Congratulations to Sarah M. from Wisconsin, the winner of the $10 Amazon gift card!
Christmas is my favorite holiday by far. Like many of you, I have cherished memories of family gatherings. I’ve spent many hours throughout the years creating handmade gifts for others and baking sweet treats with my mom. As adults, we can feel overwhelmed and stressed by the season for many reasons: financial difficulties, too many activities, family members who don’t get along…the list goes on and on. Joy seems elusive, but we can experience the joy of the season when we remember why we celebrate this season: Jesus.
This Christmas season, I’m joining The Kids Did It blog and The Mommy Island blog to participate in the Third Annual Winter Is Coming Giveaway Event, which runs from December 3, 2019, to December 21, 2019. The winner will receive a $10 Amazon gift card.
Enter through the Gleam form below for your chance to win!
One entrant will be selected to win a $10 Amazon gift card. Open for entry in the Continental US/Canada Only, 18 years and older from 12/03/19 thru 12/21/2019 at 11:59pm EST. Winner will have 24 hours to respond to notification email to claim their prize or a new winner will be selected. See Gleam form for official rules. Event hosts and participating bloggers are not responsible for fulfilling prize obligations from sponsors or self-sponsoring bloggers.
Echoes of Joy Devotional Series
Blurb
In the Echoes of Joy Devotional Series, author Staci Mauney chronicles her adventures with Lilly, her Yorkie companion, and family, friends, and other pets. Staci connects everyday life to spiritual truths and lessons about overcoming fear, embracing change, and encouraging yourself and others. Each devotional contains a Bible verse and prayer.
Staci introduces Lilly to the world in Echoes of Joy: 30 Days of Experiencing God’s Grace and takes the reader on their adventures as they build community and find joy in the simple things.
From struggling through the holidays after divorce to finding hope in unlikely places, Echoes of Joy: A Daily Devotional for Christmas features stories from Staci’s life that explore the lessons of Christmas that are relevant all year long.
Sharing the antics of her pets in Echoes of Joy: A Devotional for Animal Lovers, Staci reveals spiritual truths she’s learned from the animals with which God has entrusted us.
Let the messages in this series move you into God’s presence.
Excerpt from Echoes of Joy: A Daily Devotional for Christmas
Day 1
Christmas Memories
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” (Ps 100:4-5)
As a child, my family would either drive across town to spend time with my mother’s parents on Christmas or drive several miles out into the country to eat with one of my dad’s siblings. No matter which side of the family we went to see, my brother and I always had lots of cousins to play with, and my parents had lots of adults with which to play games and visit.
As we got older, my brother and I played games with the adults. My brother would start a round of his favorite game, Clue, with anyone he could convince to play. I preferred card games such as Skip-Bo to board games. My grandma was often our competition in these games. She loved all games and us, too, so she never turned down an opportunity to learn whatever game we wanted to play.
My dad and uncle weren’t interested in board games, so they played pool instead. My uncle had a pool table at his house – upstairs – and my brother and I always tried to talk the men into letting us play. However, they made us wait our turn, which meant we got bored and left them alone to play for the rest of the day.
I’m thankful for the memories of Christmases spent with family, several of whom have passed away. The Lord has blessed me with a wonderful family and good friends. Though we’re scattered far and wide now, we have memories (and social media) to keep us close. I’m thankful for those such as my grandma and my parents who have shown me who Jesus is as they live out his example each day. And I’m thankful for Jesus, the one who makes all of this possible. I’m thankful that he sacrificed his life for mine so that I could live forever in him. He is the ultimate blessing and the reason for this season.
Dear Jesus, thank you for wonderful family memories of Christmases past. Help us to remember the importance of family and to stay in touch, even though we may be miles apart. Amen.
Thanks for stopping by and reading a little of my Christmas devotional! Remember to visit the other blogs listed below that are participating in this hop and enter to win more wonderful prizes! Good luck!
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I enjoy spending time with family.
My favorite part of Christmas is seeing my family members who live out out of state.
I love spending time with family and christmas music.
Seeing family is my favorite part
My favorite thing about Christmas is seeing the beautiful Christmas lights in our neighborhood!
music
The awesome gatherings, and food.
The food, family, and presents are my favorite things about Christmas.
I like spending time with the family.
It’s all about being with family. We love to gather together and eat, play games and fellowship.
My favorite part about Christmas is seeing the reaction of my family and friends when they open my gifts.
My favourite thing is getting together with all of my family.
My favorite thing about Christmas are the decorations!
How happy people seem to be.
The best thing about Christmas is getting that extra quality time with my family. I usually would say spending time with my family I don’t get to see but nobody gets to come this year and I can’t afford to go visit any of them. So this will be the first year that it is just the little family I helped create!
My favorite thing about Christmas is seeing the family together and smiling. It fills my heart.
I love all the memories to be made!
I like the music and lights.
I love the decorations and the food
I love family time, enjoying each other’s company.
My favorite thing about the holidays is taking my grandchildren sledding.
GIving gifts
My favorite thing about Christmas is spending time with family and friends.
My favorite thing about Christmas is getting to spend quality time with my kids!
My favorite thing is singing carols.
I love spending time with family and a few days off from work.
I love seeing Christmas through my 2 young grandsons. They just love it!
My favorite thing about Christmas is the warm atmosphere.
Just getting to travel home to see my family since I live so far away
I love the time I get with my family!
It’s cold, so cuddling up under a warm blanket and watching a classic movie.
My favorite thing about Christmas is Christmas Eve when it is quiet with all of the candles light and setting out all of the presents with all of the decorations and lights up.
My fave thing about christmas is time off from work which gives me more time to see friends and family.
the family gettogethers
Spending time with family some who I only see on Christmas.
I like the Christmas lights and snacks.
My favorite thing about Christmas is the birth of Jesus.
Driving around to see the light displays is my fave part.
I love the coziness, decorations, people making an effort to spend time together.
My favorite thing about Christmas is visiting family and friends during the holiday.
I love the overall feeling of love and peace.
I really like getting closer to family.
Decorating the tree with my grandson is my favorite tradition.
seeing the joy when you give the perfect present
My favorite thing about Christmas is being with family.
My favourite thing about Christmas is having the family together.
Getting together with a bunch of friends on Christmas evening for a potluck dinner and a white elephant exchange. Lots of good food and laughs.
I love spending time with my family
I love being able to spend more time with my kids.
Spending more time with loved ones.