There is a story in Luke 1 about Mary going to visit her cousin Elizabeth shortly after she is told by the angel Gabriel that she will give birth to Jesus. Elizabeth’s husband had been visited by this same angel many months before this, and he was told that his wife would conceive a son named John, who would “be great in the sight of the Lord” (Luke 1:13-17 NIV).

Elizabeth and her husband were very old, and they had never been able to have children before.  Upon Mary’s arrival at Elizabeth’s home, the Bible says:

^“When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her” (Luke 1:41-45).

After this Mary responded, “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.” (v. 46-48).

This passage speaks a couple of things to me: there is great joy to be found in Jesus, and we are blessed when believe that He is good. 

We all know that worrying and doubting is certainly not a joyous condition. I’m learning that when we choose to focus on God’s faithfulness and believe that He is the loving God He says is, joy is a natural result. Mary and Elizabeth knew this first hand. Their reactions to God promising to do something in their lives were not doubt and fear, but praise and expectation.

I love that the first thing the angel said to Mary when he appeared to her was, “Greetings, you who are highly favored!” (Luke 1:28) and that the last thing he said was, “For no word from God will ever fail” (v.38).

We, too, are highly favored and loved dearly as daughters of God, and we can trust Him when He says “in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28 NIV). He truly means it when He says He has “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV). We can trust God when we remember that He loves us beyond what we could ever understand and have faith that because He loves us so much, He wants to take care of us and to demonstrate His perfectly faithful character.

As we focus on the Lord this advent season and every day, I pray that He will reveal the joy that He offers us through faith in His goodness and His love for us. When we acknowledge that God is a good God who promises to lovingly take care of us, we are able to view things more light-heartedly, and our lives are blessed with joy.

“For the Lord God is a sun and shield;

the Lord bestows favor and honor;

no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.

O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you.” 

(Psalm 84:11-12 NIV)

Lo! He Comes, An Infant Stranger
Words by: Richard Mant

Lo! he comes, an infant stranger, of a lowly mother born,
Swathed and cradled in a manger, of his pristine glory shorn!
Hallelujah! hallelujah! hallelujah! Praise the incarnate Word of God!

Lo! he comes, by man unfriended, fain with stable-beast to rest;
Shepherds, who their night-fold tended, hailed alone the new-born guest.
Hallelujah! hallelujah! hallelujah! Praise ye Jesse’s tender rod!

Lo! he comes; but who the weakness of his coming may declare,
When, with more than human meekness, more than human woes he bare?
Hallelujah! hallelujah! hallelujah! Praise him, emptied of his might!

Lo! he comes, around him pouring all the armies of the sky;
Cherub-, seraph-host, adoring, swell his state and loudly cry:
Hallelujah! hallelujah! hallelujah! Praise ye him, the living Light!

Credit: Photo by Rachel K Duncan // http://www.rachelkduncan.com  // Instagram: @rachelkduncan

God is beautiful in every single way.

I’ve heard this all my life and I can remember being a small child singing in the children’s choir about how awesome God is. The God I sang about then may be the same God I worship now, but today I have a greater understanding of just how beautiful and magnificent He is.

He is perfect and yet in all His power, He is kind, gracious, and loving towards us. When I think of the goodness of who God is, it only makes me fall for Him a little bit more. While I may be in a season where I desperately long for more of Him, I know that my heart has not always been after God. See, the Lord our God knows every single thing about us, but yet, we are protected and favored. Despite our daily sins and inability to meet the mark of perfection, He doesn’t leave us. He stays near us. He lives within us.

Even when we are lost, it is only by His grace that we are able to find ourselves again.

It is only throughout Him that we can reach our full potential. Only His power is strong enough to turn a mistake into a testimony, a broken past to a ministry, and imperfection into a perfect mirror of redemption. He is just good, no question about it.

As we near the time of the year when we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, let us remember all that God has done. It is the perfect opportunity to sit and reflect on where we would be without Him. We ought to acknowledge and thank Him for every single display of His love and mercy we have experienced. While we may exchange gifts, let us not get so caught up in material things, but rather ensure that we truly celebrate the true gift of the season, the gift of salvation that Jesus gave us.

I believe that as our faith grows, God wants our perspective on who He is to evolve as well. It is my hope that as women of God, our relationship with our Savior would not become stagnant but always going to new heights. While distractions won’t ever be far away, let our desire to know Him overshadow our tendency to run from Him.

That little girl who sang in the choir didn’t yet grasp the wonders of God and I know with all my heart that I have yet to truly experience all of who God is. And so with each day, with each time we sit in His presence, and with each opportunity He reveals something new to us, let’s soak it all in. Let us learn to trust that He will always be our helper and redeemer.

It is is my hope that we wouldn’t forget how good He is when life tells us to believe otherwise. May we always hold on to the fact that God is good and perfect in all His ways for He is the King of Glory Himself.

Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates
Words by: Georg Weissel

Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates!
Behold, the King of Glory waits;
The King of kings is drawing near,
The Savior of the world is here.
Life and salvation He doth bring,
Wherefore rejoice and gladly sing:
We praise Thee, Father, now,
Creator, wise art Thou!

A Helper just He comes to thee,
His chariot is humility,1
His kingly crown is holiness,
His scepter, pity in distress,
The end of all our woe He brings;
Wherefore the earth is glad and sings:
We praise Thee, Savior, now,
Mighty in deed art Thou!

O blest the land, the city blest,
Where Christ the Ruler is confessed!
O happy hearts and happy homes
To whom this King in triumph comes!
The cloudless Sun of joy He is,
Who bringeth pure delight and bliss.
We praise Thee, Spirit, now,
Our Comforter art Thou!2

Fling wide the portals of your heart;
Make it a temple set apart
From earthly use for Heaven’s employ,
Adorned with prayer and love and joy.
So shall your Sovereign enter in
And new and nobler life begin.
To Thee, O God, be praise
For word and deed and grace!

Redeemer, come! I open wide
My heart to Thee; here, Lord, abide!
Let me Thy inner presence feel,
Thy grace and love in me reveal;
Thy Holy Spirit guide us on
Until our glorious goal is won!
Eternal praise and fame
We offer to Thy name!

Credit: Photo by Sarah Simon // Instagram: @themintgardener

One of the major themes of Advent is preparing for the celebration of the birth of Christ. Isaiah 40:3 paints a beautiful picture of this preparation when Isaiah prophesies about “A voice of one crying out: Prepare the way of the LORD in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert.”  In the New Testament, John the Baptists fulfills that prophecy.  This is what John Coffin is referring to in his Advent hymn “On Jordan’s bank, the Baptist’s Cry.”

On Jordan’s bank, the Baptist’s cry
Announces that the Lord is nigh;
Awake, and hearken, for he brings
Glad tidings of the King of kings!

Then cleansed be every breast from sin;
Make straight the way for God within;
Prepare we in our hearts a home
Where such a mighty Guest may come.

For Thou art our Salvation, Lord,
Our Refuge, and our great Reward.
Without Thy grace we waste away,
Like flowers that wither and decay.

To heal the sick stretch out Thine hand,
And bid the fallen sinner stand;
Shine forth, and let Thy light restore
Earth’s own true lovliness once more.

Stretch forth thine hand, to heal our sore,
And make us rise to fall no more;
Once more upon thy people shine,
And fill the world with love divine.

All praise, eternal Son, to Thee
Whose advent sets Thy people free,
Whom, with the Father, we adore,
And Holy Ghost, forevermore

Matthew 3:1-6

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near!” For he is the one spoken of through the prophet Isaiah, who said:

A voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

Prepare the way for the Lord;

make His paths straight.

John himself had a camel-hair garment with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then people from Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the vicinity of the Jordan were flocking to him, and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.

This passage of Scripture shows us several important facts about John the Baptist.  First, John was a man of simple means.  Second, John was on a mission to proclaim the Gospel.  Third, John was available for the people in the area to come to him.  We can adapt these findings into three simple phrases to keep in mind during Advent and prepare for celebrating Christmas:

No distractions.

Focus on what really matters.

Be present.

Looking inward to prepare our hearts to celebrate the arrival of Jesus, it’s vital that the busyness and consumerism of the season not distract us.  How can we “make straight the way for God within” and prepare our hearts, as the hymn says, when we get so caught up in something like Christmas shopping, for instance, that we forget the reason why we’re exchanging gifts in the first place?

Turing our attention outward, we can continue to prepare our hearts for Christmas Day by simply focusing on what really matters.  John, the “voice crying out it the wilderness” (Matthew 3:3), speaking with such urgency, illustrates that telling others about Christ is what matters most.  Thankfully, the Christmas season affords us special opportunities to share the love of Christ because evidence of His coming is all around us in the decorations, giving, and music.  From simply saying “Merry Christmas” to being generous with our time and our money, there are countless ways to share our faith in our words and actions.

Proper focus goes hand-in-hand with being present during this season.  Just as John was present and available for the people of Judea to come to him to hear the gospel and confess their sins (Matthew 3:5-6), we should be aware of the people around us and make time for them.  Christmastime is often when people are the most aware that their lives aren’t what they should be because they realize they don’t have what the season is supposed to be about – love, joy, and peace.  With Christmas just two weeks away, let’s not be in such a rush that we don’t take time be and give that love, joy, and peace that people need.

All too often, the details of our Christmas festivities, which usually start out with the best intentions, eclipse the real reason for our celebration.  If you’re like me and you look forward all year long to the perfect Christmas and something small goes wrong, it’s very easy to let negativity take over.  For example, the Christmas cookies might get burnt moments before guests arrive.  Someone’s long-searched-for gift might get lost in the mail.  Family members might argue.  Flights might get delayed…  The list goes on.

Yet none of these things are out of God’s control, nor do they deserve to be the center of our attention.  All of these “bad” circumstances are opportunities for funny memories, second chances, drawing closer, and new possibilities.  John the Baptist (who wore animal skin and foraged for food!) didn’t let any kind of personal preference, comfort, or consumerism overtake the matter at hand – proclaiming Christ – and neither should we.

If you are feeling overwhelmed by and unprepared for Christmas, embrace the Advent season, reread Coffin’s hymn, and turn these lyrics into a prayer for godly perspective, focus, and mission:

Make straight the way for God within;

Prepare we in our hearts a home

Where such a mighty Guest may come.

Credit: Calligraphy by Stephanie Ko // http://simplystephko.com // Instagram: @simplysteph

If you’re at all like me, you are entering the Christmas Panic Period (or at least that’s what I call it). The hustle of Christmas time has just got real. You’ve realized Christmas is 16 days away and panic is setting it. If you didn’t realize Christmas was only 16 days away until you read that sentence, I’m sorry. But welcome to the panic with me. You probably still have about 362 presents to buy, dinner to prepare and decorations in boxes in the garage (which, let’s be honest, are definitely not going up this year).

Panic. Anxiety. Stress.

These are not things Christmas is suppose to be about, but they are definitely realities of what Christmas has become. This advent season, I’m so happy we are going through old hymns and reflecting on the person of Christ. Remembering what He did by coming as a baby to save us. When I stop focusing on the stresses of the Christmas season, I find peace in who Jesus is.

One of my new favorite hymns is “When Came in Flesh the Incarnate Word.” The title says it all. It’s the evolving story of Jesus who came to earth to save us. The opening stanza is my favorite:

When came in flesh the incarnate Word,

The heedless world slept on,

And only simple shepherds heard

That God has sent His Son.

I do not really like to admit it, but often I fall into the “heedless world” category. I move through my day and my list of to-dos oblivious to the things God is doing, in the small and big, around me. I try to figure it all out on my own, when I was never meant to live that way. You were never meant to live that way, either.

We are called, instead, to be like the simple shepherds. They were ready to be used by God. They did not have big titles, fancy things. They had their sheep and were available. That’s all God is asking of us.

When we are available for Him to use, He will.

We can’t walk through life with blinders on. We need to live with eyes wide open, ready for God to use us.

This Christmas Panic Period I am certain is not just me. And most of the people who are panicking in America during this season do not know the saving grace of Jesus. They are heedless, which just means they are oblivious. They have yet to be told. What if you are the person who is suppose to tell them?

The heart of Jesus, the very reason we celebrate His birth, was to seek and save. In Luke 15 we find three stories of how much Jesus loves lost things and how desperate He is to find them. Maybe the person who needs saving is the single mom behind you at Target praying her card gets accepted for the few things she can provide her family this year. Maybe it’s your brother that you’ve been praying for years will finally come to find Jesus as Lord.

Be like the shepherds. Listen for God’s guiding and go tell the heedless world of His goodness, grace and forgiveness. This is the season of miracles.

When Came in Flesh The Incarnate Word
Words by: Joseph Anstice

When came in flesh the incarnate Word,
The heedless world slept on,
And only simple shepherds heard
That God had sent His Son.

When comes the Savior at the last,
From east to west shall shine
The awful pomp, and earth aghast
Shall tremble at the sign.

Then shall the pure of heart be blest;
As mild He comes to them,
As when upon the virgin’s breast
He lay at Bethlehem.

As mild to meek eyed love and faith,
Only more strong to save;
Strengthened by having bowed to death,
By having burst the grave.

Lord, who could dare see Thee descend
In state, unless he knew
Thou art the sorrowing sinner’s Friend,
The gracious and the true?

Dwell in our hearts, O Savior blest;
So shall Thine advent’s dawn
’Twixt us and Thee, our bosom Guest,
Be but the veil withdrawn.

Credit: Photo by Sarah Simon // Instagram: @themintgardener