12/15/2021 Each day of Advent draws you closer to Bethlehem and the Christ Child in the manger wrapped in human flesh and then in swaddling cloths. Swaddling cloths are saved for the day of birth. Strips of cloth are gathered when they can be in anticipation of the coming birth. The cloths are a hope of a healthy baby and for life to continue in a new generation. Just as we travel day by day these mothers-to-be gather strip by strip and cloth by cloth.

This is an entry from my Hope Journal which helps me have hope, beyond hope.

The Bible teaches us “by His stripes we are healed”. Before the crucifixion Jesus was whipped stripe by stripe until he would not have looked like a human being. Forty blows with a cat of nine tails which has eight lashes and the handle as a club meant Jesus received 320 lash marks on his body. For grace Jesus went from strips of cloth to stripes of healing and life.

From my Grace Journal. It was suggested to start a Grace Journal as a reminder of our need not for agreement but grace to guide our relationships.