God's love stories, Advent edition

I am sure you have more than enough on your plates, getting ready for holiday festivities and what-not, but in case you need to procrastinate, here are some links to follow:

• "O Light", an EP by The Liturgists. I haven't listened to all of it, only 5 of the 8 tracks, but "Advent for Weary Souls" by Amena Brown is powerful, powerful stuff. Made me cry. The music is both melancholy and hopeful.

On African-Americans and #BlackLivesMatter:

• "Things I Don't Mean When I Say #BlackLivesMatter" by Colleen Mitchell at blessed are the feet. She found the words I lost.
• "Why I'm Not Color Blind" by Caroline at The Inklings, Etc. So. damned. honest. Thank you, Caroline
• "This Country Needs a Truth and Reconciliation Process on Violence Against African-Americans-Right Now" by Fania Davis at Yes! Magazine
• Another example of a way forward: "How Same Sex Marriage Effort Found A Way Around Polarization" by Lynn Vavreck at the New York Times

On restorative justice as found in scripture:

• "Living Jubilee" by Rachel Held Evans, part of her Lectionary series. And the first of a confluence of inputs that echoed a conclusion I'd reached about the Magnificat in my blogging this month.
• "The Memory of Miracles", a webinar with Micah Goodman via the Shalom Hartman Institute. Blew my mind. It's on Chanukah, Passover and how remembering miracles changes the way we act. (Micah's example is King Josiah from 2 Kings). Be sure to print the handout to follow along his scripture reading (he reads it in Hebrew, but he says the verse numbers in English) and set aside about an hour. So worth it. (Also was the second input in the same day for my Magnificat blogging.)

All, all is grace:

• If you don't have the hour to watch "The Memory of Miracles" (above) spend half an hour reading this interview with Nadia Bolz-Weber by Krista Tippet at On Being: "Seeing the Underside and Seeing God: Tattoos, Tradition and Grace". I finally understand atonement, based on this. (That is in a non-penal substitutionary way.)
• "Our Inner Critics Rise Up When We Do" by Vivienne McMaster at Be Your Own Beloved.
• Fra Giovanni's "Letter to a Friend" (1513) is just what I needed to hear at the beginning of the month. Worth reading if stress is getting to you. (From Prose and Letters.)
• "29 Year Old Leaves NFL and $37 million contract to Become a Farmer in order to Feed the Hungry" by Walter Einenkel at Daily Kos

On a more light-hearted note:

• My Preschooler is Buddy the Elf by Sarah Bessey

I didn't really participate in the #adventword online calendar, except for this one. #notice:

Spotted on the way into work in a sea of green leaves. I didn't even pay attention to the word for today and this is the second noticing. The first was an older deaf man in the pharmacy who taught me how to sign Merry Christmas and we hugged.

How's your Advent going?