God’s love

Candlelight

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Psalm 91:4 NIV

“He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.”

I was drinking my coffee in the hush of this foggy morning, savoring being alone before the demands of the day started fussing and insisting on attention. The soft light from these brightly glowing candles was soothing and peaceful.

Sitting in my kitchen listening to the world wake up, I noticed how easily the candlelight was swayed and pulled toward any disturbance in the air. The little lights struggled to stay lit, bouncing and fluttering to the whims of the draft, helpless to move, shift, or regain equilibrium on their own.

Watching the brave dancing of the candlelight brought to mind Psalm 91. Aren’t we often like these confident candles? We burn bright, strong, and lovely when things are calm and no disturbances surround us. We are proud and sure of ourselves and our world.

But…drafts happen. Gusts of change, storms of conflict, gales of fear, and the cold winds of diagnoses come, often suddenly, leaving us ill prepared and helpless. We blow around in the confusion and anxiety fearing that our light will extinguished; that we won’t be able to stay steady on our own.

Quietly at first, you hear a still, yet powerful voice echoing through the chaos, breaking through the whims of the wind. We hear Him and call out for help, rescue, and hope. Then, comes the brush of feathers along your cheek, the hush of being wrapped up tightly in wings of safety and peace, the scent of heaven surrounding you as you are sheltered, protected, and delivered from the chaos and debris the world and the wounds of humanity throw at us each day. He is faithful. He is good. He alone is the answer to the fickle winds of chaos that always come as part of living on this earth. But, we don’t have to save ourselves. He came to do that. Emmanuel, God with us. Always. Everywhere.

You are His treasure. Peace be with you.

Greatest Gift

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“Only when you first unwrap the gifts of blessings to you can you be wrapped up as a gift of blessings to others. Only when you are overwhelmed with the goodness of God can you overflow with the goodness of God to others.” – Ann Voskamp “The Greatest Gift”

May we be overwhelmed this Christmas season with the goodness of God. The greatest gift ever given to us is His presence. May the overflow of His gift of Himself and His goodness leak out of our hearts, our eyes, our mouths, our voices, and our hands spilling onto everyone we encounter. Blessings upon blessings, gift upon gift – ripples of peace, love, and kindness spinning and circling wider and wider. His coming, Advent, happening everywhere.

Photo by Tofros.com

Hope

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Hope

The house is silent tonight. Firelight flickers and logs snap in the woodstove. Tucked in and cozy under the quilt I feel peaceful. The only light is from the snickering fire and the Christmas lights strewn along the mantle glowing warm and soft. The small nativity scene nestled among the gentle light is beautiful. The Savior, Light of the world, Prince of Peace came for me all those years ago. He’s still coming. It wasn’t a one-time thing.

Every day He comes for me and He comes for you. The healing, the protection, the peace, the hope, and the rescue; it never stops. It renews and is reborn. His pursuit of us in the midst of the mundane and the ordinary, the fiery trials, the seasons of running from Him, the times of quiet rest, and the brilliance of joy and victory will continue until the appointed time when God Most High welcomes us Home.

This season of Advent is mysterious, supernatural, holy, and beautiful. I’m in awe of it all.

Sitting quietly before Him in the silence and peace of His presence, my heart feels full, safe, and full of hope, so much hope.

Emmanuel

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“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”[a] (which means “God with us”). Matthew 1:23 NIV

This scripture shows up a lot during the Christmas season. A beautiful celebration and comforting reminder that the Savior came as a helpless baby into a dark world that so desperately needed Him – it still does. We still do.

If we remember this soul-deep anticipation, quickening of the heart, the feeling of something greater than us coming as the holidays pass and life goes back to the humdrum, ordinary business, trials, and victories – might we live a little differently?

I think we might.

Emmanuel, God with us.

Sit in the stillness of this, the power of this, the holiness of this, the immense love that is in this name.

Everything that humanity strives toward, desperately needs, and seeks in all the wrong places is found in this name, Emmanuel. God with us. Jesus. What more could we need?

Jesus is our hope, our protector, our creator, the One who sees us in all of our human messiness and miraculously draws even closer to us because of it. He searches you out in the dark chaos of the world, and calls you by name to just come to Him. That’s all. Just come. Just let Him love you, restore you, heal you, let you by still waters, and lead you to the cross where all that hurts, wounds, and seeks to destroy can be laid down once and for all at His feet.

What might happen if we begin each day with His name in our hearts and on our lips – Emmanuel, God with us, with you, with me. Not just during the holidays, but every single day. He never stops seeking us and finding us, healing us and loving us, delighting in us and going with us in all things ordinary and extraordinary.

May Jesus, the Prince of Peace, Light in the darkness, Healer of hearts go with you today and always. You are loved. Peace be with you. Emmanuel be with you.

Let go

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Isaiah 41:13 NIV

“For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.”

He sees. He knows. The fear that sneaks into your thoughts and intrudes into your daily routine. He is right there waiting for you to grab onto His outstretched hands that have your name engraved in the palms. He is God Almighty, Warrior, Defender, Prince of Peace, Lover of your soul, and Lord of Lords. He’s got you and is telling you not to be afraid. He will help you. Let Him. Release the tight grip you have on whatever that fear, worry, or wound is and let Him take it. Let Him heal you. He is faithful. He is good. He loves you. Peace be with you.

GIVEAWAY

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It’s time for a holiday giveaway!! 🥳 It will run today, Weds 12/3 – Sat 12/6 8pm PST. ⏰

Winner will choose a book from The Divine Series that I’ll sign and mail off to you. 📚📖

To enter:

Go to my Facebook author page and follow me – https://www.facebook.com/MelissaGiomiauthor

🎄Tag someone you think will enjoy the series, and

☃️Share a favorite holiday tradition from your family.

***Answers must be entered in the comments on the AUTHOR PAGE to count.***

I will use my wheel spinner to randomly choose the winner 🏆🏆🏆

Good luck!

Thankful

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“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.” 1 Chronicles 16:34 NLT

I pray you have a beautiful day today. I pray that you find joy and contentment in little things; that your eyes and ears are open to the hidden delights and glimpses of His presence that He’s scattered about your path today. You may have to pause, breathe, and take a moment to look around, but those glimmers and treasures are there waiting for you. He loves you. You are precious. Peace be with you.

Blessings

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I’ve been thinking about blessings lately and the different forms it can take. This excerpt from Divine Appointments… talks about blessings and the different ways it might show up in our lives.

“Some blessings come after the hurt and wounds. The Divine often shows up in miraculous ways, turning devastation into glory, failure into victory, wounding into strength, and the impossible into something to be remembered in awe and reverence because there seemed to be no good ending, yet there was.

To live blessed, we need to be alert and seek it out. It won’t always show up immediately. Blessings may not be dressed up in blissful happiness and a cute outfit. Blessings may come dirty, scuffed up, straggling, and a bit off-kilter, but they will come. I have seen them come in both forms—equally holy, sacred, and consecrated. Blessed.

I want to live with an extravagant hope expecting blessing. I want to bloom where I am planted and thrive, no matter what it looks like. Holy, divine, sacred, and blissful happiness is all around, waiting with open arms for us to slow down and seek it. What is sought will be found.”

Wait

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Psalm 62:1 NLT “I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him.”

I don’t know what’s weighing heavily on you tonight. But I do know what it’s like to wait on the Lord for answers, for victory, for healing. I know the weight of fear, uncertainty, and soul deep exhaustion.

And…

I know that He is the God of healing, hope, and victory. God of the impossible!

I want to remind you tonight that you are seen. He knows every detail of what happened, what is happening, what is coming, and He is right there in the midst of all of it, working things out for your good. So calm your mind and breathe. Rest your eyes on Him, talk to Him, and wait quietly for Him to redeem, heal, save, and overcome. He has healing in His wings and a plan to prosper you, not to harm you. Be still….

You are loved. Peace be with you.

Gratitude

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“And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 5:20 NLT

‘Tis the season for gratitude and being thankful. I admit that sometimes it is hard to count my blessings and be thankful in all things. Sometimes, it takes slowing myself down, breathing deeply, and just being for a bit.

Some things are so easy to be thankful and grateful for like, shelter, food, warmth, answered prayers, good friends, deep conversations, and beautiful nature.

Other things…not so much…like waiting for that prayer to be answered, waiting on a test result, the resolution of an argument, or losing a friendship.

In the moment, I can’t always find it in myself to be thankful and grateful, but I have found that some things I am able to be thankful for after the fact – for the lessons learned, the hindsight that allows that thing/situation to make sense, the wisdom to recognize that the friendship wasn’t healthy, and the understanding that God’s “no” was His divine wisdom and protection.

May we choose to take a few minutes each day to remind ourselves of His goodness and power, to see how He is working all things out for our good, and to bless us. He is the God of the impossible and He does hear our prayers. We can’t always understand His timing and that’s hard. But we know His character. He will never fail us. You are loved. Peace be with you.