Advent with Amanda Bible Williams
On today’s episode of the Journeywomen podcast, I’m chatting with Amanda Bible Williams of She Reads Truth about all things Advent! We talked about everything from what Advent is, to what it means for us personally.
Can you tell us a little about who you are and what you do?
What was your experience like with Advent growing up?
What is the purpose behind practicing Advent?
When did this practice come about in church history?
What are we actually celebrating?
How does Advent prepare our hearts for the birth of Christ?
How does practicing Advent enhance our understanding of the gospel?
What are some tips for someone who feels really overwhelmed by Advent? Is there a "simple" way to start?
What are some ways you practice Advent as a family?
What is the joy in practicing Advent?
THREE QUESTIONS I ASK EVERY GUEST
What 3 resources would you recommend for someone who wants to practice Advent?
What are your 3 simple joys?
Who has had the greatest impact on your own journey with Jesus?
NOTEWORTHY QUOTES
“Advent is not prescribed to us in Scripture. But it is so helpful. The purpose is to prepare our hearts to celebrate the coming of Christ.”
“It reminds us that we are between two advents. Jesus came and walked the earth, and he is living. But he has promised that he will come again and bring the new heavens and the new earth. And that will be his second coming, or his second arrival.”
“For me personally, Advent serves kind of a dual purpose of remembering why I needed Jesus to come, why we need Jesus, and also, that he did, and how he did, and just to sort of take some time and spend some time in these Scriptures where we see that this was God’s plan. Since before the foundation of the earth this has been God’s plan. This was not an afterthought. This was God’s plan, and it is his love to us, to send his Son, to live the life we couldn’t live, to die the death that we deserve to die, and then to defeat death.”
“…to remember that I love it here, but this world is not my home. I love my house and my office and my family. But there isn’t a day that goes by that we aren’t all reminded a dozen times that we are broken and the world is broken. The Lord restores, and he is restoring things now, as we speak, but that is a process and won’t be finished until he comes again.”
“Advent is a good reminder that we aren’t the first people to ache for our true home. It’s a good reminder to me that the story of Jesus is a real story.”
“Advent is not something we do to prove ourselves as Christians or good parents. The purpose is to turn our hearts toward Jesus.”
“It is a month of the year where I am more reminded to do what I want to do every day of the year, which is to turn toward Jesus, open God’s Word, and say ‘this is all about you.’”
“Advent has been a time of sanctification. Not only can I not get advent right, but I really need a savior. I don’t just kind of need a savior. I desperately need a savior.”
“The joy is to remember that every small or big thing that I take joy in is a gift from God.”
“I worry that we have lost the art of celebrating. Advent is a quieting of the heart and it does remind us that the deeper your repentance, the deeper your joy. Like the quote ‘the larger your view of your sin, the larger your view of the cross’. But don’t just wallow in that. Turn immediately to the cross and rejoice. Turn immediately to the manger and rejoice!”
AMANDA’S RESOURCES FOR ADVENT
The Advent of the Lamb of God by Russ Ramsey
AMANDA’S SIMPLE JOYS
Sunrises
Sleep
Toby, her son
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
What has been your experience with Advent?
How does Advent prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ?
How can your practice Advent this year?
What are you going to do or implement as a result of what you’ve learned this week?
IMPORTANT NOTE
Journeywomen interviews are intended to serve as a springboard for continued study in the context of your local church. While we carefully select guests each week, interviews do not imply Journeywomen's endorsement of all writings and positions of the interviewee or any other resources mentioned.
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