The weekend is upon us. I pray you find rest, comfort, and peace for your soul.
Praise
Next Year’s Word
What word(s) is next year’s Voice speaking to your heart? Take a minute to be still. Listen to what Jesus is singing over you for this next year.
Is it peace? Rest? Provision? Is He covering you with healing and wholeness? Is He hiding you under His wings? Is He bringing you to a new place and new relationships? Is He delivering you from things not meant for you? Ask Him. He will tell you in the unique way He speaks to you. There is a plan and purpose for this next year and He will walk with you and me through it – right next to us, never leaving us, and never forsaking us.
He is good, He is safe, He is for us. You are so loved. Peace be with you.
2026
God’s Peace
For 2026: This scripture is how I want my life to look – more Jesus, less worry, bathed in His peace, seeking & finding His character and compassion in a world where it seems to be lacking, and leaving a trail of kindness and compassion everywhere He sends me.
Space
I pray as 2026 looms near that we find our voices, sink our roots deeply into the space God has planted us, and thrive. He knows the plans He has for us and He knows the way you will positively impact those He has placed around you – it’s not by chance that you are where you are. You are so loved. Peace be with you.
God of Hope
As the new year approaches, let’s trust that God has us and will never let go. We can’t see what’s unfolding for 2026, but He can. He’s there preparing the path before us, making a way around, over, and through whatever comes our way. May we overflow with joy, peace, and love. May it splash over onto everyone we meet.
Priceless
May Jesus be your Father, your God, your Counselor, and your Peace this Christmas. He is the greatest gift.
Just a Night…
It was Just a Night…
Imagine with me, if you will, what it may have been like for the shepherds on that holiest of nights, so many years ago.
The quiet hillside breathing silently under a clear, star-filled sky; the sound of their flocks settling in, like they always did, with murmurs, rustlings, and scrabbling with the occasional noisy bleat of lambs fussing for a warm spot next to the fluffy ewes.
Shepherds, ever watchful and alert, yet calm and ready for a typical, peaceful night. Perhaps they, too, scoot in close to the warm, fuzzy sheep as the night deepens and the air cools and chills.
Quiet conversations around a small fire and a simple meal, perhaps? Jokes and a recounting of the day wan and fade as the night falls deeper and silence blankets the hillside.
It was just a night until it wasn’t…
Imagine their quiet night suddenly interrupted by the sky exploding in radiant, holy light and sound, like nothing ever seen before—certainly nothing ever seen by a group of tired shepherds outside a sleepy village on a typical night. The terror and fear must have been palpable, washing over them like a terrible nightmare, until they heard the angel’s voice saying, “Don’t be afraid! I bring you good news of great joy for everyone! The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the City of David! And this is how you will recognize Him: You will find a baby lying in a manger, wrapped snugly in strips of cloth!”
Add to this amazing announcement, this supernatural display, the addition of a vast host of the armies of heaven praising God and rejoicing at this beautiful, holy, saving gift just given to all people for all time. A gift that will never be fully understood—mocked, ridiculed, and murdered—yet the only gift that will love, redeem, and save your life and mine.
Imagine that first feeling of terror turning to incredible joy, unspeakable love, and supernatural peace that in all its Divine power was quite possibly unbearable—wild and fierce.
I can feel down to my very bones the uncontrollable need to fall to my knees in reverence, awe, fear, and worship before such an announcement! A Savior, the Messiah, the Holy One come to save—a divine encounter with the King of Kings and the heavenly host. The atmosphere must have been sizzling with a supernatural, divine portent.
When the angels departed, did the shepherds stand around arguing about what they experienced? Did they try to explain away this divine encounter with the supernatural as indigestion, an atmospheric distortion, strange cloud formations, or tainted wine? Did they minimize this gift of love so deep that human minds cannot fathom it? No, they didn’t. They believed. They sought out the Savior to see him, worship him, and accept the love gift freely given to them. They accepted it and shared it with others.
I don’t believe they slept much that night. Returning to their now still and silent hillside, I wonder if they spoke. Did they attempt to recount the events they had just witnessed? Did they fully understand the impact of what they beheld in that lowly stable? How does one explain the Divine? I wonder what changes took place silently in their hearts. Mary quietly treasured all she witnessed that night in her heart, and I believe the shepherds did the same.
It was just a night on a hillside with their sheep until it wasn’t.
1. Luke 2: 10-12
Photo credit: Burkay Canatar
Stars in the Dark
“Our God who breathes stars in the dark – He breathes Bethlehem’s Star, then takes on lungs and breathes in stable air. We are saved from hopelessness because God came with infant fists and opened wide His hand to take the iron-sharp edge of our sins.” – Ann Voskamp “The Greatest Gift”
Photo credit: eberhard grossgasteiger
He Knows the Plans
Psalm 126:3 NLT “Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us! What joy!”
One week before Christmas and I’m dealing with a nasty cold/virus, canceled plans, and feelings of disappointment. My husband and I won’t have our adult kids home this year, so these vacation plans were something festive and exciting we hoped would ease the missing of them this year.
I was up extra early this morning in an attempt to ease the coughing and sneezing. I cozied down in my favorite chair wrapped in a blanket, with hot coffee, and the Christmas lights glowing in the living room. I wanted to feel sad, disappointed, frustrated, and I did, but…the silence, the misty fog outside, and the warm, glowing lights covered me in such a comforting feeling of peace and safety. I felt tucked in and looked after. Divine presence…
As I settled in, my mind wandered to Christmases past, funny and happy memories, and then it circled back to the now. It’s true that my plans and expectations for this season aren’t following the script, but joy doesn’t always come in carefully planned, to-do list ways. In the lovely quiet, I felt His gentle reminder of all the ways good things did happen. In the unexpected blessings and joys that did find me, in the divine encounters and the divine whispers that left me in awe of how deeply seen, known, and loved I am by the greatest gift ever given – Jesus. Emmanuel, God with us – the One who never disappoints, never falls short, lavishes us with blessings, joy, peace, and handmade gifts uniquely crafted for me and for you. Apple of His eye.
So yes, I am confident I will find joy this Christmas season. I will actively search for it in the ordinary, the mundane, the silence of a quiet house, the glow of holiday lights, and the adventure of canceled plans, because He knows the plans He has for me. That is comforting.
I pray that you will find the joy, the adventures, and the beauty in this season of mystery and divine appointments as you look to Him because He is enough.
Photo credit: Sid Cosmo
Extravagant Hope 