Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Celebrating the One who sees

Whether you're a mother or not, there are some sweet truths in this video. When Hagar encountered God as she sat by a spring in the desert after fleeing Sarai, she identified Him as El Roi - the God who sees. (See Genesis 16 for the full story.) Nothing we do is invisible to Christ!



(By the way, I'm one of those who HATES watching videos on the computer. I'm not sure why, but it's just not my thing. However, please trust me when I say that this one is worth the five minutes and forty-seven seconds.)

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Spring roller coaster...

Where we live, the temperatures have taken us on a roller coaster ride. One day it's nearly 80 and the next, we're pulling out jackets to try to keep from freezing. Evening temperatures dip into the frost range and daytime highs struggle to break into the 50's.

And then there are the winds and the rains. The tornado watches and the severe thunderstorm warnings. Hot and cold, it seems, do no coexist very peacefully.

When you think of it, God's Word lets us know hot and cold mixed together isn't a good thing, either. Remember the admonition to the church at Laodicea in Revelation 3?

14 "To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth.


For the longest time I thought hot or cold meant either on fire for the Lord or lost. But when I was in a Bible study on Revelation a couple of years ago, there was another explanation. If the people were cold, they would be like the proverbial drink of cold water... refreshing. If they were hot, they would be like therapeutic hot springs, bringing healing. But they were neither. Just lukewarm. Bleh!

What about you? As you celebrate Spring and go about your daily life, are you a cool refreshing moment in someone's day? Or are you a hot friend who leaves others able to move through life with less pain? Or are you neither?

Spend a little time asking the Lord to make you what you need to be today for His glory.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Keeping Easter in Our Hearts

As the grass turns greener, the skies turn bluer and sunnier, and the pretty tree in our front yard bursts into its full purpleness I am reminded of what Easter means and am stunned and thankful once again at the majesty of my Risen Lord. The birds are singing their hearts out in our cul-de-sac and I am minded of the verses in Luke 19:35-40:

They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. 37When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
38"Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!"
"Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"
39Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!"
40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out."

How appropriate, considering that this past Sunday was Palm Sunday.

To me, Christmas and Easter have always been inseparable. One makes no sense without the other. As I read the story of the crucifixion in Luke and think about the triumphal entry and the subsequent events of the week, I have to look back at the beginning of the book of Luke and remember how the whole story starts: with God becoming a baby. I look at my sweet 5 month old daughter and am humbled by the sacrifice that God made on my behalf. To send His only Son to die for the very ones who hated Him - what a thought! And how for granted I take that sacrifice on a daily basis. She is so helpless, so totally dependent upon us adults for her every need... and THAT is what God became. He came to earth as a baby. Clothed himself in the frailest of human flesh. Could not feed himself, could not walk or talk or communicate in any way. Jesus wasn't born able to look around and say, "Hey Mom, wow... why are we in a barn? Couldn't you have told the inn-keeper that it was an emergency?" He was born and he cried and he slept a lot - that's what babies do. And God the Father sent this precious, tiny bundle to the world knowing that His Son would ultimately be killed in order to save the world. How completely selfless and awe-inspiring. As I look into my daughter's sleeping face, or smile at her and delight in seeing her smile back real big, I know deep in my heart that I would die for her if necessary. It would be easy. I wouldn't think twice. But to let her die for someone else? I would kick and scream and do everything in my power to prevent it, to keep her safe. Funny how I've never thought about that part of Christ's sacrifice before, never understood that it was important. It wasn't just Christ who made a sacrifice, God the Father also made a sacrifice, one that must have torn His heart in two, and all because He loved us THAT much. John 3:16, the most memorized verse of the Bible, the verse I have known longer than any other, and yet this year it has come alive again to me in a way I never thought about before.

"For God so LOVED the world that He GAVE his ONLY begotten Son, that whosever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

What an amazing thing.

And what hope! Here is the part I love the most about Easter Sunday: we serve a RISEN LORD. Death could not hold Him, sin could not defeat Him, the tomb could not keep Him, our enemy - in what he must have believed was his moment of triumph - was defeated once and for all and forever because God could not, would not, and did not stay in the grave. And because of that - the grave itself holds no fear for those of us who believe. Death itself cannot deafeat or hold us because of Christ's victory over it. "Hallelujah, what a Savior!"

And so - what fear should grip me? In the face of knowing that by His victory I also have victory over death, what else should cause me to tremble? The economy? Politics? Money? Whether or not my husband will have a job tomorrow? Not feeling like I have enough time to get everything done? The muffler falling off one car and then popping a hole in the tire of another car in the same week? I am not saying that these concerns are not valid, but knowing that I serve the One who defeated death itself can I not believe He can overcome these things as well? Do I choose only to believe parts of what He said? Can I believe that he conquered the grave and not believe that He will do as he promises in Matthew 6:25-34?

25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

What a box I often place God in! That is why I love Easter so much - it reminds me that God sprang out of every box, opened every door, defeated every enemy. It reminds me of His power, His majesty, and that in taking care of the big things, He is also a God who cares about the little things, the everyday things. What a comfort. What a blessing. What a promise to hold onto, not just this coming Sunday, but all year long. It is said that we should keep Christmas in our hearts all year long - but what about Easter? This year, I would love to hold on to Easter all year long. How about you, dear reader?

What is your favorite thing about Easter?

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

New Life...

Can you think of a time more bursting with new life than Spring? I can't -- especially this year.

I have several friends who have either just had babies (and by "just" I mean this week) or are imminently expecting the arrival of a little one. I don't see how anyone can look at a newborn without breaking out in worship. Only God can create and sustain life. He is, after all, the Creator and Sustainer of all things. Grab a Bible and flip to Revelation 4:11. I dare you to memorize it and meditate on it over the next week.

Somehow we get the idea that we have a hand in the creation thing. True, there are certain acts that perpetuate God's creation for which we have to be present, but don't think for one moment that one single life gets created apart from God's divine purposes and plans.

I didn't always think that way. When we first started trying to have a family of our own, I thought making babies was the easiest, most guaranteed thing in the world. After a year of trying, we realized... hummm... we're doing everything we're supposed to do, but hummm... no baby.

Infertility is a bear. If you have been through it or are in the midst of it, you know exactly what I'm talking about. It's heartbreaking to want something so badly, following all the steps - tests, timing, trying, testing, tears, treatments, tests, timing, trying, tests, tears, treatments... Depending on God's plan, it can go on and on and on. Then people starts to look at you "that way" and you feel awkward for making them feel awkward. And you want to be so content and so full of faith that it doesn't matter on the timing of when you have a baby or even if you ever have a baby, but your heart hurts so much you ache all over. Yep. I've been there.

I learned many things during our season of infertility. Probably the biggest lesson I learned was that God alone is the Giver of life. We pretty much exhausted what humans have been able to figure out about infertility. Nothing we could do, nothing the doctors could do made a baby for us until God's timing was fulfilled on that one. I am fully convinced that not one single human being is here by accident. That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. No... considering the odds of any humans being here at all, there is only one explanation for every baby who is ever born: God, Creator and Sustainer, ordained it. What a blessing we receive when we welcome the lives He creates.

...All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
~Psalm 139:16

I pray you'll take a few minutes to read over Revelation 4 and Psalm 139, and spend a little time worshiping the One Who sent His only Son so that we can celebrate life for all eternity.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Resurrection Eggs...





One of the sweetest craft projects any of my kids has ever made came home with my daughter in first grade. They made a set of Resurrection Eggs. I sent in an empty cardboard egg carton and a dozen plastic eggs. What came home was a treasure.

If you don't have your own set of Resurrection Eggs, consider making one. I know you can buy them in any Christian (or even many secular) bookstore, but there's something special about making them yourself.

Here are three neat websites with instructions for making Resurrection Eggs:








Have a blessed Easter season!!!

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Wondrous new life

The picture below didn't come out very clearly since I had to take it from inside through a (admittedly dirty) window and screen, but it is our momma dove (whose tail you can see sticking up on the right) camped out in her nest, also known as my hanging basket! Her eggs recently hatched and I think she and her little ones have moved out to another nest, probably because she wasn’t expecting to have her quiet home disturbed a few times a day by our family going in and out the door a couple feet from her home! I was sad to see her go because it was truly glorious to watch new life emerge just outside our front door.




It gave me a daily reminder to praise God for being the author and creator of all life. I’ve had a lot of those reminders lately: not one but two births in my circle of friends this month, the blooming daffodils in my backyard (that sadly died with the snow!), the white blossoms adorning our Bradford pear tree (which my daughter mistook for snow when she first saw them!) in our front yard, the new skin that’s regenerating where my recent staph infection was on my leg, and the little boy kicking inside me who we should be blessed to meet in less than a month! So much new life to celebrate!




As spring officially begins later this week, I encourage you to look for the new life that God is creating around you and use it as a reminder to praise Him! And, of course, the new life that I’m most thankful for is that which He created inside me when I became His child and the promise held for me in His resurrection that we will be celebrating on April 10th this year.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! ~2 Corinthians 5:17

We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. ~Romans 6:4-5

(If this “new life” thing seems strange or foreign to you, my friend, please email us at CelebratingChristmas@gmail.com. We would love to explain it in more detail and share with you about the new life God has created in our hearts and lives!)

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Celebrating Lent!

Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. –Psalm 73:25-26

When Lent officially began a couple weeks ago, it might have passed without much notice on your part or you might have been at church getting ashes placed on your forehead, depending on your church and denomination. The church season of Lent, leading from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday, the Saturday before Easter, is meant to be a season of preparation for Easter. Whether you typically celebrate Lent or not, it is wise for each of us as believers to prepare our hearts to celebrate Christ and His resurrection at Easter and every day.

Traditionally, the 40 days of Lent represent the 40 days during which Jesus was in the wilderness and tempted by Satan, found in Mark 1, Matthew 4, and Luke 4. During that time, Jesus fasted, which is why it’s common to give something up, or fast from something, during Lent. Earlier this week I read an article in the paper about the recent popularity of people giving up technology in various forms, such as Facebook, ipods, or even email, during Lent. While I usually think of fasting as going without food, as Jesus did in the passages listed above, the true purpose of the practice is to take our focus off earthly things (like food or Facebook) and to instead focus on God.

So what is your focus right now? In other words, can you truly and honestly repeat the words of the psalmist above: “And earth has nothing I desire besides Christ.” If you can’t, why not? Is there something you ought to fast from?

Here’s an example. About a year ago, I found myself saying one thing with my mouth but doing something else with my actions. I said I wanted to start the day in God’s Word and in prayer. I often started the day with the newspaper instead. You see, I’m a newspaper junkie. I don’t feel like my day is complete until I’ve read the paper from cover to cover. This habit started when I was 11 (yes, I was a nerd!). There’s nothing wrong with reading the paper daily … but my actions were conflicting with my intentions and in essence saying, “And earth has nothing I desire besides Christ … and my daily dose of the news.” Now I hold myself accountable to spending time reading Scripture and talking to God before I take the paper out of its blue rubber band or plastic covering. While this isn't a true fast since I still read my paper daily, it is a shift in focus from the earthly (my newspaper) to the eternal (God and His Word), so it holds true to the purpose of fasting.

In John 3:30, after John’s followers have called it to his attention that this Jesus guy is stealing away some of his disciples, John says, “He must increase; I must decrease.” During this season of Lent (and during every season of your life), pray for God to show you what it is that you desire besides Him and ask Him to reveal any area of fasting that might benefit you, so that by changing your desires and actions you can decrease and He can increase. I pray that Christ and His resurrection will be truly magnified in your life during this Lenten season and beyond!

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Contentment...

When I woke up Monday morning, this was the view out my front door:



And this was the view out back:


It was a Winter Wonderland, for certain. What beauty! Of course, being in the South in March and having already gotten a warm spell of weather in the 70's, the snow was quite a surprise. Having been at a pretty huge deficit for wintry precipitation for the past few years, we'd pretty much written off the season and set our sights on spring. Although a nice break from the routine of school and work was welcome, this snowfall met with a bit more ambivalence that the last.

Spring had started. Instead of shoveling sidewalks, our neighbors busily beat the snow off the tender growth on their hedge. While people contemplated putting sheets over the the daffodils that were already blooming, most realized that the blanket of warmth would turn into a literal blanket of snow, crushing the blossoming flowers. There was a grumbly undertone to this snowfall, diminished only by the forecast of 70's returning by the end of the week.

Our
last snowfall was a blast. I ran out and played in the snow with my kids. We went sledding and had snowball fights. We took pictures and built snowmen. But this time, guess what I did? I cleaned the house and did laundry. It just wasn't the same.

I started thinking about it and realized that my enjoying Abundant Life often rests on the events of life going as planned, according to each season. Paul's words in Philippians 4 came to mind: "...for I have learned in whatever situation I am in to be content" (v. 11). Learned to be content. There's a blessing to resting right where the Lord has put you. Have you ever noticed that kids love snow no matter when it comes? It doesn't matter if it stops school or work or creates all sorts of delays completing a "To Do" list. If there's snow, they want to be in it, enjoying it for all it's worth... at least around here where we don't have a whole lot of snow.

So take a minute to reflect on your unexpected "snowfall." What's in your season that you didn't see coming? How is the Lord using it to make you slow down and appreciate Him? How is He growing your faith? How is He reaching out to you to cultivate the very intimate relationship He longs to share with His beautiful child? Where is your place of rest... in your circumstances or in your Father? In what areas of your life are you content? In what areas do you lack contentment? Is there anywhere contentment has grown into complacency?

We're still in the season of Lent... the time that we examine our hearts in light of God's Word and ask Him to reveal the dark places and come in and make them clean and bright. What a beautiful moment it is to realize that we're always living in a season of grace.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Ash Wednesday...

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion-- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. ~Isaiah 61:1-3

Today we are celebrating Ash Wednesday, the traditional beginning of the season of Lent. It's a day of repentance, of turning away from our sinful ways and turning towards the holiness of our Lord.

I've always thought it odd that Mardi Gras is such a huge holiday. The last day to indulge in sinful behaviors before entering a season of consciously avoiding sin is nothing more than an attempt to hold onto those things we'd prefer to be doing instead of pursuing what we sometimes look at as the restrictive ways of our Lord. Ironic.

You see, the things that people often choose to pursue in advance of Lent are those things that enslave us. Think about the billions and billions of dollars spent each year battling things like over-eating, alcoholism, sex addiction, out-of-control gambling, and drug addiction. And yet on the day before Ash Wednesday, millions celebrate the very things that are destroying their lives. There's something hopelessly fallen about that.

So I love Ash Wednesday because it is the first day of our celebration of freedom. It's the day that we begin to identify our captors, and facing them one by one, we turn and walk away. It's that simple. Sin is defeated. It holds no power over us anymore. We are in Christ. We have but one job to do; we have to turn around. We have to abandon the old things that destroy our lives and, by the power of the Holy Spirit working in us, we run in hot pursuit of the One Who gave Himself as a ransom for our sin.

What a time of joy! We've been delivered from the darkness. He's given us beauty ... His beauty ... for the ashes in our lives.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Love, Love, Love!!!

We are fresh out of celebrating Valentine's Day... the holiday of LOVE...

While we're out of the height of ooey-gooey, lovey-dovey stuff, it's a great time to ponder true love... the love our Savior has for us.

I Corinthians 13 is the gold standard in Scripture for defining love. I don't know the actual stats, but if I had to guess, I'd imagine that it is likely the most quoted Bible passage in weddings. Even weddings of non-believers. For some reason we just love to hear the definition of perfect ... love!

So let's take a minute to look at the "Love is..." section of that chapter:

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails.

Now let's do a little exercise with these verses. I wish I could take credit for this myself, but a speaker came to our church a while back and I'm just sharing the exercise he gave to us.

Read the passage aloud. Go ahead. Don't be embarrassed.

Now... everywhere you see "love" or the pronoun "it" referring to "love," substitute "Jesus." Read it aloud again that way.

4 Jesus is patient. Jesus is kind. Jesus does not envy, Jesus does not boast, Jesus is not proud.
5Jesus is not rude, Jesus is not self-seeking, Jesus is not easily angered, Jesus keeps no record of wrongs.
6 Jesus does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.
7 Jesus always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Jesus never fails.

Isn't is awesome that our Lord IS the standard of love. Makes sense, you know. I John 4:8 tells us that "...God is love."

Now let's do another little exercise. Re-read the passage again, only this time, put YOUR NAME where you said Jesus' name before:

4 _____ is patient. _____ is kind. _____ does not envy, _____ does not boast, _____ is not proud.
5_____ is not rude, _____is not self-seeking, _____is not easily angered, _____keeps no record of wrongs.
6_____ does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.
7_____ always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8_____ never fails.

How'd that go for you? Did what you read accurately reflect your character? Yes? No?

I have to admit, I might manifest one or two of the wonderful characteristics of love, but I make a woefully low score on this love test. It's enough to make a girl really sad.

But then I realize that Jesus went to the cross ... out of love ... for me. And when He went there, paying for my sin with his life and then rising from the dead, defeating sin and death forever, He gave me His righteous robe to wear. Now THAT is LOVE!

Take a minute to praise God for His love and to ask Him to transform your "love life" so that you shine with the love of His precious Son.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Celebrating EVERY holiday

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Philippians 4:4 (NIV)

Many seasons come our way that we would rather not celebrate: when a job is lost … when friends or family members aren't getting along … when the news from the doctor isn't what we'd like to hear … when _________ (you fill in the blank). We will (and did with the Celebrating Christmas! blog) rejoice in holidays like Christmas and others, but what about those holiday seasons that aren't so happy?

Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23 (NIV)

Every morning we can trust in the Lord's love, compassion, and faithfulness. Because His faithfulness is great, every day is a holy day or, in abbreviated form, a holiday.

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28 (NRSV)

As I write this, awake in pain at 4:26 am, I am not in the middle of what most would consider to be a season worth celebrating. In the past couple of years, I've gone from being a healthy gal to having two chronic diseases that can bring about other complications, including the staph infection I currently am fighting. But, as I write this, awake in pain at 4:26 am, I am celebrating the One who works in all my circumstances to bring about my good.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV)

I'm not God, so I'm not going to try to take a stab at what His purpose is for me in this. I've seen glimmers of it here and there, and I trust He'll reveal more and more in His time. I don't know, either, what His purpose is for you in your not-so-celebratory seasons. I'm simply comforted knowing that God's ways and thoughts exceed mine. My two-year-old daughter didn't fully grasp Christmas this year, but she still celebrated. I won't always be able to grasp God's ways in my circumstances, but I can still celebrate the One who is in control of them.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10 (NIV)

The verse that we kicked off this blog with is so rich. The final phrase differs by translation: have it to the full (NIV); have it abundantly (NASB); have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of (MSG); have it in abundance, to the full, till it overflows (AMP); have it more abundantly (KJV). It doesn't say, "have it to the full when times are good." It doesn't say, "more abundantly by the world's standards." It doesn't say, "till it overflows with what we think it ought to overflow with."

We don't get to define what full life is; that's God's job, and I am so thankful for that. Nothing is better than what Christ has for us. To experience that real life, more and better life than I ever dreamed of, I've learned that I have to experience some seasons that look or feel more like "less and worse" than "more and better." But Christ is alive and working in those seasons too, in ways that are higher than mine and that He promises are for my good … which makes this, too, a season for rejoicing. A holiday worth celebrating!

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

God is The Creator!

Celebrate means, according to Merriam-Webster, "to mark by festivities or other deviation from routine."

Celebrate His Creation!

Whatever the day brings, see His work and His blessing in it. Deviate from your routine and mark it with festivities.
































Sunday, February 1, 2009

Welcome to Celebrate!


We are thrilled that you found us! What a blessing to have blog buddies here in cyberspace. If you are an old friend from Celebrating Christmas, we are excited you'll be joining us here.

Like Celebrating Christmas, Celebrate! will focus on living life to the fullest in Christ. After all, Jesus Himself said, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." (John 10:10)

Abundant life... perissos (in Greek). You've gotta love the definition:


-exceeding some number or measure or rank or need

-over and above, more than is necessary, superadded

-exceeding abundantly, supremely

-something further, more, much more than all, more plainly

-superior, extraordinary, surpassing, uncommon pre-eminence, superiority, advantage, more eminent, more remarkable, more excellent


Jesus is the opposite ... EXTREME opposite... ABSOLUTE opposite... of what the world has to offer! The thief, and mind you thieves can take many forms -- worry, fear, doubt, anger, envy, etc., comes to steal to kill and to destroy. But Jesus ... He brings more life than you've ever dreamed!

So as we kick off this new little blog, we hope that you will find Jesus and the abundant life HE gives in the everydayness of life.

We will be posting once a week. Some weeks we may post a little more. We will look at holidays and holy-days throughout the year, focusing on keeping Christ the center of ... well ... LIFE! When the Christmas season rolls around this year, Celebrating Christmas plans to return to daily posts.

If you have ideas, please share! We would LOVE to hear from you. We have a team of writers to get things started. If you'd like to join the writing team or share photos, shoot us an email: CelebratingChristmas@gmail.com. We'll be in touch. Remember that we LOVE to hear comments from you. There's something supernatural in the way women who love Jesus encourage one another when they share.

We'll be posting on Wednesdays. Yes, we know today isn't Wednesday. But we promised you on Celebrating Christmas that we'd start sharing the year-round version of the blog on February 1st. And here we are! And here you are! And we are so happy to be sharing Jesus with you once again.

Check back on Wednesday for a sweet post from our friend Karen, as she challenges us to focus on God the Creator during this beautiful winter season.