During the summer of 1991, I ate at tables throughout southern China as I helped lead an InterVarsity Christian Fellowship Global Project in China. I was not supposed to be in China that summer.

Mary’s song in Luke 1, traditionally called the “Magnificat,” is, for me, one of the most astonishing and challenging passages in the Bible.  

For the Urbana 12 Worship Team, food is very important. This is true theologically as we use the dinner table as a metaphor to discuss worship culture, but it’s also true practically as we get to know each other and celebrate different cultures over our meals.

In this month of Advent, our thoughts usually turn to Jesus and Mary. Yet lately I’ve found that I’m more drawn to Elizabeth. Perhaps it’s because I’m older. Or maybe it’s because I know what it’s like to yearn for something and then to see days, months, years pass without having that yearning fulfilled.

Advent is about longing. It’s a time to remember the Israelites’ years of waiting for the Messiah, and to focus on our own longing for a deeper sense of Emmanuel in our daily lives as well as for Jesus’ return.

I moved to Madison, Wisconsin, from the western Chicago suburbs six weeks ago based on a strong sense of God’s leading. I didn’t get an angel or nine months of planning like Mary did—both of which would have been nice.