MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Make sure and read all the way to the bottom ~
for a message you won’t want to miss.
The wooden manger sat in the front of our church. During worship we quietly wrote our concerns on pieces of hay (yellow paper) and delivered them to the manger, to Jesus who says, “my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” The symbolic gesture reminded, the overwhelmings quieted even in the midst of another 2016 hard.
A few weeks ago a dad and two of his kids met Jesus face-to-face when their small plane went down in Alaska on their way to a volleyball tournament. Although I don’t know this family personally, he was the cousin of one of our friends. I hurt with their family. Will they experience the peace Jesus came to bring this Christmas?
Christmas, the season of joy, hope, peace on earth … and not isolated from hards.
“I have said these thing to you, that in me you may have peace.
In the world you will have tribulation.
But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33
Peace resides in the DNA of Jesus, the gift of Christmas, the one who overcomes.
“For he himself is our peace …”
Ephesians 2:14
My Christmas prayer for you …
Father, this Christmas week, my friends who have walked the reality of hard hards this year are much in my thinking; their faces and their realities parade through my mind, their names written on pieces of hay, a reminder to pray. I ask for each that thy would experience the peace that emanates from you, Prince of Peace. Peace I cannot fathom apart from you. Father in your overflowing grace, I ask for them, I ask for us all …
That your peace that defies explanation, will be our reality.
That your peace that is the blessing of your presence, will be our reality.
That your peace that comes from a mind stayed on you, will be our reality.
That your peace we are invited to experience, will be our reality.
That your peace promised the righteous, will be our reality.
That you, Prince of Peace, born in a manger, will transform our hard realities.
Amen.
Please enjoy this Christmas Blessing, thank you to Keith and Kristyn Getty.
My Gift for you …
I’m thrilled to partner with Sally Breedlove, my friend and author of Choosing Rest to offer you a lovely printable and a very generous excerpt from her book. Possibly the best advice you will receive heading into 2017. To receive this gift, make sure you are signed into the Echoes of Grace community. On the top right is your invitation to join with your name and email address. I will be sending your gift out between Christmas and New Years. You won’t want to miss out AND yes, you are welcome to share this with your friends.
Next week, one of my good friends is sharing her story of meeting the Prince of Peace in the midst of her reality.