Tag: Christmas

Joy for the Season

Posted on by Staci Mauney

“…for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Neh 8:10)

In my first blog post this month, I discussed hope. Like hope, joy can also 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 (Gal 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 for the Season” →

Sharing the Love of Christ

Posted on by Staci Mauney

“Do everything in love.” (1 Cor 16:14)

The term “love” gets thrown around a lot in today’s culture. We hear the word so much that it’s lost its meaning. Recently, one of my friends recently explained the reason for this: we have only one word in the English language to express the deep, abiding feeling that love brings. We use the word “love” to describe how we feel about cheeseburgers, our families, and our hobbies, among other things. Continue reading “Sharing the Love of Christ” →

Winter Is Coming Giveaway Blog Hop

Posted on by Staci Mauney

Congratulations to Laura Jacobson from Minnesota, the winner of the $15 Amazon gift card in the Winter Is Coming blog hop!

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 cross stitching 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 4, 2018, to December 21, 2018. The winner will receive a $15 Amazon gift card. Continue reading “Winter Is Coming Giveaway Blog Hop” →

Finding Hope at Christmas

Posted on by Staci Mauney

Author’s note: Since this month’s blog posts will coincide with the four Sundays in Advent, the theme of each blog post will have the same theme as that week in Advent. The theme for the first Sunday in Advent is hope, the second is love, the third is joy, and the final one is peace.

“…the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.” (Ps 147:11)

I look forward to Christmas with great anticipation each year. I enjoy everything about the season: the lights, the music, the baking, the gifts, the cards, the Hallmark movies…and the list goes on. As a child, I looked forward to opening gifts so much that I talked my mom into letting my brother and me open a gift on Christmas Eve once or twice.

As an adult, there have been years when I dreaded the holiday season. The year my grandma and father-in-law both passed away was particularly difficult. But nothing could have prepared me for the feelings of grief and loss that tainted my love for the holiday for several years after my divorce. For a while, I lost hope that things would ever be better. Continue reading “Finding Hope at Christmas” →

Celebrating Christmas All Year

Posted on by Staci Mauney

“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness…” (Eph 4:22-24)

The holidays are over, and I’ve taken down all the Christmas decorations and put them away for safekeeping until next year. Each year, this ritual leaves me feeling a little sad, but also a little energized. There’s just something about the joy of the Christmas season that makes me want to leave things out as long as possible, but as much as I enjoy the decorations, I want my house back in order even more. Continue reading “Celebrating Christmas All Year” →