Grace Women: Home for the Holidays
Abiding in Christ, even now 🎄
If you haven’t already saved your spot for our Christmas gathering — there’s still time! It’s going to be a beautiful evening of encouragement and worship (and we have some really sweet freebies for every lady who attends). Come join us on December 2nd!
As we move into Thanksgiving week and the frenzy of December, we wanted to offer some encouragement for your holidays. One of the ways we measure where we are truly abiding is by examining our emotional resilience and attitude. If we feel harried, rushed, constantly aggravated, or always on edge….chances are good that we have made our home in something other than the Father’s lovingkindness for us.
The fruit of a woman making her home in Christ is an otherworldly hope and steadiness, even when work parties, dance recitals, and family gatherings crowd onto the calendars. Abiding in Christ doesn’t mean we’re never frazzled — our bodies do live in this human world, after all! — but it does mean that there is a place of inner certainty, a deep sense of God’s presence and provision in all things, even in the hustle and bustle.
If it feels like an impossible thing — a pipe dream, to live deeply rooted in God’s love during this season — let’s get your creative juices flowing with these ideas:
create (or ask a friend to help you create) a playlist of uplifting Christmas worship that plays in the background of your commute or meal prep
choose a Bible verse or passage that reminds you of God’s truth (Psalm 36:5, Isaiah 54:10, or John 15:9, perhaps?) and write or draw it out for the fridge or bathroom mirror — read it, mediate on it, or even memorize it
before adding something to your calendar (or walking out the door to an event), take a ten second pause and invite God’s loving presence into the moment: God, you know my heart, my needs, our family’s rhythms…help me to remember Your love for us and to rest in that love even now.
move your body: get into the sunshine, take a stroll around the block, stretch your muscles — ask God to be glorified as you care for your body, so that He might use your rooted-in-Christ-ness to display His love to others [verse]
If these don’t hit the mark for you, perhaps they can be a starting point towards setting forth your OWN ideas for how you can remain in the love of God.
If you’re looking for Advent devotions, may we recommend…
This year the season of Advent begins on December 1— how convenient! If you’re unfamiliar with the historical Christian tradition of Advent, you can brush up on the history of it here. Last year we produced four podcast conversations on the themes of Advent — if you didn’t follow along with us last year, you might choose to give those a listen this year! We also offer the following, if you are someone who enjoys having a guided approach to Bible study times:
We hope that the gratitude spurred on by Thanksgiving week will extend far into the busyness of the Christmas holidays.
We hope you find time and make space for embracing the real joy of the season — Emmanuel, God with us.
We hope that by the Holy Spirit’s power, you stay rooted to the deep love of Christ Jesus for you this season.
Very important post-script:
