{"id":742,"date":"2017-12-10T12:04:00","date_gmt":"2017-12-10T18:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/stop-look-and-then-go\/"},"modified":"2019-02-18T10:12:24","modified_gmt":"2019-02-18T16:12:24","slug":"stop-look-and-then-go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/?p=742","title":{"rendered":"STOP, LOOK and THEN GO"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nLast Sunday was the first Sunday of Advent. We\u2019re making the trek to Bethlehem \u2013 the night that Christ was born. Today, the second Sunday of Advent, the second candle will be lit. I took this photo of the Advent Candle Wreath last Sunday at my church here in Frisco. Those of us who have purposed to slow down and breathe in the Reason for this Miracle Season, are STOPPING to LOOK and LISTEN for gentle nudges of Father God Who wants, more than anything, for His kids to breathe in the Reason for this Season, and then GO — exhale Him to our world that needs His hope, love, joy and peace so very much.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\nThe second photo here is of more beautiful sparkling Christmas lights — NOT!!! Over the last few days, I was in Tulsa to continue assisting Karen, my sis-in-law, in completing Mom\u2019s move from her home of 25 years to Karen\u2019s home. Mom is in a STOP season of her life, but she is still LOOKING for feeling better so she can GO with sharing the love of Christ to those she can call and encourage. Our mission was accomplished. Mom is settled in, with everything she needs (operative word here is \u201cneeds\u201d \u2013 not too many \u201cwants\u201d needed in her world these days). We\u2019re so grateful that she is growing accustomed to her new surroundings.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\nFriday night, after Karen and I had put in a full day of getting Mom\u2019s last things to her home and decorating her room with Christmas d\u00e9cor, I left to go to Mom\u2019s home (just a few miles from Karen\u2019s) where I stay when I\u2019m in Tulsa. It was pitch dark outside in the country where they live. The drive to Mom\u2019s home must be driven with caution because of the denseness of the dark. I turned the corner from their steep hill to the road to Mom\u2019s when all of a sudden, these brighter-than-day lights came up behind me. I wasn\u2019t sure if they were from an emergency vehicle trying to get by me, so I slowed down to let it go by, but, it stayed right on my tail. The next thought was of the time several months ago when, in the daytime, an unmarked vehicle with flashing lights pulled me over. A plain clothes guy came to my door and asked for my driver\u2019s license. I asked for his credentials and as I was picking up my phone to call for back-up, He said \u201cNo problem, M\u2019am. Just slow down.\u201d Later, I heard that there were predators in the area who were pulling women driving alone over and \u201ctaking advantage of them\u201d. <\/p>\n
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So, I was extremely concerned as I slowed down and pulled over. On the offense with my phone in hand and acting like I was talking to someone, I told the Tulsa County Police Officer why I didn\u2019t stop for him sooner. He asked for my license and insurance. I asked \u201cWhy was I stopped?\u201d He said, \u201cYou didn\u2019t come to a complete stop at that stop sign at 33rd and 91st. I\u2019ll be right back with you in a moment\u201d. After several minutes, the officer came back and told me he was just giving me a warning, but \u201cDon\u2019t be like those California drivers who see a STOP sign and roll right on through it. STOP means STOP!\u201d I apologized and thanked him for his service and I recommended that he STOP stopping women driving alone on a dark road like that for a “rolling STOP”. He apologized and said, “Ma’m we’re just trying to keep you and others safe.” As I was on my way, I realized I should have kept driving to the nearby mall where it’s lit up and I could actually see the marked car he was driving. Hindsight is 20\/20.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\nDriving home to Frisco yesterday, I \u201cpondered\u201d about that encounter, and hearing the officer\u2019s words \u201cSTOP \u2013 means STOP\u201d. I also thought about today being the second Sunday of Advent when we are STOPPING, if only for a few minutes during this busiest time of the year, to think and be thankful for the ONE we are celebrating. Anything that causes us to STOP and think and be thankful is a good addition to Advent, since that\u2019s what Advent is, of course: a time to stop and wait when the world is telling us to go faster and faster! <\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\nI was certainly more attentive to STOPPING at every STOP sign that I encountered yesterday after my \u201crun in with the law\u201d. I am also being more attentive to STOPPING and paying close attention to this Advent Season of preparation for the coming of our Lord\u2026in two weeks when we celebrate His coming as a baby AND His coming back to take us home to live with him throughout all eternity. “Be still and know that I AM God.” Psalm 46:10. STOP and know the baby in the manger is the Great “I AM”!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Last Sunday was the first Sunday of Advent. We\u2019re making the trek to Bethlehem \u2013 the night that Christ was born. Today, the second Sunday of Advent, the second candle will be lit. I took this photo of the Advent Candle Wreath last Sunday at my church here in Frisco. Those of us who have…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[579,4267,432,1950,4260,4268,4269,4270,4271,4272,4273],"class_list":["post-742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-advent","tag-be-still-know-i-am-god","tag-great-i-am","tag-psalm-4610","tag-reason-for-the-season","tag-second-sunday-of-advent","tag-stop-look-and-go","tag-stop-means-stop","tag-stop-to-look-and-listen","tag-time-to-stop","tag-tulsa-county-police"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=742"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/742\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7629,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/742\/revisions\/7629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}