I know the story. I know it so well that it’s in danger of losing its wonder. My busyness commemorating the holiday season combined with the cares of this world rub the shine off the narrative. If I am not careful, the opening lines of the biblical account will stir little more than the warm and fuzzy feelings of a fairy tale. I’m so consumed by the cares of this world that I’m missing the miracle of the season. And I’m not alone.
How many people missed the ancient star declaring the first coming of our Saviour? How many failed to understand and let their daily troubles steal their attention and time? How many are like me, so focused on the issue in front of me that I fail to look up?
As angels prepared Mary and Joseph for the unbelievable events about to unfold, as the heavens announced Christ’s arrival and led wise men to worship Him, the rest of the world carried on as usual. They travelled, made dinner, and fulfilled their daily obligations, not hearing the cosmic announcement that followed 400 hundred years of heavenly silence. It came when no one expected it, and no one was looking for it.
Another cosmic announcement will come. It will come when no expects. It will come when no one is looking up to see the signs in the sun, moon, and stars (Luke 21:25). We’ll be travelling, making dinner, and fulfilling our obligations when the heavens will shout of another monumental arrival. It will bring not a baby’s cry but a nation’s wail (v25-26).
The natural disasters and fearsome circumstances that unfold as a prelude sound an awful lot like creation’s present-day groaning. Distress and anxiety abound as people, families, and entire communities fear what might be coming next. But Jesus says, “Straighten up, raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28).
Redemption. Such a sweet word for a weary world. A gift for my exhausted soul. There is hope in the hardship because that is the message of Christmas. Christ came for the broken and weary. Christ not only came; He is coming back.
Jesus goes on to command his followers in Luke 21:34-35 to “watch themselves” because if they don’t, his return will surprise them. Jesus warns them of the troubles that can weigh down a heart and explains the dangerous consequences of failing to watch. Dissipation (i.e. overindulgence) and drunkenness are distractions to remaining watchful. In many cases indulging in the first causes the second. But Jesus also references the cares of this life as a distraction. When the trouble surrounding us, the uncertainties and anxieties, and our daily responsibilities consume us, we risk missing the signs that redemption draws near. We miss the signs of hope and only see the evil.
When evil steals all the security this world has to offer, and the best doctor has no hope, when the bank account is empty, when the illness is fatal, or the accident is life-changing, look up. Fix your gaze on the Light—set on the unchanging security found in a right relationship with God. When Christ entered our world, He scattered the darkness, making the night is as bright as the day because He is the light. He holds us. His right hand guides us. When the cares of this world press in, lift your heads and fix your gaze upon Him.
Glorious Surrender, 2nd ed
Glorious Surrender includes five mini-studies to aid you in looking up to watch and be ready for Christ’s return. Our redemption draws near!
Jesus says to straighten up, raise your head, and watch. Another command arrives in Luke 21:36, “stay awake at all times, praying for the strength to escape what will take place and to stand before the Son of Man.” Praying for God to once again provide a way through the chaos and turmoil coming our way.
God provided an escape from our soul-crushing brokenness that first Christmas morn. The angels proclaimed that salvation had come. The flesh-wrapped Deity bore the brokenness suffocating you and me, and He will come again to piece us back together with His perfection. He doesn’t always change our circumstances. The prophecy is clear. Trouble is coming for all the earth. But Christ always changes us. Christ has come, and Christ will come again.
What cares are weighing you down? What wearies your heart? Straighten up and raise your head. Your redemption draws near.
In Erin’s new release, Eight Cats of Christmas, the male protagonist faces a situation where he earnestly seeks God’s guidance regarding his career path. He’s willing to wait however long it takes to get a clear answer.
When he arrives at his office the next morning, events unfold right in front of him, so unexpected and so stunningly clear, there is no doubt in his mind that this is God’s answer. Best of all, he realizes the series of events had been put in motion days or perhaps weeks earlier—before he ever prayed the prayer.
God promises in Isaiah 65:24, “And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear” (KJV). The New Living Translation says it this way: “I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers!”
I love when I can draw on my own experiences from my walk with Christ and weave them into my books. The most vivid example of this happened about four years ago. I became aware of an opportunity to attend a Christian conference, and the registration deadline was in two days. It was something I thought would really benefit me, but it was January, and I didn’t have the entrance fee (you know, Christmas shopping and all that). I tried everything I could to figure out a way to scrape together the money, but it just wouldn’t be possible in two days. I wasn’t expecting a windfall from overtime I’d worked or anything of that nature. I couldn’t even come up with anything to sell online. Total zero.
So, I prayed. I told God that if this conference was in His plan for me, He would need to provide the entrance fee. I prayed this prayer at my desk mid-morning.
When I arrived home from work, I went to the mailbox (you know what’s coming, don’t you?) and pulled out an envelope. It was a refund check from the insurance on my daughter’s car that we had sold about three months earlier. If I’d ever known we were due a refund, I had completely forgotten about it. The check had been mailed three days ago and processed three days before that.
And it was exactly the amount of the conference registration, with four dollars left over.
I imagined the joy on my Father’s face as He watched me walk to the mailbox, take out the envelope, and open it. He may have even been laughing and saying to Himself, “Daughter, when you prayed that prayer in faith, I had already answered it!”
Since 2014, Erin Stevenson has been writing faith-based romance novels for Pelican Book Group and Winged Publications. She is a member of ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers), where she has served as a judge and was a 2021 Carol Award finalist.
Erin grounds her stories in reality and crafts characters who encounter events and hardships familiar to all of us. Her inspirational writing will take the reader down paths of both joy and pain, but always highlighting God’s faithfulness.
When she’s not writing or reading, she enjoys spending time with her children and grandchildren and playing in the garden at her home in central Iowa—which mainly equates to pulling weeds. Her secret indulgence is plain M&Ms.
Weary. That single word captures the last two years. Losses piled upon losses as creation claws its way out of a worldwide event that has left many of us weary right down to the bones.
It’s with worn and troubled hearts that we enter the holiday season. We are exhausted souls. We are determined to celebrate amid desperate circumstances, believing there’s peace in the hardship because that is the message of Christmas. Christ comes for the broken and weary.
That’s why the books in the Mistletoe Meadows Anthology tackle deep themes of what it means to offer sacrifices of praise to the God who gives and takes away. The stories stir all of the warm and fuzzy holiday feelings we love but also dig into the issues pressing the air from our lungs—issues about survival, hardship, and suffering while not growing weary of doing good (Gal 6:9). These stories are not about making the hard seem jolly and bright. They are about a victory secured on our behalf, hope in the hardship, and joy in the suffering.
It’s my prayer that the Mistletoe Meadows Anthology will lead us to rejoice because God made a way through our soul-crushing brokenness. Christmas proves that God knows about our greatest need. Christmas makes a way out from under the heap of wrath poured onto all sinners. Christmas is our way through.
God rips open the heavens, and the angels proclaim that salvation has come. The flesh-wrapped Deity bears the brokenness suffocating you and me. He pieces us back together with His perfection. He doesn’t always change our circumstances, but He always changes us. Christ has come, and He invites us to follow Him from the manger all the way to the cross—where a weary world can finally lay its burden down.
Jody Day comes to us from the United States on the American Thanksgiving. Canadians celebrated last month, but it is always good to declare “I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (Psalm 27:13). Welcome, Jody!
Take Every Thought Captive
It had to be done. Both knees no longer have any cartilage at all, and knee injections just weren’t cutting it. The idea of total knee replacement lingered on the table while I prayed and sought counsel. I’d do it! Thus began the process of getting lined up with a surgeon and a host of other preparatory things that had to be done.
Expect the Unexpected
Something unexpected happened that I wasn’t quite prepared for. My thoughts began to take a devastating path. I knew it was not from the Lord, but nevertheless, the thoughts persisted.
You’ll never wake up. This is the last time you see your grandchildren, your husband, on and on.
Every thought was laced with fear. I wasn’t afraid of the surgery, I was afraid I’d not make it. I was even afraid to tell anyone the attack my mind was under.
I knew how to fight it! I replaced those thoughts immediately with God’s Word. I just couldn’t believe how persistent and permeating the battle became. I know it was fueled by the current health crisis. I had lost several close friends to the virus, and more death and destruction came across our prayer chain every day. Literally, the last few moments before I went under anesthesia, I got word that another friend had gone to heaven. As I went into surgery, the peace that passes all understanding assured me that I was in God’s loving hands.
Mistletoe Misses
My new Christmas book, Mistletoe Misses (which I wrote even before the idea of knee replacement became a thing) actually speaks to this very issue. Risé, a nurse, is so consumed with the effects of the virus that she sees every day that she ceases to live. She stops spending time with her loved ones out of fear. She learns, along with her fiancé Evan, that God hasn’t changed. She learns that we must focus on His Word and His promises because we were born for such a time as this. We are not to live in fear. God hasn’t changed!
I personally learned the importance of fighting the enemy with God’s Word. It is our sure weapon against the onslaught of the enemy. I am so very motivated to hide more of His words in my heart to fight in those dark, wee, small hours of the night when the enemy starts lying to me.
Today, a few weeks out of surgery, I am thanking God that “I will WALK before the Lord in the land of the living” (Psalm 116:9). God has been all over the surgery and recovery. I’m still on the walker and going to therapy, by it’s going well. I have seen the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!
Jody Day writes inspirational fiction, devotionals, poetry, and Bible studies from her home in West Texas. She is the author of the Washout Express Series, and two Christmas Extravaganza novellas, Mistletoe Mix-Up and Mistletoe Misses from Pelican Book Group. She writes about her author journey and life in general on her blog. Her time is filled with the love of fifteen grandchildren, serving on the prayer team for her church, community theater, and her job at her town’s local library, which includes piano lessons and choir both at the library and at a Christian academy. She and her husband celebrate 36 years of marriage this year.
Before retirement, I worked as an elementary principal in a Christian school. My office sometimes had student visitors sent because of a behavioral transgression. On one occasion, a teacher brought a fifth-grade girl who was caught stealing from the school store. I can’t remember what trinket she pocketed, but I remember our conversation vividly. I asked her why she took the item, and her response was quite simple. She said, “I wanted it.”
What I told that student holds true for all of us. I told her that there will always be something to want. I proceeded to talk about integrity, coveting, and consequences but, years later, these are the two things that I remember.
I wanted it.
There will always be something to want.
Content in Every Situtation
Paul talked about learning to be content in every situation. It’s a scripture that we hear often, but let’s look at it closely. Paul says, “I have learned the secret …” NIV. The King James Version uses the word instructed.
Contentment is not a natural trait. In fact, our nature is to be discontent, even for Paul. He had to learn it, just as we do. Paul experienced plenty and want. Abundance can lead us to pride while being in need tends to bring humility.
We can guard against pride by embracing a heart of thanksgiving. It points us to the supremacy of Christ. Thanksgiving is a designated national holiday, but as Christians, we should make every day a day of thanksgiving. Starting our day with a prayer of thanks may be the secret Paul spoke of; the instruction leading to contentment.
I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:11-13 NIV
Kathleen Neely is a retired elementary principal, and enjoys time with family, visiting her two grandsons, traveling, and reading.
She is the author of The Street Singer, Beauty for Ashes, The Least of These,In Search of True North and Arms of Freedom. Kathleen won second place in a short story contest through ACFW-VA for her short story “The Missing Piece” and an honorable mention for her story “The Dance”. Both were published in a Christmas anthology. Her novel, The Least of These, was awarded first place in the 2015 Fresh Voices contest through Almost an Author. She has numerous devotions published through Christian Devotions.
Kathleen continues to speak to students about writing and publication processes. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers.
With each page of the age-old journals, Annie discovers all that unites her with a woman who once lived in her farmhouse. One lived with wealth and one with poverty, but both knew captivity. Both longed to be free.
Miriam yearns to escape her life as a super model. She drops the pseudonym and uses the name she gave up years ago—Annie Gentry. Then she alters her appearance and moves to rural South Carolina to care for her grandmother. Can she live a simple life without recognition? Can she hide a net worth valued in the millions? Love is nowhere in her plans until she meets a man who wants nothing more than Annie Gentry and the simple life he lives.
Charlotte lived in the same farmhouse in the tumultuous 1860’s. The Civil War was over, but for a bi-racial girl, freedom remained elusive. She coveted a life where she wouldn’t bring shame to her family. A life where she could make a difference. As she experiences hope, will it be wrested from her?
The journals stop abruptly with a climactic event, leaving Annie to search for information. What happened to Charlotte? Did her life make a difference? Did she ever find freedom?
When I began writing, I set the goal of securing a traditional publishing contract. I longed for the validation that such a contract would bring. For a while, that was enough.
Eventually, I set new goals. Could I write a second book and sell it? Could I write a series? Could I land an agent? Could writing become a profitable venture?
I read articles and attended workshops as I pursued these goals. One teacher suggested researching popular subgenres to gain insight into what people wanted to read. I dove into the subdivisions of my category of literature and found a plethora of high-paying opportunities, but their subject matter appalled me.
It is devastating as a writer to learn that God-honouring titles barely put food on the table while filth and scandal pay extremely well.
I grieved the sordidness of the world but then allowed Psalm 37 to remind me that the prosperity of the wicked is temporary, and nothing gained in this world is worth losing God. I will remain in step with God. I will fill my heart with His law. I will remind myself of truth, and ensure that my mouth and pen utter wisdom and justice.
Ponder:
Have you ever felt jealously for the prosperity of the wicked? How does Palm 37 address this attitude? What encouragement do you find here?
Pray:
Ask the Lord to strengthen your resolve to write words of wisdom and justice. Ask God to rekindle your passion to write for His glory and fame.
Then, ask the Lord to provide your heart’s desire regarding your writing career. Boldly approach the throne of grace with confidence. If we have not because we ask not, ask! Then resolve to accept and celebrate however God answers your request.
