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When Christmas Is Hard: 5 Insights to Give You Hope
Snow falls heavily like flour through a sifter, and I’m alone with only my thoughts and the hushed whisper of flakes gathering on frozen earth. As I sit beneath the hemlocks, I’m reminded of a season years ago when our family was suffering at Christmas. It can be challenging to know where to turn when Christmas is hard instead of celebratory. When Christmas Is Hard Our difficult Christmas came after a year filled with illness, disappointment, and deep grief. We’d just watched a lifelong dream go up in smoke, and we weren’t sure where to turn next. We were grieving, and we were having a hard time embracing the Christmas…
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Keep Christ in Christmas: 9 Ways to Keep Jesus Central
“Who wants to go on an adventure?” I ask the kids as we drive through farm country on a frigid Saturday afternoon. As the darkness of impending winter presses tighter, we could all use the reminder that the Light of the world has come. We could use the reminder to keep Christ in Christmas when the festivities threaten to draw our attention away from him. Keep Christ in Christmas Two hours later, we bundle in mittens, heavy winter coats, stocking caps, and heavy boots. Perspiration beads on my forehead as I slide the final mitten over the little one’s fingers. Managing to pile out the door on the cusp of…
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2 Mother Daughter Devotional Books for a Closer Relationship
Do you want to help your daughter connect with God while growing closer together? My teen daughter, Bekah, and I are passionate about helping moms and daughters grow closer while connecting with God. For this reason, we have written two mother daughter devotional books together! 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 after each devotion. Thousands of mothers and daughters have experienced transformed relationships as a result of this book! Heart to Heart: A Mother-Daughter Devotional With 50 Devotions for Teen Girls is for teenage…
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How to Fight Spiritual Attacks: 7 Ways
We lose a little more light every day now. I slip out for my evening walks beneath an underbelly of midnight blue. Not long ago, while walking beneath the canopy of darkness, I began thinking about how to fight spiritual attacks. I’ve been feeling discouraged in certain areas of my life lately. After weeks of restlessness, I finally recognized that the relentless stream of negative thoughts might be coming from somewhere other than my own mind. After telling a friend about the thoughts, she said, “Sounds like a spiritual attack to me.” How to Fight Spiritual Attacks Like me, you might be feeling discouraged today. Maybe you battle with worry,…
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14 Free Short Women’s Devotions for Spiritual Growth
Would you like to connect with God in deeper ways and experience his presence like never before? I hope to help you encounter God in ways that transform your life forever. For this reason, I have written a collection of free devotionals for women. I pray these free short women’s devotions bless you deeply and lead you closer to God’s heart of love for you. Free Short Women’s Devotions Below, you will find a collection of free resources to help you connect with God in your daily devotional time, bolster your prayer life, and provide healing in difficult seasons. My hope is that these words bless you and lead you…
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An Advent Devotional for Less Stress and Deeper Peace
After years of writing, I finally decided to release an online Advent devotional this year! I pray these readings help you slow down, cultivate wonder, and connect with the Lord. I’m releasing it a few weeks before Advent begins so that you can have it on hand and start reading in December. Here’s a glimpse into this new online devotional. I pray it blesses you deeply. Still My Soul: An Advent Devotional for Deeper Peace I sit with the dawn and let my thoughts gather. The grey morning light lifts her sleepy head, and the thin air is embroidered with a crimson cardinal’s song. My mind is scattered, and I…
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15 Bible Verses About Letting Go and Trusting God
This morning, I was startled to find the wood line painted grey. The bleak scene mirrored the state of my soul. Letting go and trusting God with my life felt nearly impossible. Opening, my Bible, I began copying a list of Bible verses about letting go and trusting God. Bible Verses About Letting Go Here are the Scriptures I listed. I also invite you to read to the end of today’s post for a free devotional eBook to help you let go and trust God. 15 Bible Verses About Letting Go and Trusting God 1. 2 Corinthians 9:8 “And God is able to make all grace overflow to you, so…
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10 Bible Verses About Change and Transition
The cobalt skies have faded to grey, and aside from a few crumpled leaves, the poplar tree beside our house has shed her summer foliage. Most of the leaves are scattered on the deck in shades of burnt sienna, and I don’t have the heart to sweep them away just yet. I’ve never been great at handling change. As I consider this, I pull out my Bible verses about change and transition in life. Today, I want to hold on to lingering twilight, campfires in the yard, and supper on the deck. Everything within me wants to hold onto barefoot water fights and footraces around a flourishing garden. Change can…
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How to Be Still and Listen to God: 7 Practical Tips
Daylight finds us with an unseasonable chill, and we close the windows and wrap ourselves in fleece blankets. Pulling out my Bible, I flip to a familiar Psalm. It reads, “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). I’ve been learning how to be still and listen to God for decades and have yet to master the practice. My mind has been racing again lately, and silencing my thoughts today feels next to impossible. Instead of being critical of my racing mind, I am kind to myself today. I lean back and let the thoughts pass like clouds in a sapphire sky. Finally, after several minutes, my mind…
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15 Bible Verses to Memorize: And 3 Tips to Help You
Our thoughts determine our actions, and our actions determine the direction of our lives. When we hide God’s Word in our hearts, his wisdom becomes a part of us. Today, we’ll look at 15 powerful Bible verses to memorize as we aim to align ourselves with God. Be sure to read to the end of today’s post for a free devotional eBook to help you connect with God in deeper ways. 15 Bible Verses to Memorize After we explore these Scriptures, we’ll explore practical ways to memorize Scripture more consistently. Let’s start with the Word. Bible Verses to Memorize 1. John 14:6, ESV Jesus said to him, “I am the…
