Simple Grace to Overcome Worry
Holiness moves through the small things, grace for the moments, simple and short. Added together, holy moments change lives and steer destinies in God’s direction. But it all comes down to attitudes and choices made…one moment at a time. If I reach for the grace of holiness in this moment, what difference could it make? (From One Simple Thing).
[tweetthis]If we choose to breathe grace for the simple things each day, what will happen? [/tweetthis]
Can we learn to take life one step at a time, trusting God in the midst of the moment, no matter what that moment looks like? Or feels like?
The strength of simplicity begins internally with thoughts, attitudes, and choices as we remember that God is good in every moment. Not every moment is good, but God does not change in the face of our circumstances.
Oh yes, it is the goodness of God that gives grace for the moment, empowering “us to do what we could never do on our own.” (Richard Foster) This is His goodness at work, giving wholeness right in the middle of our brokenness. This is the practical power of holiness.
We are beginning to see it.
Grace to overcome worry.
Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life (Philippians 4:6-7, MSG).
Real simplicity comes through faith. It is the faith of a child that doesn’t demand explanations but knows that everything will be okay, simply because Daddy is there.
Isn’t it the worries and discontents, the complaints and the self-desires that drive us to complicated? Isn’t it the suspicion that God isn’t really trustworthy, that compels us to create our own solutions and lament our losses?
Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies (Philippians 4:8-10, MSG).
These are the simple things—the good and holy within reach of our needy hands. Choosing the true and the best, trusting God to put it all together, we can do this.
Take hold of it and don’t let go.
Fill your thoughts with simple goodness–
One true thing.
One beautiful thing.
One praiseworthy thing.
One excellent thing.
Break the back of worry with something that makes you smile and reminds you to trust God. Let these choices become simple graces to overcome worry today.
One simple solution for every need. When the worries and the whimpers of our souls learn to rest in the simple strength of God, peace that surpasses every contrived fix of this world is ours.
Have we really believed this?
In this moment, we can live settled and whole. We can choose wholeness in the response of the moment, quieting the strife that spins in our heads. Let’s walk this path together into the moments of this day, step into the real now that is both a moment in time and endless space in eternity.
Tweetable:
If we choose to breathe grace for the simple things each day, what will happen?
Choosing the true and the best, trusting God to put it all together, we can do this!
What simple grace can help you overcome worry today?
I am sharing community with other bloggers at Testimony Tuesday , Intentional Tuesday, #RaRaLinkup, Coffee For Your Heart, and Three Word Wednesday.
The Opportunity of This Moment
Holiness moves through the small things, grace for the moments, simple and short. Added together, holy moments change lives and steer destinies in God’s direction. But it all comes down to attitudes and choices made…one moment at a time. If we reach for the grace of holiness in this moment, what difference could it make? (from previous post).
The opportunity of a moment.
Days are made up of hours; hours are made up of moments. Change the moment; change the hours that create our days. In the moment, change the attitude and trust God to transform the heart. Grace to live well in little choices is the blessing I crave. Added together, holy moments change lives from the inside out.
But how?
How do we choose the simplicity of resting in faith…right now?
Our best moments.
Heart, mind, soul, and strength—these are the gifts in our hands for loving both God and others. God and Truth and Spirit, God comes alongside and we are no longer alone in the struggle. Life with God opens the door of possibility as we learn to embrace the togetherness available in every moment.
I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.
–John 14:16
I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
–John 15:5
This is the simplicity of doing the one thing, the best thing, that God asks of us. This is His way for the whole and the holy. For doesn’t the secret of living whole in this life have everything to do with discovering the joy and freedom of God’s grace filling up all our moments? We are learning the practical art of abiding.
Forgiven, accepted, re-made with love, we are learning to live large and free. All comes down to the life we live each moment. Trust or fear? Shame or forgiveness, strife or peace, what will we choose?
How many moments have we made difficult through giving into selfishness, frustration, or fear? How many times have we complicated life trying to control outcomes and hoard that which cannot be kept?
One simple thing.
What is one simple thing we need to do?
To learn?
To give away?
To let go of?
To hold on to?
With this in mind, the daily steps that walk through the week, let’s focus on the small things.
The simple things.
The moment things.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
What simple thing can you do to remember that God is in this moment with you? What moment could have been different if you had remembered that God is in it with you?
Join me for a new series. If you missed the first post, you can find it here.
Leave a comment and let’s encourage one another in the simplicity of this With-God life of wholeness.
,
One Simple Thing: Living Whole
Holiness moves through the small things, grace for the moments, simple and short. Added together, holy moments change lives and steer destinies in God’s direction. But it all comes down to attitudes and choices made…one moment at a time. If we reach for the grace of holiness in this moment, what difference could it make?
How do we live life whole?
How do we fold our hearts around joy each day? Desires, questions, aspirations and inspirations spin willy-nilly in our heads. Time slips like sand through our fingers. How do we make the best use of the time given, each day wrapped in the gift of twenty-four hours?
What’s the secret to a life well lived?
My mind meanders to one aspect, one word: holiness. Though this word sometimes reeks of stale religion bound tight with pious do’s and don’ts, holiness is a refreshingly simple concept.
Holiness has to do with being set apart, made whole, consecrated, sacred, dedicated, pure, and devoted and it is accessible to us all through grace. Holiness enables us to live full of God and full with God, in spite what the moment may look like. There is something clean and simple about living life whole, dedicated with purpose and meaning.
Wrapped up tight in our insides is a frenetic tendency to make life complicated. My soul is hard wired with a desire for significance, and I think yours is too. Feeling less, we take on more, and try harder, be better, do more is the rant of our souls that have swallowed the compelling lies of this chaotic, bent world.
I could write down goals and stamp them onto the tender flesh of my heart. I probably will, but I often overwhelm myself with goals and intentions, never seeming to fully accomplish the entire task. Do you do this? I leave a trail of the undone that calls out condemnations and validates my fears that I’m not enough.
Where is wholeness in this? But now, I am choosing something different as I explore wholeness that can brighten each day. Will you join me?
Tweetables:
If we reach for the grace of holiness in this moment, what difference could it make?
Live life whole, dedicated with purpose and meaning.
Truth to Hang on to When Life is Busy
Ever feel like you stepped into a time warp and “whoosh” an entire month is gone? That would be me today. I’ve had my nose to the grindstone, well… my fingers on the keyboard and eyes on a computer screen a good share of this month. I’m coming up for air today to catch up on email and social media and feeling a bit shocked that it is almost the end of January.
To tell the truth, I’m also feeling like I’m behind before the year has really begun. Anyone else feeling that pinch? True confession here–I just sent off the last of my Christmas cards today. No judging, friends…
I could re-frame that thought and spin it as getting ahead this year. After all, Christmas is happening earlier and earlier each year, right? But with a dose of honesty and humility, I’ll just call it what it is. My Christmas cards are late. Quite late.
At the moment I am juggling multiple significant opportunities, and I’ve never been much of an acrobat. I did manage to multi-task…once. I believe that was back in 1997. Just kidding, but I do find it a challenge to keep up with many things and do it all to the level that I’d like. Maybe this is a struggle for you as well. If so, let’s encourage each other!
The temptation is to look ahead and want to panic. Or maybe just hyperventilate a bit.
That’s the temptation but not the truth.
The truth is that God will complete what He has begun, and my role is to live faithfully each day as we tackle each task together.
God will complete the work of growing character as well as the work of fulfilling calling in each one of us. Isn’t that a encouraging truth to hang on to!
On the ministry front: Planting Roots: Strength to Thrive in Military Life is well under way and I am filled with awe as I watch God continue to build this ministry of encouragement and equipping for military women. I can’t give you all the details, but God is doing some very big things as this non-profit gets set up and the framework to be able to simulcast conferences and create live recordings is built! Praise-praise-praise!!
And the writing: As for the house, half of the Christmas decorations are still up and it’s a bit of a mess… I am leaving my tree up on purpose. It stands right next to my desk and I’m hoping the twinkle of the lights will continue to inspire me as I work on completing a draft of a Christmas book. This tree is not coming down until the draft is finished…which will be soon (Lord willing).
For the short term, the blog has taken a bit of a backseat, but that’s only temporary. I’m looking forward to several other speaking engagements this spring as well. So you can see why I feel like I am juggling.
I’m super excited about all of these things! When I stop to think about it, I can feel a little overwhelmed. My inner wimp pipes up with thoughts like, “What make you think you have something to say?” She has other barbs of self-doubt, but I’m not listening to that voice.
There are moments when it feels like a house of cards that could easily come flittering down. But my word for this year is stand. So I will pray like crazy and stand in faith and trust that God will enable me to go far beyond merely keeping up.
I am choosing to trust that God will fulfill His purpose in every plan and each opportunity He has sent my way. I am choosing to be grateful and available. I am choosing to believe that He will give me every word, whether spoken or written.
And that, Sister, you can take to the bank, no matter what you’re working on!
So I sit at my desk, a wide open field, and watch to see what God will say and do. I lay my heart in His hands with a humility that understands that I must learn and receive, surrender and trust, respond and rejoice. I ‘m clinging to the vine and letting God bring forth the fruit of results and growth.
Isn’t this the true work before us all?
Blessings sweet friends, as you come to the end of this first month of the year. I hope in some what that I have encouraged you to stay focused on Christ and let Him bring forth the fruit that is pleasing to Him.
To God be the glory.
Tweetable: Pray like crazy and stand in faith!
How can we stand together in faith? Leave a comment and let me know how I can pray for you.
Carrie Daws and The Warrior’s Bride
Today I want to introduce you to a friend of mine, Carrie Daws. Carrie and I both attend the Bible study for military gals at our local base chapel.
Today I want to introduce you to a friend of mine, Carrie Daws. Carrie and I both attend the Bible study for military gals at our local base chapel.Over the years, God rewrote Carrie’s dreams to include being a stay-at-home mom and a writer. She started by writing weekly devotions online before a mentor at the Christian Writer’s Guild encouraged her to try fiction.
After almost ten years in the military, Carrie’s husband medically retired and they now live in Virginia with their three children. Besides writing novels, she stays busy home schooling, keeping up with her extended family and friends, and volunteering within military ministries.
I’m so excited to have Carrie share with you about her newest book, The Warrior’s Bride: Biblical Strategies to Help the Military Spouse Thrive.
I got a chance to chat with Carrie about her latest book just as we were getting ready to launch a new ministry for military women, Planting Roots: Strength to Thrive in Military Life. You can see why I was interested in this book! Isn’t is amazing how God puts things together?
I asked Carrie what prompted her to write this book.
“One of the greatest frustrations about being married to a military man is knowing that you cannot plan your own life. Your husband, and thus your marriage, is owned by the United States Government, and you are forced to accept the plans for the greater good over your own.”
This short passage comes from the Introduction to The Warrior’s Bride: Biblical Strategies to Help the Military Spouse Thrive, and it summarizes the biggest frustration of many military spouses. And yet this commitment to the greater good is also the source of one of the military spouse’s greatest prides too.
It’s a delicate balance, one Kathy and I struggled with for years before understanding it. One we still struggle with from time-to-time. And it’s one we watch every military marriage fight through: who is really in control?
And that’s why we wrote Warrior’s Bride. Because we learned too many lessons the hard way, and we want to save some marriages the grief we had to work through because our hearts and minds were stubborn. Because we learned too many lessons too slowly, and we want military brides to learn from our mistakes and emulate our wise choices.
We’ve sacrificed our husband’s presence at birthdays and anniversaries. We’ve done our best to photograph and video tape our children’s performances that he missed due to training, odd work hours, and deployments. We’ve dealt with broken plumbing, missing debit cards, and moves alone.
And we’ve sat at home wondering if he wanted to come home at all.
Much about the military world isn’t talked about openly, but Kathy and I confront it head-on in Warrior’s Bride. Things like open pornography in the workplace, infidelity within the marriage, fears of him dying on the battlefield, and the reality of when he comes home different.
If this describes your world then know you are not alone. In fact, more than that, the truth is that God wants you to find hope and joy in your marriage. He wants you to do more than survive your husband’s enlistment; He wants you to thrive in your calling as that man’s wife.
Kathy and I do not want you to think that we have all the answers, but we have discovered secrets to finding joy in our trials. We have learned to not only love our own men, but to love the calling of those men. And we have learned to love our calling as military wives.
Join us within the pages of The Warrior’s Bride and let us encourage you.
About the Book:
The Warrior’s Bride: Biblical Strategies to Help the Military Spouse Thrive
The call came down from Command, and your warrior husband is out the door, leaving you behind to handle whatever he has left undone. Whether it’s the day-to-day monotony, the inevitable appliance that breaks, or the months without his presence beside you, being a military spouse brings challenges few appreciate. Yet God sees you and longs for you to boldly step into His plan. He purposely chose you for this moment—for your man. He wants to give you abundantly more than what you have right now and desires you to thrive as your warrior’s bride.
Warrior’s Bride is a must read! While Carrie and Kathy have not sugar-coated the many challenges of military life, they have generously shared the hope they have found and the road map for thriving! ~Kathleen Dees, wife of Major General (Army Retired) Robert F. Dees
I found your life stories and growth in your understanding and commitment to God’s purpose in marriage to be inspiring and insightful! Your testimonies will encourage many military spouses! ~Paula Van Antwerp, wife of Lieutenant General (Army Retired) R.L. Van Antwerp
In addition to The Warrior’s Bride, Carrie has also published several novels. You can find out more about her books here.
Join me in saying a big thank you to Carrie for sharing with us today!
How Do You Make Goals for this Year?
If only…
I’m not sure what’s on your list of goals for this year, but believe me, we’ve all got a list of what we think we should be, what we should have done, and we could go on and on until tomorrow has run out of minutes. Too often I have made New Year’s Resolutions and goals from this place of wanting to make myself better. My lists have been full of if only’s, should’s, and ought to be’s. Too often, my goals have been a little over zealous. Do you have goals like these?
Every single year I make a goal to be more organized. And although I have made progress in this area, it still makes it onto my personal hit-list…I mean goal list. Too often my goals center around wanting to “fix” whatever I think is wrong with me, whatever I don’t like about myself, or whatever seems to continually cause trouble for me. How about you, do you make goals this way?
Although there is nothing wrong with striving for more and for better, I am beginning to realize that most of these aspirations come from my agenda to perfect myself.
What if we pay attention to what God has been doing in our lives and form our goals in response?
What if we make our goal list our growth list? How freeing could that be?
What’s on your growth list this year?
Grace Defined
Grace is a word we bounce off our tongue with ease. We bandy it about, sometimes carelessly. These five letters pop up frequently in sermons and songs, and in many ways have become part of the Christian lingo. Some might even think of the word grace as cliche’ and over used.
Yet grace is like oxygen; we simply must have it in order to breathe and survive the crazy days on this planet. Like air that fills our lungs and fuels the cells of our bodies, we are often unaware that we are constantly breathing grace.
Like gravity, that invisible, inseparable constancy that keeps our feet on the ground, God’s grace set’s and holds us together.
By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus….We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise. Romans 5:1-2 MSG
Grace Defined
“Amazing grace…how sweet the sound” is the beginning of my favorite hymn. Today I am reflecting on Romans 5, where the word grace is repeated at least five times, but the concept of grace is restated many more.
Reading this chapter in The Message as well as the New American Standard Bible brings even more expressions God’s grace. Take a moment and prayerfully read aloud all of these statements of grace–the sound is indeed lavishly sweet. Click here if you’d like to see both versions side by side.
Expressions of Grace
New American Standard
The Message
Peace with God
Set us right with Him
Hope that does not disappoint
Make us fit for Him
Love poured out through Holy Spirit
Wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory
Christ died for us while sinners and enemies
Christ’s sacrificial death
Amazing friendship with God received
Reconciliation received
Rescuing gift
Saved by His life
God’s gift poured
Free gift abounds
Generous, life-giving gift
Abundant grace
Breathtaking life-recovery
Gift of righteousness
Wildly extravagant life-gift
Grace reigns
This grand setting-everything-right
Eternal life
Aggressive forgiveness
Winning grace
Invited into life—eternal life
Recognizing grace in this day…as it is.
Current decisions and questions pull at my insides with the twist of uncertainty. Wanting to trust God when the future seems uncertain, I push down anxiety that tempts me to worry about this new year. I am all too aware of the gap between my faith and my feelings.
Yet a winter wind blows the first snow of winter as flakes swirl willy-nilly, stirring up magic on this beautiful day. A rare visit with a sweet friend brings joy. I smile watching a neighbor boy help an older couple shovel the icy sidewalk. My children are home and we’ve enjoyed countless blessings this Christmas and New Years.
A task list that seems a mile long weighs heavy as time ticks by too fast. Feeling behind before I have begun, the new year opens in a prolonged season of transition. God is still bringing us through.
Remembering the challenges and joys of a year passed, I wonder what this new year will bring. Grace abounds as anxiety gives way to anticipation. Humility and awe mingle as I recount God’s grace displayed in so many ways this past year.
In all these moments, the good and the hard, I speak truth to my soul as peace settles:
May you have a happy new year overflowing with God’s peace and a multitude of holy moments filled with grace.
With love,
Ginger
Dispelling the perception that holiness is a standard of conduct rather than a gift to receive, Holy in the Moment includes my personal journey in finding help and hope for anxiety, people-pleasing, perfectionism, discouragement, and insecurity as well as biblical insights and simple ideas to enjoy a grace-full life of freedom in Christ.
For the Love of Christmas Sweaters
Every year I wait eleven long months… to wear my Christmas sweater.
You just can’t wear a Christmas sweater just any ole day of the year. There’s just something not right about wearing “Let it Snow!” in July.
And there is something very beautiful about a Christmas sweater. My birthday is in December. Smack-dab-in-the-middle of December, which is just about the worst time to have a birthday because everybody’s too busy to celebrate you. We’re all too busy taking exams, going to kid concerts, and party hopping.
But I digress.
Now I grew up in the 80’s so my mother gave me a new Christmas sweater every year from 1985 to 2005, when she finally decided I just might have enough. I had an entire wardrobe of candy cane and reindeer infested sweaters.
Oh the bliss!
Until…
My teenaged girls started making fun of my beloved Christmas sweaters. Please try not to be shocked. They really are nice girls…most of the time.
They don’t realize it, but they’d be even cuter in a Christmas sweater. Their loss.
Well the sweater I’m wearing is my last one, my last hold out against the stigma of anti-Christmas sweater frenzy that has taken over the fashion sense of otherwise good Americans. My teenaged girls, Lord bless’em, have convinced me… NO they’ve brainwashed me…that these works of art are NO LONGER in style!
Can you imagine?!!!
Call it pride, but being the mother of teenagers, I really don’t like to go places and have my girls embarrassed to be seen with their mother. I do plenty enough of embarrassing things without wearing my Christmas sweater.
So I have down-sized my Christmas sweater wardrobe and this is the last one. It’s only 15 years old–it’s still got a lot of life to it, cause I only wear it in December, right? You know, I just can’t figure out how something this cute can go out of style that fast.
It might be a little dirty but I can’t wash it or all the bling will fall off. And I’ll keep my sparkle, thank you very much. Just a little spritz of perfume and no one will know the difference. And that old chocolate stain blends right in with the little felt packages next to gingerbread man.
And as soon as these girls are out of the house, I’m going to get some more Christmas sweaters. I’m just going to wear them anyway cause I like them and that’s that.
The Christmas Sweater Come Back
Funny enough, just yesterday one of my girls wanted to borrow my Christmas sweater. Finally! I thought they have seen the light. You know, if you wait long enough, things will come back in style.
They wanted it for an Ugly Christmas Sweater party.
I’m not going to even begin to describe how offended I am.
There is a glimmer of hope for the resurgence of the Christmas sweater. Oddly enough, it is the men who have caught the love of Christmas emblazoned on a sweater. Yes, you read that correctly. And as men often do, they just have to one-up the women, taking the Christmas sweater to the suit. Of course they aren’t brave enough to say how they really feel, calling it The Ugly Christmas Sweater Suit.
Men are just a little slow to catch on to the love of the Christmas sweater. We can think what we like, but these fashion statements sold out on Cyber Monday and they are now taking pre-orders for next year.
For those that are not over the top, or just have to have a Christmas sweater to wear this year, they still have some of these sweaters at the store…in the men’s department no less. Can’t find a Christmas sweater in the women’s section. For shame!
So here’s my last stay-joyfully-sane-this-Christmas tip.
Don’t let anyone guilt you, harass you, or embarrass you out of fully enjoying your Christmas sweater this year. <Tweet.
This month is crazy enough without having the joy of your favorite Christmas sweater. So that’s it, Sister, head on up to the attic and unpack that lovely sweater you’ve secretly been longing to wear. I know you didn’t have the heart to get rid of yours either. So let’s wear them with pride!
Because we’re taking back the Christmas sweater.
In fact, I just might wear mine all winter long…because I’m just a fashion renegade.
Because everything is better in a Christmas sweater!
Give the gift of a laugh today and share these posts with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest! Missed some of the Christmas fun around here? You can find all the Christmas humor right here:
Get Ready, Get Set, Get Christmas!
Stay-Sane Tips for This Christmas
Stay-Mostly-Sane-This-Christmas Tips
All Wrapped Up With Stay-Sort-Sane-This-Christmas Tips
Get a free Christmas devotional from Ginger when you sign up for my newsletter! Enjoy this beautiful ebook to spark hope in your life this Christmas. This is my Christmas gift for you.
Enjoy the Best of Christmas from Ginger
A curated collection of Christmas content from award-winning author and blogger, Ginger Harrington. Take the Christmas Worship Challenge, read inspiring devotions, download free gifts, gather ideas for family fun, make a special gift, and chuckle with Ginger’s Christmas humor. Read the story of Ginger’s Christmas miracle in a free chapter from her book, Holy in the Moment. Enjoy the best of Christmas that you’ll want to come back to year after year!
Get Your Free Chapter!
Read the story of a Christmas miracle I experienced in the first chapter of my award-winning book, Holy in the Moment. You’ll read a poignant story from one challenging Christmas in my life at the end of the first chapter. Read the story of what happened here. Give the gift of holy this Christmas–Holy in the Moment makes a wonderful gift to encourage faith in a practical way. Learn more about the book here.
Download your free chapter here.
Good News that Lights Up Your Dark Night
When Angel’s Sing
Shepherds stand on the dark hillsides outside Bethlehem, working a job few wanted and none respected. The glory of God cracks open the night sky with news that will change the world.
“Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11).
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased” (Luke 2:14).
No ordinary night.
Shocked to the core at this unimaginable sight, the shepherds respond with urgency,”Let us go straight to…and see.” Wonder turns to action as they leave in haste, seeking to find this child, born to save the hearts of men.
Tucked away in this familiar account of the birth of Christ is a practical example of worship.When God shows up, in the deep of our night, in the midst of our watching, He meets us right where we are.<Tweet. Worship gives glory to God as we respond to His worth…who He is, what He says, and what He does. These humble shepherds heard great news and they responded.
They heard. They wanted. They went.
Searching for the gift of Christmas.
Sometimes we make things, including worship, far too complicated.
God’s story would have continued, but the story of the Shepherds would have come to a dull end if they had shrugged their shoulders and found an excuse not to act. What do we miss when we neglect to give God glory?
How much more exciting for them to have the adventure of seeking and searching to see if what they had been told was true. Responsive worship brings us into the thick of what God is doing–it gets us involved and participating.
How will you respond to God today?
A meaningful idea for the kids this Christmas.
Each year when we put out our nativity set, I would gift wrap and hide the Baby Jesus figure. When our kids were little, they loved reading the Christmas story and moving the figurines around as they acted out the story. Some years they dressed up as angels, Mary, or the shepherds–so crazy cute! These are some of my favorite Christmas memories.
As part of our Christmas Eve tradition, we would search for the first gift of Christmas…Christ. It was great fun for one of the kids to find the Baby Jesus figure and add it to the Nativity.
What traditions are meaningful for your family?
This post first appeared on 5 Minutes for Faith.
Get a free Christmas devotional from Ginger when you sign up for my newsletter! Enjoy this beautiful ebook to spark hope in your life this Christmas. This is my Christmas gift for you.
Enjoy the Best of Christmas from Ginger
A curated collection of Christmas content from award-winning author and blogger, Ginger Harrington. Take the Christmas Worship Challenge, read inspiring devotions, download free gifts, gather ideas for family fun, make a special gift, and chuckle with Ginger’s Christmas humor. Read the story of Ginger’s Christmas miracle in a free chapter from her book, Holy in the Moment. Enjoy the best of Christmas that you’ll want to come back to year after year!
Get Your Free Chapter!
Read the story of a Christmas miracle I experienced in the first chapter of my award-winning book, Holy in the Moment. You’ll read a poignant story from one challenging Christmas in my life at the end of the first chapter. Read the story of what happened here. Give the gift of holy this Christmas–Holy in the Moment makes a wonderful gift to encourage faith in a practical way. Learn more about the book here.
Download your free chapter here.
