The Friday before Christmas…only children long for this day to come quickly. The rest of us try to balance work and to-do lists with the celebrations and the sweet kindnesses of this season. Sometimes our health doesn’t cooperate as I am fighting a cold writing this. Still, the weekend has arrived and Christmas fast approaches. Here are my faves for this week.
1) Answered Prayer – What an incredible thing that we can cry out to Almighty God, the Creator of all things, and He hears and responds. For several weeks, I’ve been wearing a prayer reminder on my wrist to keep a young woman in my thoughts and on my lips 
before God. She has been going through an unimaginable trial over many months and it seems only a merciful intervention from a loving God was going to make her situation turn around. Who knows how many people prayed for her….hundreds, for sure. I have never met her, but we were bonded together by her need and a God who calls us to come boldly to His throne…in prayer (Hebrews 4:16). We can’t presume on how God should move in a situation, but we can absolutely trust His wisdom and goodness. Over the last several days, we were able to see a miraculous turn of events…and her situation is redeemed. Does God always act in such a way? No…but He always acts on our behalf…
Any prayer that you have had answered that you could share in Comments below? Anything you continue to wait for God’s intervention? I would be pleased to pray with you.
2) Christmas Cookies – I don’t make Christmas cookies but love that others do. Just this week, we received several from sweet friends and my daughter. They are so cheery. It seems they also taste especially nice with coffee in front of a fire on a cold winter day. Hope you got to sample some this year.
3) Rogue One – On the Christmases when a Star Wars film is released, viewing it as a family has become one of our traditions. 
Photo Credit: Independent
Rogue One was really good. No spoilers here. It could definitely stand alone but also had several happy reminders of other Star Wars films. It is actually a prequel to one of the films, but I won’t give it away. We still get to look forward to more from LucasFilm to follow the 2015 A Force Awakens.
I love Bill Peel’s article Christmas Truth in Star Wars where he points out the themes of these films: “extreme evil, great good, desperate danger, genuine love, hopeless odds, and costly sacrifice”.
“Star Wars’ heroes are nobodies from nowhere, insignificant and irrelevant individuals as far as the world is concerned. Yet they change history.
Like Star Wars, the key characters in the Christmas story are nonentities: powerless peasants who live far from the halls of influence. A homeless couple with a powerless child born in an obscure village. Yet in fiction and real life, things are not always as they seem. These seemingly rag-tag nobodies are part of a web of cosmic events they cannot understand nor resist and take center stage in God’s kingdom.”
YouTube Medley Star Wars Medley – Beyond the Guitar
4) Christmas Babies
– A friend of mine had her first child this week…and on her birthday. This Christmas baby had a Christmas baby. Babies any time of the year are lovely, but at this time they dress up Christmas cards so beautifully. So darling, right?
Photo Credit: Nameberry
Nathan of Beyond the Guitar posted a special Christmas greeting in his rendition of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”. Enjoy!
Photo Credit: YouTube
YouTube Video – Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas – Beyond the Guitar
5) Unconditional Love – Christmas and the birth of Christ remind us of a love that we don’t deserve and cannot earn. Our parents showed us that kind of love and introduced us to the love of God.
Mom went to be with the Lord 14 years ago, and our Dad is days away from that same Homegoing. So thankful that because of what Christ did for us, we will see them again…and we can one day be face-to-face with the Lover of our souls.
YouTube Video – Noel – Chris Tomlin – Featuring Laurel Daigle
Photo Credit: Pinterest
May you have a blessed Christmas, drenched in the joy of the truth of the season…whatever your circumstances currently might be. For those who read this but do not celebrate Christmas, my prayer is that you know the love of Jesus…through those who follow Him…until the day you are personally acquainted with Him.
Merry Christmas, my momma! Love you!
Love you, too. Thanks for the lovely Christmas cookies…and for loving your mama so well.
I ask that you pray for me, that God will open a door for employment at a church or something and that I will have the wisdom to know what His will is for my life.
Ed, we will pray. Thanks for writing. We know from His Word that you will have wisdom and direction as you ask for it. Please let me know how all that works out…sometimes the in-between of waiting and further equipping are hard to persevere through…believe me, I know. Praying.
Just a side note that has been on my mind, brought to the surface again by a tiny part of your email–answered prayer. Our ladies Bible study just finished a verse by verse study of Hebrews. It’s really impacted me to think of all the hundreds and hundreds of years only one day a year and only the High Priest could go into God’s presence. Now the veil has been torn and we can go boldly every time we choose. Amazing blessing to live in the new Covenant! Merry Christmas! Marge
Oh Marge, thanks for the reminder. It is beyond amazing that we have such access to the God of this universe…completely undeserved apart from being adopted into His kingdom through Christ. Prayer…what incredible power there. Thanks for sharing.