Merry Christmas!

 

The Light Came Down

1 John 1:5-7
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

Be the light or look for the light.

Tim and I turn the Christmas music on in the car and cruise through a few neighborhoods to view Christmas lights. We have a few favorites we hope to see every year, and we’re pleased when a few pop up we haven’t encountered before. On a street new to us we saw a sign pointing people to a display. When you see a sign, that usually means we will come upon a home where someone has taken the extra steps to create a light show. Sure enough, we turned the corner and oh my, the lights shone.

The house, covered in strands hanging from roof to foundation set the stage for the many lighted blow-ups in the yard. I have to say, the folks who set up this display had organized it and made it attractive and fun. We were drawn to the light.

John tells me that God is the light and anyone who loves God and follows Him will be a light in the world. I see this two ways, we either are the light, because we choose to follow Jesus or we need the light of Jesus’ love. There was a time when I chased the light, and I thank God He offered me grace and hope. I pray now I am a light in the darkness of this world. My hope is, if you need the light of Jesus, you embrace it this Christmas. 

The light Jesus brought to the world, coming to us as a baby and growing into the teacher and Savior shines rays of hope.

Light was my word for 2022. I’ve clung to Jesus’ light and shared it as I followed Him.

Merry Christmas!

Hope

I am so thankful we have hope in Jesus.

When the world seems bleak, the Lord of Lords offers hope of new life

and hope of peace and freedom in this life.

He is the hope of the world!

 

Are You Prepared to Celebrate?

Luke 2:4-5

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 

“Be prepared, just not to be safe, but to be a faithful servant of God.”-Didi Bacon

Christmas takes preparation. With five children, four with spouses, and eleven grands, I have to begin preparing for the holidays early, because I prefer to take my time rather than stress.

For Christmas dinner, I keep it simple. Yet, the meal takes organization. Yesterday, I spent a chunk of the day cooking hamburger for sloppy joes and chopping peppers for pizza dip. When I finished, I tucked both into the freezer until December 24. As I stirred the burger and cooked the pink out, my mind wandered to Joseph and Mary. Weird, I know, but that’s how my brain works.

God had chosen Mary to be Jesus’ momma, and he picked Joseph as Jesus’ earthly father because Joseph was a man of integrity who loved God. Obviously, Joseph took care of Mary. When he heard Caesar Augustus called for them to travel to Bethlehem for the census, he loaded the donkey (at least that's what we learned in Sunday school,) and he and Mary joined the caravan on the journey. I’ve no doubt Joseph packed water and snacks, along with blankets and bags of clothes. He prepared for the long trip, but he didn’t stop there. His most important preparation wasn’t food or clothes, instead he took the time to prepare his heart.

Joseph had accepted his role in the coming of King Jesus. With willingness, Joseph humbled his heart and opened his mind to the changes coming to his family. He looked to God with a servant’s heart and accepted the part God asked him to take on. He chose to love the One who would change the world, even as he raised Jesus as his son.

Joseph’s willingness to accept his circumstances kind of blows my mind. His faith was extraordinary. His actions push me to prepare for Christmas, not in gift giving and cooking, but more importantly, to prepare my heart to worship the King.

Christmas is about Jesus. He’s the reason we celebrate. With humility, I ask God to open my eyes and heart in service to Him.

Prepare your heart to worship God and serve Him in this holy season.

Peace

Peace is something I cherish.

I love fresh fallen snow and the quiet I hear.

I thank God for the Prince of Peace-- 

who brings peace on earth through his grace and forgiveness.

 

Never Say Never by Patti Shene Gonzales

Today, I'm hosting Patti Shene Gonzales. Patti is an amazing encourager who has written her first Christmas novella. She shares a bit about herself, her journey, and her story, Cathy’s Christmas Confession: A Christmas Ridge Romance Book 3.

I have wanted to be a writer since childhood. However, a career, a family, and other priorities always seemed to get in the way.

The biggest stumbling block to my writing career came from my own weakness, my procrastination. As a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW.com) and an attendee at several writers conferences, I have encountered agents and editors interested in my work over many years. However, in my opinion, my manuscripts always needed improvement before submission, and therefore were never really 'finished'.

There were things I said I would never do if I did pursue a writing career. Number one, the last story I would have any interest in writing would be a Christmas story. It’s not that I have anything against Christmas. It is the most joyful and meaningful time of year. I just could not see myself coming up with the type of amazing Christmas stories that I have seen others write.

Second, I was never going to self-publish a book. I wanted my work to be accepted by a royalty paying publisher who, by contracting it, would validate that what I had written was worth publishing.

Sometimes God has other plans. He has an amazing way of changing the minds of even the most stubborn.

A few months ago, a friend invited me to participate with four other writers in a multi author series. This happened to be a Christmas series. She assured me that, having written Gunsmoke fanfiction in the past, this would be easy for me, since the setting and some of the characters were already established.

The project sounded intriguing, so I decided to accept the challenge. I encountered many obstacles along the way as I prepared this manuscript, mainly, as mentioned before, my almost pathological propensity to procrastinate.

I spent way too much time tossing ideas around in my head without writing them down. Suddenly, my deadline date loomed a mere few weeks away. Several nights found me up until 4 a.m., struggling to put the words together that would make a readable story. Sometimes, I went to the Lord in tears, wondering if this was a project I should pursue. The ideas just didn’t seem to be coming.

The more I wrote scenes and deleted them, changed the names of my characters, and tried to create conflict and resolution, the easier it became. I thank God for that. He has a way of putting ideas into a writer's head that can be transposed onto paper or a computer screen to convey a message.

I had promised myself that I would never publish a book that had not been edited by someone other than myself, I sent the manuscript to a friend who edits in an unusual manner. She is blind, so using a reading program, she picks up things the average person doesn’t, such as a missing open quotation mark, a missing period at the end of a sentence, a commonly misspelled word.

Next, I sent the manuscript to two friends who served as beta readers. These were authors I could trust to tell me if the manuscript had merit or did not deserve to see the light of day.

I then tackled the hurdle of learning how to self-publish the book through Amazon. That took a bit of time, but once I got the knack of the program, it wasn’t that hard. I spent several hours at my friend's home as she showed me how to upload the book to Amazon.

So, this aspiring writer who claimed she would never self-publish a book, especially a Christmas story, is excited to announce the publication of her first novella, Cathy’s Christmas Confession: A Christmas Ridge Romance Book 3. The book released on November 22, 2022 at this link (https://tinyurl.com/mr26ekaj) on Kindle. Hopefully, a print copy will follow.

If you choose to read Cathy's Christmas Confession, out of the many hundreds of Christmas stories that will be published this year, I will be truly honored. My prayer is that the story will glorify my Heavenly Father and bless you as the reader.

Blurb for Cathy's Christmas Confession

Christmas is not a time of joy for the hurting.

During a snowstorm, widow Cathy Fischer creams a stop sign on her way to work at the Christmas Ridge Community Church. Acquaintance David Martin stops to help. Cathy sees signs of deep grief in David, a recent widower. She reaches out with support in an attempt to help David through this most difficult first Christmas without his beloved wife.

David Martin struggles with grief over the death of his wife. He blames God for her rapid demise after her cancer diagnosis. Cathy reaches out to him with compassion and support and soon enlists him in her mission to bring joy to others at Christmas. Will their joint quest restore David’s faith?

David needs to turn loose of the past and embrace his future. Cathy has a confession to make to the entire community that may give David a different perspective of who she really is. Will her confession set her free?

Does God have plans in mind for the two of them they did not anticipate?

Check out our Amazon Christmas Ridge Romance page (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BLCJ9P9J) to learn about other books in the series and receive updates!

BIO:
Patti Shene Gonzales hosts Step Into the Light, a weekly interview style podcast, where guests share their journey out of darkness or ways they lead others back to light. She hosts writers on her two blogs, Patti’s Porch and The Over 50 Writer. Patti is published in two anthologies and local publications and has three novels in progress. She enjoys writing, reading, critiquing, and spending time with family and friends. Patti lives in Colorado with her devoted feline companion, Duncan. Cathy’s Christmas Confession is her first novella.

Visit Patti at her website www.pattishene.com

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pattishene/

Twitter https://twitter.com/PattiShene

Tuck Hope in Your Heart

 Luke 2:19

But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

So many memories flood my heart at Christmas.

I confess. I put my Christmas tree up the day before Thanksgiving, this year. We were going to my sister’s house for the holiday, so no one would be visiting us. After I had prepared the food I was taking, I had time to set up the tree. As I fluffed the silver branches, I remembered when Tim brought home this beauty. He knew I wanted a silver one and went on the hunt for it.  The tree has been with us for ten-plus years.

Each year as I adorn it with ornaments, the memories I’ve stored in my heart come to life. As the wrapping comes off of each bauble, I remember the person or occasion associated with the decoration. The first felt ornament I made, in sixth grade art class, still hangs on my tree. Along with our Christmas tree, decorations from my childhood adorn our home. With each one the thought of Christmases past tugs at my heart.

Imagine a young woman who an angel declared pregnant by God, traveling to another town at nine months pregnant, and giving birth to the King of Kings in a stable. Instead of being terrified or embarrassed, she treasured and embraced her experience. As a mom and a person who cherishes sweet memories, I love reading that Mary treasured and pondered what happened in her heart.

I’m sure those memories helped carry her through the death and resurrection of her Son.

Even as I contemplate the memories attached to my tree, I cherish the nativity ornaments that tell the story of the Savior come to earth as a babe.

Jesus brought hope to a dark world. Even as we navigate the chaos, hold on to the hope and tuck it into your heart.