Rev. Ashley Sherard

When Elizabeth was six months pregnant, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a city in Galilee, to a virgin who was engaged to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David’s house. The virgin’s name was Mary. When the angel came to her, he said, “Rejoice, favored one! The Lord is with you!” She was confused by these words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. The angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Mary. God is honoring you.  Look! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and he will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of David his father. He will rule over Jacob’s house forever, and there will be no end to his kingdom.”
 Luke 1: 26-33 CEB

I am a mom and a minister, I give news of all kinds all the time.  I deliver Good News, good news and not-so-good news.  I can identify with Gabriel, the messenger.  I wonder if he ever felt the need to wear a sign that read, “don’t shoot”, I often times feel the need to wear one.

Some of us dread the coming of Christmas, which seems to be happening sooner and sooner with each passing year.  When we see the department stores putting up Christmas trees before Halloween we cringe.  The thought of mile long Christmas lists and begging children makes our nerves raw.  We’ve heard the Christmas story so many times it doesn’t even register the message anymore, or does it?  If we take a moment to step back from all of the cringe worthy  “messages” the coming of Christmas stirs up in us and listen to the message of God, “the child to be born will be called Holy- Son of God.” we get to experience a message of hope, love, peace and joy.   Don’t shoot the messenger when Christmas starts to make an appearance, focus on the true message of God’s amazing love to be born.

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Katie Bond

The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come over you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the one who is to be born will be holy. He will be called God’s Son.”
Luke 1:35 CEB

There is no doubt in my mind that the Holy Spirit is responsible for the miracles we experience everyday. Although there are many daily miracles, childbirth is the one many of us are familiar with. 

Recently I gave birth to a 6 lb. 10 oz. miracle. And like Mary, this is something I did with more people present than I would have liked and without medication. The elation I felt after having Hannah is something I had never experienced before. I often wonder how Mary felt after giving birth to Jesus knowing that she gave birth to the Savior of our world. She opened her heart to the Holy Spirit allowing it to fill her completely so that we might be saved. May the Holy Spirit move in our lives this season and always, changing us for the better.

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Katie Bond

Be happy in your hope, stand your ground when you’re in trouble, and devote yourselves to prayer.
Romans 12:12 CEB

So far, this past year has been the most challenging time in my ministry as a youth director. One of my youth, who had been battling drug addiction for some time, passed away as a result of an accidental overdose. Her middle name was Hope.

In times like these, we feel broken and alone. Let us remember that God knows what it feels like to lose a child. Although the circumstances are quite different, the pain remains the same. But there is strength and healing in Christ’s sacrifice for us. Our hope is restored by the truth that we, as Christian’s, all have numbered days on this earth but will spend eternity with one another and with our Savior.  During the Advent season, my prayer is that you will experience joy, thankfulness and the gift of hope because that, my friend, makes this journey a little less lonely.

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Heavenly Father, give us hope during the Advent season, celebrating the life and love of your son Jesus Christ. Fill our hearts with kindness and compassion, helping to lift the burden from our fellow brothers and sisters. May we experience the joy of your mercy, spreading your truth and love to the ends of this earth.
Amen.      

Melissa Fain

Many churches, all over the world, follow something called a liturgical calendar. This calendar has seasons, but these seasons are not based on weather. Liturgical seasons are based on events. In the Christian Liturgical calendar some of the big seasons are Advent, Lent and Easter. The first season, in the Christian Calendar, is Advent. Advent starts the fourth Sunday before Christmas. It’s a season to prepare our heart and mind for Christ’s birth. There are four themes for each of the Sundays before Christmas: Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. An Advent calendar or devotional is a daily guide to help a person with a daily focus through a short reading.

From Her Voice is a collection of women, each with their own part in the modern Christian story. It is not meant to be a woman’s devotional, but simply a devotional written by women. I have heard from multiple online voices wishing to hear from more female Christians. I’ve discovered there isn’t a lack of female voices, but not enough light shining on those souls. It is my hope; this Advent devotional brings clarity and insight to this liturgical season.



Bookmark Meditations and come back, starting Sunday. We will be daily through Christmas!

I tried this once. I was a new college student. I was a bit more idealistic than I am today. I decided I was personally going to take on the 'least of these' list. I figured I could purposefully do it all in a year if I put my mind to it and did it right. I knew, doing it by myself, I would have to be creative regarding how I did it. So I thought about the first one, “when I was hungry or thirsty you gave me something to eat or drink.” Up to this point I had worked and volunteered at food pantries before. I wanted my gift to be more personal and close. So, I transformed my music locker into a free vending machine. I purchased snacks and juice boxes and stacked my locker full. I removed the lock and on the front put, “Free, please take one.” Two weeks later my locker was empty. I even had a few fellow students thank me for giving the food and drink. Then I got hung up. I was terribly shy at the time and could not get past “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”  My grand experiment failed before it ever truly got off the ground. The truth was, just by trying to accomplish the sheep and goats parable like it was a list, I had already failed.

I was guilty. Condemnation was mine. I caught myself in an action that was nice but ultimately did not mean anything. I was forcing something that wasn't made to be forced. (Although, we do it all the time.) It is when we act because we are supposed to, not because it is right. It is when we do a good deed but we are doing that deed not for the person but because it makes us feel good or it is social protocol. In some cases, acting in this way can do more harm than good because we are not trying to solve anything or really get to know anyone; we are just trying to get the problem out of the way.

There is a reason why God isn't following us around and telling us all the time what to do. It is like being told to apologize verses apologizing without being asked. Does an apology really mean anything when the person seeking it asks for it? I suppose it could in the right circumstances but usually? No. Apologies, like many things in life we want to be real. We don't want contrived or forced actions. That was what I was missing in my grand experiment. I wasn't being real; I was trying to force something that shouldn't be forced.

I told you I was guilty. Works that are real and good are innocent. I was guilty because my motivations were suspect. I was trying to analytically do something with my head which was supposed to be done with my heart. My actions towards others were not meant for the people I was trying to help. I was trying to do something for Jesus and in doing so the people I was 'helping' became a means to an end. I completely missed the meaning to the parable. I was guilty. Innocently doing good works lacks personal motivation. The people in the parable did not know they were doing something that would eventually help themselves. That is the key.

This is the Thursday before Thanksgiving. In a week and a half is the beginning of advent. If this year is anything like last year we have a packed holiday season ahead of us. Soon we will begin our process of preparing for the birth by lighting four candles: hope, love, joy and peace. For some, Christmas is already here. After all, anyone would be hard pressed to name the store that hasn't already begun to set up their Christmas decorations or begun to sell their Christmas wares. Maybe this scripture can invite us into the Christmas season, even if it is a week early.

The King tells those on his right, “just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” Many of us will be with family this coming Thursday. Some of us may be anticipating this Thanksgiving while some might not be as excited. Family meals are interesting because you love the people you are sharing a meal with but you don't have to like them. You may not click with some family members the way you  may with others. That's just life. You can please some of the people all of the time but you can't please all of the people even some of the time. Even with family this is true.

This scripture is about more than just our immediate and extended family. This scripture is about God's family. When dealing with God's family we should never assume who is or isn't a part of it. Also, this isn't about doing something for an elite member of God's family, however one would define what that would look like. It is clear this is for the 'least of these' which in and of itself difficult to define. In many ways, this is an undefinable set of qualifiers.  The only one who would be able to judge whether we lived up to the standards set in this parable is God and ultimately that is the only one who should be judging.

A week and a half will begin our advent journey.  This week let's pack for the trip. Let's celebrate Thanksgiving with not just our personal family but all of God's family. Let's practice innocent works this week as well. If we can authentically do that, we have something we can take with us into advent. Godly works can fit their way into all the themes of advent. Hope is meaningless if not backed up with action. Love invites not just the inner circle or the elite but everyone into its fold, because love is blind. Real joy is best seen through the fruit it produces. Peace is what happens when hope, love and joy are working in harmony together. See, if we can take this 'least of these' approach to God's family into advent we will have a truly wonderful Christmas. If we can take innocent works with us into the season we will have more than wrapped presents and shiny baubles on a tree. If we pack this scripture with us we will be prepared to understand what it means to be Christian.

It has been two years since Fig Tree Christian launched online! Wow, what a crazy two years. It has changed so much here. For those who are new, or have been around since the beginning, let's take a quick look back:

The evolution of the header: Like any new website, we began with a written header. There was also another version of the logo, as shown on the left.
I visit at least a dozen or so Christian websites a week. The images immediately sets the mood for the site. Think of logos and images as the wrapping paper for the message. What mood do you want the person opening present to be in? There are certain colors, fonts and physical cues that speak to our brain, and tell us things about the thing we are looking at. Unless we are explicit about what we want to say, and find the right visual combo to say it, we implicitly began picking our non-verbal cues.
Usually, websets non-verbally tell me, "We don't have a budget for this." Let me let you in on a secret: Over two years we've spent under $400 for everything. (We pay for yearly web hosting, purchasing our url and occasionally purchasing images that can't be made from scratch.) Photoshop elements cost $60. Find a creative person to begin researching color and fonts and let them play with the program. No, you won't have professional illustrations, but you will have more than a blank header. Eventually, you will have someone who understands the program.

The evolution of the message: When this first began I, Melissa Fain, was a dumper. In other words, I cut and pasted Sunday morning sermons into a blog format. No one listens to to the message or reads a flat sermon written for someone else. If you want a resource for your congregants to find previous sermons, you are doing a great job just pasting messages in. If you want to reach out to others, rethink what you are doing. 
When I see some of those early messages get clicked, I cringe. The visuals were horrible. The message was great on a Sunday morning, but terrible for an online audience. I had to get to know people online. What were their issues? What were they dealing with? Once I knew that, I could begin to connect the need to the people. 
Still, if you feel your sermon is gold and deserves an online audience, make it suitable for an online audience. Add images that help tell the story. (Purchased, made, or credit is given if it's royalty free. Never just take someone's work.) Separate the text so people can see the points. Cut it down. Forty-minute reads are not read online. Sorry.

Evolution of support: When Fig Tree Christian launched it was me, myself and I... by the grace of God. Looking back, it was rather sad. Every meditation was mine. I had a few cheerleaders, but overall, it felt like I was yelling into an echo chamber. It was like I was crying out in the wilderness when everyone was still in the city. 
When this all began I immediately saw the possibility of a devotional app. It became one of those milestones I saw in the distance. I couldn't do it right away, because it required help, and I didn't have support. 
Now, this ministry is highlighted by those who support it. I'm just the schlub who calls herself the minister. There are monthly guest meditations. You might not realize this, the past three guest meditations are from people I have never met in person. I know them online. This and going to monthly guest mediations is a celebration. At first, I had a guest meditation about once a quarter, and two contributors wrote more than one! I will forever be grateful for those who saw the potential so early, and wanted to help. 

So what is next? You tell me? The truth is, God's plans happens within the Body of Christ. Fig Tree is only as awesome as the community that supports it. It is so exciting to see how far we've come in two short years. I can't wait to see what happens in two more!  You should stick around and see what happens.

James McCormick is a Dallas-based software developer, consultant, and Orthodox Christian, though he was raised Methodist on the outskirts of Houston and spent some time in New Age syncretism that embarrasses him to talk about today (for an idea of what it was like, go watch Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai).  He’s struggled most of his life with the demon of noonday. 

As an advanced warning to all readers, when I cite psalm numbers, I have a tendency to use
the Septuagint numbering. It’s how I know and pray the psalms in my daily life, being of an
Orthodox persuasion. Also, it’s the copy of the psalter I have on hand. I’ll provide more familiar
Masoretic Text verse numberings when the psalm number is different.

Psalm 90 (91 Masoretic) is quite familiar to me. As a part of the twelfth kathisma (a collection of
psalms—there are 20 of them, each read at a certain point of the week), I often find myself
reading it for Vespers on Wednesday nights at church. Once I get a couple verses into it, I can
remember the rest. In this psalm, David speaks of the refuge of God from all that afflict us,
enemies both corporeal and bodiless.

I know a thing or two about the noonday demon. For me, there’s more than one.
The one at my right hand is Depression. He usually claims the mantle of the “noonday demon”
today. I’m told Andrew Solomon has a decent book on the subject, but I haven’t had a chance
to read it yet. He will contort happiness, joy, and pleasure into a boring hollowness. He will
repeat every bit of bad news I receive into my ear. He will show me the things I don’t want to
see.

The one at my left hand is called Anxiety. He tells me that I’m not good enough, that I can’t do
anything, that no matter what I try, it won’t work. He tells me that others judge me all the time.
On his account, I spend a lot of time alone, avoiding other people.

The one behind me is called Loneliness. He works with the other two, attempting to prevent me
from taking refuge anywhere. He tries to convince me that I’m truly alone out here, and that not
even God is with me. Of these demons, he’s the biggest liar, but he’s the most effective when
working in concert with the other three.

However, in my darkest moments, like the ones I’ve been having in the last week, I have begun
to take efforts at making God my refuge. I’m spending a bit more time at the altar at church, to
the point of not leaving it at all during services. I’m redoubling my efforts with my sadlyneglected
prayer rope. These things have helped. They don’t stop the pain. No, there’s no
escaping the pain I’m in, both physical (seriously, depression brings on monster headaches)
and emotional.

There is no enemy God can’t handle. Even when it seems to you, as it does to me, that those
that afflict you are multiplied, look for refuge in God. When you seek refuge in Christ, clinging to
the Holy, Life-Giving Cross, you’re hanging on to the greatest ally that you have. After all.
What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that
spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely
give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that
justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again,
who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall
separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine,
or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long;
we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than
conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor
angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor
depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in
Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:31-39 (KJV)

Of course, I’m a practical guy. I can’t just have someone sermonize and meditate. I need a
plan of action. So I won’t leave you without one, either, should you find yourself in a situation
like mine. After all, it’s one thing to say that you can claim victory over the demons. It’s another
to have a fight plan.

1. Get to a doctor. Any responsible spiritual adviser should tell you to do the same. After all, we live in a rational universe, and even our brains are subject to those laws that govern it.
2. Develop a meditative prayer routine. Don’t just phone it in with an Our Father and your prayer concerns, but get to a point where you say one short prayer repeatedly. Pick a psalm, like Psalm 90 (91 Masoretic Text) up there or Psalm 50 (51 Masoretic Text). Or you could go the Orthodox route with the Jesus prayer—“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Honestly, I’m getting to the point where I’m about to drop most of my own prayer concern list simply because it weighs too much on me. I’ll probably only keep the prayers for my priests and the two people that cause me the greatest difficulty. You may want to use something like a prayer rope or rosary to help you focus.
3. Talk to a spiritual adviser. Your priest or pastor should be well versed on how to help. Make regular appointments. Turn it into a confession session if you must. Just remember to keep the entire thing about you, your reactions, and your own sins. Talk about others as little as possible. They’re not there.
4. Exercise. Seriously, it’s easier to give things to God when you’re not trying to fight them yourself. Exercise will get the stress response out and allow you to approach the situation with more clarity.
5. Ask for the prayers of others. Yes, the prayers of others do help. Sharing helps. You don’t have to bear this burden alone. With God’s help, I have faith that I’ll overcome my issues, and that the pain won’t overwhelm me. I just don’t know where the road of life is taking me next.