how the light gets in

Tag: Christmas

• Jesus

  Posted at 1:20 pm by How the Light Gets In, on January 3, 2021

  All the Christmas decorations here are packed away (actually, maybe they’re piled in a corner of the basement).

  The house looks so bare. There’s no more glitter or garlands.

  Today, in our faith, we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany. It marks the end of Christmas and the revelation of Jesus to the Three Kings.

  Watching mass online in our “bare” house got me thinking about Mary and Joseph.

  What was it like for them to watch other people meet their baby? They knew who they were raising. They knew who their baby was. I wonder what it was like for them to witness how others received him, better yet to watch how others RECOGNIZED Jesus.

  The Star – Were Mary and Joseph aware of the unusual bright light announcing the Light of the world?

  The Shepherds – They had no status or wealth or place in their world but found themselves at the right place because they listened. We always focus on the fact Jesus was announced to shepherds in a field, that their nature (being outcast and unloved) reveals Jesus heart. But, we need to also remember Jesus was announced by a host of Angels, singing in the heavens, breaking through the dark of night; revealing Jesus power.

  The Three Kings – Men of wealth and status; traveling from Persia, following maps and calculations leading them to a star, bearing gifts to meet the King of Kings. When they arrived, they knelt before the baby. Mary-who had been pondering all these details in her heart- was her heart bursting at this point? She had said yes to bearing the shame of gossip about her pregnancy. And now Kings on bended knee, were bowing in vindication of her obedience and revelation. Did Joseph stand there in shocked gratitude?

  Now that Christmas is all wrapped up, The Epiphany begs us to look to Jesus.

  So, would you take a moment for some quiet & look to Jesus?

  

  Posted in JANUARY 2021, Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged Angels, Christmas, Epiphany, How the Light Gets In, Isaiah 60:1-5, Jesus, Joseph, Light, Mary, Shepherds, We Three Kings

• CHRISTMAS – Day 25

  Posted at 2:09 pm by How the Light Gets In, on December 25, 2019

  Merry Christmas

  You did it. WE did it! Hooray for us! 24 days of reading God’s word. 24 days of devoting a little time to learning God’s voice. I’m so proud of you and me!

  Take a moment to scroll all the way back to Day One. Grab a piece of paper and a pencil and jot down the websites, books, Instagram accounts, Music, Photography, Email subscriptions, Apps, Artists, Podcasts, Places, People, Recipes.

  Then, take note of what struck you most – was it the beauty, the pain, the encouragement, the community?

  Finally, we should list all the scripture from the posts. The Bible still blows my mind with all those words written so long ago and somehow still very alive and so powerful.

  You know what ALLLLL this tells me?

  GOD

  WILL

  STOP

  AT

  NOTHING.

  God will stop at nothing to get YOUR attention.

  These 24 days have just been a glimpse of how relentless God is trying to grab your attention.

  Christmas gives us the sweetest example of this. Immanuel is God with us.

  Jesus IS God with us.

  But wait, the story doesn’t end here. There’s Good News! Jesus wasn’t just born, end of story. Jesus lived a life full of friendship and story telling and healing and teaching and loving. There’s more to learn. Jesus didn’t just live for you and me. He also died for you and me.

  Today we celebrate His birth but there’s so much more.

  And hey, if you’re reading this you’re alive too which means God’s not done with you. Your story with Him might just be beginning. Or maybe you go way back. Either way, keep walking with Jesus. Read His Word. Learn His voice. Look for Him.

  Remember how we started this journey with Gods word as a “lamp for our feet”? Today let’s celebrate because the light is here. Jesus – God with us – is here “to guide our feet into the path of peace.” (Luke 1:79)

  Thank you for being with me this Advent. You have made it so special for me.

  One last song Reckless Love

  Posted in DECEMBER 2019 | 0 Comments | Tagged 1 John 1:5, 1 John 1:5-7, 1 John 5:14, 1 Peter 2:9, 1 Peter 5:6, 100 Days to Brave, 2 Corinthians 1:6-7, 2 Kings 20, Acts 2:28, Advent, Ann Voskamp, Annie F Downs, Christmas, Church of the Nativity, Colossians 1:9-10, Cory Asbury, Elevation Worship, Ephesians 5:13, Exodus 33:14, Genesis 28:15, Hooray, How the Light Gets In, Isaiah 40:3-5, Isaiah 43:18-19, Jenna Mace Photography, Jesus, Jesus Calling, Job 42:5, John 11:38, Joshua 1:9, Journal, Luke 1:3-4, Luke 1:79, Matthew 14:13-21, Matthew 28:66, Psalm 119:105, Psalm 16:11, Psalm 27:14, Romans 15:13, Romans 15:4-5, Wonder, Zephaniah 3:17

• ‘Tis the Season

  Posted at 3:20 pm by How the Light Gets In, on December 9, 2017

  Tis the Season…

  A Season of Wonder.

  What kind of wonder though?

  There’s a lot of heavy out there in our world with the tweets that never end, faces of starving children in faraway places, news of a friend burying his first son, tension among every color.

  There’s a lot to do out there, crossing off Christmas wish lists, big memories that need to be made, gingerbread making, cookie decorating, party hosting.

  There’s a lot to feel out there in our world; loneliness, pain, regret.

  Do you feel it?

  All that can lead your heart to a different form of wonder; wonder-ing why, wonder-ing how, wonder-ing when.  Then, Christmas becomes a finish line to cross.  Let’s not do Christmas that way, okay?

  Christmas is so much more.  And to make it more, YOU have to let go.  Release the questions, the pain, the anger.  Give it to God.  Right now.  Look up, open your hands and say, “please take this.”  That’s called faith.  And it is hard, I know.  I know.  But, it is so good.  Faith is believing, trusting in the unseen God.

  Faith is the ingredient with the power to change a season of wonder-ing into a Season of Wonder. 

  Look up the book of Luke.  Right now.  This is a bossy blog post.  But, he put a lot of work into his story for us.  Luke says in chapter 1 verses 3-4, he “investigated everything from the very beginning and decided to write an orderly account for you… so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.”  I love that he investigated for us.  Maybe he wondered if his ‘orderly account’ would make faith easier for US to try.

  Now that you’ve read it; Clear out the heavy and make room for a miracle.  I don’t know what your miracle might look like.  I’m happy to pray for it with you, if you like.

  Christmas celebrates one of the sweetest miracles, Jesus’ birth.

  I wonder if that’s why God sent his son as a baby… so we would want to get a closer look?  So we would want to see, hold and love Him.

  I wonder how many times we will watch “Home Alone.”

  I wonder how many times I’ll blubber at Josh Groban singing “O Holy Night.”

  I wonder if you’ll open the story of Luke and open your heart to the miracle of Jesus.

  I love the wonder of it all.

  Posted in DECEMBER 2017 | 2 Comments | Tagged Christmas, How the Light Gets In, Luke 1:3-4, Wonder