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Hi Friends, We had a huge blizzard this past weekend that dumped over a foot of snow in 24 hours. We woke up to a blanket of white. My kids are thrilled to have more snow shoveling gigs than they can handle. They shovel, stop by the house for snacks, throw their soggy gloves back on and head out to sled. After sledding? Shoveling… and repeat. Heavy snows seem to come at the beginning of January each year in the Midwest, and it always feels like they give the perfect visual for a new year. A field of snow without even a single footprint. A blank slate. A fresh start. But this year, I’m pondering what’s under that snowfall. Underneath the snow blanketing my backyard are the Nerf bullets we failed to pick up, the poison ivy in one garden bed I can’t seem to get rid of, another garden bed in which I never cleaned up the debris of dead, brown tomato plant branches. Under the blank slate of our new year, there lies all kinds of things, too. The good choices — like seeds we planted — from last year that will come up and bear fruit. The felt absence of seeds we wish we’d planted and didn’t. There’s also the debris… Less innocuous than forgotten nerf bullets, the actions of others can leave mementos of pain strewn about in our hearts, just under the surface. But if there’s anything I learned of the Lord in 2024, it’s that He’s a perfect Shepherd who leads with gentleness, wisdom, and patience. Not in a hurry, not unaware, He knows just the things to uncover at just the right time. Our part? To say yes. To not look away. To stand so confident in His love for us that we can risk facing our brokenness as we wait for His healing. If you’re stepping into the blank slate of this New Year aware of things waiting beneath the surface, join me in this prayer: Jesus, have your way. All that lies underneath the surface of my heart is Yours. Come heal, and bring forth life in every way. – Anna |
I am a singer, songwriter, wife, mother, Jesus follower. I send out a 2-minute read every Tuesday about Jesus and life in God.
Hi Friends, It’s been a healing Advent season for me, looking into the birth of Christ with the unique lens of Him lifting off spiritual anxiety. I have loved hearing about some of your stories and the unique ways the Lord is meeting you and bringing you healing as well. This is the last letter in this Advent series, and the message is this: You don’t have to move on from the manger just yet. God lived among us — a newborn baby, a child, a young man simply working with his hands, studying,...
Hi Friends, Merry Christmas! Amidst the cookies and carols and family hang-outs, pause with me as we look into a beautiful part of the Advent story… We left off at the angels appearing to the shepherds. They are given a message: “‘And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger’”. A sign. What is the sign in the swaddling cloths? There are several answers to this that theologians have long pointed to. One stands out to me now. The...
Hi Friends, At this point in our unusual Advent series, it’s clear that God has chosen to do things much differently than we would have. And the announcement of Jesus’ birth is no different. You and I, we probably would have shouted the announcement of His arrival in the palace of the king. All eyes and ears, give attention! Or maybe we would have sent the message to the halls of the temple. Yes, it would be fitting to send word to the priests who spend their days in spiritual service to God....