This week we observed the anniversaries of the passing of both of my parents. They died in different years, but the fact that they died so near Christmas, and at a relatively young age (late 60s), can cast a shadow over the holidays. Even a loss earlier in the year or decades ago can cause pangs at Christmas. It seems like every year, someone I know has experienced a fresh loss. I don’t usually include my own links in this space, but I wanted to share some thoughts that helped me, written several years ago: Christmas Grief, Christmas Hope, Christmas Joy.

And while I am at it, I am starting to see posts about choosing a word for the next year. I want to remind us that You Don’t Have to Choose a Word for the Year. If you find that practice beneficial, it’s fine to do. But it’s not something Scripture tells us to do. However, He does tell us to mediate on His Word day and night.

What If I Don’t Desire Jesus This Advent? “We are an unapologetically over-the-top Christmas family. But this year, somehow, feels different. As I write this, we are preparing to walk into the Advent season, and to be honest . . . I haven’t been feeling it. At all.”

Mama, You Don’t Have to Save Christmas, HT to Challies. “I always seemed to face the holiday season in a state of low-key panic that I wouldn’t be able to pull it off. I certainly have bigger regrets as a mother, but I do wish I could go back and tell my younger self to take a deep breath.”

Combating Imposter Syndrome by Embracing God’s Presence, HT to Challies. “I don’t know if I’ve ever felt like I was the right person for the job, whether as a dad, a pastor, or even a friend. There has always been a small voice in my head telling me that I’m not good enough. Sometimes, even in the wake of a compliment, I feel added pressure to prove to myself that I deserve the affirmation.”

The Blessing Paradox. “God’s good blessings have the potential to ruin us. If we aren’t careful, we’ll take the good things God gives and turn inward so that we consider ourselves the hero rather than the one who needs rescuing.”

Waiting in the Hope of Coming Redemption: Walking with Our Sister Anna. Anna is one of my favorite lesser-known people in the Christmas story. I enjoyed these observations from her life.

7 Practical Ways to Cultivate Faith in Children from a Young Age. “It’s still a learning curve to coach my kids in following Jesus through the different ages. But I’m convinced that teaching the next generation about God’s faithfulness means laying a biblical foundation before the teenage years arrive.”

Motherhood Is a Refining Fire, HT to Challies. “Weary mom, take heart. Those moments — the hardest, the most broken — are precisely when God can, in the words of John Bunyan, do his “wounding work,” conforming you into the image of his Son.”

Only as man could He die as a substitute for other men.
And only as God could He suffer infinitely, paying for the sins of all the redeemed.
Chris Anderson, Gospel Meditations for Christmas