How Does the Enemy Try to Silence You?

04.01.2020 by Tracy Stella //

Welcome to our FACETS community. We all need more community these days. Don’t let yourself isolate. We need each other. We’re vulnerable when we are off by ourselves. Remember, you are not alone (Immanuel). We are God’s kids and we’ll get through this period of isolation together by reaching out to one another from afar. Let us know how we can be praying for you!

As I (Tracy) consider our topic this month, I think a better question might be, “How DOESN’T the enemy try to silence you?” Sometimes, his schemes can feel overwhelming, never-ending, relentless even.

But there’s good news in that. (Really?) Really!

in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.”─2 Corinthians 2:11 NIV

We are not unaware of his schemes. We know he lies. He destroys. His desire is to kill everything in his path. (John 10:10) If you are living for Christ, he has it out for you.

But don’t lose hope.

He uses the same old bag of tricks. Again, we are not UNAWARE of his schemes.

If we were playing cards, he’d have to fold. We know what’s in his hand. And we can call his bluff every time in Christ.

I do not recommend fighting the devil in your own strength. He is stronger than us. He can outwit us as humans. But he doesn’t stand a chance against us in Christ!

Good news #1:

We are not unaware of his schemes. Knowing the enemy’s methods of warfare, helps us know how to fight the good fight.

Know Ephesians 6 like nobody’s business. The best defense is a good offense, they always say. Right? Okay, so then that means we should always use God’s Word as our offensive weapon. Know what God’s Word says. Know the truth in its pages. It is for us. It is for today.

God’s Word has gotten me through some tough times!

Recently, there were false accusations made against me – publicly. (Okay, accuser of the brethren, we are not unaware of your schemes.) I was fighting to hold my head up and keep walking forward. I couldn’t really defend myself in that situation, and I was feeling pretty downcast.

But the brilliance of God and His ministry through His Word, led me to this Scripture.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable─if anything is excellent or praiseworthy─think about such things.─Philippians 4:6-8 NIV

I’ve read this passage countless times, but God chose to highlight a few words that ministered to my heart. He wanted me to pay particular attention to “whatever is true”. It was like He had taken His holy highlighter, and made those words jump off the page.

Whatever is true.

Doesn’t that sound like the perfect anecdote to the schemes of the biggest liar of all?

Satan doesn’t stand a chance when God is in our corner!

God guided me to write that Scripture down and carry it with me. It’s still in my purse.

That way, whenever the enemy starts to taunt with his lies, I am fully prepared─not unaware. There are times when I don’t wholeheartedly believe the opposite of the accusations against me (initially). That’s okay. I might not have power in the moment, but God’s Word does. His Word will give my voice power. Say it enough times and it starts to ring true. Praise God!

Whatever is true─think about such things.

There’s more good news when we are under attack.

Good news #2:

The enemy doesn’t mess with us if we aren’t making kingdom impact. If we aren’t somehow radiating God’s goodness to others, we would not be on his radar. When we love God and try to fulfill the calling He has placed on our lives, the enemy doesn’t like that, of course. I’ve told others this, and sometimes I need to remind myself, when the enemy comes against us, we should consider it a compliment.

If we’re making no impact on Christ’s behalf, the enemy would leave us alone. How do I know? I have about 4 decades of proof before I became a believer.

Once the enemy had me mired down in sin – mine and others, he left me to my own devices. He didn’t need to put a wedge between me and God or the things of God. I was oblivious to them.

But now? Now, I love the Lord. I want to do what He wants me to do. But like Paul, I don’t always do the things I know God would want me to. So frustrating, can I tell you. I do find comfort that EVEN PAUL had this struggle. He was a brilliant follower of Christ, radically transformed, and talk about kingdom impact─we’re still walking in it today! Yet for all this man did for Christ, he didn’t execute flawlessly, the way he hoped he would, the way he thought Christ would want him to.

In the apostle Paul’s words,

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do─this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.─Romans 7:15-20 NIV (emphasis added)

Thank you, Saint Paul, for admitting your failures. It helps us when we have them too! We can fail forward.

If you are reading this and you don’t have a relationship with Jesus, never judge Him by His followers. We are not Him. We will get it wrong a lot of the time. Even when we don’t want to. I have no idea why He thought it was a good idea to use normal, everyday people, to help others know who He is. That might not have been my plan, just saying. Except for, maybe this, it’s coming to my mind:

God loves us and uses us for good, beautiful, purposeful things in spite of us and our sinful nature. He has this attribute called grace. And in His goodness He extends it to us, me and you, if we are saved. And if you are not saved, if you didn’t say “yes” in your heart to Christ, He would want you to know He accepts you flaws and all. You don’t have to be a certain way, to be perfect for Him to love you deeply just as you are.

In spite of our imperfect nature, God still uses us.

That leads me to one of the weapons the enemy tries to hurl my way, and I’m wondering if some of you can relate.

I have this deep root of perfectionism that trips me up. I can put unbelievable pressure on myself to perform. It’s really off the charts sometimes. I’m not fully sure how that root got wedged in place, but it’s deep. In my mind if I do one thing wrong, the whole thing is bad. Might as well toss it, or not do it at all. If it can’t be done with excellence, it shouldn’t be done.

While that sounds good, maybe even noble or godly to want to do things with excellence (and I think it is okay to want to do your best), God doesn’t expect perfect. He just doesn’t. He is the only One who could ever achieve that. Intellectually, I’m on board. Practically, I still trip over the root.

I say things I shouldn’t. I do things I shouldn’t. And even when I can keep those things in check, I think things I shouldn’t. Ugh, Ugh, Ugh

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.─Philippians 3:12-14 NIV (emphasis added)

Did you catch that?

Sometimes, we need to strain toward what is ahead. Push through the resistance. When we do? We are walking toward the prize for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus to receive.

Just like Moses.

Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. ─Hebrews 3:1-2 NIV (emphasis added)

As I read Priscilla Shirer’s words, I had to chuckle.

Excuse me? Moses? Faithful? Really?1

For those of you unfamiliar with Moses’ story, he was a bit flawed. For starters, he murdered an Egyptian. He wrestled with anger and insecurity. When the Israelites did dumb things (which was a lot, LOL), he’d lose his patience. He wouldn’t be the poster child for righteousness, but we find him being called out as faithful in all God’s house.

Say what?

Here’s the thing: God knew Moses’ heart. Lean in a little closer as I share this next little nugget. He knows your heart too, dear one!

God never, not once, assigned us to walk out life or our faith perfectly. In fact, He knew well in advance we wouldn’t. Our imperfect nature reminds us that we need Him.

Well, that gives me some hope! How about you?

I love Priscilla’s words here. They are so encouraging.

In spite of all kinds of spills and sputters in the execution, Moses held fast to the calling the Lord had placed on his life. “He was faithful to the one who appointed him” (v 2 NIV). Even in the noisy wind tunnel of guilt and regret, even with loud music inviting him to dance with the decadent, he could still catch the faint whisper of heaven compelling him to forsake temporary feelings and pursuits for the sake of God’s will. And herein lies what separated him and his people from all others. He was not perfect, but he was purposeful. He wasn’t without mistake, but he was marked by God’s presence. … And even when it meant picking himself up off the deck of defeat and discouragement, he did not stop until God Himself allowed him to go no farther. He was called by heaven─an appointment that ordered his priorities, pursuits and passions. Not perfectly but persistently.1

The enemy would love nothing more than to silence me through the weight of perfectionism, even in my faith walk. But that’s when I take a deep breath, literally. Breathe and seek God. Listen to what it is He has to say.

I pay attention to the places He leads me (like Priscilla’s book with well-timed words).

None of us can ever be perfect. But we can be purposeful. When I read that, I cried – a sure sign God was reaching my heart to encourage me. Thank You, Holy Spirit, for your tender ministry toward my heart!

None of us can ever be perfect. But we can be persistent about getting back up, dusting ourselves off, and reminding ourselves God doesn’t even expect perfection. So if He is a giver of grace toward us …. maybe we should extend some to ourselves.

None of us can ever be perfect. But we can fix our eyes on His presence.

Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. ─2 Corinthians 7:1 NIV

We’re perfecting holiness, not perfect. And that’s okay. Don’t believe the enemy’s lies that perfectionism is required to be used by God. It’s not true. Remember, what is true. Believe the truth.

Join the conversation here or on our Facebook page.

1 Shirer, Priscilla Evans. The Resolution: for Women. B&H Pub. Group, 2015.

Did You Know You Are Beloved?

02.18.2020 by Megan Abbott //

Happy February friends! This month we have been really digging into words that are a part of our identity in Christ, and I (Megan) have really been loving the “Did You Know You Are…?” series. We prayed together and selected words that are beautiful and sometimes challenging to accept. In the past couple weeks, Tracy shared about being “Cherished” and Jen “Honored“. This week,as you read the words below, I pray you hear God reminding you that you are His beloved.

Whew… so this topic, huh? Here I am, an unmarried woman in her 30s, that has struggled with feeling lovable the majority of her adult life, in the month of Valentine’s Day, writing about love. Did you know you are beloved? I guess before I ask you that question, I have to think about my answer. In the past, it has been a challenge for me to claim this truth — God calls us beloved.

Face to Face with My Thoughts

So I have this book, a journal really, that is filled with only God’s truth. It came out of a season where I struggled to even look in the mirror. I felt unlovable. Honestly, that is even a bit of an understatement. I was challenged by a friend to just keep speaking the truths out loud to myself in front of a mirror until I could actually say them with confidence. The first time I stood in my room looking in the mirror, I opened my mouth to speak the words, and just cried. The second day, something similar. Eventually there were days I could speak truth over myself, and other days that I might even believe what I was saying. It feels silly in hindsight to think I couldn’t speak simple words into a mirror. But the reality of the power and strength of truth, while looking myself in the eyes knowing I didn’t believe it, it was halting. I was face to face with the reality that I didn’t believe God made me without mistake. That He made me lovable. That if He had made me lovable, I hadn’t somehow destroyed that in the previous 25+ years.

The “Truth” in My Heart

Have you ever been there? Face to face with the reality of what your heart believes? I did not believe I was beloved. I would speak truth over any of my friends, strangers even, knowing the value God knit into their being, but never could have said the same words about me. My truth had departed from the real truth. I’m not sure why. Lack of confidence? A conditioning from past experiences? Who knows. I knew it needed to change, though.

Fast forward several years. I found myself in a spot again where experiences led my heart back to “you are not lovable”. This time, I felt convicted by the Spirit to write a letter to myself from God’s perspective. I knew it was needed, but simultaneously thought it was silly. I mean, can God really have me write a letter to me, and it not just be my words? After some wise counseling, I sat down with a stack of note cards and prayed through scripture, writing thoughts and scriptures out on cards and lining them up until I saw where God was leading. I wrote a letter that brought a little healing to my heart. Calling out pains that I didn’t completely know were there, and the loving, gentle, healing truth that God gave us in scripture.

Beloved,

I am your heavenly Father. I created your entire being thoughtfully, uniquely, and without mistake.¹

I do not see you as you do — your flaws, your failures, and days of unfaithfulness. No, I see my priceless, redeemed, and beloved daughter. While you were in that pit of self-hatred and rejection, I CHOSE YOU. I have picked you up from the pit and crowned you with my grace and compassion.

Beloved, I love you exactly where you are today, and I will continue to love you each day no matter where you are. No more, no less.²

I will walk hand in hand with you as your heart is softened and your stubbornness is replaced with my love and compassion.³ When your heart is overwhelmed, I will be there patiently and gently calling you back to my freedom ⁴. The walk will have painful stretches, but I see you on the other side, victorious⁵.

-Your Loving Father

What Does It Take To Believe The Truth?

I think God could write a letter like this to each of us. One that reminds us how precious we are. That we are chosen. That he created us with care, with intention, and with purpose. We are HIS beloved.

I don’t remember at this point where I heard it, but I remember hearing a message where beloved was intentionally pronounced be-loved. Be loved. Live as though you believe you are loved. When you don’t feel lovable, or loved, look back at scripture and read the truth to yourself over and over again until you believe you are the beloved daughter of the mighty God. There is nothing we can do (or not do) to change the reality of this truth.

Join the conversation here or on our Facebook page.

Psalm 139:13-14
Romans 8:38-39, Ephesians 2:4-5
Ezekial 36:26 (NLT)
Psalm 61
1 Corinthians 10:13, Ephesians 6:13

Expect the Unexpected

12.05.2019 by Tracy Stella //

Welcome to FACETS of Faith, friends! Snuggle up under a cozy blanket and see what God has for you in this season. We pray each week you visit these pages God meets you and speaks to your heart fresh, alive, with challenge and encouragement. We pray He gifts you with nuggets of His love and guidance regardless of which one of us He has given a message to. Check back next week to see what Jennifer writes and stay tuned for a special announcement from the team! (It feels appropriate considering our topic.)

Life isn’t always what we thought it would be. Sometimes that’s good. Sometimes it isn’t.

There have been moments in my own life where I wondered, “How did I get here?” The times when my life was in a ditch. The times when my life was exhilarating and full of hope and joy.

Both are curious. But if one thing is true, we can expect unexpected moments. None of us knows what lies ahead.

Granted, there are some truths we can cling to as believers. If we have accepted Christ, we know where we ultimately will abide for all eternity. There is absolutely comfort in that truth. Death was defeated thousands of years ago by the sacrifice Jesus paid on the cross.

He has saved us and called us to a holy life─not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.─1 Timothy 1:9-10 NIV (emphasis mine)

Some things we can bank on. God’s destruction of death is one of them.

It’s also a sad truth that if one doesn’t come to choose Christ, he or she will eternally reside in hell.

God’s grace and mercy will keep reaching for the children He so desperately loves. But He gives us free will to choose. We can choose life, or we can choose death. Ultimately, we decide our fate.

Beyond those two truths that feel extreme─I suppose because they are–one rich and full of experience with Christ, the other sad and full of despair. I can’t imagine hell for anyone, least of all for those I love.

I pray each one chooses to know Christ and can expect to live with Him for all eternity. I join you in praying that very thing for those you love and care for too. In Jesus’ name.

But what about when we are here on earth? There are a whole lot of unexpected moments while we are still here.

Would we really want it any other way? Do we want to know moment to moment what God is up to? Or do we want some anticipation, some excitement at the unknown He is bringing us to and through us? (Remind me to tell you how disappointed I was the year I secretly unwrapped all my Christmas gifts and then pretended to be surprised. Yeah, I was on Santa’s naughty list that year for sure! And my peeking took away from the wonder of Christmas.)

If we weren’t built for anticipation, why would we even bother wrapping gifts and setting them under the tree? We could just tell people, “Here’s what you’re getting.”

Where’s the wonder in that?

What would life be like if we looked at every unexpected moment as a present wrapped with Love in Love for the purpose of wonder?

Expect the Unexpected – A Present Wrapped with Love in Love for the Purpose of Wonder

What if unexpected moments were the very thing to bring us to our knees and come to know our God? That was the case for me and for many of you too, I’m sure. Had those moments not happened, I wouldn’t know the immeasurable love of a Father who loved me before I was even born.

He has plans for me and you that we can’t fathom. Part of His plan absolutely is to save us to Him, to His heart for us that exudes generosity. It’s the most beautiful, unexpected, and undeserved gift we could receive. But isn’t that the beauty of a gift when it is given generously? It’s an unexpected, sometimes overwhelming surprise at the goodness of it. We could never be good enough to earn it, but because God loves us THAT MUCH, He reaches for us in our most unexpected dark moments of despair.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.─Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV

We are called to be curious and adventurous to know what those thoughts and plans are! For someone like me, I love being granted permission to be curious and adventurous. Stepping into the unexpected, opens a great big adventurous world for us to experience.

As we grow to really know His love, He will leave us in wonder and give us courage to be bold. Those who question His love haven’t experienced it. While we might not understand it when we do, experience of His love changes us forever. We wonder how we ever did life without knowing this love. It’s there. Right there. For each of us.

If you hear His whisper, let Him in. That goes for all of us, whether we know Him or not. If we know Him, let Him into your heart further. If you don’t know Him, give Him a chance. I can promise you this: If you go to Him with a pure heart, He will meet you right where you are. It’s okay to be curious. It’s okay to have questions and doubts. God can handle those. He knows faith is hard, because it requires trust. And until we know Him and have experience of Him, that can be hard, especially if someone has violated our trust. God is not like us. We are made in His image, not the other way around. Borrow His courage. Borrow His strength. He’ll give them, and many other unexpected gifts that help us get through our darkest hour.

Expect the Unexpected – A Present No One Wants and Then What?

This morning I’d been reflecting on some tragic news I heard. The situation seems unimaginable. It was an unexpected event no one could have anticipated, even in their best efforts to do the right thing, to serve others in love, when up out of the abyss this terrible thing happened. I wept for them. It’s that horrible. My spirit grieved for them.

These are the moments when people who don’t walk with God question why He allows bad things if He is good.

Not every event is from God. We do have an enemy. The enemy is not good. He doesn’t have good intentions. He would love nothing more than to destroy every good intention, every beautiful mission from God. The enemy would love to silence us. However, God says, “Sing through a storm, lovely one.” Praise is one powerful weapon!

We need to remind satan he has been defeated. And as horrible as this tragedy is, any unimaginable tragedy, God has given us a very powerful gift. Several come to mind, actually.

We have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). We can choose to believe what His word says to us. We have free will. We have the ability to make a conscious choice to know and believe and trust in God’s goodness.

For those of us who have been walking with God for awhile and these unexpected moments happen, the kind we’d like to run fast and far from, remember God’s faithfulness. Remember every good and perfect gift God has ever given you.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change life shifting shadows.─James 1:17 NIV

God doesn’t change. He is unwavering and unshakable. He is good and He gives good gifts.

Those truths have helped me through hard, unexpected moments. I didn’t see “it” coming. I couldn’t have, really. My world was shaken, but I was able to stand because God is unshakable. I could stand in His shadow, His strength. I’d experienced Him enough to know He is faithful. So as tough as that season was, I knew God would help me through it. And He did.

He allowed me time to rest and grieve. He gave me the gift of processing all my thoughts and emotions with Him, safely, where I could be real and raw and completely vulnerable.

The ability to be ourselves, good, bad, sad, mad, joyful, silly, all of whomever He made us to be and allows us to experience, is a gift He gives us. Be you – beauty and blemishes. We don’t have to be what anyone else wants us to be. We don’t have to put on our poker face and pretend with God. He doesn’t want that. He wants the real you, the real me, surrendered to Him and ready to receive His love, comfort, leading, guiding, teaching, and healing.

God reassures me the dream He gave isn’t dead. It’s just dormant. Sometimes we need to wait. We need to expect the unexpected WILL HAPPEN when we least expect it. Like the first blossoms of spring that turn into a full-on explosion of life as the trees emerge from a long winter, dreams can (and do) jump to life in what can look to outsiders like an overnight “success”. Really, those dreams were cultivated in the deep soil of time spent alone with God preparing us for what’s next.

When we don’t like where things ended, turn the page. God’s not done yet.

I look at how God used that negative, unexpected experience and used it for my good. I don’t think God was the author of what happened to me, but I do think He is writing the last word on it.

I can share this much with you. He took that situation and He worked it for my good. I DO love Him and He was (and is) faithful to His promises.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.─Romans 8:28 NIV

This promise isn’t only for some of us, the “holy ones”, the ones who seem to be so “spiritual”. Nope! The ticket to all things working for our good? All God asks in this promise? That we love Him. He can work with that!

I don’t get a lot of things right, but I do love God. And He worked my situation for the good.

I experienced a very unexpected shift. In this transition I have met people I wouldn’t have otherwise. Some of these people are important to the dream He still has planted in my heart. Others, I have been blessed by. Some, I’ve been able to bless as an Ambassador of Christ doing His work.

There is purpose in where He has placed us.

God is a good Harvester, and He won’t waste any of us or our efforts when we desire to be good soil for Him. He’ll still use us. Wherever we are. I think someone needs to hear that very thing today. God’s not done with you yet! Expect the unexpected sweet one. God has something special for you. The time is near.

Expect the Unexpected – A Present to Treasure

If you’ve lived life in this world for any length of time, it can be easy to become discouraged, and maybe even a little frightened at the state of things.

But God came to save the world. He hasn’t lifted His sovereign hand from this earth, from our lives, or the lives of those we love. We shouldn’t be surprised by the sin of the world and how it’s manifesting. Read the books of prophecy. He told us what to expect. Sin and its consequences aren’t unexpected at all.

Because of sin, He came to save.

When Mary was pregnant with baby Jesus, she treasured up God’s goodness. You can be certain she was not expecting to encounter God the way she did. Who would have thought the most precious gift the world was ever given, would come at the cost she paid? She gave her reputation. She gave her body. She risked her relationship with Joseph to follow the Lord.

And through it all she treasured up the moments she was given with Christ that no one else got to experience. I love that verse so much because it reminds me to treasure Him up too. There are things He’s given me, that He didn’t give to anyone else. Some of these things are hard things, but in them I can see His beauty. I encounter Him. We can each treasure those moments with Him too (even if we don’t love the difficulty).

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.─Luke 2:16-19 NIV (emphasis mine)

Mary had just given birth. Not easy. Painful, in fact. Yet, she treasured up these things and pondered them in her heart. We can learn from Mary.

There are moments God has given me that are sweet, special, sacred, and undeniable. Granted, I never gave birth to Christ, but He has helped me experience His goodness in difficult times. If I hover over the memories too long, tears will spill over, overwhelmed by His goodness in the midst of mess─mine and the world’s.

Remember to share these moments with others. They are for God’s glory. Don’t withhold what He has done.

I pray you encounter these unexpected experiences of God’s goodness in your own life, when you are left with your jaw dropping to the floor in disbelief and overwhelm that God sees you and knows you, that He knows exactly what you need to be encouraged and to feel loved.

Deeply loved.

I think if we peered into the well of God’s love for us, we couldn’t see the depth of it. We’d expect there was a limit, because we have limits and they can be pushed. But God’s love for us is never ending.

The faithful love of the LORD never ends!

His mercies never cease.

Great is his faithfulness;

his mercies begin afresh each morning.

I say to myself, “The LORD is my inheritance;

therefore, I will hope in him!” ─Lamentations 3:22-24 NLT

Treasure it up in your heart, sweet one, much like Mary did when she was expecting baby Jesus. Expect Him to show up in your life too. He is birthing something beautiful.

I pray Jesus celebrates so many mountaintop moments with you that your faith runs deep, so deep that people see Christ’s reflection in you.

That seems kind of crazy to expect God trusts us enough to be His ambassadors of love. But He does! His trust in us might feel foreign and unexpected. Embrace it and let His grace guide you. Don’t put pressure on yourself to perform. Let Him show you who He’s assigned to you. Let Him show you how. Follow His lead.

Love is an unexpected lesson we can all learn. We are to give it, and we get to receive it. What if the person who needed it most didn’t get it, because we didn’t do our part? What if that person is US in this season? That’s okay too. Give. Receive. There’s a season for everything, even as there’s nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 3).

Know this. A situation may feel unexpected to us, but God is never surprised by our circumstances. Celebrate with Him in moments of joy. Run to Him in moments of trial. He is faithful to be with us in tragedy and triumph. We can expect His presence to carry us through every season.

Be blessed this Christmas season, sweet one. Let the wonder of the season instill wonder in your heart for Christ.

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