jesus to come back?

The scripture readings during advent, tell us not to waste our

time though, with predictions.

Like what is it going to be like, is it really going to be, you know,

like the world locusts and plagues and like all of the things, right.

Um, you know, we shouldn't be so focused on what those, what those predictions are.

Advent is not about that speculation.

It's it's calling us to be alert and ready, but not weighted down and

distracted by the cares of the world.

And so like lent the liturgical color for Adventist purple, since both

our seasons to prepare us for feast.

Advent also includes an element of penance and this was something that I learned.

Um, just recently I had never really thought about this idea

of penance, of course, in lent.

Like we're all about, well, what are you going to give up in advent?

It feels like.

On so much in the hustle and bustle here in the United States, we

come off of Halloween, followed very shortly, uh, by Thanksgiving.

And then we turn around and advent begins.

And so there's not a whole lot of time for us to, to sort of have a run-up to it.

Um, we sort of hit advent, like, you know, full on and, um, I was just talking with

some, some friends of mine this weekend.

And they're like, if I have to find those advent candles, I

know I put them away last year.

What did I do with them?

Right.

And so, um, you know, we, we have this stress and this pressure we think about,

oh, I have to do all of these things.

But I would like us during this talk to really maybe reflect on, on looking

at advent a little differently and really looking more at that element of

penance in the sense of preparing and quieting and disciplining our hearts.

What can we give up in the hustle and the bustle to really slow ourselves

down so that we really can prepare for the full joy of Christmas, which

we is the second coming of Christ.

So.

With that in mind, all of that context in mind, I really love,

love, love this passage from Hebrews.

So it's Hebrews 10, 24, 25.

And as we are in this season of preparation, one of the things

that we need to do is we need to think about others as well,

because how we are affects others.

And so we're going to come back to this quote at the end of the, at

the end of the talk, or I'm sorry, this passage at the end of the

talk, but just think about that.

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good

deeds, not giving up, meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but

encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day approaching.

And so when we look at this idea of how are we spurring one another on

toward love and good deeds, if our hearts are so chaotic and so weighted

down with, with what, what the world tells us, we should be doing between

the December 1st and December 25th.

And then.

Here in the states, December 26th is the day we take it all back because

none of it fit in the first place.

You know, what do we, what are we really doing?

How are we spurring one another on towards love and good deeds, right?

Kurt encouraging one another because the day is approaching.

So in that mindset, advent is a beautiful time for us to stop and

pause and take a breath and to really be thinking about that.

So now that we've sort of looked at what I call the front

door of this topic of advent.

Um, I also, those of you that know me, I sort of like to take you

by the hand and say, Hey sister, you know, this is the front door.

Let's come in the side door.

Let's, let's look at this from a little bit of a different angle.

Let's step into this together.

You and I, and let's see if we can uncover and unpack other ways that

we could look at this topic as well.

So in our, in our church, um, calendar, we have two liturgical seasons.

Like we said, of preparation, we have advent and we have lent.

And the thing about advent and lent is that both of the seasons

require us to take a journey that includes Jesus in advent.

We include Jesus because we are seeking him.

We seek him in his birth and in that, seeking him in this birth, we are

United in hope with the rest of the world, ladies, you and I during when,

when that, when December 25th hits, even though there's, you know, the big

time difference, it doesn't matter.

My heart and your heart are going to be United in the hope that this little.

Baby brings to the world and he brings it every December 25th, because

that's when we celebrate Christmas.

That's when we that's, when we celebrate what he represents, that's

what we celebrate in, in what we believe in the second coming of

this, of this, of this person who's going to, who's going to save us.

Who's going to, to, you know, embrace us, wrap us up and take us to heaven.

Right.

Um, and so in advent, we seek.

And I know advent, sometimes we think about like, well, there's

lots of people that seek him.

Right.

And then Tivity story, we think about, um, the wise men who

journeyed to Jesus because they did.

And we think about the shepherds who journeyed to Jesus because they did.

And the reasons that they did it is because they had been told and they

believed they were some curiosity there, but ultimately they had hope.

They had hope.

And that hasn't changed in these all these years later, these 2000 plus years later,

we are still an advent seeking him United and hope with the rest of the world.

And when we, when we approach advent in this way, it helps us.

Number one to have a good and holy advent.

Right.

But then what do we do?

We turn that calendar page to January and then comes February.

And between February and April, depending on the year, it's a very,

very short time between December 25th.

And when we hit Ash Wednesday and that's the start of lent and lent

that season of preparation, that season of journey to Jesus is actually

where we walk with our little.

But we don't walk with him to a new birth.

Yet.

We walk with him to his death United with him in his suffering.

And it's only after the suffering that we come to understand that it

is a new birth in, in a way, right.

He, he goes to heaven and we believe that it isn't the end,

but it's the beginning of.

And then the church in her lovely wisdom again, gives us all of

that ordinary time to ponder, to reflect, to sort of live our life.

Knowing, knowing that we have this new season of hope that's coming,

there'll be followed by some suffering, but ultimately death doesn't win.

And that's, that's where we have.

The continued hope.

So when we look at advent from that perspective, I think it gives us a

whole new, a whole new way to consider what am I doing with this time?

See, we're super intentional about.

I mean, some people I know are probably already thinking, well,

what am I going to give up for life?

I may be one of those people, right.

Or what am I going to do differently for lent or what, you know,

I'm gonna, I'm going to reach out more to work in my parish.

I'm going to do, you know, whatever.

So, so we've, we've gotten very accustomed to this idea of giving

something up for lent, but we haven't really gotten to the idea yet of

what advent really can be for us.

Okay.

So what I'd like to do is I want to offer you, um, I want to offer you some ideas.

And by that, I mean, I want to look at this idea of what would advent

look like if we set a purpose for our advent time, what would that

really look like in our lives?

Would advent be different?

Would we feel differently when we got to the 25th of December?

What are, what are spiritual life be better?

Would we be more calm, ready to receive that little baby that hope as opposed to

saying, oh man, I made it to the 25th.

Okay.

What's next?

Right.

Like, like it's really this very gentle, um, season that, that the Lord

has given us to, to really think about and reflect on what's what's actually

happening in that, in that little manger.

So.

When I think of advent and when I'm, you know, talking with lots

and lots of women, you know, I I've, I've often asked the question, what

is it that you want from Jesus?

Like what, why do you seek him in the first place?

And, you know, hope is definitely one of them enjoy as something

else, but inevitably, inevitably they say, you know, I think.

I think I need him in my life.

I think I need to know who he is in my life.

I think I need to experience him at a different level than what I have been.

I think I need some healing.

Doesn't he heal?

I think I need some answers to some very difficult questions.

I think I need stillness and peace.

I think I need light.

I think I need some truth.

These are just some of the other.

Of the yearnings.

These are just some of the deeper reasons that we spend this good and holy

time preparing to receive that hope.

And so I love the nativity stories there.

They're beautiful.

And I can't wait to read it to my.

Did I mention, I have a grandson, how many more times can I say that in the thing?

But, you know, we get excited.

Like we want to share that, right.

But I am often drawn to the people who encountered Jesus later in his life.

And these are adults who had, had to have the same faith that the shepherd boy had.

And, and even as we, you know, we come to find out that the

wise men, right, who saw, who saw Jesus, who, who journeyed to Jesus.

Right.

Um, and so the, there are three, well, there's two people in, in particular.

And then there's one group of people.

You know, I think that we can look to these living people who encountered the

living Christ later in his life for, um, for a way that we can also journey

to Jesus to get what we're looking for.

So, and he had given, looking for healing and answers.

I'm often struck by the hemorrhaging woman and there's many, many, um,

instances we know in scripture of, you know, the, the lepers and, um, the

blind men and, you know, lots and lots of people who sought Jesus for healing.

But there's something about the hemorrhaging woman that I ponder often.

Um, and that is.

She had to screw her courage so much to go against what her world

told her was an impossibility.

There is no hope for you.

You are so damaged physically.

You have no place at our table or anywhere else.

He's never going to hear you.

He's never going to see you.

And yet, what does she do?

She journeys to Jesus knowing he's going to be there because she believes

she's been told and she believes right.

And she journeys to him despite everything that the world tells her otherwise.

And she butt touches his room.

She doesn't even get, she doesn't even get close enough to see his face.

She can't even look at him.

And yet she journeys to him having hope.

He is her hope.

He is her final hope for healing, and he gives her the

answers that he, that she needs.

You are worthy.

You can be healed.

Your faith has saved.

You go and be healed.

And I have to say, when I think about advent, if you are searching

for healing and answers, we need only look to the hemorrhaging woman.

She went after hope and that's what advent is.

December 25th is our answer right there in that little manger.

See.

And then I think about what I need this season setting a purpose for my advent

has been seeking stillness and peace.

We've had a rather chaotic, I don't think I'm being too, uh, I don't think

I'm making too much of that either.

I think we've really my husband and I have had a case.

Start to our life here in a new state, in a new city.

Um, the year itself has been chaotic, lots of new starts and finishes

and, um, really crazy things.

And then in the midst of it, all, my mother-in-law passed away quite suddenly.

Um, and so we've had a season of joy and sorrow all at the same time and

it's been a lot, it's been a lot.

And so my purpose for advent was I need some stillness and I need some peace.

And yes, the shepherd boy found that.

And yes, the, the, um, the Kings found that eventually the wise men,

I'm sorry, found that eventually they didn't know what they were going after.

That that's what they were going to get, but they were looking for answers.

They ended up with some peace, which I love, but I often

think about the apostles.

And I think about the apostles because they were raggedy buds.

And I mean, no disrespect here, but they were a raggedy bunch of people

that were living in a very chaotic time.

The government was unstable.

There was civil unrest, there were all sorts of, of, um, clashes,

um, among people, within people.

They even had issues within their.

Religion with between the Pharisees and the Sadducees and everybody.

So there was a lot of turmoil, a lot of chaos, and here, these men are, and

they hear this man and they see this man and they go, I'm going to follow him.

I'm going to seek him.

I'm going to seek him out because there is something that he offers me.

It's a new hope of stillness and peace in a world that has gone mad with chaos and

craziness and instability and uncertainty.

And that's what, that's what the Christ child represents

for us at the end of advent.

There's your stillness?

There's that peak.

I think about Mary and Joseph and Jesus just lying there.

And that, that moment, I mean, Karen, you shared your, your holy family moment.

And I just think about the stillness and peace that comes

when we are together as a family.

And then for most of us, you know, and family can, is different for different

ones of us and maybe it's your friends or whatever, but, but nonetheless

Jesus has there at the center.

And so it's that stillness and that piece that I think the Apostle's journey to

Jesus to find maybe they didn't have those words, but they knew he offered something

better and it was a hope that they weren't getting anywhere else during that time.

And then finally, I think about this idea of light and truth.

I've spent a lot of time, um, just sort of unpacking, especially with,

with Catholic educators recently, this idea of, of salt and light, right.

Um, and where are we?

Salt?

Where are we light in our.

To our school communities.

And then I challenged myself to think about it for myself.

Where am I light?

Where am I truth?

Where am I, the seasoning that others need?

And sometimes I lose track of that and sometimes I lose.

Um, I don't, I I've lost hope sometimes.

I think, no, I think that's true.

I think I can't shine brightly.

I don't feel it.

My well is not full.

I haven't rested.

And so if I haven't done those things, that I'm not really living the truth.

And then I ask myself, do I even know what the truth is someday?

And so I love the story of Nicodemus and it makes me giggle actually thinking

about this because here's this man.

And I picture him a big man, um, you know, big stature, you

know, not only physically, but you know, within his community.

And he goes under cover of darkness because he had to, but

he knew where to find the light.

And who's the light.

Jesus.

And there was the hope that comes with that light.

And he, he and Jesus had the most, it's, it's really a profound exchange.

It's two very highly intelligent men asking some very, very deep questions and

not being afraid to say, I still don't understand, but I hear what you're saying.

And I'm paraphrasing very badly here, but you get my point and to hear them

say, Come to a conclusion that there is light and truth, and that it is

good to hope in those things so much.

So that Nicodemus goes on later to actually stand up and say,

are you sure this is your guy?

Are you sure you want to do this?

Had it not been for him seeking the light and the truth, having the

courage to find hope in this man that the world said otherwise, But

Nicodemus knew, and he knew even more after spending that time with him.

So I think sometimes in our, in our world, and especially,

you know, when we look at ad.

And we think about, oh, you know, we had this beautiful shepherd boy

and somebody came and played a drum, and then we've got, you know, these

three wise men that come and they're sent and you know, we have this

beautiful picture and that's great.

It's hard to relate to that.

Sometimes I'm not a shepherd.

I don't work for a key, but I have been ill and I have lived in chaos.

And I have really wrestled with finding my light and finding what

the truth is and how to share that and how to be that for others.

And so.

I would just really encourage you if you are, if you're thinking

of advent and thinking it of, ah, it's all my to-do lists, where are

the candles for the advent reef?

How many devotionals can I do?

Some of you are doing 17 devotionals.

I know because I've seen your Instagram pictures.

I picked two and I'm struggling to even do one.

And we're only what two weeks in.

And so what are.

What I have to think about what I have to say to myself

as, okay, Laura, that's great.

Are any of these really what you wanted your purpose for advent to be?

And if none of them are bringing me stillness and peace, which is the category

that I've chosen, then I need to ask the Lord, Lord, can I, can I take this off?

Can I, can I put this to the side?

Can I come back to this?

Is it okay, Lord.

Cause we're waiting for permission for him to say my beloved daughter.

I just want you, I want your heart.

I want your soul.

I want your everything,

how you get there.

Doesn't really matter to me.

I just want you there.

And I think if we can remember that.

And we can go to the Lord and say, okay, Lord, I know you want my everything,

but I need some healing first.

I need some answers.

Where's my light.

Where's the truth.

We are purposeful and intentional.

How beautiful, what our advent be, how much more ready are we come?

December 25th with that bundle of home.

Laying in, in that manger, I wonder.

And it makes me ridiculously happy to think about that and to pray about that.

So, ladies, as you, as you head into this next week of advent,

you have a couple more weeks left.

I want you to, maybe it's not too late.

And I think that's the other point in all of this.

We can always start over.

If we haven't done the 17 journals, well, we need to have a talk

about that beforehand next year.

Put away the 17, you know, maybe pick one, like let you know, we need

to be by we, I mean, me, we need to be more realistic about what we can

do, but isn't that the sign of hope?

Oh my gosh.

I'm so hopeful for this season.

I want it to be the best ever.

Um, but we have to prepare just like we set a, just like we set out a roadmap

for a journey that we're going to take.

If it's a, if it's a little bit of an unknown.

Um, you know, we need to say, okay, well, we're going to do this and

we're going to go this, and we're going to take this road and this is

what we're going to do along the way.

So that preparation requires planning and planning indicates a purpose.

So I would encourage you.

I'm going to pray for you that you will spend some time thinking about a purpose

for the rest of your advent season, so that you can better prepare to receive.

Because when you're able to do that, I want to go back to our Hebrews when we are

prepared, when our Wells are filled and that's what this advent season will do.

We may spur one another on towards love and good deeds.

We will not give up meeting together, but we will encourage one another all the more

as that day, that second coming approach.

Uh, awake, awake,

awake,

awake.

So ladies, it's a good time to have a good and holy advent, even as we get ready to

light that third rose color candle, right.

And as you set your purpose, As you prepare.

And as you take and make this journey to Jesus know that penny, my business

partner, and I will be praying for you as you continue this journey to Jesus.

Amen.

Amen.

My man, Laura, thank you so much.

I just feel like I've just have my whole thing

filled listening.

I said, holy spirit is so good that way.

Thank you so much.

I just, I love that.

They love the way that you have.

Outlined, I guess the whole purpose for advent for us, but also inviting us into

our own interior, cloister our own hearts to see what it is and what are the areas

in which the Lord wants to meet us.

And I think when we actually can bring.

And we can open our hearts under the gaze of the holy spirit, the Lord acts, but

we have to take that first active step.

Right.

And this is what you're saying is that we are called to be active

participants in our own life.

We're called to be co-creators of our own life with the Lord.

So it's not enough to sort of sit back and just wait for God to act.

We actually have to be in there.

We have to get in the arena.

We have to get in the game.

We have to get in our own life and be.

Participants.

So my question for the ladies today is how are you going to be intentional?

How are you going to set an intentional purpose for your advent season?

Well, Laura, thank you so much.

That was incredibly beautiful, incredibly rich, and I hope it's such

a blessing for the ladies who are

listening.

So thank you so much.

I, I, it's a, it's a topic that's really near and dear to my heart and, um, and.

I'm trying to take my own advice about that and, and

really, um, set that purpose.

So it, it definitely is game changer.

So,

and I once said this quote, it said, you know, start the

year as you'd like to finish the year because, and I love how you

highlight are you actually begins.

Like a preparation for 20, 22 is actually already in progress right now.

And so when we are intentional, when we, I think this is in all

areas of life, right, where we are intentional, where we're taking a

step back, we're being really aware of what's going on in us and around us.

Then we can engage with life from a different place as opposed to being

caught up in all of that chaos and being flung around by the emotional,

spiritual, physical chaos of.

Yeah, absolutely.

And, and it really is.

Um, I love that idea of intentionality.

And I think that, um, you know, if we come at it from a place of, of, we're trying

to rest our hearts, right, our hearts are restless until they rest with the Lord.

Right.

And if, if we can think of advent as a season of rest and

really allowing the Lord to do some interior work, we're ready.

We're, we're ready for the hope that he brings.

Um, otherwise we're not so ready for.

Absolutely.

And we miss it.

Like we talk about the Lord coming, like Christ coming.

And he comes in for, we, I think in our Catholic faith, we talk about four

different ways in which Christ comes.

And I highlighted these in the introduction, but one of the ways, and

the second way is that how he comes in our heart in the everyday reality of our life.

So yes, he comes in his birth and yes, you'll come again in the second coming.

And he's death and resurrection, but there's this second area in which he

comes in the day in, day out, lived reality of our life and our encounters

and our interactions with other people.

And I think sometimes those people or those situations, which really

great us up the wrong way, have precisely the areas in which the Lord.

In wanting to come, he's wanting to come.

He's wanting us to seek him in those areas.

So it's so beautiful, such a joy and such a gift to have you Laura.

And I'm wondering whether or not you're close for us with just a blessing and

a prayer over the weekends, I would be honored.

Absolutely.

Alright.

And the name of the father and of the son of the holy spirit.

Amen.

Good and gracious.

God, thank you for this time is good.

And holy time that we have set aside to spend with one another and with

you, Lord, I ask a blessing on all of the ladies who are in attendance,

um, that their hearts and their minds are forever turned towards you.

And that you will remind each one of them that they are your beloved.

And that you see them, you know them and you love them guide their

hearts as they journey to your son.

Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Amen.

And even the father and of the side of the holy spirit, when I reached draw.

Thank you so much.

I can't wait to see the other talks and the other ladies that you have coming on.

Um, what a blessing.

This is Karen.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, Laura.

I love you so much.

Well, I hope and pray that that input from Laura

really nourished your soul.

She has such a beautiful way with words and inviting us

to go deeper with the Lord.

So I'd like to encourage you this week to really carve out that time

and space in your schedule and your.

To receive the Lord to really meditate and reflect on some of the things

that Laura has mentioned today to help you do this, we have prepared a

beautiful journal prepared for him.

If you haven't already signed up for the advent retreat

series, I invite you to do that.

Now you can sign up by just clicking on the link below this video or

in the show notes for the podcast.

This link will formally register you.

For the advent retreat series, which means you will get access to some

really beautiful reflections, as well as our free genius project.

Advent journal.

This advent journal has some beautiful reflections, as well as some space

for you to really unpack and go deeper with the content that each of

our speakers has presented to you.

I hope and pray that this is an enormous blessing for you

as you journey through this.

Of advent until our next session, I invite you to just carve out that time

and space to really welcome Christ into your heart, to have eyes and ears,

to see and hear where he is inviting you to go deeper in your relationship

with him and how he wants to be born a new in your life until next week.

Ladies have a beautiful week and God bless you.