Awaiting the Child: An Advent Journal

By Isabel Anders

Book Overview

"The season of Advent offers us, each year, an opportunity to seek God within the geography of our souls--while living outwardly amid the roar and tumult of worldly events," Isabel Anders writes in her preface to this new edition of Awaiting the Child: An Advent Journal.

Written during one Advent when she was expecting her first baby, and including an introduction by Madeleine L'Engle, this meditational gem speaks to us on multiple levels, probing deeply into Advent's rich tapestry of paradox and splendor . . . showing the way to keeping a holy vigil through this secularly dominated season of the year.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1561012386
• ISBN13: 9781561012381
• Release Date: October 2005
• Publisher: Cowley Publications
• Length: 186 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.6" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Awaiting the Child

Awaiting the Child is an important book written by someone who has a most original mind that reflects a deep spirituality. The themes it offers for prayer and reflection are opportunities to move through Advent with a heightened awareness of the Christ, while actively awaiting His coming. The noted author Madeleine L'Engle wrote a touching introduction to Awaiting the Child, stating that Isabel wrote these Advent meditations while waiting for her first child to be born, while she, Madeleine, read them in her husband's hospital room, watching him die... "and Advent is a time when birth and death draw close together and it is not always possible to tell which is which." Awaiting the Child is an enriching experience designed for advancing anyone's spiritual life. Deacon Diane M. Moore is author of: Martin's Quest, Martin Finds his Totem, Nothing for Free, Grandma's "Good War," Flood on the Rio Teche, Kajun Kween [...]

A good reminder for all of us!

Isabel Anders in her preface describes Advent as the season that unlocks the mysteries of our being-here with each other--through these short days and long nights. Writing this review as daily savings time ended, one needs to feel there is a good reason for the long darkness: a time for us to find peace in our lives. Pregnant at the time she wrote this book, the author created it as a guide with daily reading for the Advent season. Her premise is waiting for both Advent and her own child to arrive, tied to Jesus birth--Christ's coming. As an Episcopalian, the author declares that in the cycle of life, during Advent, we implore: "Come Lord Jesus...." The value of words in her church's ceremonies and services, both visual and verbal, are ways to show the truth. Grace, one of my favorite concepts, is what files each person's cup, and that person's needs to know what that is for them. The church calendar is a reminder that we are not only at the end--but at the beginning as well. The four-week Advent waiting leads to the birth we all wait for. Armchair Interview says that this book is a good reminder to everyone of the power of waiting, and receiving.