Advent Peace

[00:00:01] Speaker A: Welcome to Faith Break. Finding God moments in your everyday. Each week on Faith Break, hosts Karen, Luke and Ann Gallagher bring spiritual refreshment to your daily Life. Today is December 8, 2024, the second week of Advent. Karen and Anne explore Advent's second weekly theme, Peace. [00:00:28] Speaker B: Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen. [00:00:31] Speaker C: Hey, everybody. [00:00:32] Speaker B: I am Karen Luke. I'm Ann Gallagher, and this is Faith Break. [00:00:38] Speaker C: Faith Break. [00:00:39] Speaker B: Yep. Finding God in the midst of the craziness Finding God moments. Yeah. [00:00:45] Speaker C: Some people take a coffee break. We take a faith break. [00:00:48] Speaker B: Well, we also take coffee breaks or. [00:00:51] Speaker C: Tea, depending on how. [00:00:53] Speaker B: Depending on the tea. [00:00:54] Speaker C: Late in the day it is. [00:00:55] Speaker B: All right. Last week. Well, a couple minutes ago. But last week we talked about hope. [00:01:04] Speaker C: Advent, Hope. [00:01:05] Speaker B: Advent, hope. [00:01:06] Speaker C: And today we are in peace. Advent, peace. [00:01:09] Speaker B: Advent, peace. And for today, I have my peace mug, and I want to read it. [00:01:14] Speaker C: I'm so prepared. [00:01:15] Speaker B: I know. Well, shout out to Will. I tried to find my Jesus in campfire mug. I couldn't find it right now. Okay, it's somewhere. But I found my peace mug, and actually, it's not mine. It's my husband's. And this was his godfather gift to our quote unquote niece, Allie, that we're godparents too. But anyway, it says peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, no trouble, or hard work. It means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart. Amen to that. [00:01:53] Speaker C: Yeah. Because last week we talked about having hope in the waiting and in the mess. [00:01:59] Speaker B: Yep. [00:01:59] Speaker C: And now we're gonna shift to talking about having peace. Not at the spa. Although, hey, if you can get there. Yeah, like, do it. But in the middle of the storms. [00:02:09] Speaker B: Right. [00:02:10] Speaker C: Of life and of this very crazy season. [00:02:12] Speaker B: So I'm gonna throw in a little surprise. You have no idea. I'm gonna say this, but in the midst of all the craziness of work, I find peace in you. [00:02:22] Speaker C: Aw. [00:02:22] Speaker B: Like, I called Anne, like, when I'm. When I'm, like, stressing, I will email Ann or I'll call her or text. [00:02:30] Speaker C: Her and just like, no, I do the same thing. And it's kind of weird because we don't, because we're working for two parishes. Our offices are, like, four miles away from each other. We don't actually share a workspace, but we share a headspace. We definitely. And so, yeah, we've definitely both, like, talked each other down from multiple ledges. [00:02:52] Speaker B: Yes. [00:02:53] Speaker C: Over the months and the years. Yeah. [00:02:56] Speaker B: And I also want to give out a gratitude salute. [00:03:00] Speaker C: Who are we thankful for this week? [00:03:02] Speaker B: I think we have agreed again. [00:03:04] Speaker C: Yes. [00:03:04] Speaker B: Okay. [00:03:05] Speaker C: One, two, three. Sarah. [00:03:08] Speaker B: Sarah Gargano, who is a senior at Pittsford Southern. [00:03:13] Speaker C: She's our student intern this year. [00:03:15] Speaker B: Yeah. And she is a rock star. [00:03:17] Speaker C: She is. [00:03:18] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:03:18] Speaker C: We are gonna. It's gonna be really hard when she graduates. [00:03:20] Speaker B: I know. [00:03:20] Speaker C: Because we've already come to count on her a whole lot. Sarah is just the best. And she is learning about ministry and working for the church and just living out her faith every day. And it's. She actually was the one who years ago said we should have a podcast. [00:03:37] Speaker B: Yeah. You will be on at some point. [00:03:40] Speaker C: But I totally forgot that. And I forgot to ask you for your God moment. [00:03:44] Speaker B: Yeah. Do you want to go? Why don't you go? Because mine seemed to be long. [00:03:48] Speaker C: Okay. [00:03:48] Speaker B: What's your God moment? [00:03:50] Speaker C: My God moment. Here's the thing I try to do every day and to varying degrees of success, but this. This ties in with peace. So my day, my days are nuts, like yours are. And I'm sure many of yours are too. But, you know, this whole being a working parent and a mom in ministry is a lot. And I get up really early and I get my kids on the bus and I get myself ready for work and I come in and I do the laundry and then I make the dinner and I'm, you know, often back at work for evening meetings. And it's just the days are full. Right. And I made. I don't know if it's a resolution, but I made an intention that I was going to try to find just like 10 minutes, like when I get home, like at 3, 3:30 in the afternoon, but before I start doing the laundry and the dinner and the evening meetings to just sit down with a cup of tea. Oh. And I'm not good at this in the summer because it's too hot for tea. But now we're in like a sweater weather and I can do my tea time, tea time, tea time with Jesus. So I think like a God moment for me this week in general, this season in general has been that I bought some nice new teas and I just. When I come home, it's not a lot of time, but it's just a break. It's a faith break. [00:05:15] Speaker B: It's a faith break. [00:05:16] Speaker C: It's a faith break in the day. And so that's my God moment. And really nothing happens in those moments other than nothing. Yeah. [00:05:24] Speaker B: No. That's amazing. [00:05:25] Speaker C: So that's my. Been my God moment lately. Last few days, in the middle of a Very crazy week. How about you, friend? [00:05:31] Speaker B: So, my God moment is another one of my kids. It's my other daughter or my only other daughter, Emma. [00:05:39] Speaker C: Yep. [00:05:39] Speaker B: So she has been swimming, varsity swim at Gananda. That's where we. [00:05:44] Speaker C: She's been doing so great this year. [00:05:45] Speaker B: She has rock star, like, personal records, everything. And yesterday was their last chance meet to make sectionals, and she didn't make it. But, my God moment was just seeing her open up and, like, cheering on her teammates this year and a big smile on her face. And it's really. It's really funny because there's. [00:06:12] Speaker C: We're. [00:06:12] Speaker B: We're two schools. It's Gananda and Wayne, because Wayne doesn't have a pool. So we've kind of befriended a family that goes to Wayne and Emma. Whenever there's a meet, she will look up in the stands and to, like, see who's there, and then she'll do, like, a little wave and. And then sometimes, like, I'll do the heart. Heart to her, you know, just if she. She just needs that encouragement. And I think, mommy, mommy. [00:06:39] Speaker C: Yeah, we do. [00:06:41] Speaker B: And so the other day at the last chance meet, the family from Wayne turned around and they're like, you guys are so stinking cute, like your little. Your little signs and everything. And it was just. [00:06:54] Speaker C: It's. [00:06:55] Speaker B: It was meant for us, but to have that come back, that other people are seeing, that love between us. As much as sometimes I want to strangle her in the morning for not waking up on time for school. [00:07:08] Speaker C: Listen, teenagers, right? Love them. [00:07:12] Speaker B: Yeah. So, like, my God moment was seeing my daughter, who has been very shy, open into this wonderful person. Yeah. Yes. [00:07:24] Speaker C: I love it. [00:07:25] Speaker B: So there. That's my God moment. Maybe next week it won't be about my children. [00:07:30] Speaker C: Hey, it can be about. I think as long as the God moments are about our children and our husbands and we're not, like, throwing our families under the bus when we come over here. [00:07:38] Speaker B: We're good, no? [00:07:39] Speaker C: Yeah, we're good. [00:07:39] Speaker B: We're good. Very good. [00:07:41] Speaker C: So peace. Peace. That was great. Yeah. And, like, Emma really has kind of found an inner peace, hasn't she? [00:07:46] Speaker B: Yeah, I think she has. And it's. It's really funny because she doesn't want to do anything on the off season. She's like, oh, my gosh, I'm so tired. [00:07:56] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:07:57] Speaker B: I was like, well, you're tired because you're not doing anything anymore. Right. So today she actually said, I think I'm going to start working out on the off season and go to, like, the Weight room and you might make sectionals next year. Like, it's been really fun to watch. [00:08:11] Speaker C: Very cool. [00:08:11] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:08:13] Speaker C: All right. Peace. [00:08:14] Speaker B: Peace. One that, that popped out at me because Ann is so prepared and she like found all these scripture passages and I just read them over. I don't know about you, but I've had a lot of anxiety lately. [00:08:28] Speaker C: Yes. [00:08:28] Speaker B: Like, even in my peace moments and like even in my God moments. [00:08:31] Speaker C: Yes. It's just like a tornado of anxiety. There's so much and it's like, it's politics, it's world events. It's just the, I think the moment we're at with our families and like, you know, we will live with two teenagers there, bundles of anxiety. Even on, you know, good days and times of change in our parishes. There is so much that is unstable right now in our worlds and I think it's scary. [00:08:58] Speaker B: Yeah. And if you see us on the weekends or like at meetings, I don't think you get that impression. [00:09:04] Speaker C: Oh, no, you're getting our game face. [00:09:05] Speaker B: Like we, we got it right, but like then we just melted. I know. You know. [00:09:10] Speaker C: Well, you know. Okay, we're not going to talk about the Mass readings, but I do want to kind of just say that in Advent, the readings we do here, especially in the beginning of Advent are a lot. Some of them are more about like the end of times than about Jesus coming. So they're like, they're very tumultuous. So we're not going to talk about the Mass reading specifically this, these next few weeks. But like you're going to mass every week and you're hearing them and you know that, you know, even at this time, like we were talking like John the Baptist. [00:09:39] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:09:40] Speaker C: Him as a figure and like the coming of the Messiah, like it's all shaking things up, shaking up the status quo and overturning people's expectations of what things are going to be like. And yeah, it's just crazy like, because at this time of year, like the Advent Christmas season, like the stereotype or the ideal image is that like, oh, our families are so peaceful and we're snuggled up in the snow with like cocoa and a fire and we're all like. And like, you know that your family is this time of year. Bananas. Yeah, it's bananas. [00:10:15] Speaker B: So funny, funny story. And oh my gosh, I wish I will find this picture but my, my brother in law is a photographer and he did a family photo for us and all of the pictures that he ever posts on Facebook are like these beautiful like, you know, edited Photos of everybody smiling and yay. It's so nice. We had one photo that he snapped just because he had to, like, try to get the moment. Connor, he was like, maybe, like, three. He is screaming. His face is red. The day before, he cut his hand, so his hand is all wrapped. He has a sucker in his hand. And the reason why he's crying is because we tried to take the sucker. [00:10:56] Speaker C: Out of his hand. [00:10:57] Speaker B: Emma's looking at. Emma's in Jeremy's arms. She's probably about seven. She's looking at him, like, looking at Jeremy, like, oh, my God, what is wrong with this family? Jeremy's looking off in the distance, and I'm just, like, the smile on my face. [00:11:12] Speaker C: Mom with a smile. I just keep smiling. Everything on her face. In the midst of utter chaos. Yes. [00:11:18] Speaker B: And it is my favorite picture of all times because I'm like, this is what it's about, right? [00:11:23] Speaker C: Right. [00:11:24] Speaker B: Like, you only post the good things that happen, but you mean, like, all the moments of me screaming, everyone smile. Everyone get dressed. [00:11:31] Speaker C: It's so curated, right? The images we brought there of our families. Right. [00:11:35] Speaker B: So I will find that image, but it is hysterical because you were just saying, like, everyone snuggled up in a blanket. I'm like, how long did it take you to get everybody off their phones. [00:11:45] Speaker C: Christmas cards, into the blanket? You've got the mom with, like, the boots. Ryan's always like, it's the Han Solo look. [00:11:50] Speaker B: Right? [00:11:51] Speaker C: Like, the mom with, like, the boots and the vest and the, like. Yeah, all that. Oh, my gosh. I remember one year, we were. We had taken a trip down to Albuquerque to see my dad, and it was like, the summertime, but I was like, oh, we're gonna get some beautiful shots of the family for the Christmas card. Right? Oh, my. I mean, like, I ended up posting on Facebook a series of images of, like, failed attempts at the Christmas card. And it was like, one of them. You know, it's the same thing you're talking about. Like, I'm holding the kids squirming on the lap, and in one of them, Bridget's, she turned around and she just bent over, and you see, like, her head between her legs. And everyone's like, use this one. Those were the comments. But I. Right. I mean, I didn't. I chose, like, a beautiful sterilized version of my family to put on the Christmas card that year. I'm sure. [00:12:38] Speaker B: But is that your family? [00:12:39] Speaker C: No. [00:12:40] Speaker B: No. We're all in the messiness. [00:12:41] Speaker C: We're a mess. [00:12:42] Speaker B: We're a mess. But getting back to the scripture passage that I. That you've found that Philippians 4, chapter 4, verse 6 through 7, have no anxiety at all. That sounds wonderful. But in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ. [00:13:12] Speaker C: Peace guarding our hearts. [00:13:14] Speaker B: Peace guarding our hearts. [00:13:15] Speaker C: Guarding. Guarding is like. Like a enveloping. [00:13:20] Speaker B: Like, just. I'm thinking of the. The oils that we use for baptism. [00:13:25] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:13:25] Speaker B: Like, the symbol of the oil is like, we are we. The. The first anointing seals and protects. Like, has this man. [00:13:34] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:13:35] Speaker B: Like, you can't see it, but you know that it's there. I mean, that's the whole point of symbols. [00:13:40] Speaker C: Right, Right. [00:13:41] Speaker B: But, like, just you have this protection. And the prayer that is said during it, it's called the prayer of exorcism, which is a horrible name for it because we're not like, exercising the demons or anything, but, like, it's. It's giving you this grace and this protection. [00:13:58] Speaker C: I actually love that we think of peace as being, like, passive. Right. Or, like, the absence of violence. But, like. Like, peace is guarding our hearts. Like, that's an active, defensive thing. Like that prayer do during baptism, this protective, like, active thing. That's interesting. I'm going to have to think about that some more. [00:14:19] Speaker B: I. I never thought about peace being the absence of injustice, like, the absence of war. [00:14:27] Speaker C: The absence of war. [00:14:28] Speaker B: I mean, like, I've known that, but, like, bigger. [00:14:31] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:14:32] Speaker B: What you were just saying. [00:14:33] Speaker C: Yeah. Peace being, like we said, like, protective seal. Yeah. Right. And like, that. I feel like that's a way that I pray for peace a lot in my own life, too, is just almost like. Like when things are feeling scary or anxiety inducing or like, I need protection like that. I love that image of, like, peace guarding our hearts. Because it's like, I do that. I lie down at night and I just, like, come on, God. You just put that blanket of peace and protection over my whole house and everybody in it. And, like, we're gonna make it through. Right. Like, and that's. That's an interesting way to think about peace, because it's not just. I don't know. [00:15:13] Speaker B: Yeah. But also, like, you were saying, peace being a passive thing, like, we have to physically be peaceful people. [00:15:24] Speaker C: Practice. [00:15:25] Speaker B: Practice it. [00:15:25] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:15:26] Speaker B: Because, like, I don't know about. I don't know about all of you, but when I'm driving, especially now, like, and this is not political, I'm not saying anything after this is opened or published. The election will be over. But you see all the signs. [00:15:44] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:15:45] Speaker B: Right. And I have to remind myself to be a peaceful person and not let one sign or another sign get me riled up. [00:15:56] Speaker C: Because there's always going to be things spinning around you in the real world. [00:15:59] Speaker B: Right. [00:16:00] Speaker C: Things are never going to be settled. Right. There's always going to be somebody in your life you're worried about or someone who's struggling or things you have to take care of or, like, you know, you gotta take your pet to the vet and your car breaks down and you're. You don't want to cook for. There's always stuff that's going on. But when we're talking about, like, the kind of inner peace that comes from being grounded in God's presence and in spiritual freedom, like, we've talked. We talk almost every time I think about the spiritual exercises. But that whole process is about finding. Finding freedom to be peaceful. [00:16:36] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:16:36] Speaker C: And to listen to God even in the everyday. And all of the crazy stuff that's, you know, no matter what wind is blowing, we can find peace and stillness right in God. But it does take practice. It takes practice and takes discipline, and it takes. [00:16:55] Speaker B: I was just going to ask you, how do we do it? [00:17:00] Speaker C: Notify time, notice. [00:17:02] Speaker B: How is that? How do we not. How do you. [00:17:05] Speaker C: Well, I think it helps to have a lifeguard or a buddy, like. [00:17:09] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:17:09] Speaker C: You know, we were talking about, like, we're having a rough day at work or somebody says something that sets one of us off and, you know, so we call the other person to just be like, take a breath. Yeah, we were talking the other day. There were some stuff. You know, we really. We want to give everybody what they want. We both have a really hard time sometimes setting boundaries when. Yeah. And so we had a moment recently where the same thing happened to each of us separately. And we commented on how, like, it's so much easier for me to give you advice Right. [00:17:38] Speaker B: On the same idea on this exact. [00:17:39] Speaker C: Same situation than it is for me to, like, take my own advice when it's me. Like, sometimes you just need another person to, like, take a breath, you know, and just remind us how to be grounded in peace. [00:17:55] Speaker B: Yeah. So find that person. [00:17:56] Speaker C: Find your people. [00:17:57] Speaker B: And we hope that you find it in us when you listen to this. [00:18:00] Speaker C: Yeah. I want to do another piece. Scripture I found reminded me of an ongoing theme in our podcast, which is holy napping, which has come up again and again over the season. But Psalm 4, verse 8 says, in peace will I lie down and fall asleep. For you alone, Lord, make me secure. And I am someone who has, like. Like, really. I'm not patting myself on the back, but I have some pretty virtuous, like, morning routines and rituals. Like, I get up, I have quiet time. I, like, find some exercise. I eat a healthy breakfast. Like, but at bedtime, I'm like, I'm not good at going to bed. Like, I want to stay up and watch TV and, like, hang out. Like, it's just. I'm not good at. Do you ever hear, like, revenge bedtime procrastination? Yes, I have that really bad. So, like, I need to find some peace around my bedtime ritual. This is, like, a continuing struggle for me, but I think that line is something I might challenge myself to use in the evenings and to find peace in the. In the night. [00:19:10] Speaker B: Yeah, it's not hard for me to fall asleep. [00:19:13] Speaker C: No, you're good at it. [00:19:14] Speaker B: Oh, my gosh. Jeremy laughs at me all the time because, like, I will turn out the light, I'll lay down and. [00:19:20] Speaker C: Yeah. I mean, I have a hard time. [00:19:21] Speaker B: Getting up in the mornings. Like, I don't see. [00:19:23] Speaker C: There's two different kinds. We're like, I'm not a morning person, though. I just force myself to do it. I wouldn't choose to do that. [00:19:30] Speaker B: I cannot force myself to get up out of bed. [00:19:32] Speaker C: I wouldn't force. [00:19:33] Speaker B: But on the weekends, I'm up at 7 o'clock and I'm wide awake. How does that work? Why? Why? [00:19:38] Speaker C: It's a mystery. [00:19:39] Speaker B: Why? [00:19:39] Speaker C: Okay. [00:19:40] Speaker B: Okay. Nothing about my. [00:19:41] Speaker C: In peace, I will lie down and fall asleep. [00:19:44] Speaker B: I'm gonna bring it back to Advent because, like, in the midst of the craziness of getting the decorations out and making the house all purdy and, you know, making those cookies and the picture, like, everything. [00:20:02] Speaker C: Yeah. It's like, it's not a peaceful time. [00:20:05] Speaker B: It's not a peaceful time. I mean, and we work for the church, and so my husband always laughs at me. He's like, I don't understand why you're so stressed out. You work for the church. [00:20:15] Speaker C: No, in. Advent is probably my favorite liturgical season, but it's also one that's really hard to honor when you're in the midst of all this craziness. [00:20:26] Speaker B: It's hard. And. But, like, the idea of Advent is peace. Right, right. Like, God wants us to have that. God gave us Jesus, who is the Prince of Peace. [00:20:44] Speaker C: Prince of peace, who was born again into turmoil. Right, right. [00:20:52] Speaker B: And not in a. Not in a hospital. [00:20:55] Speaker C: Right. [00:20:55] Speaker B: In hay. [00:20:56] Speaker C: Yep. [00:20:56] Speaker B: Which is probably very unsanitary Right. [00:20:59] Speaker C: Yeah. And his. His life wasn't peaceful. I mean he was peaceful, but his life was not peaceful. And he died violently. Yes. And his birth wasn't. Well, maybe his birth was peace. I don't know. [00:21:13] Speaker B: His. [00:21:13] Speaker C: Maybe his birth was internally peaceful with Mary and Joseph. Yes. [00:21:18] Speaker B: So there's that distinction. Internal and external peace. [00:21:22] Speaker C: No matter what's going on out here. Can you find the center in the storm? [00:21:25] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:21:26] Speaker C: Right. Yeah. [00:21:29] Speaker B: Where do you find peace? Like if you were. If you could take the day off of work or a week. Or a week. [00:21:38] Speaker C: Take a week off work in Advent? [00:21:40] Speaker B: I didn't see any Advent. Okay. I said in general, like where would you find that piece? [00:21:44] Speaker C: Oh my gosh. I would take a very long walk. I'm lucky enough to live. I live close to the canal. I can walk to the canal from my house. And so on days off I like to just walk for miles. I got my little earbuds in. I've got music going or whatever and just like give myself space but also movement because I'm someone who has a hard time. Well, that's not true. I can sit down and be peaceful, but it's easier for me if I get into it through some kind of movement. Whether it's walking or yoga or something like that where it's like where my body can actually let some energy out and then settle. So for me those are moments that I find really peaceful. [00:22:28] Speaker B: Which is good because those things you could do during the day. [00:22:31] Speaker C: Yeah. I'm going to ask you the same question. But I already know your answer. [00:22:34] Speaker B: And it's not something that I could just get up and go do during the day. Where do you find. Do you want to share my answer? [00:22:41] Speaker C: I expect that Karen will choose to share that she would like to go camping on land that she has purchased for herself and can always retreat. Yes. [00:22:52] Speaker B: Yes. [00:22:52] Speaker C: You like to have a physical change of scenery. [00:22:54] Speaker B: I need the physical change of scenari. And it's. There's just something about camping that is. It's detached from everything. [00:23:06] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:23:06] Speaker B: Like if I'm home and I'm still in quiet, I feel guilty. Oh. [00:23:13] Speaker C: For not. For not doing whatever that. Yeah. All the 12 things that need to get done. [00:23:17] Speaker B: But like if I go to my parents then I want to help. [00:23:21] Speaker C: Yes. [00:23:22] Speaker B: Or if I go to a friend's house. Like I was always good at cleaning my friends rooms better than I was. [00:23:28] Speaker C: When you were a kid. [00:23:28] Speaker B: Yeah. Like I don't know. I think I love to help pick up other people's houses. Just not my own. [00:23:35] Speaker C: Yeah. It's weird. I'm weird. [00:23:37] Speaker B: Mom, what did you do to me? But, like. Yeah. That physical sense of just being away. [00:23:45] Speaker C: Yeah. Well, so both are really good. Like, so we still have several weeks of Advent. [00:23:50] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:23:50] Speaker C: So why don't we challenge our viewers and listeners to do both of those things and to find. Carve out a peaceful corner. [00:23:58] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:23:59] Speaker C: Somewhere in your regular everyday and carve out a peaceful somewhere else that will get you out of your everyday and make this season a little special and honor it in a. More. I don't know. [00:24:16] Speaker B: And I find that when I'm camping with my family, I am peaceful. [00:24:20] Speaker C: More peaceful than you are at home. [00:24:21] Speaker B: More peaceful than I am when I'm at home. [00:24:23] Speaker C: That's cool. [00:24:24] Speaker B: I think all of us have that sense of, like. [00:24:26] Speaker C: But you can't really camp in December, can you, though? [00:24:28] Speaker B: No, I mean, you could. [00:24:30] Speaker C: You could be crazy. But I kind of think you're crazy to camp any time. But that's just me. [00:24:36] Speaker B: I mean, I have a. Yeah, but. [00:24:37] Speaker C: So what do you do between, like, I mean. [00:24:39] Speaker B: Oh, you got to find a winter struggle. [00:24:41] Speaker C: You got to find a winter equivalent to the camping to get you through. [00:24:44] Speaker B: I do, like, the sledding and skiing. Like, that's fun. [00:24:48] Speaker C: Like, I think growing up in this part of the country, the sledding thing, like, I. This is totally off topic, but I remember, like, an utter parenting fail we had with Bridget. We used to live over by Allison Park. You know, she has, like, a giant hill. I mean, it's like a monster sliding hill, which I slided down my entire childhood. And we were there and Bridget was like 2 or 3 and I don't know. [00:25:14] Speaker B: Did you put her on a sled by herself down the hill? [00:25:16] Speaker C: I did. [00:25:19] Speaker B: You didn't even go with her? [00:25:21] Speaker C: No. [00:25:21] Speaker B: She was at the bottom of the hill. [00:25:23] Speaker C: She went down by herself and she fell off the sled and she told. And she. And I'm at the top, I'm like, what have I done? [00:25:32] Speaker B: Right. [00:25:33] Speaker C: Like, that moment. And my little girl, she pops up and she's like, I'm okay. Right? Okay. Talk about peace. Like, well, but she could have, like, really gone right into a tree. That was a mistake. [00:25:46] Speaker B: But, I mean, how many times have we fallen down and we've gotten up and we're like, she was made of rubber. [00:25:51] Speaker C: She just was. [00:25:51] Speaker B: Have you seen that one Facebook video that's around? And this woman is, like, putting something in the trunk of her car. This is a shout out to my sister because she laughs at this one. All the time. But she's getting something in the car. She backs up, turns around to walk away, and she loses her footing and she just like stumbles for a little bit and then just completely falls. And then she rolls over and she's like, I'm done. I'm done. [00:26:17] Speaker C: World. [00:26:21] Speaker B: Just back up over me, like, I'm done. And how many days have we had those, right? Or moments, I should say I probably have them more than just one time a day. But like I always say, put a fork in me, I'm done. Like, I just. But knowing that we have this peace. [00:26:38] Speaker C: So when life sends you down Monster hill on a sled, that's kind of what December can feel like, I think, right? You just, like, you get on the top and like, here we go, buckling you through. We're going to get through. Crazy for a ride. Just enjoy the ride. [00:26:54] Speaker B: What about in Colossians, chapter 3, verse 15? Let the peace of Christ control your heart, your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body. [00:27:09] Speaker C: And be thankful there's peace again. Being, guarding and protecting. Right, but how? Armor, like armor almost. [00:27:18] Speaker B: Right, but like, control, like, it is the priority. Peace is the priority. And how many times do we let everything but peace control our lives? [00:27:31] Speaker C: Oh, my gosh, that's such a good point. Almost like it's a muscle. You have to, like, train. [00:27:37] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. [00:27:38] Speaker C: Like, to work in your life. I know. [00:27:42] Speaker B: It's like, I say that I want these things and, like, I know that it's good for me. [00:27:46] Speaker C: Right. [00:27:47] Speaker B: It's like scripture's saying, let peace control your life. [00:27:51] Speaker C: Okay. [00:27:51] Speaker B: Yeah. That's great. [00:27:52] Speaker C: Right? [00:27:53] Speaker B: And then you wake up and you're like, yeah, this is not working. All right, so a challenge is carving out a peaceful moment in your everyday. In your everyday. [00:28:05] Speaker C: And something special to bring you peace this Advent. Yeah, A peace treat. [00:28:10] Speaker B: And holy naps are great, too. [00:28:12] Speaker C: Holy naps. Joseph. Joseph is the holy napper. He's another Advent person because God came to him in his dreams. We talked about that last Advent, I think. But since it's peace week, take a nap with God. Yep. Holy napping. [00:28:26] Speaker B: Give yourself permission. Let that peace control you. [00:28:30] Speaker C: And here's just to close us out one last scripture passage that I think gets at this idea about finding peace in the midst of the storm. So the mountains. Oh, sorry. This is Isaiah 54:10. Though the mountains fall away and the hills be shaken, my love shall never fall away from you, nor my covenant of peace be shaken, says the Lord, who has compassion on you. [00:28:57] Speaker B: Amen. To that. [00:28:57] Speaker C: Amen to that. All right, thanks. That's it. Thanks, everybody. Enjoy your peaceful moments this week. [00:29:05] Speaker B: And next week is Joy. [00:29:08] Speaker C: Joy. Yep. The pink candle. [00:29:11] Speaker B: The pink candle, which we'll talk about. Why? Because everyone's always like, why is there a pink candle? [00:29:17] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:29:18] Speaker B: Stay tuned. [00:29:18] Speaker C: All right. Thanks, everyone. Have a great week. [00:29:21] Speaker A: Thanks for taking a faith break with us today. Karen Luke and Ann Gallagher are lay ministers with the parishes of Saint Catherine of Siena in Menda, New York, and Church of the Transfiguration in Pittsford, New More about our parishes, including weekly livestreamed Sunday Mass, can be [email protected] or transfigurationpitsford.org Engineering Today is by Jeff Beckett. Catch new episodes each week on your favorite podcast or music app.