A Free Advent Devotional for Less Stress and Deeper Peace
Two years ago, I released an Advent devotional aimed at helping others slow down and experience deeper peace throughout the weeks leading up to Christmas. This year, for a limited time, I’m offering this eBook for free. Below, you’ll find an excerpt from the devotional. Be sure to read to the end of today’s post for your free Advent devotional!
Still My Soul: A Free Advent Devotional for Deeper Peace
I sit with the dawn and let my thoughts gather. The grey morning light washes away the night, and the thin air is embroidered with a crimson cardinal’s song. My mind is scattered, and I feel like I’ve been stretched too thin. I’m thinking about packing lunches, what’s for dinner, and when I’m going to get to the grocery store.
I don’t want to be stretched and stressed.
I’m tired of snapping at my kids and rushing through my days.
“Lord, please quiet my heart and still my soul,” I whisper.
Throughout the past months, I’ve had dozens of conversations with others who are stretched and stressed—just like me.
We’re tired on a soul level.
We need space to still our souls.
Space to Rest With God
How do we find stillness when we can’t opt out of nonnegotiable roles like parenthood and earning the needed income to pay the bills?
As my thoughts and worries accumulate beneath twirling ribbons of morning light, I pull out a notebook and a pencil. I begin listing ideas to help pull me from the whirlwind of stress that has become my new normal.
My list includes some of the following ideas:
Spend even a few minutes outside during my lunch break.
Lighten up about my to-do list.
Shift into a healthier relationship with food.
Begin each day with a few minutes of silence.
Take a walk in the valley before the darkness falls.
Throughout the next few weeks, every time I feel my chest tightening with stress and worry, I take a deep breath and employ a strategy to help me reclaim peace.
Gradually, over the course of a few weeks, something miraculous happens: I realize I’m snapping less at the kids, enjoying more of our moments together, and living in a way that’s more attuned to what God is doing around me.
I’m learning to still my soul.
Perhaps you would like to still your soul and make room in your life to embrace the coming King this Christmas, too.
Friend, you are in the right place.
I pray this Advent devotional will help you slow your pace, reclaim peace, live in a way that’s more present to the people you love, and connect with God in a way that breathes life into your soul this Christmas.
I pray these pages will help you slow your pace, reclaim peace, live in a way that’s more present to the people you love, and connect with God in a way that breathes life into your soul this Christmas. #Advent #Devotionals Share on XMeaningful Christmas Gifts for Parents and Children
Before I share the link to this free Advent devotional, I invite you to consider gifting one of our children’s devotional books to a family you care about this year. As the parent of two sons and a daughter, I have a heart for helping parents develop deeper relationships with their children and with God. Our kids, ages 6, 11, and 15, share this vision. They have helped me write three family devotionals for parents or older relatives to read with the children and teens they love. You can find all three books here or read more below.
Calling All Boy Moms (and Dads)!
God’s Warrior: Devotions for Boys Who Want to Grow in Courage and Strength helps young boys, ages 5-13, learn what it means to trust God and become strong warriors for his kingdom. Now, more than ever, our world needs men who are willing to boldly carry God’s love into the world. I wrote this boys’ devotional book with our two young sons, Aiden and Caleb, ages six and eleven! You’ll enjoy their honesty as we teach boys how to be strong warriors for the Lord. Find this life-changing devotional book here.
Mother-Daughter Devotionals by a Mom and Daughter
Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith is written for girls ages 7-12. It includes 60 devotions with Scripture, conversation starters, and a shared journaling section for moms and daughters after each devotion. I wrote this book with the help of our daughter, Bekah, when she was eleven. Find this one-of-a-kind shared devotional here.
Heart to Heart: A Mother-Daughter Devotional With 50 Devotions for Teen Girls is for teenage girls ages 13-20. It includes 50 devotions, each with a shared journaling section to help moms and daughters connect through writing. This is a great book for moms who want to communicate about awkward topics—like dating, sexuality, peer pressure, and more—but don’t know where to start. Bekah and I will help you right here.
Find Your Free Advent Devotional Right Here:
Still My Soul will help you create space to connect with God in meaningful ways as you prepare your heart to celebrate the birth of Christ this month. Every day of Advent, you will be gently invited to slow down and cultivate gratitude instead of stress. Get your eBook for free right here with promo code STILL. Be blessed as you seek the King and celebrate his birth!
