35 results for tag: Christmas
Christmas Hope
O holy nightThe stars are brightly shiningIt is the night of our dear Savior's birthLong lay the world in sin and e'er pining'Til He appeared and the soul felt its worthA thrill of hope the weary world rejoicesFor yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Does it seem as though the thrill of hope has been absent this Christmas?
Everywhere you go you are surrounded with glistening lights, songs of merriment, and all of the sights and tastes and smells of the season. But when your heart is aching and broken, these joyful festivities somehow just seem to intensify the emptiness you feel inside.
Maybe you’ve pasted on a smile and ...
Hope: The Reason We Celebrate
Nine. Nine Christmases without my baby boy. Nine years of slowly driving around town, sipping hot chocolate, looking at Christmas lights, and wondering which house would be his favorite. Nine years of walking down the boy toy aisle at Target and choking back tears. Nine years of feeling like a big part of my heart is missing during the holidays.
As a grieving mother, it feels like pain and sadness just come out of nowhere, especially during the holidays. If you’ve had to excuse yourself from a party because you just can’t seem to hold back the tears anymore, you are not alone. If looking a teeny, tiny Christmas jammies have made you start ...
Healing and Hope at Christmas
“What Child is this who, laid to rest
On Mary’s lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,
While shepherds watch are keeping?
Who is this who lives with the lowly,
Sharing their sorrows, knowing their hunger?
This is Christ, revealed to the world
In the eyes of a child, a child of the poor.
This, this is Christ the King,
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing;
Haste, haste, to bring Him laud,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.”
Two of my favorite Christmas songs are What Child Is This? and Child of the Poor. Their haunting melodies draw me in to reflect on the lowly humanity of Christ and then worship Him as Savior.
...
Links for Hope Moms: Holiday Edition
We want to share with you links to posts, videos, and resources from around the web to uplift, help, and encourage you in your walk with the Lord as you grieve.
{What Suffering People Wish You Would Do at Christmas} // "Remind them that our faithful Savior will never fail or forsake them. That Jesus walks with them and He weeps with them. Remind them that He knows every detail of their struggle. Remind them that for all of us, the unshakeable hope of Christmas lies solely in Emmanuel, for our God has come to us and will forevermore be with us."{Celebrating Christmas with a Broken Heart}// "In the wake of grief, emotions are ...
Our Hope This Christmas
The people of Israel were waiting for the coming of the promised Messiah. They were living under the threat of the Assyrians, who would later bring the northern kingdom of Israel into captivity, when the prophet Isaiah delivered news of a child who would come to dissipate the darkness and redeem the world from sin. This birth announcement was a glimmer of hope in the midst of the fear and sorrow.
“For to us a Child is born,
to us a Son is given;
and the government shall be upon His shoulder,
and His name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah 9:6
We live in the space between the ...
Advent: The Gift of Love
I was eight and a half months pregnant that first Christmas in my grief. Just four months before, we had received a diagnosis for our unborn son that left us knowing that, barring a miracle from God, we’d be saying goodbye to him way sooner than we ever imagined.
There was something so significant that year about being pregnant at Christmastime.
I had low energy, both physically and emotionally, and so in some ways Christmas became a little bit simpler. But, honestly, it became a little bit more meaningful too.
I would go about my days, obviously with child, and I would think about what we were about to celebrate: Christmas. The birth of ...
Advent: He is Joy
I have to admit that writing about joy in this Advent season feels deeply bittersweet for me. Two years ago, when I was anxiously awaiting the birth of my firstborn son, Max, my church asked me to write a personal Advent piece also centered on joy. At that time, I talked about choosing to find joy in Max’s Down syndrome diagnosis. I reveled in the parallel between awaiting the birth of our Lord Jesus and that of Max. I wrote, “Spencer and I are filled with joy as we anticipate the arrival of our baby who we know will change our lives. And as we wait for Max, we also celebrate the Advent, and wait with great joy and anticipation for the ...
Advent: Perfect Peace
Peace.
What comes to your mind when you think of this word? A solitary lounge chair on a white sandy beach under a palm tree, the waves quietly lapping the shore? A hammock gently swaying in the breeze beside a still lake with a good book? The quiet of a winter forest, boughs drooping under the weight of silent white snow?
Or does peace mean something more abstract and personal?
Webster defines peace as:
a state of tranquility or quiet.
freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions.
harmony in personal relations
But what if our circumstances are tragic and chaotic, and we are overcome with heartbreak and sorrow? We each have ...
Advent: The Hope of Christ
Does it feel as though God is silent or distant? Does it seem like the Christmas season only reminds you of the ache in your heart for the ones you wished were with you? Do you wonder if God will breathe life into the broken places of your heart, or if there will ever be a day where it won’t feel so dark?
You are not alone in those questions, fears, and silent cries for God to not feel so silent. In fact, for 400 years the people of Israel felt those same questions stirring in their souls. The God who had guided their people through the wilderness, performed miracles, spoken through prophets, and promised a Savior would come to redeem and restore ...
Receiving Looks of Judgment? Look to Christ. {Christmas Meditation #4}
Ah-ha, there is that raised eyebrow again. They think I have done something wrong though they won’t say anything. Their expression communicates clearly the judgement they are making. It hurts to see them think, "For this to have happened to her she must have done something wrong. God is judging her."
For Mary, the mother of Jesus, I think she had to have experienced something like this at least in a small way. Before Joseph, a good and caring man, had the dream from God which supplied the explanation, Mary must have seen the judgement and sorrow in his eyes. They had not come together in physical relationship yet, and here she was, pregnant. ...
