We Are Not Alone

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Posted by Annette Burrell, December 20, 2023

As I gaze at my wrapped gifts, I look up to see a tree that is not even half decorated. I started

and stopped decorating that poor little tree numerous times. I just don’t have it in me this year. The rest of my house is decorated, all thanks to my wonderful girlfriends. 

I wanted to decorate the tree myself because it usually brings me great joy. But, it’s still sitting there, helpless. Only my cat is taking delight in it.

This year’s Christmas is different. My 90-year-old father’s health began declining rapidly in October, and he passed away on November 29. Everything stopped that day. 

I’ve been told when you lose someone over the holidays, it changes things. And this phrase seems to be truer than I thought it would be. My friends have said I’m a driven individual and I always get things done. I suppose that’s true, and I suppose it will be true this year too. It’s the desire that has changed.

I don’t know about you, but for me, I need God more than ever. I have a hole in my heart that

no one can fill. There is an emptiness that can’t be replaced. So, I turn to Jesus. I desire to

lean into Him more than ever this year. 

So, I sit in the quiet of my house and begin to ponder on the scriptures that tell us about the baby born on Christmas day. 

Isaiah prophesied about the birth of Christ 700 years before it happened.

Isaiah 7:14 says, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel.”

Immanuel, God with us. If God is with us, we are never alone. 

I opened a sympathy card today, and tucked inside was a note card. One side read: “Today’s Prayer”. The other side read: “If God is all you have, you have all you need.” John 14:8

Those words ministered to me at that moment. It coincided with the scripture of the prophecy of

the virgin birth of the Christ child, the son that would be called Immanuel (God with us). 

Matthew 1:18-25 says, “This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph, her husband, was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But, after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ”The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel (which means “God with us”)”. When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.  But he did not

consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.”

Jesus, he will save his people from their sins. That’s the reason He came. That’s the reason

God sent Him. God provided the lamb for us to cover our sins. That same God came to my

father this year, and when Jack acknowledged him, He saved him from his sins. 

My dad wasn’t alone as he slipped away from this world and he stepped into heaven. God was

with him, and God was all he needed.

I find myself in worship as I listen to the song "I've Witnessed It" from Passion City. Maybe you'll

find time to listen to it after this read. I was with my mother in 2011 during her last hours. She

described visions of Jesus and heaven. I believe it was a divine appointment for me to be there.

I was also with my dad when he encountered God. I've witnessed God's faithfulness. He gives

us hope in our hopelessness, and He shows up when we feel alone. How about you? Are you

feeling all alone this Christmas? Jesus: the one who came and was laid in a manger; the one

who was sinless and walked among the people preaching the gospel; the one who was ridiculed, beaten, bruised, and crucified on the cross. He is the provider of hope, and He is waiting for you to call on Him. You are not alone. God is all we need.

Annette Burrell is an author, speaker, and singer/songwriter. Through Annette’s years of being a public servant, and her devotion to studying the Bible, God has equipped her to lead women into His presence, and share with them how they can grow in Christ. Her passion is learning, sharing about the Heavenly realms, and God’s plan of protection for us as believers.

Resolve And Praise

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Posted by Priscilla Carr, December 13, 2023

How are you doing this Christmas season? Have you completed all your shopping and fulfilled all the wishes of those who’ll receive your presents? Are you flustered while still looking for the perfect gift?  Are you longing for the end of the season already? The Christmas season can be a time of such joy, but it can also be such a time of struggle.

Some are struggling with wayward loved ones whose whereabouts are unknown. Others are struggling with loved ones who’ve made their way back home but are making home anything but a place of peace. Some are struggling with personal sickness or the lingering illness of loved ones. I’m struggling also—my mother’s dementia is making it more and more difficult to relate to her. I’m losing her day by day.  There are a myriad of things that can cause us to struggle, especially during this time of the year.   

So, what are you doing to cope? How are you dealing with all that makes this a season of struggle and exertion instead of peace? For Advent 2022, I participated in a small group study of Ann Voskamp’s book, The Greatest Gift: Unwrapping the Full Love Story of Christmas. I highly recommend it—you’ll get to know our Savior Jesus anew and get to celebrate that our Father is the perfect planner. Well, this year, some of us who participated in the study got together and recorded 5 Burst of Hope podcasts discussing our favorite passages and how they impacted us (I highly recommend it also).  The chapter entitled “Watching for Him Who is Enough” deals with struggling:

…rejoicing in the Lord happens while we still struggle in the now. Struggling and rejoicing are not two chronological steps, one following the other, but two concurrent movements, one fluid with the other. As the cold can move you deeper toward the fire, struggling can move you deeper toward God, who warms you with joy.  Struggling can deepen joy…The secret of joy is always a matter of focus:  a resolute focusing on the Father, not on the fears.[emphasis mine]. (p. 189)

Struggle and pain can sometimes be results of sin in our lives. But, sometimes they are not. Sometimes the Lord, in His sovereignty and plan, will cause or use circumstances in our lives to get our focus back on Himself. There’s a song by Cody Carnes that I’m really loving right now. It’s entitled “Run to the Father”, and I highly recommend it. My favorite line is, “So I’ll run to the Father again and again and again and again.” Feel free to add many, many more “again”s to that line—I always do. There is no limit to the number of times we can approach our Father.  He longs for us to bring our struggles to Him. He invites us to “… come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb.4:16 KJV). And each time we approach Him, we are focused on Him and have the opportunity to grow closer. But we have to choose to take Him up on His offer.

In Ann’s passage, she states, “The secret of joy is always a matter of focus:  a resolute focusing on the Father…” It’s commanding our focus to remain on our Father even when we’d rather not.  It’s willing ourselves to look to Him when we’d rather look away and at the difficulty that demands resolution right now. It’s resolving way before the struggle arrives to maintain our gaze on our Savior and not what would try to steal our focus. And when we do, our focus, along with our praise, can result in joy. Joy.  Joy, not when our struggles are over. Joy, “concurrent” with our struggles! 

I have learned a lot about the importance of praise since attending Touching Hearts, but I always wondered in the back of my mind why praise was so important.  I attend a church gathering that also emphasizes the importance of praise. When the pastor said, “God inhabits the praises of His people” (see Psalm 22:3) it all clicked for me. What greater testimony of our faith in God than when we praise Him before the struggle ends?  It’s our testament and expectation that Jesus is coming, and we’re relying on Him even in this struggle.  And we can praise Him because we know He will come, and we are resolutely gazing at Him as we await His resolution.  Even if His resolution is not what we expect, we can resolve to praise Him. 

Oh Lord, may I consistently live this way!

Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet [resolve] I will rejoice [praise] in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength, and He will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and He will make me to walk upon mine high places. [emphasis mine] (Habakkuk 3:17-19).

I pray you have a joy-filled Christmas as you resolve to praise Him. He’s worthy.

Priscilla Carr was born in NYC, but has lived in metro Atlanta since 1979. She is a Navy veteran trained in electronics which God used for a 30-year career at the FAA. She uses her training to provide audio support to Touching Hearts Ministries, and is the Editor and Producer of “A Burst of Hope” podcast. She began her adult new life in Jesus in 1990 right before leaving the Navy, and today she exudes her love for Jesus. She is the proud mama to two rambunctious fur kids, Gracie (Lab) and Faith (Pit-mix). Priscilla was encouraged by elementary teachers to write. She took creative writing courses in High School and college, but in the mid-eighties, she stopped writing. The desire to write has been recently reawakened, and she is thriving in her new writing adventure.

Unexpected Gifts

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Posted by Martha Wilson, December 5, 2023

Have you ever awakened in the overflow of the previous day's events? That is where I

find myself this morning. Yesterday was filled with six hours of preparation and podcast

recording. It was unlike any podcast days we had experienced before because my co-

host Kim Stanley and I were joined by four other “hope seekers.” We were all excited

about the assignment we had been given, but as we circled the table, I caught a

glimpse of the gifts awaiting us.

The table was filled with cups of hot coffee, books, notes, chocolate petit fours, and

home-baked Christmas cookies. Joy and excitement spilled over the edge of the table.

Gift upon gift was stacked high. The gift of friendship was very obvious. Graciously

included was the gift of being seen, heard, and valued. The gift of encouragement was

abundant. The gift of sharing deep heart thoughts of what we had learned through this

book. The gift of grace and love. The gift of laughter and tears.

But, there was an unexpected gift awaiting us.

One year ago, to date, we had been a part of an early morning Zoom Advent group. We

met around Ann Voskamp’s book, “The Greatest Gift.” That journey had so marked our

lives that we wanted to attempt to share it with many more this year. As you read today,

I hope that you will take time to find the podcast and join in the five episodes of six Hope

Seekers discussing this precious Advent journey. (Click here to listen.)

The Latin word “Advent“ means “coming.” It begins in the Old Testament when the

prophecy of the Messiah's first coming was spoken. All awaited the fulfillment of this

promise.  Every Christmas, we celebrate that God wrapped Himself in the flesh and

came as a baby in a manager. This baby Jesus grew to be a man who made His way to

the cross to give us everlasting life. Now, we await His glorious second coming.

Much of the world celebrates Christmas but completely misses the gift of Jesus, The

Greatest Gift.  Ann’s book helps us to slowly unwrap this most wonderful “love story of

Christmas!”

As the six of us leaned into the microphone, our hearts raced with words that brought

life to us and that we hoped would bring life to you also. The record button was pressed,

and we had no idea that God would come so near. He sat with us and breathed life into

us as we journeyed through 25 days of advent in one sitting. Our hearts raced with

hope. Faith increased, and peace settled within.  Right there, on December 1, 2023,

Christmas came to all of our hearts.

Emmanuel, God With Us, came very near.  It was unexpected, but so much was

received. It wasn’t about presents or decorations, goodies prepared, or families

gathered. It was about Jesus and His great love coming to save us.  His presence was

so obvious that we felt as if we could touch Him. And we did with our hearts, words,

laughter, and tears.

“The Present is His presence, and the greatest present you always have to give is His presence.” (Ann Voscamp)

Let’s be careful not to miss the unexpected gifts this Christmas. Don’t get snagged in

the hurry that you miss His glorious presence. He waits to come near to your heart. To

sit at your table and speak life, hope, joy, and peace into your world.  You may find Him

in a song. A smile or a hug. The sharing of a special treat. A card. A word. A podcast, or

a devotion.

He has come! He is here! Waiting to be seen and experienced.

“So now we pause. Still. Ponder. Hush. Wait.

Each day of Advent, He gives you the gift of time,

 so you have time to be still and wait.” Ann Voskamp

“The Giver becomes the Gift.” Ann Voskamp 

A Burst of Hope Podcast

Free Resources from Ann Voskamp

thegreatestchristmas.com

Martha Wilson is a writer, speaker, blogger and co-host of “A Burst of Hope” weekly podcast. She is the founder and director of Touching Hearts Ministries for women. She has led women to pursue an intimate relationship with Jesus for most of her adult life. She is bold, tender, and transparent as she teaches women to embrace powerful Biblical truths. Martha and her husband, Ed, live in Fayetteville, Georgia, and enjoy their blended family of five children, eight grandchildren, and one great-granddaughter. You can connect with Martha at: Facebook and Instagram @TouchingHeartsMinistries or listen to the A Burst of Hope Podcast.