Have You Prepared Your Heart for Christmas? | Part Four

Have You Prepared Your Heart for Christmas Part Four

Are you familiar with the saying, “Home is where the heart is”?

What does this saying imply to you?

Does the implication change depending on whether you still live in the town where you were born or if you live thousands of miles away from your birthplace?

When I lost my husband to mental illness in July 2024, it was interesting how many people’s questions frequently revolved around whether I would move back to my birthplace or stay where I currently live. This question came from family, friends, colleagues, and even strangers.

Obviously, this question arose from a place of care and concern since I am about a thousand miles from my family roots.

My mother has shared that she regularly responds that I’ve lived in my current location for twenty-some years now when she is asked if I’ll move back to where she lives. Often, people will then say to her, “Oh, her life is there then.”

I’ll share how I am answering this question in relation to the saying, “home is where the heart is” and the study of Luke 2:1-20 that follows at the end of this post.

Continue reading “Have You Prepared Your Heart for Christmas? | Part Four”

Have You Prepared Your Heart for Christmas? | Part Three

Have You Prepared Your Heart for Christmas? | Part Three

Alone time.

What comes to mind when you think about alone time?

Do you like the idea of alone time or dread it?

How do you spend your time alone?

Do you focus on hobbies or self-care activities?

Are your activities active or sedentary?

I realize some people reading this feel they never have time alone, while others may feel they are always alone.

But whether other humans surround us or we are by ourselves, we can trust that God is fully aware of everything about us.

And he can communicate with us while we’re going about our work or when we are resting.

How do I know this?

Consider the following passage when Mary, a young lady, experiences this incredible reality with an angelic visitor announcing she will bear the Christ child.

Continue reading “Have You Prepared Your Heart for Christmas? | Part Three”

You Are Highly Favored | Luke 1:26-38

How would you respond to someone greeting you with the statement, “You are highly favored?”

Excited?

Suspicious?

Justified?

Would your answer change if the statement came privately?

It is one thing to have a fellow human make this type of statement to us, regardless of the motive behind it.

But what about when an angel from God speaks to you this way?

Continue reading “You Are Highly Favored | Luke 1:26-38”