“This time of year is often so overwhelmed with busyness and noise when it’s really supposed to be about something else. About Christ, about us waiting for the Lord to send His only Son for us,” said Hallow’s CEO and cofounder Alex Jones in a statement to ChurchLeaders. “We wanted to give folks the space to just Be Still with the Lord this Advent season. To rest, to pray, to sit in silence.”
“So that’s the challenge this year – Be Still. That’s it. 25 days of us just learning from some incredible saints, theologians, authors who have meditated on stillness and resting with the Lord,” he added. “Can’t wait for you to join us. Probably is going to be our biggest challenge yet.”
“For the 25 days leading up to Christmas, we’ll walk alongside Mary and Joseph and learn from their holy examples,” says a description of the challenge. “Guided by the Infancy Narratives and Caryll Houselander’s ‘The Reed of God,’ explore how stillness and surrender can anchor your heart in Jesus.”
“Finally,” says the description, “claim peace amid life’s chaos by drawing on wisdom from John Mark Comer‘s ‘Ruthless Elimination of Hurry’ and the writings of the Saints.”
The infancy narratives refer to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, which describe the birth of Jesus. Houselander is a British Catholic writer and artist, who wrote “The Reed of God” in 1944, portraying Mary the mother of Jesus as a reed through which God played his song. Comer founded Bridgetown Church in Portland, Oregon, and the leader of the spiritual formation initiative “Practicing the Way.”
“Starting today, I’ll be guiding you through [Comer’s] incredible book, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry,” said Pratt in the caption of his video. “Man, you guys, it’s so good. Our lives are moving so fast, we just need to take a minute, especially at Christmas, and focus on the reason for the season, which is for sure not cookies.”
“It is important this holiday season to spend time in prayer,” said Stefani in her own Instagram video promoting the Advent prayer challenge. “That is what Christmas is all about: letting God into our hearts and letting Jesus bring us his peace.”
In one promotional video for the Advent prayer challenge, Roumie teased his followers by suggesting at first he was getting engaged.
