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A Free 2025 New Year Devotional to Help You Connect With God
Do you want to start 2025 by renewing your commitment to spend time with God? Today, I have a free 2025 New Year devotional for you. Mornings With Jesus will help you connect with Jesus every morning for the next 31 days! I originally wrote this devotional several years ago, but I have updated it once again. If you are looking for a devotional to help you start the new year with God, this is a powerful tool to lead you into his presence. Why I Wrote This 2025 New Year Devotional I spent years reading my Bible and practicing a morning devotional routine without regularly encountering God in the…
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4 Prayers for Joy and Peace This Christmas and Beyond
A white veil rises and falls outside the window like a clean linen bedsheet flogging in the wind. I watch the scene as our children haul their Christmas presents to their bedrooms. My husband sits at the dining room table assembling the little one’s train set. God has answered my prayers for joy and peace this Christmas, and I am grateful. Your Christmas might be full of noise and excitement, or this might be a difficult day for you. It might be a quiet day filled with memories or regrets. Wherever you find yourself on this day, I invite you to join me as we ask God to fill our…
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8 Christmas Bible Verses About Peace and Joy
December rain falls cold and clear, washing away the mud-encrusted ice from children’s footprints. I gaze at the scene from the window as I open my Bible in search of Christmas Bible verses about peace and joy. Christmas Bible Verses About Peace and Joy Christmas will be here soon, and our family could use a fresh outpouring of peace. We’ve battled various viruses nonstop throughout the past several weeks, and we’re ready for a break as we celebrate with family and friends. We’ve faced unexpected setbacks in many realms, and our joy has been tested through affliction. Maybe you could use some joy and peace this Christmas as well. Let’s…
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4 Ways to Stay Focused on Jesus at Christmas
For the first year in decades, I counted winter as a gift this year: not a grueling season to survive, but a wonderous season to embrace. As I aim to give thanks for the colder weather and darker days, I’m also reminding myself to stay focused on Jesus at Christmas this year. I tend to get pulled into the rush of my Christmas to-do list, making it tough to stay centered. If you can relate, here are four ways I’m helping our family stay focused on Jesus at Christmas this year. How to Stay Focused on Jesus at Christmas Let’s look at several practical ways to keep our focus on…
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10 Life-Giving Bible Verses About Light and Truth
As we prepare our hearts to celebrate the coming of the Light of the World, I’ve been soaking in Bible verses about light and truth. I invite you to join me as I watch the morning dawn, and we’ll savor these Truths together. 10 Life-Giving Bible Verses About Light and Truth This morning the sky greeted us with a color I’d never named. Like a tree-ripened peach, it smiled down from above—ready to offer the gift of its entire self. Thunder groaned a foreboding warning to the south, and I pulled the blanket over my head, resistant to surrender to the light. Meanwhile, I’ve learned that the light finds me…
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10 Encouraging Christmas Verses About Hope
As I sit in the forest, my bones throb with the cold ache of winter. The creek flows soundlessly—waiting for freeze-up. I’ve come to the woods to connect with my Creator, and I pull out my Bible in search of Christmas verses about hope to prepare my heart for the month ahead. Christmas Verses About Hope Over the years, I’ve learned that when I fail to keep my eyes on the reason for celebrating, I get pulled into the flurry of stress and overactivity. I’m searching for verses about hope because, at the heart of the matter, Christmas is about hope. At Christmas, we celebrate the hope we find in…
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How to Renew Your Mind From Negative Thoughts
I recently set out on a slow walk down our country road as the sun set behind the barren maple forest. I had no way of knowing that the walk was going to be a lesson in renewing my mind. Perhaps you need this space as well. Maybe you need to lean into learning how to renew your mind from negative thoughts. As I walked, I noticed that the tree line had turned gray with winter. I’m not ready for these long, dark winter months, I thought. I cringed at the thought of long evenings inside the house and whiteouts rolling in from the west. How to Renew Your Mind…
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An Online Advent Devotional for Less Stress This December
Last year, I released an online Advent devotional to help others slow down, cultivate wonder, and connect with the Lord. After receiving wonderful feedback, I made a few updates and am excited to release a second edition this year! Here’s a glimpse into this new online devotional. I pray it blesses you deeply. Still My Soul: An Online 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 feel like a woman who is stretched too thin. I’m thinking about…
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Why Does God Test Us? (3 Reasons)
Do you have a sense that God has been testing you? God does not tempt us, but he does put us through tests to help us grow and build our character. Maybe you’ve been asking the question, “Why does God test us?” We’ll look at three reasons for God’s tests today. The following words are taken directly from our new mother-daughter devotional book, Heart to Heart. Find this book here today! Why Does God Test Us? “God left him alone only to test him, so that He might know everything that was in his heart.” 2 Chronicles 32:31 About 10 years ago, I sensed God calling me to start writing…
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Why Has God Abandoned Me?
Have you ever asked the question, “Why has God abandoned me?” When life is difficult, it often feels as though God has forgotten and forsaken us. Today, I invite you to join me as I share an excerpt from our new book, Heart to Heart, and we’ll talk about what to do when we feel forgotten by God. Why has God abandoned me? Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or in dread of them, for the Lord your God is the One who is going with you. He will not desert you or abandon you. Deuteronomy 31:6 I spent much of my early twenties wondering if God had abandoned me. After a series…
