But Mary Kept All These Things by William détaillant S. Carter NEUF

Like Mary that very first Christmas, take a step back and notice all of the happenings, how they tell of Gods love. During this season of Advent, take some time to realize what the season is truly about, rather than covering it up with preparations of Christmas dinner or finding the perfect present. W.S. Carter encourages readers to relive Advent all over again, letting the Spirit reveal itself in Gods most precious gift of all. "Whether you are on the move or trying to be still in your watching and waiting-it doesnt matter. I believe you simply will not make it through the remaining weeks of Advent without any number of opportunities to catch a glimpse of Gods gift, if you watch patiently and realize it is about you"Just as a multitude of angels appeared in the fields to invite the lowly shepherds to Bethlehem, so too does God invite the least of us to witness the birth of our Savior. Even knowing His entire story, remember that Christ came as a gift, to die for our sins, shepherd or king. Each year as God sends his Son we need to pause and ponder all that we hear in worship and meet the Christ child for ourselves. But Mary Kept All These Things is an ideal guide to help you emulate the Virgin Mary during this season of Advent, to realize all that God has done for us, no matter who we are.

Pastor William Carter is a recently retired pastor who served three parishes in Connecticut over the course of 46 years, the last 33 in one dear congregation. He was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, summered as a boy with his grandparents in the small farming town of Ruthton in southwestern Minnesota. He and his wife Ruth, live happily in retirement in Avon, Connecticut; not far from their son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter, Petra. He graduated from Brooklyn College of the City University of New York in 1967, and received a Master of Divinity degree from the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago in 1971.