If Isaiah were alive today, he might’ve written a Christmas carol about God’s salvation. His words burst with joy: “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid.” It’s the kind of joy that makes you want to sing at the top of your lungs—even if you can’t carry a tune in a bucket!
Christmas is a celebration of salvation. Jesus came to rescue us, not just from sin but also from fear, loneliness, and despair. His salvation is like unwrapping the biggest, most unexpected gift under the tree—nope not the Red Rider BB Gun. I’m talking about joy – pure joy!
This Advent, rejoice in the gift of salvation. Let it lift your spirits and inspire your song.
Reflection: What has God saved you from, and how does that bring you joy today?
Application: Sing! Whether it’s a carol or a simple prayer of thanks, let your joy overflow in praise.
Imagine a group of travelers going hundreds of miles with a treasure chest in tow, guided by nothing more than a star. When they finally found Jesus, their first reaction wasn’t relief or exhaustion—it was joy! They “rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.”
The Wisemen remind us that joy comes from seeking (and finding) Jesus. They didn’t let the long journey or the uncertainty stop them. And when they found Him, they gave their best gifts—not because they had to, but because their hearts were overflowing. Overflowing with joy!
This season, let’s follow their lead. Joy isn’t about perfect plans or shiny packages. It’s about finding Jesus, wherever we are.
Reflection: What would it look like for you to “seek” Jesus this Advent?
Application: Let the joy of Christ fill your heart. Share it with others through laughter, generosity, and maybe a little Christmas smile!
Have you ever tried to measure the love in that perfect Christmas gift? A handmade scarf shows thoughtfulness. A heartfelt card brings tears. But God’s love? That one is immeasurable.
Paul prays that we’d grasp the width, length, height, and depth of Christ’s love—a love so vast it can’t fit under the tree. It’s a love that crosses the galaxies to meet you in your living room, a love that fills every empty corner of your heart.
This Advent, let Christ’s love fill you to overflowing. It’s not just a gift to receive but one to share generously with others.
Reflection: Where do you see God’s love at work in your life this Advent season?
Application: Love big! Go out of your way to show someone they’re deeply loved by God—and by you.
God’s love is bigger than your longest Christmas shopping list! The psalmist says, “Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.” It’s a love that never fails, even when we do.
Think about the people you love most—family, friends, maybe even that crazy uncle who tells the same stories every Christmas. Now multiply that love by infinity, and you’ve got a glimpse of God’s affection for you. Ok so you don’t even have a glimpse because we can’t even fathom a love that big!
This Advent, bask in the unfailing love of God. It’s a love that doesn’t fade with the season but sticks around all year long.
Reflection: How can you let God’s love shape your relationships this Christmas?
Application: Let love lead! Choose forgiveness, patience, and kindness, reflecting the limitless love of God.
Immanuel. It means “God with us.” That’s the heart of Christmas: God didn’t stay distant; He stepped into our messy, chaotic world to be with us. He didn’t arrive in royal robes but in tattered and swaddling cloths, laid in a manger.
Picture a king trading his throne for a stable, just to be near his people. That’s Jesus. He doesn’t wait for us to have it all together—He meets us in our everyday struggles, joys, and even the holiday chaos. He meets us in the messiness of our day to day lives.
This Christmas, take comfort in knowing you’re never alone. Immanuel means Jesus is with you in every carol sung, every cookie baked, and every quiet moment of prayer. He’s also with you though in every screaming kiddo, over blown budget, and family gathering that didn’t go as planned!
Immanuel is God with you!
Reflection: How can you make space to experience God’s presence this Advent?
Application: Slow down. Pause during the busyness to thank God for being with you every step of the way.
Are you tired? Overwhelmed? Running on fumes? Let me be brutally honest with you—it’s probably your own fault. We (and yes I place myself in this category as well) tend to cram our lives full of stuff—appointments, errands, commitments, notifications, endless scrolling—and then wonder why we feel suffocated. The truth is, you’ve built a life with no breathing room. No margin.
And without margin, you’re not living—you’re surviving, barely.
Margin isn’t just a luxury; it’s a necessity. It’s the white space on the page, the pause in the music, the Sabbath in your week. Without it, everything blends into a chaotic blur, and you miss the moments that actually matter.
The Myth of More
We live in a culture that idolizes more. More productivity. More activities for the kids. More money. More accomplishments. But more isn’t making us happier—it’s making us miserable.
Here’s the kicker: the significant things in life—real relationships, awe-inspiring moments, hearing God’s still, small voice—rarely happen when you’re running at 110%. They happen in the margins.
Think about it:
That deep conversation with your son? It didn’t happen during soccer practice, piano lessons, and PTA meetings. It happened on the quiet drive home.
The time you truly connected with your spouse? It wasn’t during a whirlwind of errands. It was in the stillness of an unhurried evening.
That moment when God spoke to your heart? You weren’t rushing to the next thing. You were still, quiet, and listening.
When your life is too full, you bulldoze right over these sacred moments. You’re too busy with the minutia—emails, to-do lists, keeping up appearances—to notice the magnificent.
Let’s be honest for a second: most people don’t leave margin because it feels uncomfortable. We wear busyness like a badge of honor. If your calendar isn’t full, you feel unimportant. Lazy. Maybe even worthless.
But let me tell you something hard: filling your life with stuff is a lousy substitute for meaning.
Jesus didn’t run around like a headless chicken. He walked. He took time to pray. He noticed the lilies of the field and the birds of the air. His ministry was profound not because He was busy, but because He was present.
Five Simple Ways To Create Margin
Say “No” and Mean It Stop being a people pleaser. Every “yes” to something unimportant is a “no” to what truly matters. Your time is precious—guard it like it’s your life (because it is).
Ditch the Unnecessary Do you really need to binge another Netflix series? Spend hours scrolling Instagram? Join every committee at church? No. Free up that space for something meaningful.
Schedule the Sacred Block off time for rest, relationships, and reflection. If it’s not on your calendar, it won’t happen. Treat this time as non-negotiable.
Embrace Silence Turn off the noise. Put down your phone. Be still. You’ll be shocked at how much clarity comes when you stop trying to fill every moment.
Rediscover Wonder Take a walk. Watch the sunset. Listen to your kid’s laughter. These things aren’t just filler—they’re the point.
God designed us to need margin. That’s why He gave us the Sabbath—not to burden us, but to free us. When you leave space in your life, you’re making room for God to move.
Psalm 46:10 doesn’t say, “Work harder and know that I am God.” It says, “Be still and know that I am God.” You can’t be still if you’re sprinting from one thing to the next.
A No So Simple Challenge
This week, I dare you—no, I double dare you—to cut something out of your calendar. Say no to one thing. Block off time to rest. Let go of your obsession with doing it all.
And in that space, watch what happens. You’ll start to breathe again. You’ll start to notice things. And maybe—just maybe—you’ll start to come alive again.
Margin isn’t optional. It’s where life happens. Don’t miss it.
I’ve never really shied away from a hard truth, so here’s one for today. If you’re constantly weighed down by petty drama, meaningless debates, and other people’s chaos, it’s not because life is hard—it’s because your life is too small.
When you’re living small, every little thing feels like a crisis. Someone looked at you funny? You stew over it for days. A co-worker got credit for your idea? You’re ready to quit. A friend didn’t text back? Obviously, it’s the end of the relationship. Someone is busy and misses a meeting that you feel is important? You go WWIII on them.
But the problem isn’t them. It’s you. Or more specifically, the scope of your life.
It’s like this. When you’re focused on building something bigger—living for a purpose, chasing a mission, or pouring yourself out for something that matters—you don’t have time for small worries. Your energy is spent on creating, growing, and changing the world around you.
You can’t live a big life while sweating over small stuff. That math doesn’t math.
The Curse of the Small Life
Small living is self-centered living. Don’t take this the wrong way, but if your world revolves around you—your preferences, your image, your comfort—then every little inconvenience feels like a personal attack. Why? Because small people make themselves the center of the universe.
That’s exhausting. And honestly? It’s unbiblical.
Proverbs 19:11 says, “Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.” When your life is big—when you’re focused on God’s purpose and others’ needs—offenses lose their sting. You don’t get rattled by someone cutting you off in traffic or throwing shade on social media because your eyes are fixed on something (or someone) bigger.
But if your world is small, every offense feels monumental. You’re a ship tossed by every wave. You’re fragile. And let’s be real: Nobody wants to live like that.
Get Over Yourself and Get to Work
Living a big life starts with letting go of the need to be right, admired, or even comfortable. It’s not about you. It never was.
Jesus said in Matthew 16:24, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” That’s big living. It’s gritty, uncomfortable, and requires sacrifice. But it’s also the most fulfilling way to live.
Want a big life? Start focusing on what God has called you to do. How about try feeding the hungry. Mentoring a young person. Or just love your neighbor (even the obnoxious ones). Intentionally invest in your family. Step into your church. Go after that dream God planted in your heart.
When you’re busy doing big things, the little things don’t have room to take root. You’ll stop sweating over someone’s tone in an email because you’re too busy planning that next ministry, mission trip, or career step.
Big lives are marked by action, not reaction.
Here’s another punch to the gut: If you’re waiting for life to be perfect before you live big, you’re going to wait forever. The enemy of a big life isn’t failure—it’s fear. Fear of making mistakes, fear of looking stupid, fear of getting hurt.
Newsflash Princess! You’re going to fail. You’ll mess up. People will hurt you. So what?
Living big is messy, but it’s better than the alternative: wasting your life worrying about what doesn’t matter – or meddling in other people’s business!
Start now. Step out. Don’t let the size of your life be dictated by your fears.
The Payoff
When you live big, your worries shrink. Why? Because your perspective changes. You’re not bogged down by trivial things when you’re laser-focused on eternal things.
You’ll notice that small people criticize while big people create. Small people complain while big people serve. Small people cling to their comfort zones while big people break barriers and shatter ceilings.
The choice is yours: Big life, small worries—or small life, big drama.
Jesus didn’t come so you could survive in the shallow end. He came to give you life to the full (see John 10). A big life. A God-sized life. A life that drowns out small worries because it’s consumed with a mission that matters.
So, what’s it going to be? Stay small, or step into something big?
The shepherds were the night-shift workers of ancient Israel—ordinary folks doing an ordinary job. But on that first Christmas night, angels filled the sky with a message just for them: “A Savior has been born to you!” Imagine their awe as heaven’s choir sang a private concert just for them.
Those common, ordinary, anything but significant shepherds were the first to hear of the amazing news of the birth of Jesus. How great is it that God didn’t choose the elite or the high powered but instead the humble and lowly! Sure gives me a chance!
And the shepherds didn’t stay in their fields either. They dropped everything, ran to Bethlehem, and found Jesus lying in a manger. It was exactly as the angels told them. Their love for the newborn King couldn’t be contained—they shared the good news with everyone they met.
This season, let’s follow their example. Let’s look beyond the outward trappings and see the heart of those around us. And when love bursts into your life, you can’t help but share it!
Reflection: Who needs to hear the good news of Jesus from you this Advent?
Application: Love isn’t meant to be bottled up. Let your joy overflow in conversations, hugs, and maybe even a Christmas card.
If Christmas had a tagline, it might be John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son.” Talk about the ultimate gift exchange! God didn’t give us something small or temporary—He gave His best, Jesus, to bring us back to Him.
And here’s the kicker: Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world but to save it. That’s a part of the story we often leave out. We love that he came to save us, but often act as if he came to have us condemn the world around us. Not cool friends!
Imagine a Christmas where everyone gets a second chance—a fresh start wrapped in the love of God. That’s what Jesus offered you and what he calls us to offer one another.
This season, as you wrap gifts and share cookies, remember the greatest gift of all: God’s extravagant love, packaged in a manger and delivered to your heart.
Reflection: How can you reflect God’s love to others this Christmas?
Application: Spread the love! A smile, a kind word, or an act of generosity could be just the gift someone needs.
The psalmist describes waiting for the Lord “more than watchmen wait for the morning.” This waiting is like when I was a kid staring at the clock, waiting for Christmas morning. I couldn’t take the waiting. The anticipation was electric!
Advent is about leaning into that expectancy, knowing God is on His way. Just like the sunrise is certain, so is God’s faithfulness. This season, wait actively—pray, hope, and trust that He will meet you right where you are, right when you need Him to be there.
Reflection: What are you most eager to see God do in your life?
Application: Don’t just wait—watch! God’s best surprises often arrive when we least expect them.
