Hey, everybody. Welcome to You Were Born for this podcast with Father John Ricardo and Mary Guilfoyle. We are a couple of missionaries in Acts 29, and this is the podcast where we talk about how acquiring a biblical worldview brings us great hope in the God who created and rescued this world in order that we can be agents of transformation

and creation. Mary, I can't believe we are going to be talking about the fourth Sunday of

Advent, which means Santa is almost here. I know. Ten days. Ten days. I know. How is your

Advent been, Father John? Has it gone as fast as you just alluded to? Yeah, it really has. It's pretty extraordinary. I know. How is your advent been, Father John? Has it gone as fast as you just alluded to?

Yeah, it really has. It's been full, and yet at the same time, by God's grace, he has allowed, especially in the mornings, for whatever reason, I don't sleep anymore. And the Lord's just allowed me to be refreshed, and it gives me more time to just be in his company early on when it's dark and the snow's fallen here in Michigan.

And I love the mornings.

And I, yeah, the grace has been to waste time with him and just to continue to ask him to fill me with wonder and with awe.

I write over and over and over again in my journal,

who are you?

Like, who does this?

As we think about all these mysteries, and so there's a grace to just linger with what it is

that we're preparing to celebrate and to really just absorb,

let myself get absorbed in the gospel, the scriptures that we're listening to celebrate and to really just absorb, let myself get absorbed

in the gospel, the scriptures that we're listening to in these days.

So grace, yeah, grace is amidst the fatigue.

I would say a couple of things.

I love getting up early in the morning and sitting by the fireplace and just beginning my

prayer time there.

And so that's been extraordinarily beautiful. I've had the opportunity to linger a little bit longer in prayer, which is great.

And yet, I've had a set of days within the Advent season that have been absolutely wild.

And yet, in the wildness and the pace, there's been this underlying peace that made those moments possible.

And I just know that's God because I haven't lost my mind yet.

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