Advent Collaborative 2020 Are you tired? Already tired and it’s just the beginning of “The Holidays.” It’s been an altogether different kind of year. Masks, isolation, divisions in our nation, fear of the future…

It makes us weary.

The following pages are a journey of faith, hope, love, peace and grace. These are some of the gifts God gives us – especially at Christmas time. A week at a time, we’ll examine these blessings from above and how a baby in a manger makes the applicable every day in our lives.

We’ll look at: Faith – because it’s hard to know what to believe in. Are the election results true – some say not. Is Covid as bad as they say or not – it’s hard to know who to trust. Christmas is a fulfilled promise from God. He can be trusted. Hope – where has it gone? The future can look dark and dim. Our jobs, income, and family life have been disrupted. Will having hope lead to more disappointment? Not the Christmas kind of hope. Love – There’s so much division in the world. Race, politics, philosophy… no one seems to get along. Where is the love? It’s found in humble baby who would later die on a cross for our sins. Peace – Who wouldn’t want some of that. Anxiety, depression, and fear grip us, and the stress of the season makes it worse. But there is a peace that comes from God, and it’s different from any other kind of peace. Grace – It’s Christmas! That’s what it’s all about! Receiving what we don’t deserve, such as God’s love, forgiveness, provision, and blessings.

Thank you to the many friends who have contributed to this year’s Advent “Collaborative.” We pray the words on the following pages bring your weary soul some joy.

Because of Jesus, The YCM team, 2020

November 29 day one

“The point is, before you trust, you have to listen. But unless Christ’s Word is preached, there’s nothing to listen to.” -Romans 10:17 (The Message)

In our culture today, we look for “important” things and people. We follow the major events on television and other media outlets. We think all the significant things that are happening will appear on the media. A baby born to a poor couple in a stable in an insignificant part of the world would not gain today’s media attention, but it was the most significant event of all history. We can plant small seeds that can grow into large trees. In that small stable, God planted a seed that forever changed the world.

There was a time when I thought I needed to become more involved in the “important” things of this world to help bring about world peace. Then one night after the Christmas Eve candle lighting service, I was putting out the remaining candles. One would not snuff out with the snuffer and kept relighting. Finally, I wet my fingers, squeezed it and put it out. The thought then went through my mind that if all the nuclear bombs in the world went off at the same time, it would be easier for God to snuff them out than for me to snuff out that one candle. I thought that maybe I should spend my life planting seeds of God’s Word and see what He grows from them.

If God has the power to snuff out an explosion of all the nuclear bombs in the world, why doesn’t He just come in and fix all that is wrong with the world? One day He will and everyone will see Him and His power. He will be as visible as the sun. But in our era, He has

come as a baby born in a stable. He doesn’t force Himself into our world. Rev. 3:20 (MSG) says, “Look at me. I stand at the door. I knock. If you hear me call and open the door, I’ll come right in and sit down to supper with you.” We only see His power through personal invitation and by faith.

An instant type of faith can come when God does something spectacular, but that will usually fade soon after it comes and you keep looking for more and more spectacular events. However, deep faith comes by regularly listening to God’s Word, taking it in like a seed planted in the earth and letting God grow His faith in you.

I never went to church when I was growing up and accepted Christ just before I left for college. That’s when I learned that Jesus died for my sin and because of what He did I was completely forgiven before God. God also sent the Holy Spirit to change my life. I then wondered what was left for me to do. The first chapter of I John tells us to walk in the light as He is in the light. By that chapter, I learned I needed to be honest about my life before God. I then learned that we often make up a Jesus that is the way we want Him to be. From that I realized that I needed to read the Bible so that I would come to know the real Jesus better and love Him more. Over the years I have tried to do my part and God has grown my faith.

Questions: 1. What do you have faith in and how did you get it? Faith in money? Faith in the media? In celebrities?

2. Who has helped you know God’s Word better? Say thank you to God for him/her.

3. What do you fear? Do you fear the God who deeply loves you and can snuff out all the nuclear bombs in the world?

PRAYER: Lord our Heavenly Father, thank You for revealing yourself truly in Jesus Christ. During this Advent season, I pray that your Holy Spirit will help me to see Christ more clearly and love Him more deeply. I pray that I would come to a new understanding of Your love and power. In Christ’s name I pray, Amen.

Bill Serjak is a retired Presbyterian pastor who served a small church in a small town in the mountains of Western North Carolina for more than thirty years. During that time, he helped lead about thirty-five mission trips, mostly for Son Servants. He also served on the Son Servants planning team for several years. Bill and his family now live in Chattanooga, TN, and now he is mainly a husband, father, and grandfather.

Praise- for God’s faithfulness!

This summer we had to adapt our approach to ministry. As you are aware the current global crisis of Covid19 resulted in canceled camps, conferences and mission trips this past summer. Our team of amazing volunteers and staff created a “Camp in Box” as well as a “Virtual Son Servants” experience for groups to have YCM camp at home- wherever they were! We heard of several youth groups who successfully implemented some version of “camp.” In the midst of trying to plan our “normal” summer, we hoped for it to look differently. But God, as always, was faithful and showed up in ways we couldn’t expect. Join us in praising God for allowing YCM to be a part of students’ summer of 2020.

Check out what one leader had to say: "Our students were so bummed about not being able to attend The Great Escape, Rockies this year! It is one of the things that every one of our students is excited about when they enter into middle school. But we loved YCM camp in a box! We chose to use all of the materials to provide our students with a week of “camp” experience. We sent each of our students a mailer with a printed copy of the devotional, a sticker, and all of our “camp” information. We posted worship and a message each night on Vimeo and Instagram for our students to follow along. We ended the week with an in-person, outdoor worship experience. As a youth pastor, I am beyond thankful for the resources provided to help give our students a camp experience this summer." -- Nicole Brown, First Presbyterian Church, Midland, TX

November 30 day two

“Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20

For those of you who, as I, are not very familiar with the mustard tree, here are some facts. The mustard tree begins as a seed about 1-2 mm in size. It then grows upwards of 20 feet tall and 20 feet wide – that’s 6,000 times the size of the original seed! These trees are drought tolerant, and when you cut a mustard tree down to the trunk, it can grow back again.

In Matthew 17, Jesus says that with faith the size of a mustard seed, nothing is impossible. This is a faith that grows even in the dry seasons, it’s a faith that’s able to withstand being cut down by the trials of this life, it’s a faith that grows to be the largest and the strongest – where nothing is impossible.

John Calvin comments on this parable that “the Lord opens his reign with a feeble and despicable commencement, for the express purpose, that his power may be more fully illustrated by its unexpected progress.”

God often uses the small, and the seemingly insignificant, to display His power & might.

The mustard seed … to grow into the largest plant in the garden Moses’ small confidence in his ability to lead … to face Pharaoh and lead the Israelites out of slavery (Exodus 4-14) Gideon’s small army … to defeat the Midianites (Judges) David’s small stature and insignificant battle gear … to defeat Goliath (1 Samuel 17) And ultimately the birth of Jesus, a newborn in a manger, to rescue the hearts of the people He dearly loves – you & me (Luke 2)

This advent season, the Lord wants to take your mustard seed sized steps of faith, and grow them into grand displays of his faithfulness and sovereignty. So, turn your eyes to Christ and hold fast to His promises, and may the small whispers of your heart, “Lord, I trust you,” allow Him the opportunity to move in might ways.

1. Tiny, seemingly insignificant, steps, just as seeds, often grow into the largest tree in the garden. What’s that step for you today? Take time to journal and reflect on the ways in which God is asking you to take the next right step in faith, no matter how small.

2. Take a moment today to listen to the song, “I’ll Give Thanks” by Housefires and hold onto the truth that we don’t have to worry because God knows what we need.

PRAYER: Lord, the uncertainty of life right now weighs heavy as I write this, and in the current state of our broken world, even mustard- seed faith is often hard to muster. Reveal to us the ways in which you are working in and around us, and give us the courage to hold onto faith even in the dry seasons, in the cutting seasons, in the seasons where the events of tomorrow are uncertain. For with faith the size of a mustard seed you’ll move mountains in us and through us. Help us to hold tight to this promise today. Amen.

Sydney Henderson served on Son Servants Summer Staff in 2018 and has continued to stay involved as part of the adult volunteer staff. She is currently a graduate student at James Madison University, studying to receive her Masters in elementary education. Sydney plans to live and teach in Richmond, VA after graduation.

December 1 day three

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen…And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” Hebrews 11: 1, 6

Faith…Think about how we use that word in our everyday lives. We tell others, “I have faith in you…or I have faith that this is going to happen.” So, when we talk about faith, it’s important to define it. On some level or another, everyone has to have faith in someone or something. Faith in others. Faith in ourselves. Faith in evidence, or facts being presented us. Faith in some kind of belief system. Even if a person says they don’t believe in faith or they are agnostic or atheist, humanist or whatever, they have belief and faith in what they believe. So, it’s impossible to not have some form of some kind of faith. So, when the Apostle Paul said in 2 Timothy 1:12: “…Yet I am not ashamed, because I know WHOM I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day,” he was expressing his ardent faith in Jesus.

It takes faith to believe in the Virgin Birth, because in our limited scope of thinking, Mary being impregnated by the Holy Spirit is utterly impossible. But look at our verses for today. The kind of faith that God is calling us to is impossible without God’s Spirit breathing his Truth into us. But when we surrender our limited thoughts to God, asking for Him to expand and even replace our thoughts to grasp his fathomless truths, He does exactly that. It is imperative for us to surrender our thoughts to His thoughts constantly because we are inundated by an anti-God, anti-authoritarian culture.

So, what is our part? It is to take the LEAP and trust that God will give us the faith we need to believe in Him with our whole being. The New Testament defines faith in an interactive three-dimensional way. The writers convey that it involves an understanding (Notitia)- an ability to grasp it with the mind, that in a very supernatural way, we can grasp it with our heads. But that is not enough. And when faith only lands in the mind, it becomes dull and dry. It also involves the heart- (Assessus)- a passionate assent/agreement to what we believe. If faith only lands in the heart alone, it quickly diminishes because passions can come and go. And it involves our hands-(Fiducia)- a confident trust that helps us to live out of what we say we believe in our heads and hearts. If faith only lands in our hands and feet, it becomes works-based righteousness and we will burn out. So, faith, by Scriptural definition involves all three- head, heart and hands and therefore then becomes what our verse says, “The assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen.” It is not wishful thinking. It is solidly rooted in WHOM we believe- a Savior who came into our world supernaturally, who walked through his earthly life without sin, encountering every temptation we encounter, who mercifully took all of our sin upon Himself, and who rose again to give us true life. And so, we believe confidently that all that He says about Himself is THE TRUTH, and we can live confidently because of it. I’ve had those times when I have had a crisis of faith; all of us have crises of faith, I think. But as we draw near to God in the midst of those troubling times, He will come and He will increase our faith and show us how to visibly and humbly walk out that faith as His witnesses before others.

Questions: 1) What has caused you to question your faith in the past and/or present?

2) What helped you to emerge out of that place?

3) Can you recall examples of how God used your crisis of faith to encourage others going through their own crises?

4) Would you say that your faith in Christ is strong, average, or weak? Why?

5) Think of someone who you know who you believe has a strong faith. How do they show it? What do they have that you don’t?

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I know that it pleases you for your children to have great faith, and I want to be that kind of person. And yet I know, that in order for my faith to increase, there must be some kind of challenging situation in my life. And so, with somewhat of a clenched jaw, I say, “Increase my faith, Lord.” And so, help me to confidently trust that whatever you bring into my life will grow my faith into a mature faith. I know that in YOU I can place my complete trust. Amen.

Beth Dotson has been involved with YCM since the 70’s and enjoys helping her husband, Danny lead Son Servants trips every summer. She feels richly blessed by the relationships that have come through this ministry throughout the years. She is a retired teacher and works part-time with a ministry that works with HIV clients. Her daughter, Rebecca and her two children live in Huntsville, and her son, Dan and his wife Michelle live on Signal Mountain with their two boys. Her granddaughter, Kaila was married in September and lives in the Chattanooga area.

Today, we ask that you pray for The Great Escape.

We host several middle school student conferences during the summer at Lee University in Cleveland, TN; Western State College in Gunnison, CO; Green Lake Conference Center in Green Lake, WI; Twin Lakes Camp in Florence, MS; University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown in Johnstown, PA; and Young Life’s Southwind Camp in Ocklawaha, FL.

Pray for the directors; Jen Carpenter, Caleb Smith, Gregg Parker, Tracy Janusz, Elizabeth Podrebarac Sciupac, Bret Spiegelman, Brian Worley, Nick Bechart, Karl Morgan, Whitney Alexander, Paige McCarty, and Patty McCarty.

Pray for the planning teams.

Pray for the speakers and musicians for 2021.

December 2 day four As always, we want to include the kiddos (future YCM campers) in your life in our Advent collaborative!

Check out this awesome Advent resource- https://www.faithgateway.com/jesus-storybook-bible-advent-calendar- printable/

Have fun coloring with them, or with yourself :)

December 3 day five

“And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David of Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.” -Luke 2:8-18

What was the sign? “You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” No details about what the baby looked like. Just the surroundings. And do note what’s not mentioned: you will find the baby in a cave or a barn. Just saying.

Swaddling clothes. Very ordinary. That would be like us searching for a few-hours-old baby and being told, “He’ll be wrapped in a baby blanket.” Oh, okay then. So, not obvious.

Lying in a manger. Um…did I hear that right? This newborn is going to be laying in a feeding trough? Like, intentionally?

If it’s the combination of the cloths AND manger, it makes me think of a few things: 1. Babies in mangers must not have been too normal. 2. I wonder if babies born to shepherds were placed in mangers?

Jewish children were actively discouraged from becoming shepherds. From traditional Jewish teaching we learn that the occupation of a shepherd was considered on the same level as being a thief. So

naturally, shepherds were on the outside looking in. The societal structure was against them.

Which is a fascinating turn. The heroes of the Jewish people were shepherds at one point in their lives: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David. Throughout the Old Testament, God is described as and refers to himself as a shepherd and the people his flock.

These shepherds also connect to another set of shepherds we met earlier: Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and David. In each case, these previous shepherds received key components of God’s plan to rescue the world and anxiously awaited the day of Jesus’s birth. But these shepherds of Bethlehem saw the fulfillment of all the promises the lord had made to those shepherds.

The cloths were not the sign. The cloths and in a manger. The likelihood of both events happening randomly was extremely remote. A toddler could conceivably climb into a feeding trough, but a child wrapped tightly could only be placed there deliberately. But what loving mother places her child in a manger?

Two things: - The reality of the manger would not have matched with their immediate expectation of hearing of the birth of a new baby. Even today, our expectations of Jesus struggle to match with the reality of Jesus. He purely loved and interacted with prostitutes and money launderers. He never needed anyone to defend him or protect him. - The reality of the manger made it most welcoming for those in low society to feel welcomed and accepted. They came and worshiped one of their own: the Good, Great, and Chief Shepherd.

Caleb Smith has served with YCM for over fifteen years, most of them at The Great Escape at Lee University. He serves as Director of Residency & Coaching for Converge, helps lead Leadership Development for a local church, and consults with local churches across the country. Caleb and his family live in Orlando, FL.

December 4

day six

“Know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So, we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law, no one will be justified.” - Galatians 2:16

This is the good news of the gospel! We are made right with God solely because of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. His payment for our sins is complete! We don’t need to add anything to His work of salvation for us. As Christians, we are free from the condemnation of the Law. It cannot harm us. Instead, it is a reflection of God’s character and points us to our need of a savior.

John Stott and J.I. Packer explain the term of justification further:

“Justification” is a legal term, borrowed from the law courts. It is the exact opposite of “condemnation”. “To condemn” is to declare somebody guilty; “to justify” is to declare him not guilty, innocent or righteous. In the Bible it refers to God’s act of unmerited favor by which he puts a sinner right with himself, not only pardoning or acquitting him, but accepting and treating him as righteous.

God does not accept us because we become righteous (right with God). We become righteous because God has accepted us.

This truth is counter-culture in our everyday lives. We are conditioned to earn good things and believe the harder we work, the better the reward. For example, if we make good grades in high school, we will be rewarded with good college options. If we do well in college, we will get a good job. If we work hard at our job, we will get promoted. I am not saying that these are bad things at all, but we must not let this way of living creep into our belief about our salvation.

We should obey “the law,” but not because of what we can obtain from it, instead out of gratitude for what Jesus did for us.

Paul’s letter to the Galatians is a strong defense of the doctrine of Justification by Faith alone. There was a group of teachers who had come to tell the Gentile believers in Galatia that while believing in Jesus’ death and resurrection was important, so was their behavior and performance to be accepted by God. They imposed certain Jewish customs, such as dietary laws and circumcision, as necessary to be “fully accepted” by God. In other words, they were insisting that the Galatians needed to play a part in earning their salvation.

Are there areas in your life, where you may be adding to the gospel? Are there things in this world that you look to for salvation? … If I just get a certain job, then my life will be complete? if I am respected by my peers, then my life will be complete? If I get married or have a family, then my life will be complete? If my child would leave his/her wayward lifestyle, then my life would be complete?

Preach the gospel to yourself every day and rest in the truth that your salvation is complete in Jesus Christ. This is the good news of the Gospel!

Camille Galloway - I live in Winston-Salem with my awesome husband Jimbo and our dog Stout. I work at an alternative high school for at-risk kids. I love my job and the chance be a part of the lives of the teenagers with whom I work. Son Servants is very special to our family. We were blessed to go on many trips with our children McCabe and Gray. We are so grateful for the opportunities we have had to serve with Son Servants over the past 23 years.

December 5 day seven

Advent Good Wishes, by David Grieve Give you joy, wolf, when Messiah makes you meek and turns your roar into a cry that justice has been done for the poor.

Give you joy, lamb, when Messiah saves you from jeopardy and all fear is overwhelmed by his converting grace.

Give you joy, wolf and lamb together, as Messiah brings worldwide peace and, side by side, you shelter under Jesse’s spreading shoot.

Poem from “Waiting on the Word: A poem a day for Advent, Christmas and Epiphany” by Malcolm Guite, Copyright Canterbury Press Norwich, 2015

Original illustration by Beth Tipps (former Son Servants Summer Staff, 2004)

December 6 day eight

The Best Gift - Colossians 1:3-6 I don’t know about you, but my birthday is my favorite holiday of the year. I love my birthday for a lot of reasons. One, being that it is the most perfect day of the year: October 18th. The autumn air is crisp; the leaves where I’m from turn welcoming shades of Chicago red and burnt orange; football season is in full swing; homecomings & reunions happen; we break out our coziest sweaters and warmest flannels; friends gather around bonfires; lots of apple cider donuts and s’mores are consumed; and, of course, everything else is pumpkin- spiced.

Another reason I love my birthday is because it’s a great excuse to gather with the people I love most, laugh together, and delight in one another’s company. It’s one of the times of the year I find myself most naturally able to relish in gratitude for the people, things, and experiences I’ve had in my life.

The final reason I love my birthday is because I love getting and opening gifts from the people who know me best... By now you might be thinking, ‘Geez, this writer sounds really selfish. Her birthday is her favorite holiday and she doesn’t know that it’s better to give than to receive?’ If so, you’re right: I can certainly be selfish, and Scripture agrees with you about the giving thing (see Acts 20:35); but that doesn’t negate the fact that there is also great joy in receiving something that you wanted, hoped for, or didn’t even know you needed--just as the Gospel is a gift for all who would receive it!

What is the best gift you’ve ever received (for your birthday or otherwise)? Write down what it was, who gave it to you, and when/why. The best birthday gift I ever received was a cake. This isn’t because it’s unusual for me to get a cake on my birthday (that’s another one of the reasons why my birthday is my favorite holiday…), but because it was a very specific type of cake I had been dreaming about: a Barbie cake.

When I turned 5 years old, what I remember wanting most for my birthday was a sheet cake with an edible picture of Barbie on the frosting. I had seen her beautiful, smiling face in the cake decorating catalog at the bakery in my local grocery store and I was sold... What else did an almost-5-year-old Martha need? As I walked downstairs the afternoon of my birthday, I remember my dad asking me to close my eyes. I placed my tiny fingers over my face and eagerly peeled them away to find that there was, not just a picture of Barbie on my cake, but an actual Barbie IN my cake! My wishes came true in a way I had never expected, as Barbie, wearing a pretty pink dress that transformed into a fluffy, frosted cake of the same color, stood poised on her cupcake-lined tray, ready to meet me, her newest friend. The Barbie cake I received was far better than the one I originally asked for or even could have imagined.

As perfectly as my dad executed the best birthday gift ever, that gift only serves as a sign post in my life, pointing me to an even greater gift from my heavenly Father, comforter, and friend who, the Bible says, “is able to do so much more than all that we ask for or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20, emphasis mine).

Please open your Bible and read Colossians 1:3-6.

Where does this passage say that our hope is stored?

Hope, in our cultural context, is used to describe how we feel about the things that we most want or long for. Hope, in the Biblical context, is defined as a life-shaping certainty that God holds our futures securely... The things we often hope for in this world are fleeting, satisfy us only briefly, and (as you can imagine that my long-awaited Barbie cake didn’t last very long, resisted letting others play with my Barbie, and moved on to the next thing that “I had to have.”). Meanwhile, the hope “stored up for [those of us who have faith in Jesus] in heaven” is eternal, satisfies fully, and promotes generosity.

Matthew Henry, a minister and Biblical expositor in the eighteenth century, wrote: “What is given to believers in this world is much, but what is stored up for them in heaven is very much more. The more we fix our hopes on the reward in the next world, the freer we will be with our earthly treasure in taking every opportunity to do good.”

Only when we understand and accept what our Hope truly is: that God came to earth as a man named Jesus; lived a sinless life that we never can; died the death that we deserve for our sins, is waiting patiently in heaven for us to see Him fully, face-to-face; and will return to earth one day to make everything in the world as it ought to be-- only then, can we have faith in a God that we can't see and love the people in our lives who are hardest to love. “For in this hope we were saved; but hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he can already see? But if we hope for what we do not yet see, we wait for it patiently.” - Romans 8:24-25

It is this hope that allows us to give to others generously, hold our dreams and desires a little more loosely, and grieve or accept the things we want most that don’t come to pass in our lifetime, eagerly awaiting the gains of the next.

Let’s pray: “Give me courage, O Lord; courage... to live with thanksgiving in what is, and to invest in the hope of what will be. Be at work gilding [my] long heartbreaks with the advent of new joys, good friendships, true fellowships, unexpected delights. Remind me again and again of your goodness, your presence, your promises. For this is who we are: a people of The Promise—a people shaped in the image of God whose very being generates all joy in the universe, yet who also weeps and grieves its brokenness... Amen.” - Douglas McKelvey, Every Moment Holy, Vol. II

My name is Martha Roszak and I am Christ’s beloved, even on the days when I don’t feel like or believe it. I went on my first Son Servants trip the summer after my freshman year of high school, and served on Summer Staff after my freshman year of college (Go Hokies!). I love the rhythm of life that Son Servants camp creates: worship, play, rinse, repeat. Currently, I am a Son Servants Planning Team member and a youth leader in McLean, Virginia. Every summer, I get to take high school students from my church on Son Servants trips. This year was the first time in 10 years that I didn’t get to go to camp, and I can’t wait to go back next summer!

December 7 day nine “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

As I think about the word hope in the midst of the current pandemic, as well as the political climate of our country today, I confess I sometimes feel hopeless instead of hopeful. The year 2020 has most definitely been a year like none we have experienced in our lifetime. We have watched as the virus has affected millions of people all over the world, and we have watched as the political divisiveness and the social unrest in our country today seems totally and completely void of any joy and peace. I think we most definitely need spiritual revival in our land. However, more than that, and for me personally, I desire spiritual revival in my own heart. I sometimes feel as though the ruler of this world wants to rob us of all hope, joy and peace that the Lord desires for us.

So, how do I change my thinking about all that seems wrong with the world and focus on the God of all Hope? How do I experience the joy and peace He desires for me and for you? As I read and meditate on this Scripture, the “As you trust in Him” speaks loudly within me. The Lord wants us to trust Him, no matter the circumstances. He wants us to trust Him, not only when all seems well, but also when everything around us feels so chaotic. As we trust Him, He will fill us with joy and peace.

Back in August of this year, my husband’s Dad passed away at the age of 97. He lived a long and good life, and he was known by his kind and gentle spirit, his love for life and joy in all circumstances. He loved well and was well loved by his six children and numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren. His death, though precious in many ways, seemed to only add to the turmoil going on all around us. To give you some background on my father-in-law, his parents had immigrated from Italy in the early twenties, and life was not always easy for them. They were in a new land, learning a new language, starting a new busines, and all while raising their three sons. People were not always kind to them, and life seemed sometimes lonely and stressful. Yet, Dad had such a kind and gentle spirit, and he always seemed so full of joy and peace. He just seemed to trust that the Lord

indeed had good plans for him. He tried to always see the best in people, and he was a beautiful example for his family. His life seemed to overflow with joy and peace, and I remain so thankful for him and the impact he had on my life and the lives of our children and grandchildren. His faith was very personal and very real, yet his relationship with the Lord was reflected in a life well lived. His life was a testament that the God of hope filled him with joy and peace as He trusted in Him.

As I look forward to this Advent season, my desire is to focus on the God of Hope, regardless of life’s circumstances. He is not surprised by any of the events of today, and I know and trust that He will bring good out of the messiness of this world. How can I not have hope in the One who loves me unconditionally, the One who has all of life in His Hands, and the One who will fill me with joy and peace as I trust in Him. He alone can allow me to capture the joy of Christmas and turn my focus to the tiny little baby born in a manger over 2000 years ago. His birth brings joy to all who believe and trust in Him, and I will celebrate His birth with great joy and peace!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I pray that, by the power of your Holy Spirit, our hearts will be full as we focus on and celebrate you this Christmas season. May our hearts be filled with your presence, your peace and your joy as we trust in You. For You, Jesus, alone are worthy of all our praise, honor, and glory. I pray that you will give us a heart and a passion for others, for those who are different than we, and most especially for those who don’t know you - but desperately need you. I pray that, by the power of your Holy Spirit, you would change hearts and minds and give those who don’t know you a hunger and a thirst for relationship with you. I ask that you give us a heart for worship and a heart that celebrates the joy and wonder of You as we celebrate your birth.

Del Francescon has been working part time with Son Servants Ministry for over 25 years and as conference registrar for The Great Escape and Fun in the Son for the past several years. She and her husband, Tommy, live on Signal Mountain, TN, and are the parents of T. W. and his wife, Laurel, Adam, and Sarah Fran. They are the proud Mimi and Papa to Thomas, Noah, Isabella and Carter, those precious ones who enrich our lives and give us great joy. Our family prayer for 2020 has been 2nd Chronicles 7:14: “If my people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face, then I will hear from Heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land”.

December 8 day ten

Living Hope 1 Peter 1: 3-9

I’ve had a lot ‘hopes’ during this COVID-19 season... that quarantine would only last 2 weeks, that I’d get to walk at graduation, that I’d get to spend one last night with my college roommates in our beloved house, that it would be safe to return to school this fall, and now that we might be able to be at church in person for Christmas.

Most of these hopes faded and died with breaking news and rising COVID numbers, but thankfully in this first chapter of 1 Peter, the apostle reminds us of the living hope we have in Jesus, one that will never perish, spoil, or fade (v. 4).

While we have yet to see Jesus face to face, we’ve been given the gift of knowing Him, believing what he says is true, loving and being loved by Him, and trusting that we have everything to look forward to in heaven. That’s a living and active hope - one that is constantly looking towards the return of Jesus.

While the sufferings of this life seem great and the glory of what’s next seems oh so distant, Peter says “You can rejoice greatly, though now for a little while you may have to suffer grief in all kinds of trials (v. 6).”

It won’t be like this for long. In fact, in comparison to the eternal gifts tucked away for us in heaven, these sufferings will pass in the blink of an eye.

I look forward to one day trading the trials of this life for the many gifts God has stored for me in heaven, but for now I live rejoicing, knowing confidently that the cross has already spoken, that the King of Kings calls me his beloved daughter. The battle has already been won. This is living hope, a hope worth living for.

What have you been placing your hope in? What might need to shift in you to place your hope in the living and active hope of the gospel this advent season?

Take a moment today to listen to “Living Hope,” by Phil Whickam, and reflect on the gift that is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

PRAYER: Lord, I thank you that this hope in the gospel is a living one - one that does not perish, spoil, or fade. Because you sent your son to die for our sins, we have everything to live for, including a future in heaven. Help us to place our trust and confidence in this living hope today, and to remember that, while we may face trials today, we can rejoice knowing it’s only for a little while. Amen.

Sydney served on Son Servants Summer Staff in 2018 and has continued to stay involved as part of the adult volunteer staff. She is currently a graduate student at James Madison University, studying to receive her Masters in elementary education. Sydney plans to live and teach in Richmond, VA after graduation.

Living Hope by Phil Wickham

How great the chasm that lay between us Hallelujah, praise the one who set me free How high the mountain I could not climb Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me In desperation, I turned to heaven You have broken every chain And spoke your name into the night There's salvation in your name Then through the darkness Jesus Christ, my living hope Your loving kindness Tore through the shadows of my soul Then came the morning that sealed the promise The work is finished, the end is written Your buried body began to breathe Jesus Christ, my living hope Out of the silence, the roaring lion Declared the grave has no claim on me Who could imagine so great a mercy? What heart could fathom such boundless grace? Hallelujah, praise the one who set me free The God of ages stepped down from glory Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me To wear my sin and bear my shame You have broken every chain The cross has spoken, I am forgiven There's salvation in your name The king of kings calls me His own Jesus Christ, my living hope Beautiful savior, I'm yours forever Jesus Christ, my living hope Jesus Christ, my living hope Oh God, you are my living hope

December 9 day eleven

I appreciate Paul using the ‘eyes of your heart’ visual in Ephesians 1:18. Really, he could have combined any number of sense-gathering organs with an internal organ crucial to survival. Perhaps ‘fingers of your brain’ or ‘tongue of your lungs.’ Particularly ‘nose of your intestines’ or ‘ears of your bladder’ might have been very distracting from the point.

And the point is that through the Holy Spirit we can sense God in our core innermost being, and what we will experience is hope. The hope Paul speaks of is the ability to be reconciled back into a proper relationship with God, bringing with it the rich inheritance of His life and power now and into eternity.

2020 may have been a challenging year to nourish your soul. Maybe it was harder than usual to find this gospel hope that Paul speaks of. Think about how God normally uses your senses to fill you with his presence: sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches that help you connect with his truth. Did you lose any of these in 2020? Did you gain any new ones?

This was the first year since 2004 that I didn’t experience The Great Escape Midwest. The sound and energy of hundreds of middle school students honoring God through song, the feeling of the breeze and anticipation while outside at the amphitheater watching so many students commit themselves to following Jesus, the sight of joy on the faces of students after a week spent in fellowship while getting covered in shaving cream... I certainly missed taking in my annual super dose of hope this year.

But good news! Even if you missed seeing hope in your usual ways, hope is still here. Instead of Green Lake, Wisconsin, I ended up finding it this summer in Khartoum, Sudan. I agreed to travel there for work once I realized my July had opened up. When meeting with a group of local pastors one morning to see if they needed any support with COVID-19 infection prevention and control messaging to their congregations, one of them asked if I had seen or heard about the headline in the newspaper that morning. The government had announced new religious freedoms for Christians, even getting rid of an apostasy law in which the penalty for converting to Christianity was death. The pastors were full of joy at the news. Some had personally been physically harmed, or lost family members due to their faith. When I asked them how they would exercise this new freedom, they started sharing about how decades ago they were able to do ‘Christmas Marches’ openly on the streets around their church, and how they would love to be able to worship in that way again: singing, dancing and playing drums to celebrate the arrival of the Messiah. After years of persecution, this year for Christmas they will be able to publicly reconnect (in their own unique way) to the hope that they have in the coming of Jesus.

What has it been for you? Where have you felt hope in spite of what the pandemic has taken from you? Have you opened up different senses? Found yourself experiencing God’s spirit in new ways?

In this Advent season, take advantage of all the senses God has given you as we celebrate Hope coming to earth. Maybe you read the whole chapter, or just verse 18. Either way, you used your eyes to take in hope! See, listen, smell, taste, and touch God this Christmas. Go ahead, take in an extra portion, treasure it and let it usher in the hope of abundant life deep into your heart.

Nick Bechert is a co-director of the Great Escape Midwest and works for a Christian international relief organization, supporting disaster response programs.

Today we ask that you pray for all students and leaders that may attend our 2021 events. Pray for all the details to fall into place, all the finances be provided, every volunteer be committed. Pray that God uses that one week at camp to reveal himself in new and exciting ways! Pray that leaders find the tiny moments to connect to their students, to be used by God in each of their students’ lives, to be able to have the space to “breathe” and have fun! Pray that students see Christ, learn more of His character, have the opportunity to worship and ultimately commit their life to Jesus! We trust that God will continue to use these times at YCM events to build up His kingdom of believers.

December 10 day twelve “And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you.” - Psalm 39:7 (NLT)

“For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But it we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” -Romans 8:24-25

Hope is waiting, but there is more to it; it’s waiting with anticipation and expectation. In the Old Testament there are two main words that translate as hope and both are used in the Psalm 39:7 passage. The words are yakhal and qavah. Yakhal means “to wait for,” so in the Psalm passage, my only “yakhal” is in you; meaning “all I wait for is you, God.” The other word qavah also means “to wait,” but it’s related to another Hebrew word (qav) that means “cord” (like a rope). When you pull tight a cord or rope it produces tension, and it’s this state of tension until there is a release, that’s qavah. Qavah is that feeling of tension and expectation and anticipation while you wait for something to happen.

Our Psalm passage looks a little like this; “And so, Lord, where do I put this buildup of my expectations and anticipations and eagerness, my hope? I wait for you, God, because I know you are where I look to fulfill these expectations and anticipations; you are my hope.” This is the important part of Biblical hope; it is hope that is based on a person, the person of God.

Often, we confuse optimism and hope, but optimism is about choosing to see how situations could work out for the best. However, biblical hope is really focused on the situation or circumstances. We see a lot of people in the Bible that recognize there is nothing to suggest that their circumstances will get better, and yet they choose hope anyway. They look back to see what God has done in the past and they hold tight to the expectation of what God can do. God surprised Israel with redemption back in the days of the Exodus and He can do that again. Time and time again God turns a valley of trouble into a door of hope. It’s God’s past faithfulness that is our

hope for the future. We look forward by looking backward and trusting in God; we know what God has done and we trust God’s character to see us through all things. So, like the Psalmist writes in 39:7, “And so, Lord, where do I put my qavah? My only yakhal is in you.”

Paul writes in our Romans passage that our hope is in the return of our Lord Jesus. We have seen the empty tomb where Jesus was laid; we know of his sacrifice, for our redemption, through his crucifixion, death, and resurrection, our hope is in the person of Jesus, in God. This is God’s unexpected response to our slavery to evil and death. Salvation is offered to us, and the empty tomb opened a new door of hope, a living hope that we can be reborn to become new and different kinds of humans through the risen Jesus, who has overcome death.

In this Advent Season we eagerly prepare for and await the return of our Lord so that we might be rescued from the evil and death of this world. We choose to hope, to wait with eager anticipation for God to bring about a future that is as surprising as the Red Sea parting and Israel escaping Egypt or a crucified man rising from the grave. Our hope is in the living Jesus. We look back to our risen Lord to look forward, and so we hope; we patiently wait with anticipation and expectation for an amazing future in Him.

Jackson Weller lives in Danville, VA with his wife Sara and their three children. He is the Minister of Discipleship at First Presbyterian Church of Danville, VA where he has been serving in ministry since August 2003. Jackson received a Bachelor of Arts from Averett University and then went on to Seminary at Columbia International University. Jackson serves on the Son Servants Planning Team.

December 11 day thirteen

Romans 5:1-5: What builds hope?

“Who is your hope in? The world or Jesus?” That is the question I ask my students when things seem to be going wrong. It’s also the question I have muttered to myself repeatedly throughout 2020.

Asking about hope seems to induce teenage sarcasm. And really, until you have experienced a period of long suffering and come out of it, it’s hard to even understand why you need it.

In the midst of a pandemic and wildfires and an unsavory political environment and a highly active hurricane season and on and ON, how do you have a hope that endures?

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina came through and wrecked my hometown of New Orleans…in every possible way. As everything unfolded on the national news and people took a gruesome fascination with the way we were exposed for all to see, many asked, “Where are you, God? How do we come out of this? Will anything good come from it?” It seemed hopeless. And the rebuilding seemed impossible. There was no other response, but to cry out to God.

Then an amazing thing happened. It wasn’t the government or any other organization that rushed in. It was the Church! It was incredible to watch. There were literal alters to pagan deities laying destroyed by the storm on the neutral grounds as countless churches and youth groups rebuilt my city; as if God was asking, “Who is your hope in?”

Romans 5:1-5 says this: Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (ESV)

As a Christian, you can’t convince me after enduring the decade of Katrina relief and rebuilding to have hope in anyone else.

NOTHING here is better than what we will have when we are in the eternal presence of God’s glory. And because we know in our very bones what Christ has done for us, we really don’t belong here. Instead, we have faith that what God has promised He will finish, because there is no other response for us but to cry out to him in our suffering. And all of that will lead to endurance; not to just survive, but to hold on to what we know is true. And that spiritual endurance will produce strength of character (the NLT says); not a character that attracts the praise of the world, but one that will drive you to look to Christ first and act on what He calls you to do. That strength of character will, in your very guts, produce hope.

So… Who is your hope in? The world or Jesus?

Questions: During Katrina, many of us were glued to the news as if it could anchor us. In the midst of 2020, what things have you tried to use as an anchor? Have you checked, read, done, etc., those things more than and before you feed your spiritual needs during 2020? Make a list.

Like the Voodoo priests, who built altars on the neutral ground to stop Katrina, have you maybe built altars to other things (i.e., mental health issues, remote learning, politics, COVID data, outrage in general)? In other words, have you placed your hope in other things? Make a list.

Take a moment (some of us may need a day) and reflect on where you can see God working in all of this. In your person? In your family and marriage? In your city? In our country? On our planet? Make a list.

Look at that! You just made a prayer list! Pray over these things, begging God to crush the altars you’ve built on what you mistook as neutral ground in your heart. Praise Him that even in the midst of chaos He is still moving. Ask him to refocus your faith on Him.

PRAYER: Mighty God, I know you are holding this all together. I know you are sovereign over me, that you still sit on the throne even when the world looks like it’s imploding. I confess that I have let the isolation of quarantine, separate me from deep fellowship with other believers AND have perhaps allowed the world’s narrative of events to distract and discourage me from the truth of your grace and mercy. As a

result, I have put my hope in other things. Father, forgive me. Give me a supernatural peace through this to endure. Build in me the strength to place my hope in you only and nothing else. In your name, Amen.

Paige McCarty is the Director of Children and Youth at Woodland Church in New Orleans. She likes to boast, "Woodland is a little church that does big things!" She has been in ministry with Woodland in some capacity or another for fifteen years. She is also involved with many parts of YCM, most prominently as one of the Directors of The Great Escape - Twin Lakes. She loves dreaming up ways to do the "old things new" in regards to youth ministry, writing children's curriculum, and playing classic games made GIANT. AND she knits.

Today, we ask that you pray for Fun in the Son

YCM hosts two separate Fun in the Son conferences, one in Hilton Head Island, SC and one in South Padre Island, TX. These are our high school only student conferences and our goal is to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ to kids and give youth leaders and volunteers a chance to spend quality time with the students from their church.

Pray for the directors; Tonya Annis, Phylis Ritscher, Mindy and Nathan Heimer.

Pray for the planning teams as they prepare for the summer.

Pray for the speakers and musicians for 2021.

December 12 day fourteen A Great Hope: Isaiah 9:2, Isaiah 9:6-7

Have you ever found yourself completely in the dark? How did that experience make you feel? Maybe you were in your house and the power suddenly went out during a storm? Or maybe you visited a cavern on a family vacation or a school field trip and the tour guide turned off their flashlight? Perhaps you woke up in the middle of the night and had to feel your way through the darkness of your house to get to the kitchen for a glass of water?

I think it feels pretty scary to be completely in the dark. I often feel afraid, disoriented, and anxious about every little sound... Darkness has a way of making us feel alone and out of control. Physical darkness isn’t the only thing that makes us feel this way; darkness in the world does too.

What are some ways you see darkness (evil, suffering, or death) in the world today? What about in your own life?

Odds are, it wasn’t too hard for you to come up with answers to these questions. Darkness exists all around us: just turn on the news! There are wildfires destroying forests, there is division in our country, there are people who are homeless and hungry, there are diseases keeping us from being able to gather with the people we love most this Christmas, and there is the one thing that we are all guaranteed to experience at some point in our lives: death.

The reality is, it was never supposed to be this way. In Romans 5:12 (NLT), Paul tells us that, “When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.”

Thankfully, the story God wrote doesn’t end there. Please open your Bible and read Isaiah 9:2 Some 2,020 years ago, the people of God “who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,” experienced something the world hadn’t before… “A great light”! But what exactly is this light, and where does it come from?

Let’s skip down to verses 6 & 7 to find out. A CHILD. More specifically, a SON. Not just any son, the SON OF GOD. The Son of God, known otherwise to the world as, "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (vs. 6). One night, a baby boy named Jesus would enter the scene, lying under his parents’ care and the light of the brightest star in the sky. Jesus, “the true light that gives light to everyone… Came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:9, 11-12, emphasis mine).

Jesus came on a mission to open up the door for us to have a relationship with God; He entered into the darkness of night and of the pain of our world to rescue us from it. Because Jesus went through the darkness, we have HOPE that He is always with us in our darkness and the darkness of the world around us. We have hope also that, one day, He will return to earth to conquer darkness completely and make all things new.

Let’s end our devotion today in prayer: God the Father, thank you for loving us so much that you’d give us your only son, Jesus, to be light in our darkness. King Jesus, thank you for being brave enough to experience the darkness of our world, even the darkness of separation from your Father through death, so that we’d never have to. Thank you for the promise that you will come again to ensure that death, sorrow, crying and pain will one day be gone forever. Thank you, Holy Spirit, that you are with us always, in every situation. Move in our hearts right now, to accept Jesus as the true light and believe in Him as Savior of the world--for the first time today, or once again, this Advent season.

My name is Martha Roszak and I am Christ’s beloved, even on the days when I don’t feel like or believe it. I went on my first Son Servants trip the summer after my freshman year of high school, and served on Summer Staff after my freshman year of college (Go Hokies!). I love the rhythm of life that Son Servants camp creates: worship, play, rinse, repeat. Currently, I am a Son Servants Planning Team member and a youth leader in McLean, Virginia. Every summer, I get to take high school students from my church on Son Servants trips. This year was the first time in 10 years that I didn’t get to go to camp, and I can’t wait to go back next summer!

December 13 day fifteen ‘Yes’ of God… I was not there and I did not bring a it is the ‘Yes’ that streaks across the gift. strange chaos and reminds us that He has not forgotten us But He went along with ‘being born’ it is the “Yes” that points to the anyway intimacy of His fingertip which and said “Yes” to a manger and a touches every beating soul with life… cross… it is the “Yes” that reaches to us and -both perfectly crude brings every person to a potential -both marvelously unimaginable… where His hand is enough to find Hope rested in God breathing as a yourself forever… son…

The nod of God motioned that His Hope concluded in the Son giving His ‘Yes’ would not be ‘no.’ last breath to the Father… -that it was time for birth… that it was time to build a bridge… His “Yes” Does for us what we can never do for God said ‘Yes.’ (to our surprise) ourselves.

I did not see Mary’s face when she ‘because He will save his people from got the news… their sins.” I did not hear Joseph’s first words to -Matthew 1/21 Mary after his dream when he took her home as his wife… Gregg Parker lives in Corinth, MS I did not listen to the angels when and serves on the TGE Lee team as a they arrived to ordinary average guys director. with news that the eternal was presently due… I did not reach over the innkeeper’s desk and smack him for his disregard of her labor pains… I did not read the birth announcement in the ‘Bethlehem Times’

December 14 day sixteen

READ 1 John 4:7-8: “Beloved let us love one another; For love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God”. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because “God is Love.”

The well-known song, “Love is a Many Splendored Thing,” sung by many famous artists but probably none more well-known than Andy Williams, at least to older folks, describes a number of things that love is, including an April Rose, a golden crown, nature, a kiss and others. It is estimated that over a hundred million songs have been written about love. That is a lot of songs about a four-letter word. What power comes from such a small word! We often use the term love loosely. “I love coffee, or I love my car or my pet, I love you bro/sis.”

There is nothing wrong with that kind of love, but it isn’t the only kind of love. There is also the unconditional “God Love” that we find in scripture? Scripture tells us that “God Love” is not a thing, but a person, and that person is God! I can’t give you something that I do not possess, but I can give you anything that I possess. That is my choice. All of God’s attributes are embodied in Love; love defines Him. God IS Love! And He chooses to offer that love to us.

There are different types of “love” mentioned in scripture and that is true in our lives as well. There is empathy love, friend love, romantic love, but then there is unconditional “God” love. A person cannot naturally love someone if there is no tangible reason to love that person, but scripture tells us that, while we were yet sinners, God sent His son to die for us. (Romans 5:8) There is no tangible reason for God to love us, yet He does. He has shown, and continues to show, His love for us in that He died for us.

During this advent season, as we prepare to celebrate the coming of the single greatest gift ever given, God’s love embodied in Jesus, let each of us take time to consider if we truly know God. We cannot strain, and work and create love on our own; it is a gift from God to us. If we know Him, we also possess love and we can share that love with those around us because we know God and it is part of us. Does the way we love reveal to others the source of our love? Shalom

PRAYER: God our heavenly Father, thank you for loving us and for giving us your love to share with others. Help us to grasp the joy and responsibility of sharing the love you have given us with others. Faith Hope and Love, but the greatest of these is love. Amen.

Danny Dotson has been the director of Son Servants since 1991 (27 years!) Danny is married to Beth and they have a daughter and son and daughter-in-law and five beautiful grandchildren. Serving others and providing others with opportunities to serve makes his day.

Today take the time to pray for Son Servants.

Son Servants is the short-term missions branch of YCM. In 2021, we plan to lead trips to Jamaica, Mexico, Chattanooga, TN; New Orleans, LA; Panther, WV; Houston, TX; Danville, VA; with high school and middle school students and their leaders.

The goal is to teach our participants what it means to be the hands and feet of Jesus and to live out our motto “to love is to serve.”

“Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.” John 12:26

Pray for our ministry partners.

Pray for our director, Danny Dotson and the planning team members.

Pray for all of our summer adult volunteers who lead worship, cook meals, provide medical assistance, teach students and direct camps.

December 15 day seventeen

READ 1 Corinthians 13

(Excerpt taken from “Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes” by Kenneth E. Bailey)

On February 2, 1984, during the height of the Lebanese civil war, a fourteen-year-old boy from the village of Bahamdun (Lebanon) wrote the following reflection from a relative’s home in Ashrafiyya, Beirut:

I can still hear the sound of thundering guns telling me that, somewhere nearby, people are dying. Even since we left the village I feel as though something has been shattered inside me. We have lost everything. Our house was burned. My books were torn to pieces. Our furniture was stolen. But what is more important is that the soft night and the fresh mornings in the village are gone, and with them I have lost my roots and have become “like grass blown by the wind,” as the Psalmist put it. Time is no longer the unending chain of hours and minutes, marked by the hands on the huge clock at the entrance to my grandfather’s house in the village. The big clock, with its rhythmic sound, that kept track of every heartbeat throughout the house, is broken. And time on it is standing still. For me, time used to be the time of sleeping and of waking up and of working in the fields – that time of life. But now time has left me. It belongs to the one who stands behind the thundering gun. It is the time of death. One night early in September our village was shelled and we fled. We hid in a cave near our small brook waiting for the mad night to subside. But the guns did not stop so we fled again through the valley until we reached Beirut. We thought we had escaped, but the dark night caught up with us in all its madness. Am I living through a nightmare? Has time really stood still ever since the big clock was broken on the wall of my grandfather’s house in the village? One day someone came and told us that our house in the village (my grandfather’s house), was looted and burned. The young men burned it after emptying it altogether. My anguish grew into hatred. Hatred is strange for it takes many forms. For me it is like a

boil. It took root within me and sowed the seeds of death in my heart. It grew and spread like a boil with nothing but pus inside. I woke up at the sounds of the big guns and asked myself, “How can a young man stand behind a gun and fire all those rockets around us?” I thought of that young man and to me he acquired the face of that other young man who looted and burned my grandfather’s house. Then in the midst of the sound of thundering guns, from the depths of my despair and pain, I finally understood. “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels but have not love,” I am but sounding brass like the empty shell cases of the big guns. Love alone can bear the burden of the living for it bears all things. It bears this young man who is standing behind the gun, and that other young man who burned my grandfather’s house. We carry our dead with us like open wounds. All of us have such wounds. Life is different. Life is the realm of love which overcomes death. I pray that the living Lord may reign in our lives, and not our dead.

“I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.” - Jesus

Caleb Smith has served with YCM for over fifteen years, most of them at The Great Escape at Lee University. He serves as Director of Residency & Coaching for Converge, helps lead Leadership Development for a local church, and consults with local churches across the country. Caleb and his family live in Orlando, FL.

Today we ask that you pray for the YCM staff. Small, but mighty, we seek to continue providing experiences that point kids to Jesus. Pray for Tim Surratt, Danny Dotson, Del Francescon, Laura Hertgers and Amanda Viall. And join us with this prayer: Heavenly Father, we are so grateful that we can come to you today with prayers of thanksgiving, prayers of need and prayers of restoration and readiness. We ask that you guide the planning teams in preparing for what you desire for them to teach, to sing and to share. We ask that you prepare the hearts and minds of those who will be attending that they be open and ready to receive exactly what you want each individual to receive. We ask that you renew the spirits of all those involved that they feel strengthened, restored and encouraged for what this next year brings. Please be with the churches and youth leaders/directors that they feel your presence and are reminded that they are not alone. We humbly serve you and are so blessed that you have chosen us to do so. We love you Lord, and we thank you for loving us so completely. Amen.

December 16 day eighteen

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3: 16

John 3: 16 could be the most quoted verse in all of history. Often, we can quote something so much that it loses its impact on us, and when that happens, we need to pause and let the truth sink deep into us! And indeed, the truth in this verse is PROFOUND (and that is an understatement)!

I think you would agree with me that our world is angry…isolated to a large degree…and think we deserve better than what has been doled out to us in 2020. But this verse flies in the face of that posture.

“For God so LOVED…” His love is unfathomable, far-reaching, long- suffering, faithful. While we shake our angry fists at heaven, perhaps questioning Him for “allowing” all of 2020 to take place, or even blaming Him for “causing” it to happen, putting our own spin on “why it happened,” God is still loving and is pouring out His mercies on us every day. “His mercies are new every morning…. great is His faithfulness!” (Lamentations 3: 22,23) And His love went the absolute distance it took to rescue us from ourselves and from all that separates us from Him. “Greater love has no one than this, that He someone should lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15: 13) As believers, we are not only His children, but He also calls us His friends! (John 15:15). What an amazing gift!

“…. that He GAVE His one and ONLY Son…” I think this is so hard for us to wrap our minds around! God gave Himself, as only He could- all of Himself in the form of humanity. Who could have devised such a plan? And yet, He preordained it before Creation even began. Danny and I were having a conversation about this the other day, and at some point, there are just no words to really capture or even understand it totally. Perhaps we could say that we would die for our spouses, our children and maybe even our friends, for a cause or even for Christ, but to give of ourselves to the extent that He gave Himself? I think not! The utter humility in which in which He came, stripping Himself of His royal robes, living a humble, sacrificial, sinless

life, enduring all of the persecution, insults, harassments, and brutality, continues to be the paramount demonstration of LOVE for us and an example for us to follow. The words of 2 Corinthians 5: 21 say it well: “God made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” That is quite an exchange!

“…that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” And here’s our part- to believe. It sounds so easy; doesn’t it? And yet we struggle to believe that which we cannot quantify, prove, see, touch, etc. Don’t you think that children generally, at least early on, seem to have an easier time believing than we do as we get older? And yet, He has given us all that we need to believe and to nurture that belief. He has given us the God-breathed, flawless WORD which contains countless examples of those who struggled with believing but ended up believing. He has given us innumerable people in history who have gone before us whose lives were changed because of their relationship with Him. He continues to give us the testimonies of others whose lives have been changed. He has given us the gift of His Spirit to live within us, testifying to the truth of who He is. Paul declared in 2 Timothy 1: 12 that he knew WHOM he believed, that he had a vibrant, ongoing relationship with Jesus. We are to believe, every day, and this is not a nebulous, bleary eyed belief, but one that is rooted in our ongoing friendship with Christ.

Questions: • So, in this season of Advent, a season of waiting, and in this season in which all of us have landed this year, what are you doing to nurture your relationship with Jesus? • Spend some time re-reading John 3:16, marveling at the miracle of God’s love and gift to you in Jesus.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, the depth, length, and breadth of Your love is hard to grasp, but I thank You for rescuing me, and I turn to You in gratitude and humility, desiring to receive Your love and to live a changed life. Amen.

Beth Dotson has been involved with YCM since the 70’s and enjoys helping her husband, Danny lead Son Servants trips every summer. She feels richly blessed by the relationships that have come through this ministry throughout the years. She is a retired teacher and works part-time with a ministry that works with HIV clients. Her daughter, Rebecca and her two children live in Huntsville, and her son, Dan and his wife Michelle live on Signal Mountain with their two boys. Her granddaughter, Kaila was married in September and lives in the Chattanooga area

December 17 day nineteen

This anonymous prayer hangs in the home of one of our staff. Let it be your prayer today as we anticipate Christ’s coming.

Lord Jesus, Come and dwell in our home as You promised that You would come with Your Father to dwell among those who love You and are faithful to Your Word.

Fill our home with Your grace so that there may be no sin among us ; With Your love so that there may be no selfishness; With Your patience so that there may be no anger; With Your truth so that there may be no distrust; With Your peace so that there may be no discord.

Make us one even as You and Your Father are one, so that the love which the Father has for You may be in us and You too may be in us.

AMEN.

December 18 day twenty

Cozy up with friends or family today and enjoy one of these tasty treats, listen to some Christmas carols, and meditate on the quickly approaching day of Christ’s birth!

Winter Hot Chocolate Mix 1 8-quart Instant dry milk 1 16-oz Coffee-mate 1 box XX powdered sugar 1 2 lb. container Nestle Quick Miniature Marshmallows

Mix all ingredients together and store in sealed container. Boil 1 cup water and mix with l/3 mixture. Add miniature marshmallows as desired.

Russian Hot Tea Mix 1 cup Instant tea 2 cups Tang (orange-flavored drink mix) 3 oz. package powdered lemonade mix 2 cups white sugar 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon l/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Mix 3 to 4 tablespoons of mixture with 1 cup hot water.

December 19 day twenty-one

*From the Advent source - https://www.faithgateway.com/jesus-storybook- bible-advent-calendar-printable

December 20 day twenty-two

St. Francis Prayer Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; and Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; for it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. ~St. Francis of Assissi~

December 21 day twenty-three

PEACE FROM GOD IN OUR DEEPEST TRIALS “……your sister will not live to see daylight! Can you get to Rome, GA as fast as possible?!” No one wants to hear those words – especially me and about my sister who had been battling cancer for several years. You see, we were very close, and she had been diligently praying for me, trying to “pray me into the kingdom.” To make matters worse, I was in Jacksonville, Florida at the start of the first ice storm in that area in decades ---no flights---freeway closed (someday I’ll tell you about the conversation I had with a Florida State Trooper who stopped me for traveling on a closed highway). By the grace of God, and only by the grace of God, I made it, arriving at my sister’s house at 4:00AM. And get this! I pulled into the driveway and was greeted immediately by a lady, wrapped in a blanket, who came to the car before I could get out. Out of love for my sister, she had placed herself there, even in the sleet and snow, to protect the family from too many visitors. When she found out who I was, she consoled me in a very dear way and gave me directions to the hospital. I couldn’t help but notice others that were buzzing about (I later was told they were cooking, doing laundry, arranging transportation for my three young nieces, and preparing the house for visitors, etc.). Who were these people!? When I arrived at my sister’s room, I was informed that I had barely made it and to go in and sit next to her bed. After a terrible and yet a wonderful conversation, she announced to the room that there was to be no tears or displays of grief. She didn’t want to see it; she knew what was happening and, without a doubt, where she was going and who she would be seeing. In fact, she said she was kind of excited. At this point, her minister and pastor asked with a slight smile, “If you could have anything right now, what would it be?” Her immediate response was, “Red jello!” My mouth fell open! No! We want healing or take away the pain or something. Red jello!? Very shortly after this time, she let go and went to her Lord. Out in the hall I met with her pastor. He was overjoyed with the response to his question. I asked him why. He responded, “How wonderful it would be to have such a peace about your salvation, that at your moment of death, you felt confident enough to only want jello!” Truly, a wonderful

peace came over me, erasing my anger, easing my overwhelming grief, and taking away my fear (John 20:19). God granted me a peace that, at least for me, transcends all understanding. By the way, that really got my attention. Remember my 4:00 arrival in the driveway and the people I saw? I immediately knew who they were. God puts people (angels unaware) in our paths when we most need them – I was a physical, emotional, and spiritual wreck when I finally got to my sister’s home and, in my mind, was experiencing one of the most traumatic events of my life. The lady who first spoke with me was most assuredly a Godsend, exuding a peace that, at that time, I didn’t understand. She was able to provide kindness and a little bit of order to someone who just really didn’t know what to do. And what about those other folks? My brother-in-law was in a state of grief and confusion as one might expect. Independently, people in my sister’s faith community gathered at her house to take all the everyday burdens and decisions off his mind. Again, God showed up and provided a little peace in the middle of a lot of chaos. God was really buzzing all about! I can’t resist telling about a gentleman who came up to me and handed me a set of keys to his house and a car. He was only several doors from my sister and felt we would be more comfortable being close to the family. While we were there, he made sure we had a good breakfast each morning and even asked for our dirty laundry. He had it all dry cleaned! Have you ever seen socks clipped to a coat hanger that had been dry cleaned? Most importantly, he left Bible verses on sticky notes with our breakfast, on our bedroom door…everywhere. Isn’t God awesome!? God gives us peace even in our deepest trials. I am most thankful for the peace He brought to me through so many loving people and the amazing witness of my sister. I went to Rome angry and distraught, expecting a terrible experience and a gloomy funeral. Instead, I witnessed, up front, the peace of knowing Jesus Christ and a true celebration of life. So --- let me ask you: “Isn’t it wonderful that we could all respond – red jello?”

Steve Mitchell is one of YCM’s volunteers and great supporters. He is husband to Vickie and father to two adult children - Amanda, who is on staff with YCM, and Abigaile, and he is Poppa to seven grandchildren.

December 22 day twenty-four

READ Luke 2:13-14 “Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests”.

Imagine yourself, a shepherd tending the sheep, sitting around a campfire relaxing with your friends. Suddenly this “person”, an Angel, one of God’s chosen communicators, tells you “Don’t be afraid” and tells you that the Savior that you have heard about is now born. Stack on top of that a gathering of Angel’s, maybe 10 or maybe 100, praising and singing about how Peace has been introduced into this world. What would be your reaction? How would you respond? Before you respond, again, imagine yourself as the shepherd. Remember your position. You are the “least of these”. You are the powerless and marginalized. Perhaps you are thought of as a thief, not to be trusted. You are not violent, but people look down upon you. Your position in life and career role has stereotyped you. Why would an Angel of God bring this message to you? Why would the Savior of the world be first presented to you?

The answer is simple, yet so complex that none of us can utterly understand it. It wasn’t brought to the shepherds because they were the only ones still awake late at night. God could have awakened anyone He wanted to deliver the message to. He chose the shepherds as a starting point to let everyone know that Jesus is our Great Shepherd. He chose the “least of us” to deliver the message to because he knows the value that we all have, no matter what the world says about us. He loves us so much that He was elementary in how our Savior’s birth announcement was made.

Early in my career I worked with a man whose favorite acronym was K.I.S.S; keep it simple, stupid. Don’t overthink it; accept is as it is. I can’t tell you how many times I wish that I had followed this man’s teaching. Applying it to my faith journey even today would be monumental. Why do I have to make His gift so complex? Why do I get so wrapped up in “religion” that I miss the real message?

The Angels sang about it and worshiped about it. They announced that the gift of Peace had arrived in this world. It’s a message we long to hear, but don’t quite understand. We think of peace as a state without conflict, a time without war. Or, on a personal level, a time without noise or no one bothering you. We think of peace as a utopic goal where everyone lives in harmony. These are all good and honorable, but the real angelic peace that is announced this day is the peace of wholeness and completeness. It is a gift of comfort knowing that my life is not about me. It is giving and living for my Creator and my Savior.

Think of a time that you felt truly fulfilled. I would bet it wasn’t when you purchased that “shiny object” that you dreamed about for months. As a servant Christian, I’m betting it was when you were on a mission trip or serving in a homeless shelter or leading a bible study, leading others towards Christ. Please stop reading this devo for a minute or two and reflect on that moment in time. Do you feel completeness in that memory? Do you feel the comfort of peace? Do you feel Christ’s shepherding touch?

I pray that we all find this true Peace in the weeks leading to the celebration of the birth of our Savior Jesus. I can think of no greater gift that the peace of Christ in all our lives.

Craig Brunk- I’ve loved YCM for over 22 years. My children were raised with YCM! I became a youth leader/ middle school Sunday school teacher in 1997. I went to my first Great Escape in 1998. Joined onto a GE planning team in 1999 and began co-directing GE-MW in 2000. Joined the YCM Board in 2010 and am still loving the YCM family as Chairman of the Board. In June 2020, my wife Marianne and I departed St. Louis and moved to the Milwaukee area to be closer to our children. We love Wisconsin so far!

December 23 day twenty-five “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27

As I write this, my wife has COVID, I find myself quarantining for the second time in 2020, there is an election coming that has only heightened the issues that separate us as people, and once again I find myself falling into the false expectation that somehow this world will deliver “peace”.

The fourteenth chapter of John is of Jesus encouraging his disciples as they face an uncertain future and are feeling the anxiety of the unknown. They too had fallen into the trap of hoping that the peace and security that their hearts desired would come from a change in worldly circumstances.

Jesus talked about things that were coming once He was gone, and in particular, that the Holy Spirit would come to teach them and provide the hope and the peace they were looking for.

May we all look beyond the answers the world offers and remember that the One who came will come again!

Questions: 1) What are two things that you are anxious about? 2) If you could change two things in order to experience “peace”, what would they be? 3) Under what circumstances are you mostly likely to hear from the Holy Spirit?

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, give us a glimpse of the Hope that Jesus gave his life for, and may we experience the peace that passes understanding. You have not given us a spirit of fear and may your Holy Spirit speak truth to our hearts. Allow us to reflect your love and peace in the places we are and lead us to the life everlasting. Amen.

Mac McCoy. 30 years as a vocational youth minister. 45 years as a Young Life volunteer. Love playing guitar and riding bicycles. Married 38 years and father of two extraordinary daughters.

December 24 day twenty-six

Christmas Eve, by Christina Rossetti

Christmas hath darkness Brighter than the blazing noon, Christmas hath a chillness Warmer than the heat of June, Christmas hath a beauty Lovelier than the world can show: For Christmas bringeth Jesus, Brought for us so low.

Earth, strike up your music, Birds that sing and bells that ring: Heaven hath answering music For all Angels soon to sing: Earth, put on your whitest Bridal robe of spotless snow: For Christmas bringeth Jesus, Brought for us so low.

Poem from “Waiting on the Word: A poem a day for Advent, Christmas and Epiphany” by Malcolm Guite, Copyright Canterbury Press Norwich, 2015

December 25 day twenty-seven

Merry Christmas!

Peace has Come by Hillsong Worship Oh, come let us adore Him Behold the star of Bethlehem Oh, come let us adore Him The Word of God has become flesh Oh, come let us adore Him Unto us a child is born Christ the Lord The Saviour of this broken world Oh, come let us adore Him Oh, hear the angel voices Oh, come let us adore Him Sing come let us adore Him Oh, come let us adore Him Peace has come Christ the Lord For our King is with us Oh, hear the angel voices Fully God and fully man Sing come let us adore Him He comes for all with open hands Peace has come He rules with love on David’s throne For our King is with us All praise belongs to Christ alone Peace has come Oh, hear the angel voices For our King is with us Sing come let us adore Him Peace has come For our King is with us

Holy, holy, holy Jesus we adore Thee Peace has come For our King is with us

December 26 day twenty-eight

“On the evening of the first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” - John 20:19

Imagine for a moment you are in the place of one of the disciples. All that you have experienced and known with your time with Jesus has now come down to you being in a room, separated only by a locked door and afraid of what is to come next.

For many Christians around the world, this is a daily occurrence. Being locked away with your faith can be hard, especially when God is seeking for you to live it out so the world can see. This year, 2020, has felt like being isolated, locked away in a room afraid to come out for fear of the unknown. Different for sure from what the disciples experienced, but not so different to understand their concern for the future.

Like most Christians, I felt the loss of not being able to attend Sunday school, worship, fellowship suppers and all that goes with being a member of the body of Christ. The struggle to attend hastily set up online meetings for worship and Sunday school brought a feeling of being alone and forgotten. The feeling of hopelessness and isolation, after having it all, was daunting and somewhat overwhelming.

“…Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you”. Through the locked door and hearts of the disciples, Jesus came and spoke to them. He gave them hope in the resurrection and the life to come. That very hope is still alive today for all of us. Even during a pandemic, an election, or any struggle we may face, the gift of the Savior Jesus Christ is still in place.

Thanks be to God and peace be with you now and forever more! Thanks be to God. 1. Have you ever considered isolating yourself from the world in hopes of building your relationship with God? 2. Do you think the disciples understood the message Jesus gave to them when he arrived in the room?

PRAYER: Father, in our haste to be and do, sometimes we fail to hear your voice or see your work. As we gather, please continue to remind us who you are, even when our doors are closed and locked, please let us hear…Peace be with you! Amen

Karl Morgan- I have been the director/co-director for the Great Escape at Southwind since 2007. My wife and I have enjoyed being a part of youth ministry for twenty plus years. Following in our footsteps, our son and daughter have moved from being the youth to now being leaders on the Great Escape staff. We love and cherish our YCM family and the role everyone plays in building God’s Kingdom.

Today, we ask that you pray for Youth Conference Ministries as a whole and that God continues to use us to reach students and their leaders. Our mission and vision: We want to love kids, tell them about Jesus and serve the Youth Workers and Volunteers who care for them in the Church. We seek to:

• Present Jesus Christ to young people in such a way that they can make a non-pressured decision for Him • Nurture Christian kids in their walks with Jesus Christ • Equip & train youth workers to be more professionally competent in their calling • Strengthen and serve as a resource to the local church by providing a variety of high-quality youth ministry programs and resources.

December 27 day twenty-nine

“Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:8-10

I don’t know about you, but I’ve felt a lot like Paul in verse 8 this year, pleading with God to change my circumstances, to take this current weight from me, from our world. As I read 2 Corinthians 12, I find myself asking the question: How? How did Paul find this kind of unwavering trust in the midst of unthinkable hardships? He had pleaded with the Lord to take this thorn away and yet his circumstances didn’t change. So how, despite those circumstances, did he find the strength to carry on? To keep trusting and placing his hope in the Lord?

The answer, of course, lies here in these treasured words. That kind of persistent strength and trust didn’t come from Paul. He couldn’t muster up that insane amount of courage and hope on his own. And neither can I, as much as I try to. The kind of strength and hope I need, that we all need, cannot come from ourselves. That kind of strength comes from one place alone, the all sufficient grace of Christ.

I come to this Advent season desperately needing strength and hope. Maybe you do too. The weight of the world, my own circumstances, and the pain I see around me seems too much to bear. My strength is simply not enough. But just as my weakness begins to overwhelm me,

Christ enters in. It’s the very gift of Christmas. Emmanuel, God with us. That message has never sounded sweeter.

Just as Paul discovered, I’m discovering that to be all the strength I need. The Lord hasn’t changed my circumstances, but he has heard my plea. When I am growing tired, he is holding me up. Where I am struggling to see the next step, he is lighting my path. Where I feel weak, his strength is sustaining me. What good news it is for all of us that we don’t have to do it on our own. We don’t have to depend on our own insufficient strength to face whatever circumstances lie before us, we get to call on his all sufficient grace.

Questions: Where in your life are you striving in your own strength rather than resting in the strength of Christ?

Think about a time when you have been sustained by God’s strength alone. Then remind yourself that that same provision is available to you today. What is something you can do to remind yourself of His trustworthy grace?

PRAYER: Jesus, you know we are weary. You know the weight we carry is too much for us to bear alone. Remind us that you are here. Remind us that your grace is sufficient for us. Help us, O God, to stop striving in our own strength and instead to rest in yours, that we might experience and share the fullness of your power with the world. Amen.

Jessica Meggs serves as the Director of Youth & Young Adult Ministries at John Knox Presbyterian in Greenville, SC. Her love for YCM can be traced back to her experience as a middle schooler at TGE, through a summer on staff with Son Servants as a college student, and now as a Youth Director who delights in bringing students to YCM events each year.

December 28 day thirty

Turkey Cranberry Wreath What to do with that leftover Thanksgiving or Christmas Turkey? Make this absolutely delicious and so easy to create Turkey Cranberry Wreath!

INGREDIENTS 2 packages (8 ounces each) refrigerated crescent rolls 1/2 cup mayonnaise 2 tablespoons honey Dijon mustard 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper 2 cups (12 ounces) chopped cooked turkey 1/2 cup sliced celery 3 tablespoons snipped fresh parsley 1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese 1/4 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped 1 egg

DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 375°F. Unroll crescent dough; separate into 16 triangles. With wide ends of triangles toward the center, arrange 8 triangles in a circle on a large, round stoneware or baking sheet. Corners of wide ends will touch and depending on size of baking sheet/stone, the points will extend beyond the edge. Arrange remaining 8 triangles in center, matching wide ends. Seal seams by pressing them together (Points will overlap in center; do not seal.) Place mayonnaise, mustard and black pepper in mixing bowl. Add turkey, celery, parsley and cranberries to mix. Grate cheese into mixing bowl and combine until all ingredients are fully incorporated. Using medium size scoop, scoop filling over seams of dough, forming a circle. Sprinkle coarsely chop walnuts over filling. Beginning in center, lift one dough triangle across filling mixture. Continue alternating with outer triangles, slightly overlapping to form wreath. Tuck last end under first. Separate egg (Discard yolk or set aside for another use.) and lightly beat egg white; brush over dough wreath. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Makes about 10 servings.

December 29 day thirty-one

READ James 4:6: “But he gives us more grace. That is why scripture says…God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

As a Christian, we are always in constant conflict with the opportunities offered up by the world. The conflict began in the garden and has continued throughout our history. But the conflict is not with us and the world, it is with us and God. Our desires, hopes, dreams push towards the things that are trending or fashionable. We live by what we hear, see, or read and place trust in what is offered. This is the worldliness James speaks about in his letter to the twelve tribes. His letter was to intended to address the conduct of a Christian.

Armed with the teachings of the Old Testament and the gift of Jesus, James sets out to show us how we as followers of Christ should act and conduct ourselves in the world. Words like “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry” (James 1:19) or “…faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead” (James 2:17) are not just suggestions, they are meant to give guidance to us. However, these words are opposite of what we are seeing or doing in the world in which we live.

Man, and lets just be honest, the devil, wants you to enjoy and indulge in all things worldly. He wants you to fall prey to social media, to the news, to politicians, to whatever man says. He wants you to stray from God in all things. Why does man do this? The answer revolves around who we as Christians put our trust and faith in. Man knows if he can control the head, the heart will follow. But he also knows if he cannot control the heart, then he will never win.

I once heard a pastor suggest this very thing in a sermon. The pastor spoke of this conflict we have, and he said the issue boils down to one thing. You cannot honor or follow two gods. You must choose man or God. Think about this for a moment. Can you honestly honor God and man? Has man ever failed you? If you say yes, then the answer is no, you cannot honor both. Even the most honest of

persons, the most Christian of Christians, will always fail you. Why, because we are all sinners?

I have been challenged by this very issue most of my life. I recently decided to get off social media. I found myself being quick to make judgements and even quicker to become angry. Man’s words and actions were causing me extreme grief and displeasure. I was being controlled by a world of individuals and groups in which my best interest was being challenged and affected. I was falling into the hands of the devil himself. I was asking God for all the wrong things and placing myself into the hands of man in my desire to get them approved by Him. I was quick to realize I was becoming a proud individual, not a humbled person.

We do not have to follow man’s love of money, politics, or attitude towards one another. We do not have to worry about the threat of man towards our heart, mind, and soul. Why? The answer is simple, we have a mighty GOD! So, hear the good news! Our protection from man, from the devil, from sin, is sealed in the birth, life, death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble”! Amen

PRAYER: God of love, mercy, and grace give us the wisdom, knowledge and heart to be humbled by who you are in our lives. Allow us to turn to you for all our needs and to resist the desires of the world. Give us strength for this day and hope for the days to come. Amen

1. Do you find yourself being tempted by man in your desires and decisions? 2. Do you feel humbled by the opportunity to turn to God first? 3. What is something you can do to turn away from the desires of man (e.g., stop using social media, pray for guidance on your next purchase, resist temptation)?

Karl Morgan- I have been the director/co-director for the Great Escape at Southwind since 2007. My wife and I have enjoyed being a part of youth ministry for twenty plus years. Following in our footsteps, our son and daughter have moved from being the youth to now being leaders on the Great Escape staff. We love and cherish our YCM family and the role everyone plays in building God’s Kingdom.

December 30 day thirty-two

Ephesians 2:4-10 The Two Words that Changed the World and You

From a young age, we are taught that actions have consequences. By the time we get to 4th grade science it has a more academic name: Cause and Effect. That ideology compounds as you go through life. And for the most part, it’s a fairly accurate way to handle things.

If you touch a hot stove, then you will get burned. If it’s cold outside, then you should wear a coat. If you eat that whole package of Oreos, then you will regret it later.

The problem is we have let cause and effect combine with performance. And then the desire to perform infiltrates our personal identities.

If I do X, Y, and Z, then I will get that promotion. If I get that promotion, then I get the respect I want. If I get the respect I want, then I can use my platform…and so on.

It’s hard not to apply something we have been learning to do since we were children to other things, like our spiritual lives and the way we view people. As a result, we tend to quantify actions as a valuation of a person’s morality. How often do we praise the ones who do everything “right” and avoid the ones who do things “wrong”? How often do we catch kids saying, “That’s what you get!” If we are honest, this ingrained thinking affects how we love people, requiring them to earn our affection.

So, when we read Ephesians 2, it makes zero sense to us. The first three verses lay out who we are before we know Christ. And it ain’t pretty. We were “dead in our transgressions and sin,” “following the course of the world,” and “by nature children of wrath.” In short, we deserved to be excommunicated from God, because we were world- serving, enemies of Him. By our own thinking we don’t deserve salvation…and well, if we were children of wrath, then we don’t.

Then, verse 4, flips it all on its head. “But, God…” Those two words change everything.

Ephesians 2:4-10 says: But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (ESV)

We were awful, showing no interest or desire to know Christ, BUT GOD reached down and showed mercy, because he loved us that much. With no worry into cause and effect, God showed us grace! And we cannot take credit for it.

There are no amount of good things we can do, character building we can construct, or accolades of morality that we can accumulate that will measure, reach, or compete with the value of God’s great love. In fact, we can’t even take credit for the list from the first sentence of this paragraph because the passage says he is crafting us into who we are in him.

Our only response then is to look and see—past, present, and future—what He has done, is doing, and will do with us and boast in Him. “For by grace you have been saved through faith.”

IF you believe that Christ died for the redemption of your sins and every awesome thing that goes with that, THEN you should marvel at His grace that came at no cost to you, glorifying Him as he works in you and through you even into the “coming ages.”

Questions: What are some of the If/Thens cluttering up your brain? They can be the practicalities of life or the things “that be lurkin’” in your soul.

Are your If/Thens distracting you? Or are you outright ignoring them?

This may seem cheesy, but roll with me. Now, take your If/Thens and where there was a period put a comma and add, “BUT, GOD.” Spend some time remembering the God who is rich in mercy and great love and how He can change your If/Thens.

If I…, Then I’ll…BUT GOD can/will/has…

PRAYER: Lord, how crazy is it that even when everything about me was against you, even when I was dead, you brought life. I know in an effort to exist in my day-to-day I have compartmentalized my tasks, my relationships, and my faith. Help me to remember that no amount of work or accomplishments will change the grace you have given to me. Nothing I do can change what you’re doing in me. Lord, in your Name.

Paige McCarty is the Director of Children and Youth at Woodland Church in New Orleans. She likes to boast, "Woodland is a little church that does big things!" She has been in ministry with Woodland in some capacity or another for fifteen years. She is also involved with many parts of YCM, most prominently as one of the Directors of The Great Escape - Twin Lakes. She loves dreaming up ways to do the "old things new" in regards to youth ministry, writing children's curriculum, and playing classic games made GIANT. AND she knits.

Today, we ask that you pray for the board of Youth Conference Ministries. Pray for their wisdom and direction as they look to the future of the ministry. God, we look to this summer with great thanks that you have given our planning teams, volunteers and staff such a wonderful opportunity to share who you are with young people of all ages.

December 31 day thirty-three

In Memoriam, by Alfred Lord Tennyson

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky, The faithless coldness of the times, The flying cloud, the frosty light: Ring out, ring out my mournful The year is dying in the night, rhymes Ring out, wild bells, and let him die. But ring the fuller minstrel in.

Ring out the old, ring in the new, Ring out false pride in place and Ring happy bells, across the snow, blood, The year is going, let him go, The civic slander and the spite, Ring out the false, ring in the true. Ring in the love of truth and right Ring in the common love of good. Ring out the grief that saps the mind For those that here we see no more, Ring out old shapes of foul disease, Ring out the feud of rich and poor, Ring out the narrowing lust of gold, Ring in redress to all mankind. Ring out the thousand wars of old, Ring in the thousand years of peace. Ring out a slowly dying cause, And ancient forms of party strife, Ring in the valiant man and free Ring in the nobler modes of life, The larger heart, the kindlier hand, With sweeter manners, purer laws. Ring out the darkness of the land, Ring in the Christ that is to be. Ring out the want the care the sin,

Poem from “Waiting on the Word: A poem a day for Advent, Christmas and Epiphany” by Malcolm Guite, Copyright Canterbury Press Norwich, 2015

May you be filled with the wonder of Mary, the obedience of Joseph, the joy of the angels, the eagerness of the shepherds, the determination of the magi, and the peace of the Christ child. Almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit bless you now and forever. Amen and Happy New Year!