Today is the first day of Advent!

I count it as a blessing from God that last month I happened to meet the producer of the Constant Wonder podcast, Tennery Taylor Norton. I believe God led me to find her so I could learn from her about this Advent in podcast form. Constant Wonder is a podcast that is produced year-round, with various topics to intrigue any listener who has a love of learning about science, nature, art, history, and really, an infinite number of topics. Constant Wonder is the new name of what used to be a show on BYU Radio, called Thinking Aloud. For Christmas time, Constant Wonder has special Advent episodes. Listen to the trailer below. I love things like this! For my Morning Basket time, I love to read aloud to my son from not just one, but two books, that explain what happened on that day in history.

To engage in this advent, just go here every day and listen to the corresponding date’s episode by clicking on that square. So, for example, on December 1, today, listen to the box that has the “1” on it. Of course, you can listen to them in any order or at any time, but the purist in me is sticking to one a day, on the corresponding date. You will enjoy these daily audio files that inspire belief in Christ, the wonder of His life and all Creation, and the celebration of His birth.

This providential encounter with Tennery was so satisfying, as over ten years ago I was blessed to meet the host of Constant Wonder/Thinking Aloud, Marcus Smith. It happened when I called about a used car to buy that I’d seen in an ad. He happened to be the one selling the car. I had been listening to Thinking Aloud for years, off and on, as much as I could fit it in, in the days before podcasts and smart phones, amidst the life of being a busy homeschooling mother. This was in the days when it was on at a certain time every day on the radio. I couldn’t access it on demand via the Internet like I can now. We are all so spoiled now with on-demand streaming! As we talked about the car I kept wondering where I had heard his voice before. It sounded so soothing and familiar! My husband and I had a great chat with him as we test drove his car, resulting in me confirming my hunch that he is the host of Thinking Aloud/Constant Wonder. I was also delighted to discover that Marcus knows my dad from his BYU student days.

Anyway, today’s episode, featuring writer Gayle Boss, is here. You can also listen to it in YouTube. Today’s episode is there. I love that Ms. Boss explains how she found an answer as to why she felt depressed at the beginning of December every year. She found an answer in the Christian history liturgical cycle, and the natural world. Learning of the natural world’s encroaching darkness and following its lead helped her find healing and happiness. She wrote the book All Creation Waits the Advent Mystery of New Beginnings. See the children’s edition above and the gift edition below. They look so lovely!

This discovery of this podcast from a providential encounter with the producer was definitely a God-wink. I know God lives, He loves us, and He is in the details of our lives. He often arranges things as best as He can, working within the limits of what He can to respect our agency, to bring us the friends and resources He knows will bless us. He whispers to us with the Holy Ghost and with symbols, to allow us to learn what He wants us to learn. I have more stories, here, here, and here about more God winks.

P.S. If you want the page of the episodes all in YouTube, go here. Happy Advent! I have more Advent ideas over here.