Echoes of Joy Blog

My Word of the Year: Refresh

Posted on by Staci Mauney

“I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.” (Jeremiah 31:25)

Each year, I choose a word for the year. For over a decade, instead of creating resolutions that I know I won’t keep, I’ve chosen a word to focus on throughout the year. The only time I haven’t chosen a word was last year. I was never able to settle on one that seemed right, and before I knew it, the year had moved along, and it seemed like it was too late to choose one.

That’s not the case this year. This year, my word came to me just as the calendar turned to 2025. That word is refresh. According to the online dictionary, refresh means “give new strength or energy to.” Continue reading “My Word of the Year: Refresh” →

Sharing the Love of Christ

Posted on by Staci Mauney

Do everything in love. (1 Corinthians 16:14)

The fourth Sunday of Advent symbolizes love. Did you realize that we have only one word in the English language to express the emotion of love? We use the word love to describe how we feel about pizza, our families, and our hobbies, among many other things.

The Greek language has at least six distinct words for love. Each of the six words represents a different type of love: philautia, the love of oneself; pragma, the type of love two people show when they’ve been married a long time; storge, the love between parents and children; philia, brotherly love or the love found between friends; eros, romantic love; and agape, the deepest, most abiding type of love. Continue reading “Sharing the Love of Christ” →

Joy to the World

Posted on by Staci Mauney

…for the joy of the Lord is your strength. (Nehemiah 8:10)

Joy can be difficult to find during the Christmas season. Perhaps our lives haven’t turned out the way we thought they would. Maybe we’ve lost someone close to us or been rejected by someone.

In Western culture, we equate joy with happiness, but these are two different things. Both are emotions, but happiness is determined by our circumstances. Joy goes much deeper and is one of the fruits of the spirit (Galatians 5:22). The Greek word for joy is chara and is closely related to charis, or grace. Joy is the natural response to the work of God in our lives. Continue reading “Joy to the World” →

Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men

Posted on by Staci Mauney

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

During the second week of Advent, we focus on peace. When you think of peace on earth, what comes to mind? Often, we think about the absence of war or conflict. Peace of mind, peace in relationships—all can be boiled down to the calm that comes when there’s no conflict.

That is one meaning of peace, but the peace mentioned many times over in the Bible is not just the absence of conflict but also the presence of God. Continue reading “Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men” →

Hope of the World

Posted on by Staci Mauney

But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me. (Micah 7:7)

Do you celebrate Advent? I hadn’t heard about this celebration until I was an adult. I’d heard about advent calendars and wreaths, but I believed those were only for certain denominations. Then, about 15 years ago, I attended a Baptist church where the pastor lit a candle each week for Advent and told us more about what each candle represented. It was then that I realized Advent was for everyone.

The word advent comes from the Latin adventus, which means “coming.” During Advent, we celebrate that Jesus Christ came to the earth and that his second coming is imminent. Acknowledging Advent allows us to slow down during this busy season and focus on the reason we celebrate: Jesus. Continue reading “Hope of the World” →