Category Archives: Holidays

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How to Find Hope In The Hard Things

Remembering God’s Promises

“Remember your promise to me; it is my only hope. Your promise revives me; it comforts me in all my troubles.” Psalms‬ ‭119‬:‭49‬-‭50‬ ‭NLT‬‬

When life feels hard, remembering God’s promises will give us the hope we need to keep going. These are not promises to the world. These are specific promises from our faithful God to His children – that is, those who claim God as Father AND His son, Jesus, as their Lord and Savior.

Remembering God’s promises will revive our spirits. His promises encourage us and steady us when it doesn’t look like the tornado of chaos around us is calming down. His promises give us assurance and comfort that when trouble comes, He’s not just watching. He’s already moving.

What are those promises from God to His children who love Him?

He is here with us – Emmanuel – Jesus Christ – Savior – Messiah. He will be our help and our shield protecting us. He will provide for our daily needs and give us His peace – a peace that surpasses all understanding. He will never leave us. He promises to prosper us and not harm us, to be our refuge – this quiet place, safely tucked away from our troubles. He will guard our hearts and minds, our coming and going.

God promises to be our solid ground, our Rock, and anchor when the world feels wildly chaotic around us. Jesus will give us His Spirit. The Holy Spirit within us will be our Shepherd, leading us beside still waters, guiding us in generous wisdom, corralling us within His Will. He will be a lamp shining a light on our path in a very dark world so our feet know the way to walk. He will order our steps for us.

When our desires match His desires, He will fulfill them. He will answer prayers.

He is our rescue in our time of need and work all things (even the bad things) for the good of those who love Him. When we feel like we are sinking in our suffering or under the burdens of bearing so much, His righteous right hand will uphold us and keep us from crumbling. He will give our weary hearts rest. He will be our strength when we feel so weak. And then He will renew our strength!

He is our victory over sin, and this victory over the temptations in this world will be ours when we place all our trust in Him.

He will be a faithful Father with unfailing love to all those who have/had no father. He will be a friend who sticks closer than a brother. God will draw near to the brokenhearted and comfort those who mourn. He promises to forgive us when we confess. He will be the song, the praise, on our lips, because Salvation is ours through faith in Jesus. He is our future. He is our Hope.

Remembering His promises revives us, comforts us, and gives us hope in hard things!

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Staying Hopeful During Holiday Disappointment

Turning our prayers into praise

What is disappointing you? If nothing comes to mind yet, don’t worry, this month is still ripening with opportunities. When families and friends come together, expectations for the perfect Christmas gathering are set high which elevates the emotional letdown when things don’t go according to plan. If we aren’t gathering with friends and family, the pain of feeling “left out” or “without,” barren and empty, can keep us down in a valley of disappointment.

“Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights. (For the choir director: This prayer is to be accompanied by stringed instruments.)” Habakkuk‬ ‭3‬:‭17‬-‭19‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In the midst of disappointment, Habbakuk acknowledges things are not budding, blooming, or producing, but he refuses to sulk in his sorrows or dwell on what isn’t happening. He instead directs his thoughts to what is there… the Lord! I love that he can acknowledge the loss without getting lost in it. We all have real pain and sorrows and it’s important to hold both simultaneously; to be able to acknowledge hurt and also the One who heals.

Habakkuk shifts his focus to thanksgiving despite seeing no turnaround or signs of hope. He doesn’t wait for improvement in the situation to change his mind and his words.

“Even though” there is no sign of hope, a future, any life in this situation, it is empty, dead, barren, Habakkuk says, “I will rejoice in the Lord. I will be joyful in the God of my Salvation.”

And this is the entire reason for the Christmas season! Not plans, parties, or even people. It’s all about, “The God Who Saves,” that is Jesus!

Despite how much we disappoint our Heavenly Father in all our sin and wrongdoing, the Sovereign Lord made a way for us be in relationship with Him, to talk to Him, to hear from Him, to be comforted by Him. The Way is Jesus.

I’m not just talking about a way to heaven. I’m talking about The Way to Life, here with us – Emmanuel. Right now. In the middle of all that seems wrong and disappointing, He is here with us, calling us to redirect our focus from the things of earth to the things much higher than all of this.

And that is our strength in the Christmas season! Jesus, here with us, right now. This gives us confidence to let go of the letdowns and rejoice in the truth that even though things are not what I want them to be, thank God, He is for me! And that’s all I need.

At the end of these verses it says that there should be an accompaniment of strings put to these words. In other words, this prayer becomes a praise song.

This year, I hope we can turn our prayers for the things on earth into a praise to the One above. He wants so much more for us than just a silent night. He wants peace in our hearts, He wants joy to rule our thoughts. Because Jesus came. And He is here with us.

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How do we know that we know God?

A helpful self check during the holidays

I was reading 1 John this morning and something, perhaps very timely with the holidays in full force, captivated me. “But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” 1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

It’s easy to brisk past this verse by tallying up all the people we love in our lives. Those little people who don’t know how to “fully” love in return – that’s for sure a mark of God’s love! ☺️

But this verse is not talking about the natural kind love we have for family and friends. That’s too human and natural. Lots of people would say they “love” someone. I believe John is talking about a supernatural love – that only God can give us. This supernatural love is a marker of His Spirit so it can’t be within our human strength to produce this kind of love.

What this kind of supernatural love from God look like? God’s love is “unfailing” and “faithful.” What does unfailing, faithful love look like?

It means loving without bitter resentment and animosity when someone pinches your sense of dignity with an ill-timed punch line or crude comment, when they disappoint your unmanaged expectations of their selfish behavior and lack of thoughtfulness, or when they completely lie to you, scoff at you, reject you, betray you, and seemingly take the life right out of you. That’s the kind of love we saw Jesus model, right?

So during the holidays when too many emotions are crammed into way too tiny of spaces and it feels unbearably hot for sweaters and cider, in the trials of life, when the rubber meets the road, in a moment of temptation to fight back evil with evil, when we feel squeezed by what seems unfair, in a roaring fire of pain and rejection, this is when our words and actions reveal the supernatural love of God that bleeds a merciful love in the moment of pain… and this kind of love receives the grace from the Father to release the debtor from the debt they owe us with His forgiveness. Because that’s what He did for us, right?

Sinful humanity will never love us the way the Father intended. Hearts are so broken and lost without Jesus, and that’s the real travesty. They don’t know Jesus and thus, they cannot bleed Jesus’ kind of unfailing love. They get angry, bitter, resentful, hate, and vengeful.

But if we say we have Jesus in us, then in the roaring fire of excruciating rejection and bludgeoning agony done to us, when the unthinkable clenches our breath and cinches our hearts, God’s supernatural, merciful, unfailing love will bleed out, spilling onto our offender.

This kind of supernatural love can only be revealed in the fire. It’s only when the fire burns away the things of this world, the pleasantries and comforts, and reveals what cannot be found in this world. The love of God dwelling in us.

“No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.” 1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

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The Source of Hope and Holiday Peace

It’s not in your checked off lists, even if they are checked off twice

“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭15‬:‭13‬ NLT

Is it swirling with craziness in your house, in your head, like it is in mine right now?! Tis the season to become so tightly wound around our holiday “to do, to get, to remember’s” that we can easily forget the Source of our peace and comfort. 🙋🏼‍♀️ And if we, many of us the CEO’s of our households, don’t have a sound mind, how can our people stay sane?

Our Source is not found in keeping schedules, keeping a clean house, or keeping the bills paid. Our Source is God alone. And the Peace he gives us is Jesus – who paid for it all, did it all, so we owe no one anything! We can live with clarity and a sound mind in all of our doing and thinking because it comes from this Peace and Hope we have in Him.

When we slow down, first thing in the morning, and just trust Him with the filling of His Word and Spirit, we will be filled up to the fullest of all the joy and peace we long for in our checked off lists. I pray today you and I will both have our inner cups filled to the fullest, overflowing onto our people and those around us so that they may also live from the overflow of His love, His joy, His peace, and this confident Hope we have in Christ! ☕️ 🤗

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The Miracle of God With Us

magic of Christmas, miracle of Christmas, miracle of God with us

magic of Christmas, miracle of Christmas, miracle of God with usHis name is Jesus. Emmanuel. God with us. Eternity with God is here. 

We can get stuck believing forever with God begins once we are buried. But I want to challenge you to see God with us, Emmanuel, today. When life’s burdens have you buried, God is reachable right where you are. You don’t have to wait. The active presence of God is available when you ask. Life with God, eternity, is accessible now because of Jesus.

Eternity begins when you believe. The magic of Christmas is this miracle of God with us.

“That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” – Luke 2:8-14 NIV

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 NIV

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How to warrior on in the wait

waiting, advent, season of waiting, Christmas

Waiting takes the most vulnerable parts of us and puts them to the test. In this place between the death of a dream and anticipating the arrival of a new one, is a battleground of learning how to trust God.

waiting, advent, season of waiting, ChristmasAdvent is all about waiting. We anticipate the arrival in these days leading up to the birth of our Savior. Advent is the question and Christmas is the answer. Jesus is the response to our pleading howls in the night.

Our tears tell the truth, it’s hard to celebrate in the wait. When we feel rejected or forgotten by God, this kind of brokenness can keep us in bondage to emotions of longing and loneliness. Yet, it’s in the long days that God leans in. I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness—secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name. Isaiah 45:3 NIV

When we quiet our thoughts and emotions that compete with God’s attention, we find in the stillness this profound grace of His presence. These painful places of waiting can offer a glimpse of the face of God if we let them. When we don’t feel very merry, Jesus offers us mercy. He holds the power to fill what’s empty, mend what’s broken, and find what’s lost.

It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see. 1 Peter 1:3 ESV

Can you relate to a season of waiting? The yearning is very real here. Strangely, the strongest thing we can do when we feel stuck is to surrender. It takes more strength to let go than to hold on. The death of one thing brings life of another.

While we wait with eyes of faith, Hope sustains a burdened and weary heart. In the weak places is where Jesus releases His power. It’s okay to grieve in the wait without giving up on God’s promise. Peace can come from just knowing the Author and Creator has a plan.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 ESV

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV

And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. Isaiah 58:11 ESV

When it feels like Heaven has pressed pause and Earth has gone silent, face your fear of being alone and embrace this quiet place. The still, small voice of God speaks louder to a heart in the silent nights.

It’s easy to blur our focus of God with busy schedules this time of year. We might drown our days with distractions in hopes that the noise will suppress the sadness of the season. Time won’t heal the wound; only Jesus can.

You get to decide what your focus will be. If you shift your focus from the object of your wait to the One who forms your faith, you find this rich place of communion and healing. His companionship is meant to do a work in you before God goes to work through you. When you seek more of God with your thoughts, your words, your walk through His word, the scene changes.the gift of grace, grace

You might be waiting on a miracle or maybe you’re just waiting on an answer, if you believe God is for you then this time won’t go to waste. When you trust God with the desires of your heart, you can surrender your ways to His will. Here’s a few ideas on how to wait well in this season of Advent:

  • When you’re tempted to sulk in the pain, pray for someone else who might be suffering. Out of the overflow of God’s grace for you, you can give this same grace to others.
  • Encourage your mind by recalling the ways God has been faithful in your life. 
  • Start in the Word and thank God for the promises He has already made to you. Then thank Him for the fulfillment of those on their way.
  • Ask God for a renewal of your thoughts, the root of joy which is this Hope and lasting change in the deepest parts of your heart. 
  • Surround your soul with community.

So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better than. 1 Peter 1:13-14 ESV

What situation in your life are you giving more attention to than your devotion to God? Your soul will be most satisfied when you are where God wants you to be. I pray that what is right and good and worth believing will outshine these days of darkness and brokenness that’s within and around us.

His love is stronger than the death of your dreams – even IF things don’t turn out better than expected. Do you believe that? Do your actions and words believe that? Keep this moment here close because the sun will shine soon and you’ll need this reminder of what God has done a year from now.

What are you waiting for?

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Faith is what will move you forward

The holidays can bring the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. The pressure reveals the best and worst of our emotions. Depression. Anxiety. Loneliness. Worry.

My therapist once told me that depression is living in the past without God and anxiety is living in the future without God. If worries have you wrapped up during the holidays, one way to shrink these woes is with worship. Pacifying the pain with temporary pleasures can leave lasting consequences. But choosing to put our minds on praise releases the pressure to fix the problem and places our concerns in the hand of our Great Physician.

faith moves, When you lift up your hands in surrender, you let go of all you’ve been holding onto; your finances, your relationships, your job.

We don’t worship because all is good.

We worship because Jesus is good.

His character is good. We can worship because His Word is good!

He works all things out for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28 NIV

You can give your realities a glance, but our Heavenly Father is worth your stare.

If you want freedom this Christmas season, take control of how you feel, remember God’s faithfulness in His Word and surrender to your faith.

No weapon formed against me shall prosper. Isaiah 54:17 NIV

Walk by what you know. And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 NIV

Faith is what will move you forward.

Remember your promise to me; it is my only hope. Your promise revives me; it comforts me in all my troubles. O LORD, your unfailing love fills the earth; teach me your decrees. You have done many good things for me, LORD, just as you promised. ‭‭Psalm‬ ‭119:49-50, 64-65‬ NIV

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Is the most wonderful time of the year weighing you down?

peace, the presence of peace, fruit of surrenderEvery November I declare, “this Christmas is going to be different.” Before December is here nearly every weekend in my calendar is scribbled with parties, baking, shopping, and holiday events. There’s little time left to plug in Christmas pictures, greeting cards, decorations, cookies, crafts, and that annual Jingle Bell Run.

Why must it be this way every year? Why does the most wonderful time of the year end up weighing me down?

Usually by Thanksgiving, I’ve already run out of time to celebrate Jesus. I find myself tempted to abandon Christlikeness in favor of the lists and the lines.

This is a season that is supposed to center around a silent, holy night, the star and a Savior being born. It’s also a time of year known for overspending, overeating, overindulging, and overcommitting.

When we’re caught up in a calendar of activities, a very chaotic version of ourselves is created. We’re short with long lines, we might react to frustrations, or even become bitter instead of better with people.

What if the best gift we can give family and friends is something they don’t have to wait until December 25th to unwrap? Let’s not wait until after Christmas to begin the exchanges.

I have a feeling if we surrendered our to-do lists, demands, and desires for God’s plans of a peaceful place in our soul, we might find the deepest desires of our heart is met.

The presence of His peace in our soul is the fruit harvested when we place it all in His hands.

Less crazy. More sanity. That’s the goal.

The best part is that we are actually serving others when we swap out stress for a serene approach to our relationships. I want to offer family and friends a calm and joyful spirit, instead of an exhausted sigh. Wouldn’t it be nice to spend more time celebrating from the overflow of my heart instead of cringing at a cluttered calendar at this time of year?

I believe our choice to slow down, simplify the schedule, and soak up His presence can change things this year. I really think it can.

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Do You Have Joy or Optimism

What's the difference?

Reality rarely looks like the resolutions or wish lists we write out. Between the lines, rejection will sting, stumbles can leave scars, dreams shatter and sorrow turns to tears. Sadly, we can waste years staying stuck in a moment.

Optimism tells us things will be better tomorrow. Whether that happens or not, optimism cannot control the circumstances.

Joy, on the other hand, does not come from these kinds of positive predictions. Joy doesn’t depend on what actually happens. It will show up in some very dark places because nothing can change the fact that Jesus has overcome the world. Joy is not happiness. Joy is the fruit of hope.

Sometimes we interchange ‘hope’ and ‘wish’. Even the dictionary says the two words are synonyms, but hoping and wishing is just as different as joy and optimism.

A wish is a desire, a longing, a request.  

Hope is a confident expectation of good things to come. It’s the promises of God in his Word that bring us this hope. Hope believes the solid ground of God’s grace and the gospel of Christ is enough. Hope steadies itself on trust that God is for us and his faithfulness will not fail us.

Rooted in Truth, hope and joy dwell deep in the fibers of our soul where situations and circumstances cannot reach.

A wish is yearning. Hope is knowing.

Joy and hope cannot be separate. A hopeful person cannot be depressed and a joyful person cannot lose hope. Sometimes we realize that what we once considered hope and joy were merely selfish desires for success in a job, in a relationship, or in our finances.

Hope produces sweet layers of joy that linger in a breath long after a moment. It satisfies hunger, it settles longing and fulfills the desires of our heart.

It’s in this ‘in-between’ space, in the presence of pain that hope and joy drip with sweet honey, mercy and they find the strength to hold on to what is unseen, yet known.

God’s light is more visible and real than whatever fog or shadow you might be living in.

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 ESV

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Fear is a platform for faith

Fight Fear with God's Truth

freedom, no fear, God's truth, the gift of God's truth, Jesus is freedom

Fear attacks us in the areas God wants to use us. Your greatest fears are platforms to step out in the faith that God has given you the power to overcome. Where you feel weak, is the opportunity to put the spotlight on God’s strength.

Godly fear is out of reverence and love. It’s a holy fear that says, “God Almighty, I see you on that throne and I trust you. I know your intentions for me are good.”

Satan will twist God’s good things — His word, His gifts, His work – around tormented thinking that makes you want to curl up in a corner. The devil wants you to entertain these thoughts in your mind and retreat. It’s a death trap for the serpent to coil more negative thoughts around that dream to suffocate the joy, the power and the freedom that God planted in the garden.

freedom, no fear, God's truth, the gift of God's truth, Jesus is freedomGod has not given you a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind. 1 Timothy 1:7 NIV

You have the Holy Spirit inside you that gives you the ability to resist fear. There is power here in the name of Jesus to stand up in the middle of a storm and say, ‘No more! I refuse to believe the lies.’

You have the power to welcome fear or resist it. You have the power to let peace in or let fear rule. Fear can be the stage of your faith.

The enemy’s cunning device of fear is only a smoke screen. Satan uses fear to steal the life out of your dreams. This fear will convince you to give up the gifts God gave you out of insecurity. We might trade in God’s big things that require a leap of faith for a false sense of security in the ‘safe’ stuff we can see.

Fear from the gates of hell will force you to act fast. Fear is hasty. God’s fruit of patience knows how to wait.

The thief uses a heavy and oppressive fear to torment you, paralyze you and prevent you from moving forward in God. The devil uses fear as bondage. Our Savior came to bring us freedom.

No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived the things that God has planned for you. The Lord Almighty is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that you could ask and think.

Let not your heart be troubled. Neither let it be afraid. John 14:1 NIV

In the name of Jesus, you have the power to resist fear and stand through the storms of life. Holy fear gives you this ability to be courageous despite all you’re facing. Holy fear knows our Creator, Almighty God, is good and in His image, He intends good things for His children.

Fear says we’re alone. The gift of God is His Truth. Your Heavenly Father has never left your side. In Jesus, there is freedom, power, love and a sound mind.

Where is God calling you to step out in faith in this freedom of His power, love, and peace? Where do you need to shut off the feelings of fear, the consuming thoughts of doubt and confusion and surrender to trust in Him?