Can you remember the best gift you’ve ever received? One of my most memorable gifts was the year I was 6 years old. There was a particular Barbie doll I really wanted. I asked Santa for it, I talked about it all the time, and waited in anticipation of Christmas morning when I would look under the tree to see the gift I wanted most sitting there in all its glory. I got up that Christmas morning, full of excitement, and took in the wonderful sight of our beautifully lit tree all aglow with presents surrounding it. 

As I took it in and opened all my presents, I began to get concerned. I didn’t see that doll anywhere. Did Santa forget? Did he lose my list? As only a six year old would do, I politely voiced my concern, wondering if it was just hiding. My parents hid their looks of concern and were quick on their feet, because you see, they knew that present had arrived but were just as confused as to where it was. They thought it was wrapped and under the tree. 

We all began to go on a scavenger hunt to look for the missing present. We looked everywhere! As it turned out, “Santa” liked to store his presents in our attic and apparently this particular gift fell out on its way to our tree and landed on the steps to the attic. 

As my hope was almost completely gone, I headed to the stairs and to my delight, there it was! My parents made up a story about why it was on the steps, but I was so excited to see the gift that I jumped for joy! 

As much as I wanted that gift that year, looking back now, I’m not sure I would have even remembered this particular gift many years later had it not been such an unusual adventure. But because of its unusual placement and timing, I can still picture the toy sitting right where I found it on the stairs. 

That very first Christmas so long ago, God sent us a gift as well that came in a most unusual way. He sent us a baby wrapped in rags, sleeping in a trough in a dirty animal manger. This was not the usual place to look for a gift or a baby. This was the gift that the people of God had been waiting on in anticipation for hundreds of years. Generation after generation prayed and longed for the gift of the Messiah to arrive. Then one day over 2000 years ago, God sent Jesus, a baby born to a virgin. 

While Jesus’ arrival was unusual and not what they had expected, it was no mistake. God was very intentional about how we should receive His gift of love sent from heaven. Even though Jesus was the Messiah and the King of Kings, he was not found born in a palace or in a hospital, no, he was born into the most scandalous and lowest of circumstances. While this might have made it harder for those looking for him to find him; for those who looked to God, he revealed where to find the most amazing gift they’d ever receive. 

Every Christmas we look back and remember that first Christmas when love came down for us. We celebrate the greatest gift we have ever been given–the gift of God’s own son, Jesus. As we remember the Christmas story, we are reminded that the whole Bible is a beautiful story of God pursuing us out of His great love for us. How wonderful that God would become flesh for us–to exchange heaven for earth and endure hardship, pain, loss and all this broken world offers. But He did it for us! He loved us so much that he would stop at nothing to draw near to us.

God’s great love sent Jesus for our sake because we are His beloved. He didn’t stay far away, up on high, but he came to us to be Emmanuel, “God with us”. He was always a God who was for us but that wasn’t enough. He wanted us to know the great lengths he would go to be with us, to experience what we experience and in doing so take our sin upon him and transform the world for good! It was in the moment that Jesus appeared that we now know how deeply we are loved because God came for us. It is in God’s immense love for us that we now find our worth. 

God loves us infinitely more than we can comprehend. He has wonderful things in store for us that we cannot even imagine; the likes of which we have never seen or heard. It is in Christ that God is revealed and we find our purpose. 

The kind of love God offers is unlike any kind of love we can find on this earth. It is a love that surpasses all understanding. That God would go to the ends of the earth and into the depths of hell itself, to save us and redeem us and call us His own, is beyond anything I can imagine. 

In this world we don’t experience this kind of love as often as we should, but when we embrace God’s love for us, it changes us from our very core. It changes how we see ourselves and how we see the world. We find a peace and confidence like no other in being the one loved by God.

It is my prayer that this Christmas you will remember the day that love came down for you and for me. His love might show up in the most unusual places but if your heart is turned toward God, He will reveal the greatest gift of all! May the gift of Jesus fill you with great joy, knowing that God draws near to each of us to bring us life and show us His deep and abiding love for us. 

As you fully embrace the love God has for you, may it become the defining force in your life that gives you courage to love freely with the love of Christ. May the gift of Christ remind you that you are God’s beloved one, the one whom He came to save!

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Every year, as Christmas Day approaches, I look forward to singing “Joy To The World” because it is a joyous song of announcement and triumph and victory. It is like shouting from the rooftops, “He’s here! Jesus is here! Come see!”

The announcement that came so long ago on that first Christmas day, was one that the people of God had been longing to hear. For over 700 years, since the prophet Isaiah first prophesied the coming of the Messiah, the people of God had been anxiously waiting for the Messiah to come to rescue and redeem them. The good news that they had been waiting on in faith for generations had finally arrived! What joyous news! 

The wiseman followed a star, the shepherds got a heavenly announcement, and Mary got a front row seat to the biggest arrival the world has ever known. How blessed and honored each of these humble servants of God must have felt to receive this very special message from the Lord and be a part of the amazing unfolding of God’s good news of redemption and salvation. They got an invitation straight from the heavens to witness the most miraculous event in all of history–the birth of the Son of God. Can you even imagine the joy they must have felt?

Even Jesus’ cousin, John, leapt for joy at his arrival before he was even born.

“When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!’”

When Mary greets Elizabeth, the sound of her greeting is picked up by baby John in the womb, and he does a joyful little leap! The angel had said that John would be filled with the Spirit even in his mother’s womb. And so when Mary greets Elizabeth, the Spirit causes John to recognize that Jesus was there, too. The presence of Christ among us brings us great joy! 

For so long humanity was stuck and lost in a world of darkness, lost to the error of our ways, in need of someone to rescue us. We were helpless to help ourselves. Maybe we didn’t even know we needed rescuing. But then, Jesus appeared and our joy was complete! Jesus didn’t just appear that first Christmas but continues to appear in each of our lives to bring hope and joy and love to this broken world.

Joy can be a difficult thing to have when life feels chaotic and busy or just plain hard. There are so many distractions and difficulties that try to steal our joy. But it’s important to remember that joy is not something that is determined by our circumstances like happiness. Rather, it can be present even in times of sorrow and trouble. It is not determined by our present struggles, but brought about through God’s presence and knowledge of our future destiny with Christ. We can have the joy Christ brings no matter what circumstance we find ourselves in, because the joy of the Lord (and His Good News of salvation) can be our strength.

You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Psalm 16:11

Jesus is “Emmanuel”, which means God with us. His presence brings us joy. Joy came down as a baby on that first Christmas day and He continues to be with us through his Holy Spirit. In Christ’s presence we receive the fullness of joy! 

I want to invite you to take a moment to rest in Christ’s presence and let His joy fill you up as you pray:

Jesus, your presence enters into our life and we are filled with such joy! Help us to believe the promises in your Word that we may receive your blessings. May we receive you as John did, and leap for joy in your presence. Thank you for the good news of Christ! May our joy abound as we spend time with you. Amen.

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When my kiddos were little, our family used to live right smack in the middle of a main street that ran through our town. It was near a busy train station and across from middle school and a high school. The noise from traffic and students and the hustle bustle of life rushing past our front door was constant.

But one winter morning, everything was different. Overnight, almost two feet of snow had fallen, which was unheard of in our town. School was cancelled, businesses were closed, and not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

Before I woke up the kids, I slipped on my coat and boots, and stepped onto our porch with coffee in hand. What was normally a cacophony of sounds was now a soft and serene wonderland of snow. I was struck by the stillness and absolute silence outside. There was no noise, only the muffled crunch of my boots as I stepped into the snow. I took a deep breath in and as I exhaled, I could see my breath dissipate into the cold, crisp air. I felt my shoulders relax as my mind downshifted into a lower, slower gear, until the internal noise in my head was as peaceful as the air around me.  

When I think of peace, this moment is one of the first that comes to mind. A moment when the world was blanketed in beauty and quiet serenity. And now, even on busy days, I’ll find similar pockets of peace where I can take a deep breath, even if it’s just in the pickup line at school, or the Starbucks drive thru. 

As the day’s to-do list rattles around in my head, moments like these can be a welcome reprieve and a blessing, but ultimately, its effect is fleeting. Sure, it might be enough to help me power through a busy morning, but won’t sustain me indefinitely. When the days are long, or life’s challenges persist and I feel weary under the weight of it all, I need the true and lasting peace that only Jesus can give. 

In John 14:27, Jesus says that He gives us His peace. Not the temporary kind, but shalom. The Hebrew word for peace, shalom, means more than just the absence of conflict or hardship. It means to make complete or whole, to bring order from chaos, and restore what is broken. To give shalom is to give wholeness, healing, and restoration. 

That’s the kind of peace I think we are all longing for – wholeness and healing beyond our own capabilities, and stability in the chaos of the storm. It’s a peace that helps us not to be afraid of the days to come, or feel troubled at the world around us. The peace that Jesus gives us fills us with hope and a deep conviction that, come what may, “it is well with my soul”. 

Jesus is the Prince of Peace and there is no limit to the wholeness that He brings. (Isaiah 9:6-7) That means there is no situation out of reach, no person too far gone, no circumstance where His peace cannot reign. Jesus faithfully and lovingly pursues us, stepping right into our situation whenever we need Him.

Knowing and believing this changes how I approach the little pockets of peace I find throughout my day. Instead of a chance merely to catch my breath and organize my next step, these moments become opportunities to remember that God is near, to breathe deeply of His love, and rest in the care of the Prince of Peace. I am reminded that I’m a daughter of the King, and that God is actively working in and through me to bring about restoration in my home, church, community, and the world at large. I can trust Him to lead me confidently forward, and I can trust Him to keep me safe. 

I pray that today as you find your own pockets of peace, I pray that you will “let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts” (Col 3:15) and that you too will remember that God is near, breathe deeply of His love, and rest in the care of the Prince of Peace. 

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There’s something about winter that feels like a long season of waiting and anticipation. We wait and look forward to spending time with family and friends. We wait in anticipation for the joyful moments under the Christmas tree with little ones, and look forward to the quiet, cozy moments after the hustle and bustle wanes. Even after Christmas, we wait for the new year, and for the days to get longer and lighter in the eager anticipation of spring. 

Sometimes in the midst of all the joyful waiting, we can also find ourselves in a heavier season of waiting on the Lord – waiting for healing, waiting for a relationship to mend, for provision to come, or for peace that passes understanding. During these times, it can be more challenging to hold onto hope when our hearts long to truly experience Emmanuel-God With Us.

The season of Advent gives us a beautiful opportunity to do just that. During Advent, we pause to remember the eager anticipation of Jesus’s birth long ago. We also take time to intentionally live in that same eager anticipation today, as we look forward to His future return. As we slow down and reflect on God’s faithful love and redemptive plan for us, it reorients us and helps us be awake to God’s love and presence. We gain an eternal perspective that allows us to lean into a hope that is greater than our circumstances. 

It reminds us that even while we are waiting, God’s perfect plans are still unfolding. That the same God who worked powerfully in the past, is still working powerfully now. It reminds us that the hope we have is not founded on wishful thinking or positive vibes, but on the finished work of Jesus Christ and the air-tight promise that He is coming again with wholeness and healing to set all things right.   

I’ll admit that waiting on the Lord is not always easy, especially when we can’t see clearly what lies ahead, and when the outcomes are often out of our control. But Hebrews 10:23 reminds us to “…hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” 

That means in every situation, in every season, God is faithful and holds us each securely in His arms. He is actively working on our behalf, in the waiting and praying, in the wrestling and surrender. He never fails to meet us in our need, walk with us, and bring about beauty and blessing from even the toughest situations. He draws near to us and reminds us that He has good plans for us, and that He is not finished yet. 

Because God is faithful to keep His promises, it is safe to trust Him. We can hold unswervingly our hope in Him because He will never fail, never walk away, and never go back on His word. Our hope in God becomes an anchor for our souls. (Heb. 6:19) 

The season of Advent also gives us a chance to profess the hope that we have to the world around us. It’s an opportunity for us to live out our purpose as God’s children by reflecting the light and love of Christ to those around us. To let our confident hope in Jesus be a beacon into the darkness, pointing others to Him. If you have confident hope in Christ, I guarantee there is someone in your life that would be so blessed to hear about it.

If you are in need of hope, I pray that God will place someone in your life to encourage you and share the hope you can have in God. Don’t be afraid to reach out and ask for someone to sit with you, to pray with you and remind you of God’s love and faithfulness. Hope is strengthened when we share it with one another..

As we collectively tell the stories of what God has done in the past, it builds up our faith in how God is working now, and helps us all to have hope in the amazing things God will do in the future. 

God’s love for us has no limit, no expiration date, no conditions. It is faithful and eternal. So as we hold unswervingly to our hope in Him, we can confidently profess the name of Jesus. 

Whether you are anticipating the joys of the season, waiting for a miracle, or both, my prayer for you is this from Romans 15:13, “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.”

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